November 2012

Keep the net beyond the autocrats’ reach

[Commentary] Next week, out of sight of all but the most obsessive geeks, the future of the internet will be determined. Any drama, however, will be hard to discern. Men in suits will gather in Dubai to pore over interminable clause provisions, talking in acronyms and jargon. Yet what happens at the World Conference on International Communications will potentially affect every citizen and every business – those who go online to network, to buy, to sell and to express themselves.

The issue at stake is will the internet continue to be run by a series of semi-formal groups that meet to assign domain names and to debate free expression, or will it be handed over to governments, most of which have pushed hard to assert control over cyberspace? Few deny that the internet governance needs to adapt. Its discourse needs to be less American, more internationalist so as to reflect the shifting power balance between north and south. The question is not which countries have jurisdiction over the internet, but to make sure that citizens from all regions, particularly developing nations, are properly represented. Even if they don’t make the breakthrough they seek in Dubai, the authoritarians will come back for more in 2013. If they succeed, internet restrictions will soon become the norm and users around the world will have to get used to governments watching them.

India to Revise Enforcement of Internet Law

The Indian government will soon bar lower-level police officials from arresting people for making offensive comments on social networking sites unless the case is first reviewed by a senior police official, said Kapil Sibal, the communications minister. The recent arrests of two young women for their mild criticism of powerful people “are certainly an abuse of the law,” he said. But rather than change the law, he advocated changing its enforcement. “The law is evolutionary, the process is evolutionary,” he said. “Let us now wait for another four to six months; let us wait to see if the process is adequate.”

Official Syrian Web Sites Hosted in US

Even as Syrians lost access to the Internet on Nov 29, people outside the country could still browse the Syrian government’s many Web sites for much of the day because they are hosted in foreign countries, including the United States.

By nightfall, after being contacted by The New York Times, several host companies said they were taking down those sites. They and similar companies had been identified in reports published by Citizen Lab, a research laboratory that monitors North American Web service providers that host Syrian Web sites. An executive order by President Obama prohibits American companies from providing Web hosting and other services to Syria without obtaining a license from the Treasury Department.

Newspapers return fire on Leveson

UK newspapers reacted negatively to what Lord Justice Leveson called the “essential” part of his recommendations to reform press behavior, the use of law to underpin an independent self-regulator.

The papers express themselves in much the same way, accepting the flaws of existing regulation and the need for the industry to produce something better, but rejecting the idea of a statute to guarantee its independence. The report’s recommendation that Ofcom, the communications regulator, be a statutorily accredited overseer of the regulator’s independence also unites the press in opposition to the Leveson proposals. David Cameron, the prime minister, is likely to be far happier than the man he commissioned to inquire into the standards and ethics of the press with the headlines chosen by the industry. The Daily Mail hailed his “stand for freedom”, contrasting this with what it claims are Labour’s plans to include statutory regulation of the press in its next general election manifesto, while the Mail’s leading article dismisses the central recommendations of the 2,000-page report.

Towards a grand bargain with the press

[Commentary] The trouble with freedom is that it is abused. A justice system that guards the innocent will see thieves and worse go free. Uphold human rights and terrorists will sometimes slip the net. Champion press freedom and newspapers may hack the telephone of a murdered teenager.

Lord Justice Leveson has given his verdict on the “culture, practices and ethics” of the British media. Running like a dark thread through the 2,000-page report are words such as reckless, outrageous, harassment, hacking, surveillance, bribery and corruption. The really damning indictment lies in the exposure of a culture of casual contempt for decency, fairness and privacy in newspapers representing a sizeable chunk of what used to be called Fleet Street. Traducing the innocent; routine disregard for truth; and riding roughshod over individual rights – all were deemed acceptable in the cause of a “good story.” So what is to be done? The first thing to say is that self-regulation does not work. The most striking thing about the behavior of the newspapers in Lord Justice Leveson’s line of fire has been a complete lack of contrition. It is almost as if the real crime of the phone hackers was to get caught. The second thing to say is that, as long as some newspapers believe they should be able to behave as they like, there is no system that will strike a perfect balance between press freedom and the rights of the citizen. The weak and vulnerable need guarantees against the habitual abuse of press power. But Lord Justice Leveson should have gone further in offering protections for the media when it is doing its proper job of holding to account those in positions of authority and influence.

A balanced package would put into statute a provision for a robust public interest defense when the press is scrutinizing the behavior of the mighty. Alongside this, the legislation would include a drastic rebalancing of the burden of proof in the draconian libel laws that now offer an impenetrable shield to those with the money to buy access to the courts. Lord Justice Leveson is right: the press cannot any longer expect to mark its own homework; but neither should the rich and powerful.

Press Freedom at Risk

[Commentary] Millions of Britons were justifiably outraged over last year’s serial revelations of illegal and unethical behavior by the powerful and influential tabloid press in Britain. But the regulatory remedies proposed by an official commission of inquiry seem misplaced, excessive and potentially dangerous to Britain’s centuries-old traditions of a press free from government regulation.

The commission called on Parliament to create an independent regulatory body with the authority to fine newspapers up to $1.6 million for violating its guidelines. This new organization, which newspapers could join voluntarily, would replace the largely ineffective Press Complaints Commission, run by the news industry itself, which is supposed to uphold a code of ethical journalistic practices agreed to by participating publications. Creating an independent regulatory body would require new legislation. To his credit, Prime Minister David Cameron seems opposed to proceeding in that direction. Conscientious members of all political parties should oppose it as well. Press independence is as essential a bulwark of political liberty in Britain as it is everywhere. That independence should not, and need not, be infringed upon now.

Virgin wins contract to provide free Wi-Fi

Virgin Media Business has won the UK’s first contract to provide citywide wireless outside London under the British government’s plans to create a series of “super connected” urban hubs.

Virgin Media will offer free mobile internet access to 1.2 million people in the city centers of Bradford and Leeds using small cell transmitters to enable a large scale public Wi-Fi network. The high speed Wi-Fi service will be open to the public, although operated by the group’s corporate business arm. The deal is the latest in what analysts have called a “land grab” for Wi-Fi sites given the desire by telecoms groups to tap into Wi-Fi networks, as they do not need to use scarce mobile spectrum.

Sen Cantwell Calls for Public Vote On Ownership

Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) has asked Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski to vote his media ownership order at its next public meeting -- scheduled for Dec. 12 -- though she suggests that would be a blow to diversity of ownership and viewpoints.

Actually, she would prefer the FCC not adopt the draft proposal, which she says would diminish diversity of "local views, viewpoints and opinions." But, in a letter to Chairman Genachowski, Sen Cantwell suggested that was preferable to the commissioners voting on it in private. It was circulated to the other commissioners for a vote and not scheduled on either the November or December agenda. She opined that there were no public meetings or hearings on the proposed rules after the chairman issued its rulemaking proposal in December 2011. That proposal would loosen the newspaper-TV crossownership rules, lift limits on newspaper-radio crossownership and allow radio-TV crossownership, while counting some joint sales agreements toward local ownership caps that are being left in place.

Sen Cantwell was particularly concerned about the FCC's suggestion that lifting the limits on radio-TV and radio-newspaper ownership was ending "outdated prohibitions." Instead, she said, they support diversity, competition and localism. She wants the public meeting so the commissioners will have to publicly defend their decision. "The American public needs to hear directly from you and the other commissioners on this critical matter."

ITU Adopts Resolution Inviting Members to Keep Hands off Internet

In its continuing effort to convince nervous members like the U.S. that the upcoming telecom treaty conference in Dubai (it starts Dec. 3) will not be a referendum on greater government control of the Internet, the International Telecommunication Union announced it had adopted a resolution to that effect... sort of.

ITU announced that its members had adopted a resolution "inviting" members to "refrain from taking any unilateral and/or discriminatory actions that could impede another Member State from accessing public Internet sites and using resources."

"Just days away from the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT-12), the adoption of this Resolution underlines ITU's commitment to a free and inclusive information society," said Hamadoun Touré, secretary general of the ITU. "This should send a strong message to the international community about accusations that ITU's membership wishes to restrict the freedom of speech. Clearly the opposite is true. It is in this spirit -- fostering an Internet whose benefits are open to all -- that I would like to head into WCIT-12."

Sen Durbin sees defense bill as vehicle for online sales tax

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) is pushing to attach his online sales tax measure to the defense authorization bill the chamber is currently debating, Durbin’s office said.

The Senate has been voting on amendments to the defense authorization bill for much of Nov 29. But with votes expected to go deep into the night, it remains to be seen whether the online sales tax measure will get a vote. Sen Durbin has been working with Sens. Mike Enzi (R-WY) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN) on an online sales tax bill for much of this Congress. The three senators tried to attach the measure to small business legislation this summer, but it never received a vote. On the House side, Reps. Steve Womack (R-AR), Jackie Speier (D-CA), John Conyers (D-MI) and Peter Welch (D-VT) are also working to pass an online sales tax measure.

Benton

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