July 2013

For NSA chief, terrorist threat drives passion to ‘collect it all,’ observers say

In late 2005, as Iraqi roadside bombings were nearing an all-time peak, the National Security Agency’s newly appointed chief began pitching a radical plan for halting the attacks that were killing or wounding a dozen Americans a day. At the time, more than 100 teams of U.S. analysts were scouring Iraq for snippets of electronic data that might lead to the bomb-makers and their hidden factories. But the NSA director, Gen. Keith B. Alexander, wanted more than mere snippets. He wanted everything: Every Iraqi text message, phone call and e-mail that could be vacuumed up by the agency’s powerful computers. “Rather than look for a single needle in the haystack, his approach was, ‘Let’s collect the whole haystack,’ ” said one former senior U.S. intelligence official who tracked the plan’s implementation. “Collect it all, tag it, store it. . . . And whatever it is you want, you go searching for it.” The unprecedented data collection plan, dubbed Real Time Regional Gateway, would play a role in breaking up Iraqi insurgent networks and significantly reducing the monthly death toll from improvised explosive devices by late 2008. It also encapsulated Alexander’s controversial approach to safeguarding Americans from what he sees as a host of imminent threats, from terrorism to devastating cyberattacks.

White House, ad networks release anti-piracy best practices

The White House partnered with Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and other online advertising companies to unveil a set of industry-developed best practices that are aimed at keeping online ads off websites that illegally offer pirated content and counterfeit products.

The eight participating companies said they are committed to cutting off the flow of money to illicit websites that rely on online ads to generate revenue and fund their operations. The best practices were developed with support from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), a non-profit that represents media and technology companies that sell online ad. The White House hailed the release of the best practices in a blog post, calling it a "positive step" that "can have a significant impact on reducing online piracy and counterfeiting." The White House has encouraged industry groups—including ad networks and payment processors—to develop voluntary anti-piracy standards in light of the controversy surrounding online copyright legislation.

Google, Facebook warn of ‘abuse’ if feds can seize e-mails without a warrant

Google, Facebook, Microsoft and other Internet companies are urging the Senate to rebuff federal regulators who want the power to seize emails without a warrant.

The Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have asked senators to exempt them from requirements in pending legislation that would require government officials to obtain a warrant before ordering companies to hand over content. Silicon Valley giants, joined by privacy advocates, warned that granting the exemption would threaten privacy rights. "Personal privacy would suffer, and the potential for government abuse would expand dramatically, because an individual or company whose records were sought would have no opportunity to object. This would turn civil proceedings into fishing expeditions at a huge cost to individual privacy and the confidentiality of proprietary data," the groups wrote in the letter.

FCC Seeks Comment on Lifeline Reform 2.0 Coalition’s Petition

The Federal Communications Commission’s Wireline Competition Bureau seeks comment on a petition for rulemaking filed by the Lifeline Reform 2.0 Coalition.

In its petition, the Coalition urges the FCC to commence a rulemaking proceeding for the purpose of amending its Lifeline rules to adopt several proposed reforms that, according to the Coalition, will further reduce waste, fraud, and abuse in the Lifeline program. Comments are due August 14, 2013; Reply comments August 29, 2013. [WC Docket No. 11-42]

Ongoing Health-Care Fight to Generate Another $500M in TV Advertising

Midterm elections aren't until next year, but broadcast television stations around the country are likely to see $500 million in politically themed advertising this year through early next year. The subject -- or target in most cases -- the Affordable Care Act.

Campaign Media Analysis Group, part of Kantar Media, found that $500 million was spent since 2009 on TV ads that mention the Affordable Care Act and another $500 million will be spent in the coming months. That $1 billion spent on a single issue breaks previous records. And if the current trend holds, an overwhelming majority of those ads will attack Obamacare, as the ACA has become commonly known. Elizabeth Wilner, VP of CMAG, said opponents of Obamacare have outspent its supporters by 5 to 1 when it comes to TV advertising.

Microsoft’s Surveillance Collaboration: Voluntary Aid, or New Legal Tactic?

In July of last year, Microsoft began publicly testing an online e-mail and chat service called Outlook.com. Soon afterward, according to the British newspaper the Guardian, the company reengineered it in a way that allowed the National Security Agency’s PRISM surveillance program collect chat data before it was encrypted.

Privacy campaigners and surveillance experts are now pondering whether Microsoft’s actions were forced by a previously unknown legal tactic, or whether the company voluntarily made the changes to aid surveillance. The Guardian report marks the first time that a major Internet company has been described to have modified its systems to enable government surveillance, as opposed to simply providing access to data it already held. “The $1 million question is whether Microsoft was forced to reengineer its systems to include new surveillance capabilities, or whether it did so voluntarily,” says Christopher Soghoian, principal technologist and senior policy analyst with the Speech, Privacy and Technology Project of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Study: 1 in 3 West Virginia homes does not have a computer

West Virginia's push to expand high-speed Internet might be more complicated than making broadband service available by stringing copper wire or fiber on poles to people's homes. A new federal study shows slightly more than 35 percent of West Virginia households don't own a computer -- the second-lowest ranking of any state in the survey.

The low computer ownership numbers help explain why many West Virginians don't sign up for high-speed Internet service, even where it's available. The study -- called "Exploring the Digital Nation" -- shows that 59 percent of West Virginia households subscribe to high-speed Internet. That's the eighth-lowest Internet adoption rate among the 50 states, although West Virginia's ranking has improved from past years. The Broadband Deployment Council distributed $2 million last year for projects designed to bring wireless Internet to homes in rural communities. The council turned down a handful of "demand promotion" projects intended to increase the number of people who subscribe to high-speed Internet. At the time, state law required the Broadband Deployment Council to award money for such projects in remote areas without Internet service. Council members said it didn't make sense to spur people to sign up for broadband if the service wasn't available. State lawmakers have since passed a bill that allows the broadband council to distribute money for projects that increase the demand for broadband anywhere in West Virginia.

US Repeals Propaganda Ban, Spreads Government-Made News To Americans

For decades, a so-called anti-propaganda law prevented the U.S. government's mammoth broadcasting arm from delivering programming to American audiences. But on July 2, that came silently to an end with the implementation of a new reform passed in January. The result: an unleashing of thousands of hours per week of government-funded radio and TV programs for domestic U.S. consumption in a reform initially criticized as a green light for U.S. domestic propaganda efforts.

So what just happened? Until this month, a vast ocean of U.S. programming produced by the Broadcasting Board of Governors such as Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks could only be viewed or listened to at broadcast quality in foreign countries. The programming varies in tone and quality, but its breadth is vast: It's viewed in more than 100 countries in 61 languages. The topics covered include human rights abuses in Iran; self-immolation in Tibet; human trafficking across Asia; and on-the-ground reporting in Egypt and Iraq.

Emergency Access Advisory Committee Report on Gaps in NENA i3 NG 9-1-1 Specifications Related to EAAC Accessibility Reports

The Emergency Access Advisory Committee (EAAC) has worked since January 2011 to provide advice on accessibility of NG9-1-1 emergency services. As part of that work, EAAC has made efforts to foresee emergency accessibility requests and uses by persons with disabilities when NG9-1-1 is deployed.

EAAC has not constrained the examination to the functionality included in existing specifications of NG9-1-1, but has looked at the functional requirements and services required to support the needs of persons with disabilities. There are a number of gaps in the NENA i3 specification that need to be addressed before the EAAC recommendations can be implemented. Areas that require further attention include: support for interpreting, translating and other types of communications assistance services; handling of multimedia calls, support for text-based conversations, interoperability of voice calls, and support for TTY calls. This report on NENA i3 gaps does not claim to be comprehensive. Rather, it focuses on gaps that have become apparent during the work of the EAAC.

Internet lobby invites users to edit legislation line by line

A new website from the Internet Association, a lobbying group for Internet companies, lets users comment on and edit legislation important to the Internet industry. The site also includes information about contacting members of Congress and explains the group's stance on legislation. The Internet Association, which represents Google, Facebook, Amazon, eBay and others, unveiled the new site. Users can access the website's interactive features by clicking on the "Take Action" tab. Choosing the "Leave Your Mark" option lets users read and comment on legislation line-by-line. The two bills currently available are the Start-Up Act 3.0 and the I-Squared Act, which would both allow for more high-skilled immigrants to come to the United States.

Benton

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