April 4, 2013 (See You In Denver!)
Headlines staff are headed to Denver for the National Conference for Media Reform – we hope to see you there. Headlines will return Monday, April 8.
http://conference.freepress.net/ncmr-2013
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for THURSDAY, APRIL 4, 2013
Today -- Multistakeholder Meeting to Develop Consumer Data Privacy Code of Conduct Concerning Mobile Application Transparency http://benton.org/calendar/2013-03-31--P1W/
CYBERSECURITY
Lawmakers to amend cybersecurity bill behind closed doors
CBO Scores Cybersecurity Enhancement Act - research
How Do You Create US Cyber Guidelines for Foreign Firms?
CONTENT
As Web Search Goes Mobile, Competitors Chip at Google’s Lead - analysis
The President Gives Hollywood a Pass on Violence - op-ed
Heartbreak for Harlequin authors as judge tosses e-book case
The National Digital Public Library Is Launched! [links to web]
Obama's trash-talkers
Top 10 Companies That Pose the Biggest Threat to Pay TV - analysis [links to web]
Aereo May Have Unlikely Ally [links to web]
TV Broadcasters Looking Into Aereo-Dish Network Discussions [links to web]
HEALTH
Rural doctors slow to adopt electronic medical records
UNIVERSAL SERVICE REFORM
Rural Telecoms Look to Leverage Genachowski Exit for USF Reform Time-Out
FCC Adopts Survey of Urban Rates - public notice
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
Breaking Free of the Cellphone Carrier Conspiracy - analysis
Cisco buys Ubiquisys for $310 million
Deutsche Telekom Risks U.S. Exit Without Boost - analysis
The Facts are in on Wireless Competition - press release [links to web]
The mobile phone turns 40 years old [links to web]
PRIVACY
EFF presses for update to California privacy law [links to web]
POLICYMAKERS
Anne-Marie Slaughter Named Next President of New America Foundation - press release [links to web]
COMPANY NEWS
Cisco buys Ubiquisys for $310 million
With New Weather Channel Deal, Twitter Aims to Make It Rain for Brands [links to web]
STORIES FROM ABROAD
Apple bars China app for ‘illegal’ content
CYBERSECURITY
CISPA MARK-UP
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Brendan Sasso]
Members of the media and the public will not be able to watch the House Intelligence Committee's markup next week of a controversial cybersecurity bill, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA). Lawmakers will be allowed to discuss what happened in the meeting afterward, and the committee plans to release information about what amendments were offered and how lawmakers voted. But the public will not be allowed in the room, and the meeting will not be streamed online. Susan Phalen, a spokeswoman for the committee, explained that the Intelligence Committee often restricts access to hearings and that it is possible that lawmakers will need to discuss classified information. "Sometimes they'll need to bounce into classified information and go closed for a period of time to talk about threat information," she said. "In order to keep the flow of the mark-up continuing forward, you can't stop in the middle of an open hearing, move everyone to another location for a portion of it, and then move back." She noted that the committee used the same procedure when it marked up CISPA last year.
benton.org/node/148939 | Hill, The
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
CYBERSECURITY ENHANCEMENT ACT
[SOURCE: Congressional Budget Office, AUTHOR: Martin von Gnechten, J’nell Blanco, Amy Petz]
The Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2013 (HR 756) would reauthorize several National Science Foundation (NSF) programs that aim to enhance cybersecurity (the protection of computers and computer networks from unauthorized access). The bill also would require the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to continue a cybersecurity awareness program and to develop standards for managing personal identifying information stored on computer systems. Finally, the bill would establish a task force to recommend actions to the Congress for improving research and development activities related to cybersecurity. Based on information from NSF and NIST and assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 756 would cost $504 million over the 2014-2018 period and $52 million after 2018. Enacting the legislation would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. HR 756 would authorize appropriations for several NSF grant programs aimed at enhancing cybersecurity. The bill would authorize appropriations totaling $357 million over the 2014-2016 period to improve research on cybersecurity. In addition, H.R. 756 would authorize the appropriation of:
$15 million for grants to establish centers of cybersecurity research;
$75 million for grants to universities to improve cybersecurity programs and increase the number of students in fields related to cybersecurity. This includes a program to offer scholarships to students who pursue higher education related to cybersecurity and commit to public service after graduating;
$12 million for grants to institutions that grant associate degrees to develop cybersecurity programs and establish centers of excellence; and
$96 million for grants to higher education institutions to establish cybersecurity traineeship programs for graduate students.
benton.org/node/148927 | Congressional Budget Office
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
HOW DO YOU CREATE U.S. CYBER GUIDELINES FOR FOREIGN FIRMS?
[SOURCE: nextgov, AUTHOR: Aliya Sternstein]
Fitting foreign companies critical to U.S. society into a domestic cybersecurity framework will be tricky, said a U.S. pharmaceutical executive helping to form the guidelines. On April 3, government and industry leaders met for the first time to try hammering out voluntary security standards for private sector networks. A policy is due by November, under a Feb. 12 cyber executive order covering "critical infrastructure" American sectors that sustain economic and national security. "What happens if we have a non-U.S. company operating critical infrastructure," questioned Terry Rice, Merck chief information security officer, who also has experience consulting critical infrastructure defense contractors. There is no answer yet as to how the guidelines will apply to those organizations, he said.
benton.org/node/148935 | nextgov
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
CONTENT
MOBILE SEARCH
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Claire Cain Miller]
Google remains the undisputed king of search, with about two-thirds of the market. But the nature of search is changing, especially as more people search for what they want to buy, eat or learn on their mobile devices. This has put the $22 billion search industry, perhaps the most lucrative and influential of online businesses, at its most significant crossroad since its invention. No longer do consumers want to search the Web like the index of a book — finding links at which a particular keyword appears. They expect new kinds of customized search, like that on topical sites such as Yelp, TripAdvisor or Amazon, which are chipping away at Google’s hold. Google and its competitors are trying to develop the knowledge and comprehension to answer specific queries, not just point users in the right direction. “What people want is, ‘You ask a very simple question and you get a very simple answer,’ ” said Oren Etzioni, a professor at the University of Washington who has co-founded companies for shopping and flight search. “We don’t want the 10 blue links on that small screen. We want to know the closest sushi place, make a reservation and be on our way.”
benton.org/node/148960 | New York Times
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
HOLLYWOOD AND VIOLENCE
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Campbell Brown]
[Commentary] There was something missing from President Obama's speech in Denver about gun violence. He focused almost exclusively on passing gun-control laws, and not at all on one of the nation's biggest promoters of violence: the entertainment industry. A more creative chief executive would have used this moment to widen the discussion by drawing attention to the increasingly graphic violence so pervasive in television shows, movies and videogames. The President has been more than willing to challenge the National Rifle Association, but that is like a Republican president standing up to labor unions—not a move that risks anything with his core supporters. President Obama could show some real bravery by taking on Hollywood. Brown is a former anchor for CNN and NBC News
benton.org/node/148958 | Wall Street Journal
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
HARLEQUIN DECISION
[SOURCE: paidContent.org, AUTHOR: Jeff John Roberts]
Harlequin Romance has prevailed in a class action suit brought by three authors who accuse the book publisher of depriving writers who published books between 1990 and 2004 of their fair share of e-book revenue. A New York federal judge threw out the authors claim that Harlequin had used a corporate sleight-of-hand to pay them 3-4% of e-book royalties instead of the 50% they believed they were due. The case, which turned on technical questions of law, is an example of the collisions that can arise as a result of book contracts signed in an age that pre-dated the current boom in e-books. In a four-page decision, the New York court declined to consider the authors’ arguments that “third party publishers” were alter-egos for Harlequin. Instead, the court relied on a narrow interpretation of contract law to dismiss the claim. The decision is very brief and contains an unusual footnote stating that the judge’s clerk, a second-year law student, had largely researched and drafted the opinion (clerks often help with such tasks but judges rarely acknowledge this).
benton.org/node/148945 | paidContent.org
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
OBAMA’S TWEETERS
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Dylan Byers]
Twitter is aflame these days with high-ranking former Obama aides. Liberated from any official constraints, overflowing with opinions and no small measure of old resentments at political foes and the news media, they are letting the world know what they really think — and seemingly enjoying themselves to no end while doing so. In the process, they are offering an unequaled window into the culture of the Obama West Wing. The brash, argumentative, sarcastic, often humorous, never-in-doubt ethos long familiar to reporters and other Washington operatives can now be followed by everyone in real time. The Twitter alumni network has a distinctly male cast — it also includes Jon Lovett, Bill Burton, Ben LaBolt and even David Axelrod — and their frat-house banter serves a dual purpose for the Obama White House. It is an influential surrogate group, shaping the national debate while offering a relief valve for the pent-up frustrations of current administration officials.
benton.org/node/148922 | Politico
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
HEALTH
RURAL DOCS SLOW TO ADOPT EHRs
[SOURCE: American Public Media, AUTHOR: Kristofor Husted]
These days when you go to the doctor, many rely on an electronic health records system. With just a few clicks of a mouse, they can bring up your medical history, prescribe you medication, or chart your test results. The 2009 Recovery Act actually set aside $20 billion to help health care providers ditch the paper records and go electronic. The idea was to cut soaring health care costs in the U.S. But while physicians backed by large health care groups can afford the system, many rural physicians are struggling to make that transition. The federal government has set a deadline. If health care providers don’t implement an electronic health records system by 2015, they’ll get dinged with Medicare penalties. The problem for many rural health clinics is they don’t have the money to make the switch.
benton.org/node/148943 | American Public Media
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
UNIVERSAL SERVICE REFORM
RURAL TELECOMS LOOK TO STALL USF REFORM
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Rural Independent Competitive Alliance and the Rural Broadband Alliance have called on Congress to legislate a "time out" in what they say are the Federal Communications Commission's flawed universal service reforms – and they are trying to leverage the exit of the current FCC chairman to make their case. The FCC is phasing out legacy phone support as it phases in subsidies for broadband deployment, the new must-have communications vehicle. The groups have asked legislators for a bill that would mandate a 180-day moratorium on implementation of the FCC's subsidy distribution reforms until the FCC has sought and gotten input from state officials via the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service. They argue that with FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski exiting the commission -- he launched the reforms -- it is a good time to take a time out to make sure those reforms do not prove a disincentive for investment by rural carriers, some of which is based on legacy support that is being phased out.
benton.org/node/148938 | Broadcasting&Cable
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
FCC ADOPTS SURVEY OF URBAN RATES
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: ]
In this Order, the Federal Communications Commission adopts the form and content for a survey of urban rates for fixed voice and fixed broadband residential services, which the Commission will use to implement universal service reforms adopted as part of the USF/ICC Transformation Order. For the survey, the FCC will annually select a statistically valid sample of urban providers who will complete the survey. The information collected in this survey will be used to establish a rate floor that eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) receiving high-cost loop support (HCLS) or frozen high-cost support must meet to receive their full support amounts and to help ensure that universal service support recipients offering fixed voice and broadband services do so at reasonably comparable rates to those in urban areas. These measures are important components of the Commission’s overall effort in the USF/ICC Transformation Order to improve accountability for the use of universal service funding.
benton.org/node/148936 | Federal Communications Commission
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
CELLPHONE CARRIER CONSPIRACY
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: David Pogue]
When you buy a cellphone — an iPhone or Android phone, let’s say — you pay $200. Now, the real price for that sophisticated piece of electronics is around $600. But Verizon, AT&T and Sprint are very thoughtful. They subsidize the phone. Your $200 is a down payment. You pay off the remaining $400 over the course of your two-year contract. It’s just like buying a house or a car: you put some cash down and pay the rest in installments. Right? Wrong. Here’s the difference: Once you’ve finished paying off your handset, your monthly bill doesn’t go down. You keep reimbursing the cellphone company as though you still owed it. Forever. And speaking of the two-year contract, why aren’t you outraged about that? What other service in modern life locks you in for two years? Home phone service? Cable TV service? Internet? Magazine subscriptions? Baby sitter? Lawn maintenance? In any other industry, you can switch to a rival if you ever become unhappy. Companies have to work for your loyalty. But not in the cellphone industry. If you try to leave your cellphone carrier before two years are up, you’re slapped with a penalty of hundreds of dollars. If you’re not outraged by those rip-offs, maybe it’s because you think you’re helpless. All of the Big Four carriers follow the same rules, so, you know — what are you gonna do? Last week, the landscape changed. T-Mobile violated the unwritten conspiracy code of cellphone carriers. It admitted that the emperors have no clothes. John J. Legere, T-Mobile’s chief executive, took to the stage not only to expose the usurious schemes, but to announce that it wouldn’t be playing those games anymore.
benton.org/node/148962 | New York Times
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
CISCO BUYS UBIQUISYS
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Henry Mance, Bede McCarthy]
A UK technology company inspired by poor mobile connectivity in Wiltshire has been acquired by Cisco for $310 million. Ubiquisys, whose small-cell telecoms technology uses local hubs to enhance call quality and data connection, is the latest UK company to be acquired by a larger US participant. The all-cash fee includes retention payments for Ubiquisys executives, including founder Will Franks, whose frustration with poor rural connections led him to develop the technology. However, at least four-fifths of the $310 million will go to Uniquisys’s backers, who initially put in a reported $81 million of venture capital.
benton.org/node/148957 | Financial Times
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
T-MOBILE/METROPCS
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Tara Lachapelle, Cornelius Rahn, Scott Moritz]
Unless Deutsche Telekom AG is prepared to abandon another attempt to exit the U.S. market, it has to sweeten the terms of its $33 billion deal to combine T- Mobile USA with MetroPCS Communications. To win support from MetroPCS shareholders in an April 12 vote, New Street Research LLP says Deutsche Telekom may have to cut the debt component by $6 billion, while Nomura Holdings Inc. says MetroPCS owners want a bigger equity stake. While Deutsche Telekom could choose to walk away, that would represent another failed attempt to exit the business, following a 2011 agreement to sell T-Mobile to AT&T that regulators blocked.
benton.org/node/148955 | Bloomberg
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
STORIES FROM ABROAD
APPLE APP DECISION
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Jamil Anderlini]
Apple has removed at least one online application from the China App Store because it provides access to books that are banned by the Chinese government, according to the developer of the app. Hao Peiqiang, the developer of an online bookstore app called “jingdian shucheng”, received a letter from Apple’s “App Review” telling him his app will be removed because it “includes content that is illegal in China.” Apple did not specify what content it was referring to, but Hao told the Financial Times he believed the offending content consisted of three books by Wang Lixiong, the Chinese writer whose works are mostly banned in China.
benton.org/node/148947 | Financial Times
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top