October 2013

UK Creates New Regulator for the Press

The British government's plan to regulate the press cleared its final hurdle Oct 30 by gaining the formal consent of Queen Elizabeth. Her approval came just hours after a group of newspaper publishers, who said the plan could threaten press freedom, failed to block it with a last-ditch legal challenge.

Through a Royal Charter, a document issued by the queen, the government created an independent regulator empowered to make print publications that have voluntarily agreed to the charter issue apologies and/or corrections if they break its code of conduct. The regulator can impose fines of as much as £1 million ($1.6 million) for serious breaches. Though there is no penalty for publications that don't sign on to the charter, a publisher who doesn't could face greater liability, such as in libel cases.

Sprint’s Hesse Shows Off Post-SoftBank With a “Spark” of Speed

Sprint’s CEO Dan Hesse landed in Silicon Valley, in his most prominent appearance after the completion of the carrier’s $21.6 billion acquisition by Japan’s SoftBank for 80 percent of the company. That included the launch of six new devices on its network in November 2013 and a touting of a number of new features, especially its Sprint Spark, an offering of ultra-fast wireless data speeds that would be among the fastest around. The 60-megabits-per-second service is being deployed in five cities -- New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Tampa and Miami -- but hopes to be in 100 US cities over the next several years. The first smartphones that will be able to use Sprint Spark will include Samsung’s Galaxy Mega and S4 mini.

Former Facebook lawyer calls latest NSA revelations “shocking”

Facebook’s former top lawyer and chief privacy officer said he found “shocking” the scale of online data collection being conducted by the National Security Agency.

“It’s not shocking that the government or law enforcement is doing some monitoring but the scale that we’re seeing it today is pretty shocking,” Chris Kelly said. he said that before he joined Facebook, the company -- which at the time he joined had only 2.5 million users -- had only a rudimentary privacy policy. “When I got there, one issue we addressed was that we would get requests from the government for data,” he said. “There are situations where the government has legitimate reasons to request data, for terrorism investigations, but that has to be a very transparent process, as transparent as you can make it.”

Here’s why NSA officials never seem to stop talking about 9/11

National Security Agency talking points prepared to respond to the wave of leaks about surveillance practices advised officials to cite 9/11 to justify programs, according to a document obtained by Al Jazeera America via a Freedom of Information request.

Sept. 11 or 9/11 was mentioned 14 times during a House Intelligence Committee hearing about the leaks -- five of them from NSA Director Gen. Keith B. Alexander. In one of his early mentions, he gave the specific death count for the terrorist attack when explaining the origin of the programs: "How did we end up here? 9/11 -- 2,996 people were killed in 9/11."

Digital-media use to average 15.5 hours a day by 2015, study predicts

Americans are spending more time on their digital devices, and that won't change for years, according to a new study.

The University of Southern California report shows that Americans consume "an enormous amount" of media via television, radio, phone and computer, amounting to an average of 63 gigabytes per person per day in 2012. All told, total US media consumption reached 1.46 trillion hours in 2012, an average of 13.6 hours per person per day, a year-over-year increase of 5%. Those numbers are expected to increase in the coming years. By 2015, data indicate that Americans will consume media for more than 1.7 trillion hours, an average of 15.5 hours per person per day. Mobile messaging hours, which in 2012 accounted for about 9% of voice call hours, will double to more than 18% of voice hours, a year-over-year growth rate of more than 27%, the report said.

Annoyed Obama demands fix

An agitated President Barack Obama has expressed frustration to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius about the faulty ObamaCare enrollment website.

President Obama behind closed doors has made clear to Sec Sebelius that it’s her responsibility to fix what has become an unwanted second-term blunder, according to senior administration officials. White House officials say the strong words from President Obama don’t mean Sec Sebelius is necessarily in the doghouse, but that she’s responsible for fixing the problem. According to one senior administration official, “She’s in a tough spot. She’s on the hook.” “His management style isn’t to berate people,” one senior administration official said. “It’s to make people do better. It’s not just directed at Kathleen; it’s directed at everybody.” He had made clear, according to aides, that he would like Sec Sebelius to stay on while the website issues are resolved. “She and the team will get this done,” one senior administration official said, without predicting how long that might take.

Wheeler FCC Ready To Roll On

Former cable and wireless phone lobbyist Tom Wheeler will take the helm of the Federal Communications Commission as chairman on Nov. 4 following his requisite swearing in. An FCC source said Wheeler and Acting Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn spoke to discuss how best to orchestrate the changing of the guard. “They both talked about the importance of a smooth transition,” the source said.

No word yet on his staff, but Diane Cornell, vice president of government affairs for mobile satellite giant Inmarsat; Phil Verveer, a former State Department executive; and Ruth Milkman, chief of the FCC’s Wireless Bureau could play roles. Cornell, a former FCC staffer, worked as vice president of regulatory policy for Wheeler when he headed the wireless industry’s CTIA lobbying group in Washington. Verveer, who stepped down as deputy assistant secretary of state for international communications in January this year, is a former FCC Cable and Common Carrier Bureau chief and veteran communications lawyer.

CVAA: Cable Ops Won't Have to Provide New Guide Info

The Federal Communications Commission has decided not to require cable operators to add new information to their onscreen program guides as part of a congressional accessibility mandate, according to a source familiar with the as-yet unreleased rules for what is billed as the last major element of its implementation of the Communications Video Accessibility Act (CVAA).

Cable operators will have three years from the Office of Management and Budget's sign-off of the implementation order to comply, but mid-sized and smaller operators will have up to five years. The rules deal with the accessibility for the blind and visually impaired of onscreen guides, and does not require that all boxes be compliant, only that compliant devices be made available upon request. While larger cable operators will have three years to comply, the FCC will allow systems with 400,000 or fewer subs and not owned by one of the two largest operators up to five years to comply -- they must request an extension--and systems of 20,000 or fewer subs no matter who owns them.

Sen. Franken calls transparency hearing with Google and 'top administration officials'

On the heels of the most recent National Security Agency revelations, Sens Al Franken (D-MN) and Dean Heller (R-NV) have announced a new hearing for their transparency bill, slated for November 18, 2013.

The hearing will bring together top administration officials, privacy experts and, most importantly, a representative from Google, which is said to be reeling from news that surveillance agencies collected unencrypted data from its internal network. "While I personally believe that the practice of bulk data collection should be eliminated, the government can at least take immediate steps to increase transparency in programs that have many Americans suspicious," Sen Franken said in a statement.

Senate Delay on FCC Commissioners Shows Need for New Rules Around Confirmations

The Senate’s slow path to confirming two new members of the Federal Communications Commission strengthens the case for new rules reforming the filibuster and stripping individual senators of the power to delay or block action on both nominations and legislation, Common Cause said.

Tom Wheeler, the new FCC chairman, and new commissioner Michael O’Rielly "were screened and endorsed by a bipartisan majority in the Commerce Committee," Copps said. "The delays they experienced speak again to the crying need for rules reform. It’s past time for the Senate to behave like a responsible legislative body, one in which presidential nominees are thoroughly but promptly scrutinized and either confirmed or defeated based on their fitness for office." Wheeler’s nomination has been ready for a floor vote since July 2013 but action on both him and O’Rielly was delayed for weeks when Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) used a Senate custom to put a "hold” on Wheeler. "It’s a sad state of affairs when a minority of the minority party in the Senate can paralyze government," said Copps, a former FCC commissioner.

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