September 2013

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS

INTERNET SOS
[SOURCE: Huffington Post, AUTHOR: Timothy Karr]
[Commentary] We recently learned that US and British intelligence agencies have broken the back of digital encryption -- the coded technology hundreds of millions of Internet users rely on to keep their communications private. Government and corporate forces often work together to chip away the two pillars of the open Internet: our ability to control our personal data and our right to connect and communicate without censorship or interference. Many of the companies that ply this trade are only now being exposed through "Spyfiles," collaboration among WikiLeaks, Corporate Watch and Privacy International designed to shed light on the multibillion-dollar industry. According to the latest documents provided by Edward Snowden, US intelligence agencies alone spend $250 million each year to use these companies' commercial security products for mass surveillance. It's part of a sprawling complex of companies, lobbyists and government officials seeking to rewire the Internet in ways that wrest control over content away from Internet users. The Internet wasn't meant to be like this. Bruce Schneier, an encryption fellow at Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet and Society, says that the NSA and the companies it works with are "undermining the very fabric of the Internet." It's a business that puts at risk the most integral function of the World Wide Web. Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the Web's pioneer, saw the network as a "blank canvas" -- upon which anyone could contribute, communicate and innovate without permission. Without safeguards that protect users from surveillance and censorship, the Internet's DNA will change in ways that no longer foster openness, free expression and innovation. We need media policies that protect our privacy and promote access to open networks.
benton.org/node/159265 | Huffington Post
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

NSA HAS LONG ROLE AS TOP US LOCKSMITH, LOCK-PICKER
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Jack Gillum, Raphael Satter]
Years ago, back when computer users were dialing up the Internet, civilian government scientists already were expressing concerns about the National Security Agency's role in developing global communication standards, according to documents reviewed by The Associated Press. The records mirror new disclosures, based on classified files 24 years later that the NSA sought to deliberately weaken Internet encryption in its effort to gather and analyze digital intelligence. But even if the NSA's campaign to loosen the world's digital locks has a long pedigree, experts say the fact that encryption has moved out of embassy cypher rooms and into the mainstream means there's much more at stake. Cryptographers say that the weaknesses left by the NSA might one day be used by America's rivals in Moscow or Beijing — or even savvy cybercriminals, if the loopholes aren't being used already. "What one person can discover, another person can discover. In the end, somebody will figure it out," said Ben Laurie, a core developer behind OpenSSL, a protocol that helps protect a big chunk of the world's Internet users from fraudulent websites, credit-card scams and identity theft. "If you deliberately weaken stuff, it will come back to bite you." The tactics exposed in the newly revealed classified documents — deliberately weakening or installing hidden "back doors" in widely-used encryption protocols — have distressed academics and practitioners alike.
benton.org/node/159268 | Associated Press
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

WHY THE NSA LOVES GOOGLE’S CHROMEBOOK
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Sean Gallagher]
[Commentary] Intel and Google are announcing an upcoming onslaught of new Google Chromebooks based on Intel's Haswell architecture processors. The idea of a cloud-tethered notebook that can keep its owner connected over Wi-Fi and broadband all day long—in some cases for less than the price of a shiny new Apple iPhone—is going to be awfully appealing to many. And without a doubt, no one will be happier than the National Security Agency (NSA) and law enforcement. While Google's cloud computing has provided a platform for the company to grab a big chunk of the low-cost notebook market and upend Microsoft's Windows applecart, the recent NSA leaks by Edward Snowden have put the cloud under... a cloud. The revelations about the NSA and FBI's PRISM program have added new doubts, particularly outside the US, about the wisdom of putting everything in Google's (or any other cloud provider's) basket. Furthermore, the Chromebook is everything a government watchman could want—even without Google Apps data and Gmail, it could give those with network monitoring capabilities a way to pinpoint the location of a credential-holder via 4G wireless (thanks, Verizon). If recent revelations from Brazil are correct, Chromebook plus a government-forged Google certificate equals a man-in-the-middle attack against the SSL security of Google's services—and a way for the government to read all of your e-mails and documents as they pass back and forth through an Internet chokepoint to and from your browser.
benton.org/node/159266 | Ars Technica
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

RUPPERSBERGER, ROGERS BLAST MEDIA ON NSA
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Dylan Byers]
Reps. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) and Mike Rogers (R-MI) accused the media of having severely damaged the country's national security by publishing National Security leaks. At the Intelligence and National Security Alliance's annual summit, Rep Rogers even said that part of the reason Vladimir Putin decided to run an Op-Ed in the New York Times was because the media was working against the country's interests by publishing the leaks. "There’s a reason Putin decided to put an Op-Ed in the New York Times. He knows America is on a feeding frenzy on itself and he would love to join in on the game," Rep Rogers said. “This has been the most frustrating series of weeks and candidly, the damage is growing by the day. There are certain things the newspapers are publishing that have nothing to do with privacy issues – nothing. They’re providing our adversaries valuable, valuable information."
benton.org/node/159328 | Politico
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

MARKEY EXPANDS PROBE INTO POLICE ACCESS TO CELLPHONE DATA
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Brendan Sasso]
Sen Ed Markey (D-MA) is expanding his investigation into how often police acquire personal data from cellphone carriers. Last year, as a member of the House, then-Rep Markey sent letters to the major cellphone carriers to gather statistics about police access to cellphone data. He discovered that, in 2011, police made 1.3 million requests for information, such as text messages, location data, call logs and "cell tower dumps," in which the wireless carriers provided police with all of the phone numbers that connected to a particular cell tower in a period of time. Sen. Markey sent another round of letters to the cell carriers, asking for updated and more detailed information. "There are legal, constitutional and privacy implications of sharing consumers’ mobile telephone information. We need to know what is being collected and the legal authorities by which law enforcement is requesting the records, possibly of innocent people being swept up as part of these digital dragnets," he said.
benton.org/node/159333 | Hill, The | New York Times
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

PAI: IF THE UN KEEPS TRYING TO REGULATE THE WEB, WE SHOULD CONSIDER PULLING FUNDING
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Brian Fung]
The United States should consider withdrawing its funding from the International Telecommunications Union if the United Nations agency keeps trying to assert regulatory authority over the Internet, suggests Federal Communications Commission member Ajit Pai. He hinted that the intergovernmental body’s proposed rules — which critics say gives governments more power to censor the Web — may have put the group’s future in jeopardy. “If the organization decides to become an international regulatory authority for the Internet, we will have to ask ourselves whether the United States should remain one of its top two funders.”
benton.org/node/159279 | Washington Post
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

INTERNET/BROADBAND

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY OF THE NET NEUTRALITY ORAL ARGUMENT
[SOURCE: Public Knowledge, AUTHOR: Gigi Sohn]
[Commentary] While some have portrayed the likely outcome of the DC Circuit Court’s oral argument on Verizon’s challenge to the Federal Communications Commission’s Open Internet order as a victory for anti-network neutrality forces and a loss for its supporters, the reality is much more complicated. There are some pretty clear takeaways, some good, some bad and some just plain ugly.
The good: if you are someone who thinks the FCC should be able to protect consumers and promote competition with regard to broadband, there seemed to be little appetite from the judges to question seriously the FCC’s power (or “authority”) to regulate broadband Internet access under Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. If the oral argument is any indication, then one of our biggest fears will likely not be realized – that the FCC would be rendered completely irrelevant.
The Bad: It would be bad for both the Internet and its users if the FCC were to win the war over authority but lose the battle over network neutrality. What good is having authority over broadband access if you cannot use it to keep the Internet an open network where the biggest companies and the smallest start-ups have an equal opportunity to succeed?
The ugly: What is most ugly is that the FCC is responsible for the position in which it now finds itself. Had the FCC bit the bullet and treated broadband Internet access providers as “telecommunications services” subject to common carrier obligations when it adopted the rules in 2010, the common carriage/non-common carriage distinction would be irrelevant.
benton.org/node/159274 | Public Knowledge
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

TECH LEADERS: THE INTERNET OF THE FUTURE WILL NEED DC ASSIST
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Jessica Meyers]
The “Internet of things” may incite policymaker panic — but DC is critical to its success, tech leaders agreed. “The challenge for Washington is understanding when they can and can’t be helpful in that process,” said former-Sen John Sununu, current INSPIRE STEM USA Coalition co-chairman. “There is a role for doing what government can and should do to foster this environment.” The increasing digital connection to everyday lives — from the tracking chip in a runner’s shoe to the app that controls a home thermostat 15 miles away — remains a largely unregulated market. And it’s one that will require a proactive approach, said Alex Torpey, a proponent of open government. Otherwise, “the regulation that will come on the heels of [significant changes] are going to be much more restrictive than they need to be because we don’t know what is going to happen next.”
benton.org/node/159264 | Politico
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

WIRELESS/SPECTRUM

COMING TO A NETWORK NEAR YOU - 700 MHZ INTEROPERABILITY . . . MAYBE
[SOURCE: CommLawBlog, AUTHOR: Tony Lee]
For years, the build-out process for 700 MHz wireless networks has been slowed because of interoperability concerns. The Federal Communications Commission has made noises about possible regulatory resolutions, but so far those noises have not turned into agency action. So now a couple of the private players have announced their own solution. FCC Acting Chairwoman Clyburn has loudly proclaimed that that “solution will resolve the lack of interoperability in the lower 700 MHz band in the most efficient manner”. But heads up – as the Chairwoman correctly notes, this is a “voluntary industry solution.” AT&T and DISH both have made certain commitments subject to certain conditions. AT&T’s letter is the more interesting of the two as it contains very positive developments for 700 MHz interoperability if fully realized. DISH offers to implement voluntary power reductions to make the whole deal work. But as a condition to making good on its interoperability “commitments,” AT&T is insisting that the FCC adopt an order by December 31, 2013 requiring that all E block licensees transmitting a signal with an emission bandwidth greater than one megahertz are restricted to an ERP of 1,000 to 2,000 watts/MHz and an antenna height of 305 meters above average terrain. And if the Commission doesn’t adopt such an order by December 31, or if it does adopt such an order but the order is subject to appellate review, then AT&T “reserves the right to declare these commitments null and void”.
benton.org/node/159272 | CommLawBlog
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

NEW REPORT ON THE ADOPTION OF MOBILE AND SOCIAL LOCATION-BASED SERVICES
[SOURCE: Pew Internet and American Life Project, AUTHOR: Kathryn Zickuhr]
The role of location in digital life is changing as growing numbers of Internet users are adding a new layer of location information to their posts, and a majority of smartphone owners use their phones’ location-based services. This report sheds light on three major aspects of how location figures in digital life:
Many people use their smartphones to navigate the world: 74% of adult smartphone owners ages 18 and older say they use their phone to get directions or other information based on their current location.
There is notable growth in the number of social media users who are now setting their accounts to include location in their posts: Among adult social media users ages 18 and older, 30% say that at least one of their accounts is currently set up to include their location in their posts, up from 14% who said they had ever done this in 2011.
There is a modest drop in the number of smartphone owners who use “check in” location services: Some 12% of adult smartphone owners say they use a geosocial service to “check in” to certain locations or share their location with friends, down from 18% in early 2012.
Taken together, these trends show the ascent of location awareness and the role it might play in the life of users—and the technology companies that are scrambling to provide more alert-style applications that tell people who and what is near them.
benton.org/node/159271 | Pew Internet and American Life Project
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

WHY DOES APPLE CHARGE SO MUCH FOR ITS IPHONES?
[SOURCE: Fortune, AUTHOR: Philip Elmer-DeWitt]
The short answer for why Apple charges so much for its iPhones -- e.g. $549 for the new iPhone 5C that most analysts expected would sell for somewhere between $300 and $400 -- is that it can. "Anybody would if they could," writes Horace Dediu on his Asmyco blog. "The right question should be: why does anybody pay this much?" The operators who pay Apple's steep prices do so because the iPhone helps move users to higher revenue data services. Dediu reaches this overall conclusion in his analysis: “The iPhone could thus be finally understood as a complex service business. It captures value through the phone bill but delivers value through a screen…. It's essentially tapping into the $1.3 trillion communications market, skimming profits by delivering the 'content' which lights up the wires. It's great except it does not work everywhere. Not yet at least. The complexity of services means that they are usually found in more advanced so-called service economies and rare in less developed so-called goods economies."
benton.org/node/159263 | Fortune
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

TELECOM

PREPARED REMARKS OF ACTING FCC CHAIRWOMAN MIGNON CLYBURN
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn]
In a country where there are more mobile connections than people, most of us take communications services for granted. It is sometimes easy to forget, that there are millions of low-income consumers, who simply cannot afford phone service. But there are. And that is where Lifeline comes in. The Universal Service Fund’s Lifeline program has been instrumental in increasing the number of low-income consumers, with telephone access. By providing a modest monthly subsidy of less than $10 per month to needy consumers, Lifeline has significantly increased the overall penetration rate for phone service in this nation. But Lifeline has been under attack as of late, and what the critics always fail to mention, is what one major provider shared with us: That its most typical Lifeline customer, is a middle-aged grandmother, raising her grandchildren, on only $12,000 per year. In 1984, 80 percent of low-income households had telephone service, compared with 95 percent of non-low-income households. With Lifeline, that 15 percent gap was narrowed to four percent by 2012. As a result, the overall telephone penetration rate in the US also has risen. Those most vocal in their attacks on Lifeline, assert that the Universal Service Fund is funding free cell phones for people who don’t really need the service. This is an Urban Myth. First, the program does not support phones – it only supports telephone service – a distinction that is important. Second, this program is a significant benefit to about 14 million families, who otherwise could not afford phone service. It connects them to 911, social services, health care providers, and job opportunities. Without this program, approximately millions of low-income families would have to choose between feeding their children or going without a dial tone that potentially could save their lives, and put them on a better economic path. During the Bush administration, Lifeline was expanded to include cellphone service, but today, some critics seem to want to relegate Lifeline subscribers, to only a wired service. This does not make any sense. For starters, often it is Lifeline subscribers who are most in need of a mobile connection. To what home would the phone service of a homeless family be affixed? How is someone between several part-time, low-skilled jobs to communicate with their childcare provider without a mobile phone? How is someone seeking to pick up additional shifts on a work site to be contacted on short-notice without a wireless connection? Making Lifeline a wired-only program is taking a major step backwards and ignores the critical telecommunications of needy Americans and is out of step with the communications evolution. While it’s true that reforms were necessary, it’s counter-productive to eliminate support for one technology, thereby abandoning the Commission’s commitment to technology neutrality and competition for and among low-income consumers, due to some bad actors who didn't respect our rules.
benton.org/node/159335 | Federal Communications Commission
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

VERIZON BACKS AWAY FROM VOICE LINK
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Patrick McGeehan]
After facing numerous complaints from residents of Fire Island, Verizon has backed away from its plan to use a wireless device to replace traditional phone service in areas where it would rather not repair its old copper wires. After Hurricane Sandy, Verizon asked state regulators in New York for permission to substitute Voice Link, a home phone service that carries calls on a cellular network, for what it refers to as “plain old telephone service.” The first place in the state it tried broad use of Voice Link was on the west end of Fire Island, a resort community on the Atlantic Ocean that incurred heavy damage in the late October storm. Verizon had hoped to use Fire Island as an example of how Voice Link could be installed in other areas of the state where its network of copper wires was damaged by storms or deemed too costly to repair or maintain. The regulators said they would monitor the results and decide later this year. But Verizon did not wait for the final results. It conceded defeat this week and said it would start laying fiber-optic cable that would restore home phone service and Internet access. The company also withdrew its request to the state Public Service Commission for permission to use Voice Link as a permanent substitute for traditional home phone service elsewhere in the state.
benton.org/node/159346 | New York Times
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

CONTENT

ROYALTIES DEAL
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Ben Sisario]
For decades, Clear Channel Communications and other big radio companies have fought fiercely to avoid paying record companies for songs they played on the air. But with the business going digital, Clear Channel is now eager to make a trade. The company announced a deal with the Warner Music Group that would for the first time allow the label and its acts to collect royalties when their songs were played on Clear Channel’s 850 broadcast stations. In exchange, Clear Channel will receive a favorable rate in the growing but expensive world of online streaming. Warner, the smallest of the three major labels, will also get extensive promotion for its acts, which include Bruno Mars, CeeLo Green, Coldplay and Green Day. Over the last year, Clear Channel has struck a number of similar licensing deals with smaller companies, including Taylor Swift’s label, Big Machine. But Warner is the first major company to do so, and the deal highlights both the importance of streaming and the continuing debate in the music industry over how music should be licensed and paid for. For Clear Channel, these deals are a bet on the future of digital radio, as well as an attempt to control its costs.
benton.org/node/159347 | New York Times | House Commerce GOP
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

THE LAW THAT GAVE US THE MODERN INTERNET, AND THE CAMPAIGN TO KILL IT
[SOURCE: The Atlantic, AUTHOR: Derek Khanna]
[Commentary] In 1996, Congress cleared the way for the modern Internet with a single short statute. Technically, it was known as Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. But you can think of it as the law that gave us websites like Reddit, Craigslist, Digg, and perhaps all of social media. Section 230 states, essentially, that websites cannot be sued or prosecuted for content posted by their visitors. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has called Section 230 “the most important law protecting Internet speech.” But section 230 has also been economically powerful, perhaps in ways Congress couldn’t have foreseen. It was simple and intuitive to understand for entrepreneurs and didn’t require a lawyer to implement. As a result, it has functioned as a permission slip for the whole Internet that says: “Go innovate.” Entrepreneurs have responded by founding the user-generated content sites we know and love today. If Capitol Hill is interested in supporting the next great generation of entrepreneurs, it would be wise to look at laws like section 230 as a model for the future. We need more permission slips for innovators, and fewer vague and legally treacherous regulations that stop them in their tracks.
benton.org/node/159327 | Atlantic, The
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

STORIES FROM ABROAD

CARRIERS WARY OF AT&T IN EUROPE
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Marie Mawad, Matthew Campbell, Amy Thomson]
Europe’s biggest phone companies have put the brakes on a flurry of asset sales as they brace for the likely entry by AT&T into the $313 billion market. Deutsche Telekom and Orange SA of France, among those evaluating options, have slowed an effort to sell their 50-50 UK wireless venture known as EE, according to people with knowledge of the matter,. To the south, Telefonica SA (TEF) is using a planned exit by its partners in Telecom Italia to seek greater influence in the former monopoly with businesses in Brazil and Argentina. Vodafone Group’s $130 billion agreement this month to exit its US venture with Verizon Communications has made the UK mobile-phone company a potential takeover candidate for AT&T. A new owner of Vodafone, with more than 140 million customers in 14 European countries including Germany, the UK and Spain, would instantly become the region’s biggest mobile carrier and may trigger a series of mergers and acquisitions.
benton.org/node/159336 | Bloomberg
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

Benton

Search

Benton

Daily Digest

Analysis

September 2013

Acting Chairwoman Clyburn's Response to Senators McCain and Blumenthal Regarding Sports Blackout Rules

Acting Chairwoman Clyburn's Response to Senator Menendez and Rep. Pallone Regarding WWOR-TV

Acting Chairwoman Clyburn's Response to Senator Manchin Regarding Lightsquared

Weekly Digest

Celebrating National Lifeline Awareness Week in Washington and California

Op-ed

Net Neutrality Delayed, Net Neutrality Denied

Weekly Digest

Can the FCC promote broadband competition, innovation, and investment? The courts and Congress to decide

September 13, 2013 (Lifeline program is a legacy President Reagan could be proud of)