July 2013

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS

NSA LEGAL BATTLE
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Hayley Tsukayama]
The Electronic Privacy Information Committee has filed a complaint with the Supreme Court questioning whether the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court had the authority to order Verizon to turn over data from domestic phone records. EPIC executive Marc Rotenberg said that EPIC, as a Verizon customer, has a right to ask the court to overturn the order. “We are just one of millions of Verizon customers and others who have made similar claims,” Rotenberg said. The privacy group joins several other organizations that have filed lawsuits objecting to the NSA’s surveillance program. In addition to several cases filed by the American Civil Liberties Union at state and district levels, Google and Microsoft have both challenged gag orders that prevent them from disclosing what data they are forced to give the government under a separate surveillance program, called PRISM. The companies say that the gag order inhibits their First Amendment right to free expression. The ACLU, Electronic Frontier Foundation digital rights group, First Amendment Coalition and others filed an amicus brief supporting Google and Microsoft with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. The group said that the firms have faced public criticism for disclosing data to the government and that it is “antithetical to the First Amendment to restrict the ability of a person to mount a defense against public accusations by responding with speech setting forth the truth about one’s own actions.”
benton.org/node/155359 | Washington Post
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PRIVACY AND CIVIL LIBERTIES OVERSIGHT BOARD
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Jennifer Martinez]
The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board will hold its first-ever public workshop to discuss the controversial surveillance programs used by the National Security Agency to cull phone records and monitor Internet traffic. The independent board will hold a series of panels throughout the day that will examine the surveillance programs through a legal, tech and policy lens. This is the first time the board has been in action after it faced a set of delays with Senate confirmations and will be the first test on whether it can influence policymaking. David Medine, the chairman of the board who was just confirmed in May, will start off the daylong event with opening remarks. Top legal and civil liberties experts will participate on the panels, including American Civil Liberties Union Deputy Legal Director Jameel Jaffer and former Justice Department official James Baker. Also participating during one of the panels will be James Robertson, who formerly served on the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court that's at the heart of scrutiny over the surveillance programs. Marc Rotenberg, the executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), said the PCLOB "plays an absolutely vital role in raising issues that need to be raised" in regards to the government's efforts to conduct surveillance aimed at thwarting terrorist attacks.
benton.org/node/155357 | Hill, The
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INDIA’S CMS
[SOURCE: Quartz, AUTHOR: Nandagopal Nair]
India doesn’t seem to worry that the surveillance scandal recently rocking the US might perturb its own citizens. The country is going ahead with an ambitious program that will let it monitor any one of its 900 million telecom subscribers and 120 million internet users. The Centralised Monitoring System (CMS) will be operational in 10 of the country’s 22 telecom “circles” (i.e., regions) by the end of the year. The far-reaching surveillance program rivals the worst in the world, and makes the US National Security Agency (NSA) look like a model of restraint.
benton.org/node/155271 | Quartz
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OPEN GOVERNMENT/GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE

SMARTER, MORE INNOVATIVE GOVERNMENT
[SOURCE: The White House, AUTHOR: Steve VanRoekel, Todd Park]
President Barack Obama held a meeting with his Cabinet and senior officials to lay out his vision for building a better, smarter, faster government over the course of his second term. During the meeting, the President directed Cabinet members and key officials in his Administration to build on the progress made over the first term, and he challenged us to improve government even further. President Obama highlighted innovations taking place in our government that are already making a difference:
Digitizing disaster recovery: FEMA use of data analytics and internet/mobile apps to deliver better results: In response to Hurricane Sandy and the Oklahoma tornadoes, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) partnered with the U.S. Geological Survey, Civil Air Patrol, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to utilize imagery and data that identified inaccessible and destroyed homes, which enabled FEMA to expedite assistance funds to eligible applicants. FEMA has also succeeded in getting 304,000 survivors (57% of applicants) registered for assistance following Hurricane Sandy through internet and smartphone apps. The FEMA disaster recovery app also tell users how to assemble basic emergency kits and help them locate disaster recovery centers and apply for financial assistance following a disaster. This has enabled better, faster service delivered at lower costs.
Ushering out old technologies, bringing in new: The Administration has eliminated duplicative systems and accelerated the adoption of new technology used by agencies through “PortfolioStat”—a comprehensive look at agencies’ IT portfolios to identify savings. To date, the initiative has identified more than $2.5 billion in cost reductions. Read more about this effort in this blog post.
Opening government data to fuel innovation and problem-solving: For the first time in history, the Administration opened up huge amounts of government data to the American people, and put it on the internet for free. At Data.gov, you can search through and download more than 75,000 data sets – data on everything from what different hospitals charge for different procedures, to credit card complaints, to weather and climate measurements. And entrepreneurs and business owners are using that data to create jobs and solve problems that government can’t solve by itself. Learn more about the Open Data Initiative in this blog post.
benton.org/node/155323 | White House, The | President Obama
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OWNERSHIP

CABLE OWNERSHIP CONSOLIDATION
[SOURCE: Public Knowledge, AUTHOR: John Bergmayer]
[Commentary] People are buzzing about possible new consolidation in the cable industry. The reason isn't hard to see: in a market that is already very concentrated, only the strong survive. Programming costs keep rising and larger cable companies would have more leverage in negotiations against media giants like Viacom and Disney. As ISPs, larger cable companies would be better able to drive hard bargains with Internet content companies when it comes to interconnection agreements, or operate their own online video services. But bigger is not better for the public. It would be unfortunate if, in response to problems caused by excessive concentration up and down the media landscape, yet more companies consolidate. This "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" approach might serve the short-term interests of shareholders but it would not be good for consumers or the market as a whole. Media consolidation inevitably leads to less choice and higher prices for consumers, and fewer outlets for independent and diverse creators.
benton.org/node/155321 | Public Knowledge
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INTERNET/BROADBAND

BROADBAND CHURN
[SOURCE: telecompetitor, AUTHOR: Andrew Burger]
Results from Analysys Mason’s Connected Consumer 2013 survey indicate that broadband service providers could reduce annual rates of customer churn by as much as 3% if they were to provide “superfast” broadband services. The report draws on a survey of 6,610 consumers in Europe and the US. Among respondents who said they planned to leave their current broadband service provider in the next six months, 14% said they would do so because services weren’t fast enough. Upgrading these customers to higher speeds could reduce a typical service provider’s monthly churn rate from 1.4% to 1.2%, yielding a 3% reduction in churn annually, according to Analysys Mason. That’s about double the growth rate for major European broadband service operators, such as Deutsche Telekom or Telefonica in their domestic markets, the research firm said. Customers who take up higher-speed broadband services are more satisfied as well as less prone to churn than those with lower-speed services, Analysys Mason added. Though price elasticity does come into play, the market research firm could not find any relationship between the price premium on superfast services and customer take-up in any of the survey countries. The firm’s analysts attributed this to:
the availability of higher-speed services is limited in geographical terms (for example, the footprint of superfast broadband is restricted)
price competition for non-superfast broadband drives the price down, so the superfast price premium can be high but still affordable for consumers
superfast is driven by both operator and demand-side factors
benton.org/node/155319 | telecompetitor
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CYBERSECURITY

FEDERAL STANDARDS BODY PROPOSES CYBER PROTOCOLS FOR PRIVATE SECTOR
[SOURCE: nextgov, AUTHOR: Aliya Sternstein]
The U.S. government has released preliminary guidelines for key industries on how to shield company systems from destructive attacks that could, for example, knock out electricity or halt transportation. The voluntary rubric homes in on the upper echelon of firms. The rationale being that information technology managers can't bolster security without financial and leadership support from top officials, such as board directors. The plan includes an information flow chart with five "functions" -- factors that affect companies’ vulnerability levels, including the degree to which firms know, prevent, detect, respond, and recover from threats. Each function includes sub-factors such as contingency planning for the recover category. There also is space to enter relevant industry standards and other existing guidelines, which are provided in a separate document. Once a firm fills out the flowchart with applicable information, then there is another chart intended to illustrate the company's current security status. Each of the five factors is broken down by job position: senior leader, business process manager and operations manager. For the contingency planning subcategory, a senior leader at a company with low-level security might write, for instance, "I'm not sure about redundancy for my critical data," while a firm with a stronger security posture might write, "There is a clear strategic plan in place for the protection of critical data and essential services." An operations manager who works at a firm with low-level security might write, "My organization's critical data is contained in one location."
benton.org/node/155297 | nextgov
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USING CYBERWEAPONS
[SOURCE: Quartz, AUTHOR: Kevin Delaney]
The US government doesn’t like to talk about it, but it has developed an arsenal of cyber-weapons that can be used to attack adversaries. Why doesn’t it deploy computer worms and other technologies for disrupting enemies’ networks and computer-controlled physical infrastructure more often in conflicts around the world? Mike McConnell, vice chairman at government contractor Booz Allen Hamilton and former head of the National Security Agency and US director of National Intelligence, says the US has the best capabilities in the world for cyber-attacking and “can do some pretty significant damage if we choose to.” But the government hesitates because it’s wary of making itself an even bigger target for cyber-attacks against the US, according to McConnell.
benton.org/node/155291 | Quartz
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TELECOM

TELCOS ABANDON COPPER PHONE LINES
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Peter Svensson]
Robert Post misses his phone line. Post, 85, has a pacemaker that needs to be checked once a month by phone. But the copper wiring that once connected his home to the rest of the world is gone, and the phone company refuses to restore it. In October 2012, Superstorm Sandy pushed the sea over Post's neighborhood in Mantoloking, N.J., leaving hundreds of homes wrecked, and one floating in the bay. The homes on this sandy spit of land along the Jersey Shore are being rebuilt, but Verizon doesn't want to replace washed-away lines and waterlogged underground cables. Phone lines are outdated, the company says. Mantoloking is one of the first places in the country where the traditional phone line is going dead. For now, Verizon, the country's second-largest landline phone company, is taking the lead by replacing phone lines with wireless alternatives. But competitors including AT&T have made it clear they want to follow. It's the beginning of a technological turning point, representing the receding tide of copper-wire landlines that have been used since commercial service began in 1877.
benton.org/node/155339 | Associated Press
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FIRE ISLAND BECOMES TEST CASE
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Scott Moritz & Todd Shields]
Roni Elovitch replaced furniture and rebuilt walls in her home after Superstorm Sandy submerged parts of Fire Island, New York. She’s dismayed Verizon Communications won’t embark on a post-hurricane refurbishing of its own. “They want to abandon us because it would be more cost-effective,” Elovitch said at the deck railing of her Bayberry Walk home in Ocean Beach. Fire Island itself is small: a narrow, 32-mile (50-kilometer) stretch of barrier beach on Long Island’s south shore with about 300 permanent residents and tens of thousands around now, when it becomes a haven for trendy New Yorkers. The issue there, however, is large, steeped in history and with implications for phone customers nationwide. Back in 1934, the U.S. government required carriers to offer home-phone service to all households. The policy, carried on copper wire for decades, helped extend telecommunications technology to remote and rural areas across the country. The storm destroyed the copper wiring on Fire Island. Instead of replacing it, Verizon offered every resident a wireless alternative it calls Voice Link. Elovitch and others complain about call delays and echoes on Link -- and are even more upset that they have to use a wireless technology for Internet access, for an extra fee.
benton.org/node/155337 | Bloomberg
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VERIZON WIRELINE SERVICE IN NEW YORK
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Joe Brodkin]
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman accused Verizon of trying to "depart from a century of telephone service regulation" by ending wireline telephone service in a part of Fire Island devastated by Hurricane Sandy in October, 2012. In addition, Schneiderman has accused Verizon of violating a state order by telling customers outside of Fire Island that they should accept wireless phone service instead of repairs to their landline service. He says Verizon should be fined $100,000 per customer, per day. Verizon says it has not violated the state order, and that its offer of wireless service outside Fire Island is strictly optional. Verizon is, however, trying to gain state approval to end wireline service entirely in western Fire Island.
benton.org/node/155305 | Ars Technica
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LIFELINE REFORM IN CALIFORNIA
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Marc Lifsher]
A key California state Senate committee is backing phone giant AT&T in a clash with regulators over how to update the state's LifeLine program that provides cut-rate phone service for 1.2 million low-income consumers who now must use old-fashioned land lines. The Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee voted 6 to1 to support a bill turning LifeLine into a voucher system, providing discounts on phone services and getting rid of most oversight by the California Public Utilities Commission. The bill goes to the Senate Appropriations Committee in August. Users now pay about $7 a month for a LifeLine package of basic services determined by the PUC. Lifeline, similar to other state programs providing lower-cost electricity and natural gas service for the poor, is financed by ratepayers through a small surcharge on monthly bills. The commission is wrapping up plans to expand Lifeline so that participants, say a couple making $25,000 a year, can get affordable cellphone service along with features currently available from the landline program, such as free access to toll-free numbers and unlimited incoming calls. Instead, AT&T — a Sacramento lobbying powerhouse — and other telecommunications companies want to offer participants $11.85 worth of discounts a month, but leave the monthly phone charge to be set by the phone companies, not the PUC.
benton.org/node/155343 | Los Angeles Times
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WIRELESS/SPECTRUM

HANDSET SUBSIDIES
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: David Meyer]
According to no less an authority than the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), so-called “subsidized handsets” don’t generally work out to be cheaper. Yes, that “free” phone you get when you sign up to a two-year contract isn’t actually free. Agustin Diaz-Pines of the organization’s Directorate for Science, Technology and Industry argued that “handset subsidy” is a misleading term that should be replaced by references to “bundling”. The OECD compared the total cost of ownership of a phone-plus-contract bundle with that of a separate device and contract.
benton.org/node/155301 | GigaOm
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ADVERTISING

NEW COPPA RULES
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Marina Villeneuve]
Under regulations that went into effect July 1, websites catering to children will no longer be able to collect a range of identifying information without obtaining verifiable parental consent. The child protection regulations will now hold the owners of sites and apps frequented by children responsible for third-party services — such as plug-ins or ads — that collect personal information from visitors who say they're younger than 13. The third-party services will be held liable only if the FTC can prove they knowingly collected personal information from children. Kid-friendly websites that want to use such ads to provide free content to kids, or that want to collect personal information for interactive content, now have to either get parental consent or forgo the content altogether, as some tech experts worry they'll do.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-childrens-privacy-20130709,0,28215...
FTC to Better Define New COPPA 'Actual Knowledge' Standard (Broadcasting&Cable)
benton.org/node/155345 | Los Angeles Times | Broadcasting&Cable
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AD CAMPAIGN
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Jeremy Peters]
Though many of its rules will not take effect for months, President Obama’s health care law is already the subject of an aggressive advertising campaign by Republicans to sow doubts about how it will work. In one of the largest campaigns of its kind, Americans for Prosperity, a conservative advocacy group financed in part by Charles and David Koch, will begin running television commercials this week asserting that the law will limit Americans’ health care choices. The group is spending more than $1 million on the campaign, which will initially include television advertising in Ohio and Virginia, along with online ads asking people to test their “Obamacare risk factors.”
benton.org/node/155313 | New York Times
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PRIVACY

AT&T PREPPING DATA SALES
[SOURCE: Fierce, AUTHOR: Mike Dano]
AT&T said it "may" begin selling anonymous information about its customers' wireless and Wi-Fi locations, U-verse usage, website browsing, mobile application usage and "other information" to other businesses. The carrier said it will protect its customers' privacy by providing the data in aggregate so it cannot be used to identify an individual. The carrier also said its customers can opt out of the program. AT&T disclosed its plans in an update to its privacy policy. The carrier provided some examples as to how it might sell its customers' usage and location data:
Reports for retail businesses that show the number of wireless devices in or near their store locations by time of day and day of the week, together with demographic characteristics of the users (such as age and gender) in those groups.
Reports that combine anonymous U-verse TV viewing behaviors with other aggregate information we may have about our subscribers to create reports that would help a TV network better understand the audiences that are viewing their programs, those that are not, how frequently they watch, when they watch, and other similar information; and
Reports for device manufacturers that combine information such as device type, make and model with demographic and regional location information to reflect the popularity of particular device types with various customer segments.
benton.org/node/155327 | Fierce
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STORIES FROM ABROAD

UK PRESS REGULATION
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Robert Budden]
The UK press has moved a step closer to setting up a body for self-regulation with the publication of draft documents outlining the structure of the “Independent Press Standards Organisation.” The move, which was attacked by Hacked Off, a victims lobbying group, could see a regulator set up in months, according to the newspaper executive leading the project. Paul Vickers, legal director at Trinity Mirror, told the BBC: “What we are doing is setting up a mechanism for creating a self-regulatory system. It will take some months to set up because we are following proper public appointment processes.” The body would have the power to impose fines of up to £1m for serious or systemic wrongdoing and to order upfront corrections, adopting many of the proposals outlined by the Leveson report on press standards and ethics. Hacked Off attacked the plans as “a cynical rebranding exercise” and a means to head off the creation of a regulator that has the backing of all three main political parties.
benton.org/node/155325 | Financial Times
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July 2013

Fail Cheaper, Fail Better

July 9, 2013 (Smarter, More Innovative Government)

Legal battle over NSA surveillance grows

Privacy, civil liberties board to consider NSA surveillance programs

The Laws You Can’t See

Regulators Examining Sales of Early Financial Data

The iPhone Hasn’t Saved T-Mobile USA Yet

10 Questions for Obama’s Chief Technology Officer

Hulu Attracts at Least Three Bids