April 2013

FTC Chair Stuns Advertisers

In her first speech before the advertising industry, newly minted Federal Trade Commission Chairman Edith Ramirez called once again for a universal solution for Do Not Track.

While Chairman Ramirez didn't say the Digital Advertising Alliance's self-regulatory program was not enough, it was implied in her remarks. "Consumers await a functioning Do Not Track system, which is long overdue," Chairman Ramirez said. "We advocated for a persistent Do Not Track mechanism that allows consumers to stop control of data across all sites, and not just for targeting ads." The chairman urged the advertising industry to work with the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) to develop a DNT standard that is browser-based, championing Microsoft's Do Not Track browser and Mozilla’s plan to block third-party cookies. Ramirez's position on Do Not Track stunned the attendees at the American Advertising Federation’s annual advertising day on Capitol Hill, who thought they had responded to the FTC’s call two years ago to develop a program that allows consumers to opt-out of targeted ads.

FTC Seeks Input on Privacy and Security Implications of the Internet of Things

The staff of the Federal Trade Commission is interested in the consumer privacy and security issues posed by the growing connectivity of consumer devices, such as cars, appliances, and medical devices, and invites comments on these issues in advance of a public workshop to be held on November 21, 2013 in Washington (DC).

FTC staff seeks input on the privacy and security implications of the following:

What are the significant developments in services and products that make use of this connectivity (including prevalence and predictions)?
What are the various technologies that enable this connectivity (e.g., RFID, barcodes, wired and wireless connections)?
What types of companies make up the smart ecosystem?
What are the current and future uses of smart technology?
How can consumers benefit from the technology?
What are the unique privacy and security concerns associated with smart technology and its data? For example, how can companies implement security patching for smart devices? What steps can be taken to prevent smart devices from becoming targets of or vectors for malware or adware?
How should privacy risks be weighed against potential societal benefits, such as the ability to generate better data to improve health-care decisionmaking or to promote energy efficiency? Can and should de-identified data from smart devices be used for these purposes, and if so, under what circumstances?

FTC Files Its First Case Against Mobile Phone "Cramming"

The Federal Trade Commission has taken legal action to shut down an operation that allegedly took in millions of dollars from placing charges on consumers’ mobile phone bills, many of which were “crammed” or unauthorized charges.

The complaint against Wise Media, LLC, Brian M. Buckley and Winston J. Deloney is the first FTC case against mobile cramming and part of the FTC’s focus on consumer protection issues that may arise from the explosive growth of mobile technology. The FTC’s complaint asks the court to immediately freeze the defendants’ assets and order them to stop their deceptive and unfair practices. The agency is also seeking a permanent injunction that would force the defendants to give up their ill-gotten gains so they can be used to provide refunds to victims of the scam. The defendants allegedly billed consumers for so-called “premium services” that sent text messages with horoscopes, flirting, love tips and other information. The Commission’s complaint alleges that consumers across the country were signed up for these services seemingly at random, and that the operation placed repeating charges of $9.99 per month on mobile phone bills, without consumer knowledge or permission. According to the complaint, in many instances, Wise Media sent text messages to consumers that suggested they were subscribed to the service, which many consumers dismissed as spam and ignored. Even if consumers responded via text indicating that they did not want the services, they were charged on their mobile phone bills on an ongoing basis.

We are all bandwidth hogs now

Demand for international bandwidth grew 39 percent last year, and at a compounded annual rate of 53 percent between 2007 and 2012, according to Telegeography. The interesting bit here is that the growth is coming not just from developed regions, but all regions of the world. Cheaper mobile phones with access to the web are certainly a part of that demand growth in developing nations, while in more traditional technology markets, hotspots, larger applications and cloud computing are to blame. Whatever the reason for demand, carriers are responding accordingly, with new submarine cables connecting more countries than ever before.

A Fighter for the Public Interest at the FCC

[Commentary] Does it matter who chairs the Federal Communications Commission? People might be forgiven if they think it doesn't, especially as President Obama considers a former corporate lobbyist to head the agency. Won't Rupert Murdoch, regardless of who's FCC chair, simply buy whatever media outlets he desires? Won't powerful companies like Comcast or AT&T just continue to dictate policies affecting internet speeds, access, costs, and content? Given repeated concessions to industry interests in recent years -- from weak net neutrality protections to approving the Comcast/NBCU mega-merger -- it's easy to assume the FCC has always been helpless to rein in the powerful media and telecom corporations that it's meant to regulate. But history suggests otherwise, reminding us of what could, and what should, be possible.

[Pickard is Assistant Professor, University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communication]

How to Pick an FCC Chair Who Gets It

[Commentary] While the next Federal Communications Commission chair needs to understand the ins and outs of technology and related law, that won't be enough. He or she must also understand that consumers are different. Different groups -- whether based on income, race, geography, or some other factor -- have different telecommunications needs. And we need a telecommunications system that works for everyone.

If we end up with an FCC chair who doesn't get this vital concept, much of America will be in serious trouble. Happily, there are candidates out there with both the legal/technical savvy and the gut-level knowledge of the diverse communities their decisions will affect. For example, here in California, we're lucky enough to have one of those individuals on our Public Utilities Commission -- Commissioner Catherine Sandoval. Sandoval has shown that she not only understands the complexities of telecommunications law and policy, she also understands that high-level policy decisions have real-world impacts which differ from community to community. And she is known for seeking input from communities before making a decision that impacts those communities -- a practice that is shockingly rare in telecommunications policy. This is not to say that there aren't other excellent candidates out there. But this sort of combination of legal and policy savvy with a community-level grasp of the human impacts of regulatory policies is the essential bottom line for any FCC nominee.

[Vissa is COO of the Greenlining Institute]

New Tool Can Help Agencies Assess Cyber Skills

A new tool can help organizations like federal agencies to better recruit cybersecurity talent and assess the skills of current cyber staff.

The new CyberTalent Assessment Tool, developed by the SANS Institute, helps recruiters and HR professionals have a better understanding of cyber job candidates, particularly in verifying their technical knowledge and comparing that knowledge against other applicants. It also can help HR professionals evaluate current cybersecurity staff to identify training needs or career development planning. “This is a very challenging space for the information security sector, as everyone knows about the lack of professionals in the industry,” said Tom Carver, director of SANS CyberTalent. “We’ve become aware of how critical this is now getting, and we realized quickly that we are in a unique position to help organizations assess job applicants and their existing staff.”

Teaching Teens About Tech

One industry group is hoping to educate youngsters on how the technology and devices nearly all of them use actually work, in hopes of inspiring the next generation of IT professionals.

Todd Thibodeaux, CEO of CompTIA, said that the trade association is launching a new effort in hopes of filling the gaps that STEM programs in grades 9 through 12 are lacking: a better understanding of how IT works -- from smartphones to Facebook. “We’ve come into a period when use of the product and adoption of the product is the new geek, instead of understanding how the product and components of it work,” Thibodeaux said. “We have this generation of kids who aren’t quite as geeky as the ones who came before them.” A recent CompTIA survey of 1,002 teens and young adults found that nearly all respondents (97 percent) said they either love or like technology. Many teens also are more than just technology consumers, with 58 percent reporting that they help family members or friends with questions or troubleshooting computers, software and mobile devices. Still, while most teens have a love affair with technology, most aren’t interested in translating that love into a career, the study found.

The Shame of Boston's Wireless Woes

Almost immediately after Monday's tragic bombings at the Boston Marathon, the city's cellular networks collapsed. As cell service sputtered under a surge of calls, runners were left in the dark, families couldn’t reach loved ones, and even investigators were stymied in making calls related to their pursuit of suspects. Admirably, Boston residents and businesses responded quickly by opening up Wi-Fi hotspots to help evacuees communicate with loved ones. But most, even the super-connected elite, were knocked offline. We shouldn't be surprised by the collapse of Boston's cellular networks. The same thing happens every time there is a crisis in a large city. On an average day, Americans make nearly 400,000 emergency 911 calls on their mobile phones. Yet during large-scale crises this vital lifeline is all-too-frequently cut off. The culprit is usually congestion.

Spectrum Policy Should Promote Competition

[Commentary] We all benefit when commercial companies compete for our business. Competing in the cellular market is unusual in that it depends on access to a limited resource: spectrum. No firm can enter the cellular market in Pittsburgh (except as a reseller) unless it can get Pittsburgh spectrum.

Carriers already offering service there also often want more spectrum when they expand capacity, as adding spectrum allows them to expand at a much lower cost. I hope that someday there will be a vibrant market for spectrum where firms can buy what they need when they need it, but at this point, spectrum suitable for cellular service can be hard to get. You can wait around for government to take spectrum that is currently used for something else, reallocate it for cellular use, and auction it, but those auctions are infrequent and unpredictable. You can try to get spectrum from a firm that already has some, but there are typically few holders of cellular spectrum in a given region, and they are all probably rival cellular carriers who would be happier if you just went away without offering a competing service.

There are solutions. To protect competition even as more diverse spectrum bands become available, we could adopt a screen that places different weights on each MHz of spectrum depending on the frequency. When it applies property taxes, government does not treat a square mile filled with Mississippi swampland the same as it treats a square mile filled with Manhattan skyscrapers. There is no reason it has to treat 10 MHz of spectrum at 900 MHz the same as 10 MHz of spectrum at 5 GHz in a spectrum cap or screen.

[Peha is a professor at Carnegie Mellon University]

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