October 9, 2013 (Let’s Build a More Secure Internet)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2013
Headlines live online at http://benton.org/headlines
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Surveillance court cases delayed due to shutdown
House Intel panel working on bill to save NSA spying
Let’s Build a More Secure Internet - op-ed
NSA Says It Has 'Mitigated' Meltdowns At Utah Data Farm [links to web]
Mystery of NSA billboards solved: BitTorrent 'fesses up [links to web]
Amazon Prevails in CIA Cloud Suit [links to web]
President Obama Holds Off-The-Record Meeting With Conservative Journalists
Russia to monitor 'all communications' at Winter Olympics in Sochi
Brazilians on Social Media at Fore of Free-Speech Battle
JOURNALISM
How the Press Helped Cause The GOP Shutdown - analysis
President Obama Holds Off-The-Record Meeting With Conservative Journalists
Old-Media Values in New-Media Venues - analysis [links to web]
The six most outlandish tech gimmicks used by TV news [links to web]
CYBERSECURITY
Cybersecurity reform going nowhere fast
Sen Chambliss: 'Very close' to introducing CISPA counterpart [links to web]
President should consult with Congress on rules for cyberattacks, Rep. Thornberry says [links to web]
Cybersecurity help wanes due to government shutdown
Will the shutdown drive cybersecurity experts away from the government?
INTERNET/BROADBAND
US Must Modernize Regulatory Framework to Spur High-Speed Broadband Deployment - press release
Saying 'Yes' to Broadband - editorial
The manufactured debate over global broadband rankings - op-ed
How we actually build Google Fiber - press release
Online sales tax would hurt minorities, women, says MMTC [links to web]
Internet-Connected Video Devices To Blow Past Global Population [links to web]
Will Industrial Internet create more jobs? GE thinks yes. [links to web]
SPECTRUM/WIRELESS
An Open Spectrum Auction Is Best for Consumers and Public Safety - op-ed
Enter The Quiet Zone: Where Cell Service, Wi-Fi Are Banned [links to web]
Ban on Import of Certain Samsung Devices Upheld [links to web]
TELEVISION
In Digital Era, What Does 'Watching TV' Even Mean? - analysis
NAMIC: Cable Industry Needs Greater Focus On Diversity [links to web]
‘PBS NewsHour’ Looks to Change Ownership [links to web]
CHILDREN AND MEDIA
Piracy fight taken into US kindergartens
ELECTIONS AND MEDIA
Supreme Court Again Weighs Spending Limits in Campaigns [links to web]
ADVERTISING
Could this Mad Plan Harm the Mad Man? - analysis [links to web]
HEALTH
How the tech-savvy Obama administration launched a busted healthcare website - analysis
IT experts: Healthcare.gov is still a mess [links to web]
Moving into the age of data [links to web]
COMMUNITY MEDIA
The first bookless library: BiblioTech offers only e-books
LOBBYING
Why Silicon Valley has been silent on the shutdown - analysis
STORIES FROM ABROAD
Russia to monitor 'all communications' at Winter Olympics in Sochi
Brazilians on Social Media at Fore of Free-Speech Battle
AT&T’s European Ambitions Include Regulatory Wish List
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
SURVEILLANCE COURT CASES DELAYED DUE TO SHUTDOWN
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Kate Tummarello]
Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, Facebook and LinkedIn will have to wait until the shutdown is over to see any movement on their lawsuits against the US government over surveillance transparency. In a motion to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), the Department of Justice and the companies said they are unable to work on the case during the shutdown and asked the court to postpone a Oct. 21 deadline. The cases center around the five companies' requests to the US government for the ability to tell their users more specific information about the surveillance requests they receive. The Department of Justice cannot discuss the case with the companies because of the shutdown, the motion said. This includes allowing the companies “to access classified information” in the government’s heavily redacted response filed recently. A new deadline will be set once the shutdown ends, FISC Judge Reggie Walton ruled in granting the motion.
benton.org/node/161781 | Hill, The
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NSA BILL
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Brendan Sasso, Kate Tummarello]
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-MI) hinted that his National Security Agency reform legislation would preserve the bulk of the agency's surveillance powers. He said he and ranking member Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) have held a series of meeting with their Senate counterparts, Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), to discuss the legislation. "We went over some of these confidence-builders to rebuild trust in these programs and at the end of the day still allow us to do it [conduct surveillance]," Chairman Rogers said. Privacy advocates are urging Congress to rein in the NSA's power in the wake of leaks by Edward Snowden, but Chairman Rogers argued that the surveillance programs are critical for thwarting terrorist attacks. He said his legislation would rebuild trust in the NSA by requiring "as much transparency as we can possibly get" and "showing the level of oversight."
benton.org/node/161794 | Hill, The
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BUILDING A MORE SECURE INTERNET
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Eli Dourado]
[Commentary] In the wake of the disclosures about the National Security Agency’s surveillance programs, considerable attention has been focused on the agency’s collaboration with companies like Microsoft, Apple and Google, which according to leaked documents appear to have programmed “back door” encryption weaknesses into popular consumer products and services like Hotmail, iPhones and Android phones. But while such vulnerabilities are worrisome, equally important — and because of their technical nature, far less widely understood — are the weaknesses that the NSA seems to have built into the very infrastructure of the Internet. The agency’s “upstream collection” capabilities, programs with names like Fairview and Blarney, monitor Internet traffic as it passes through the guts of the system: the cables and routers and switches. The concern is that even if consumer software companies like Microsoft and telecommunications companies like AT&T and Verizon stop cooperating with the NSA, your online security will remain compromised as long as the agency can still take advantage of weaknesses in the Internet itself. Fortunately, there is something we can do: encourage the development of an “open hardware” movement — an extension of the open-source movement that has led to software products like the Mozilla browser and the Linux operating system.
[Dourado is a research fellow with the technology policy program at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University]
benton.org/node/161793 | New York Times
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MEETING WITH JOURNALISTS
[SOURCE: Huffington Post, AUTHOR: Michael Calderone]
President Barack Obama met with a small group of conservative reporters, columnists and commentators at the White House for an off-the-record discussion. The group, according to a source familiar with the meeting, included Wall Street Journal editorial page editor Paul Gigot, National Review Washington editor Robert Costa, Washington Examiner columnist Byron York, syndicated columnist Kathleen Parker and Washington Post columnist and Fox News contributor Charles Krauthammer. The meeting took place shortly after President Obama held a White House press conference in the briefing room. For over an hour, President Obama fielded questions from White House reporters, with the focus on the government shutdown and looming debt default. Later, he met with the conservative journalists for 90 minutes in the Roosevelt Room.
benton.org/node/161791 | Huffington Post
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JOURNALISM
HOW THE PRESS HELPED CAUSE THE GOP SHUTDOWN
[SOURCE: Media Matters for America, AUTHOR: Eric Boehlert]
[Commentary] What's been clear for years is that the press clings to its preferred storyline: When Republicans obstruct President Barack Obama's agenda, the President's to blame for not changing the GOP's unprecedented behavior. In other words, "both sides" are to blame for the GOP's radical actions and the epic gridlock it produces. The media lesson for Republicans? There's very little political downside to pushing extremism if the press is going to give the party a pass. Unfortunately, old press habits die hard and the "both-sides-are-to-blame" angle continues to be invoked by journalists who should know better. It does seem hard for mainstream reporters to drop the "both-sides-are-to-blame" angle. Yet every one of them must understand that that tired old trope doesn't apply to this weird Republican crack up.
benton.org/node/161769 | Media Matters for America
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CYBERSECURITY
CYBERSECURITY REFORM
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Tony Romm]
For all the bellowing in Washington over Chinese and Iranian cyberspies that are striking at lightning speed, Congress is still stuck slogging at a snail’s pace to offer any solution. A year after lawmakers failed to advance meaningful cybersecurity reform -- and months after President Barack Obama called on lawmakers to try again -- the critical task of fortifying the nation’s digital defenses remains so mired in politics that few now think it’s even possible this year. The Senate still doesn’t have a major cybersecurity bill. Disagreements continue to separate lawmakers in that chamber and in the House, which earlier this year ignored a presidential veto threat and passed a controversial measure allowing the government and private sector to share cyberthreat data. And those stalemates surfaced long before National Security Agency leaks from contractor Edward Snowden chilled practically every debate involving US intelligence. There’s been progress at the White House, which has worked to raise the security at power plants, major banks and other critical entities. But there’s only so much the Obama Administration can do without Congress. And it’s not like the president, in the midst of the bruising government shutdown fight, has the bandwidth to use the bully pulpit in defense of cybersecurity reform.
benton.org/node/161792 | Politico
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CYBERSECURITY HELP WANES DUE TO GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Byron Acohido]
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), assigned in February by executive order to lead information-sharing efforts for vital systems, has curtailed work groups, conferences and most other work, because of the government shutdown. That's bad news for the global cybersecurity community. “A downed national security and best practices site signals to the bad guys that federal online properties have been abandoned, with no one to mind the figurative store. Who knows what information NIST and other shuttered agencies house on their Web servers, or what vulnerabilities are going unpatched that criminals can take advantage of,” said Jeff Hudson, CEO of digital certificate management company Venafi. He added that if the government shutdown lasts for an extended period, “there will be an effect on its ability to provide critical and timely guidance. If no one is available to observe, research and report on cybersecurity incidents and situations, then organizations could end up being at a loss when it comes to future standards setting.” He did say that outside resources will continue to have access to NIST’s papers and bulletins.
benton.org/node/161772 | USAToday
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WILL THE SHUTDOWN DRIVE CYBERSECURITY EXPERTS AWAY FROM THE GOVERNMENT?
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Andrea Peterson]
A Q&A with Mike Carpenter, President for the Americas at cybersecurity company McAfee. How might the shutdown make government cybersecurity worse? Aside from skeleton crews managing networks in place of full staff during the government shutdown, Carpenter mentioned a particular challenge to cybersecurity caused by the government shutdown: a shortage of cybersecurity experts, who may, as a result of the shutdown, start to shy away from taking government jobs. “And the reason that someone would come to work for the government is most importantly support of the mission, but the second piece if you surveyed them would be about stability. I think the shutdown creates a bit of a gap in that belief about job security. With the shortage of workforce that you have and the demand you have for a cybersecurity workforce, I think it's going to open up some of the more talented cybersecurity experts to look at public versus privacy industry roles,” Carpenter said. “Whether you are at home or you're traveling, you're hearing a lot of people frustrated with what is happening in the political landscape. You combine that with the fact that they're at home, not working, wondering when this is going to stop, and it starts to have an impact and starts to threaten the core need of stability that they have in their life.”
benton.org/node/161782 | Washington Post
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
US MUST MODERNIZE REGULATORY FRAMEWORK TO SPUR HIGH-SPEED BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT
[SOURCE: Internet Innovation Alliance, AUTHOR: Press Release]
Outdated regulations that force companies to build and maintain obsolete copper-based legacy telephone networks are unnecessarily diverting investment away from modern broadband networks and services that 95% of US households prefer, desire and use. Policy scholar and communications industry analyst Dr. Anna-Maria Kovacs authored a new 45-page analysis, “Telecommunications Competition: The Infrastructure-Investment Race,” that examines the existing regulatory framework’s impact on the communications marketplace. The report finds that the overwhelming majority of US consumers rely on the use of smart wireless devices, cellphones, wired Internet-enabled VoIP services, and over-the-top Internet-enabled applications (i.e. Skype), far more than on traditional telephony to stay connected in today’s digital age. The study notes that 99% of all US communications traffic is now carried over these platforms in Internet Protocol, while legacy circuit-switched traffic is now less than 1% of traffic and likely to further decrease to a small fraction of 1% by 2017. Where incumbent telephone companies invest in IP over fiber-fed infrastructure they are gaining share against cable companies’ Internet-access and video, even as they lose subscribers in places where legacy services such as POTS and low-speed DSL are provided. To illustrate how the current regulatory framework is slowing investment in broadband infrastructure, one need only look at the incumbent telephone companies’ capital expenditures during the 2006 through 2011 period. Dr. Kovacs estimates that the incumbents spent a total of $154 billion on their communications networks. More than half of that was spent on maintaining fading legacy networks, leaving less than half to upgrade and expand their high-speed broadband networks. In contrast, cable providers, who are free from legacy network rules, spent a total of $81 billion in capital expenditures over the same six-year period, and were free to dedicate all of it to their broadband infrastructure.
benton.org/node/161766 | Internet Innovation Alliance
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SAYING YES TO BROADBAND
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Editorial staff]
[Commentary] Google's real innovation was to tunnel under the regulatory morass that inhibits physical broadband deployment. Why is Google introducing Google Fiber in Kansas City and not its native California? Google's own Milo Medin has explained repeatedly that regulatory brambles make California "prohibitively expensive." Kansas City not only is more business friendly, it slashed the taxes and mandates that municipalities inflict on cable and telco operators. Most crucial was allowing Google selectively to extend its network into neighborhoods where customers would make it worth Google's while. This is a regulatory revolution in a world where, to build out their cable systems, cable operators for decades have not only been dunned for economically unjustified franchise fees (read gratuitous taxes to plump up local government) but shakedowns for everything from youth centers to studios and equipment for government-run public access channels. Would that Washington were ready to join the clearing of obstacles to this new spurt of broadband competition. The truth is, competition has been more than adequate so far to police the Internet, and now competition is getting jacked up a serious notch as the video explosion stimulates a deluge of new investment. Now if the regulatory establishment would just take "yes" for an answer.
benton.org/node/161790 | Wall Street Journal
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GLOBAL BROADBAND RANKINGS
[SOURCE: American Enterprise Institute, AUTHOR: Gus Hurwitz]
[Commentary] The popular assertion is that the US is falling behind the rest of the world in broadband Internet service, that the collusive cable and telco monopolists are providing American consumers with subpar service, and that government intervention is needed to develop new infrastructure needed to keep the US competitive – both in terms of global rankings and in terms of the competitiveness of the broader economy. But two research papers were recently presented that argue that broadband Internet service in US compares quite well to that offered in the rest of the world. The data shows that US infrastructure is roughly on par with the rest of the world. It is a bit ahead by some metrics, and a bit behind in others. There are a few cases where the US is far behind – for instance, FTTH deployments in Japan and Korea. But in that metric, Japan and Korea are the outliers – those are the only two countries with substantial FTTH penetration, with the US and rest of the world falling into a tight band of penetration rates. And the Japanese and Korean rates result both from particular characteristics of those countries and questionably aggressive tax incentives. Additionally, Japan and Korea are largely disappointed with the uptake and subscription rates, suggesting a disappointing return on those investments. Things are not all rosy: there is a sizable falloff for rural speeds and penetration rates. But the gap between rural and urban rates has been closing quickly over the past decade. While advocates expressing alarm and need for intervention to improve rural rates may have had a compelling story a decade ago, the data strongly suggest that the market is already responding to these concerns. It’s a compelling, media- and public-friendly, narrative that supports a powerful political agenda. And the clear incentives, for academics and media alike, are to find problems and raise concerns. Manufacturing debate sells copy and ads, and advances careers.
[Hurwitz is an assistant professor at the University of Nebraska College of Law]
benton.org/node/161789 | American Enterprise Institute
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HOW WE ACTUALLY BUILD GOOGLE FIBER
[SOURCE: Google, AUTHOR: John Toccalino]
Today your Internet and TV service are probably connected to your home via copper wires. This technology has been around for over 100 years, and it just wasn’t built for what we’re trying to use it for today. My job with Google Fiber is to build thousands of miles of brand new fiber-optic cable, which is far better and faster than copper at transmitting information, such as the bits that make up your favorite websites, YouTube videos, video chats, or online games. Fiber-optic cables are made of glass, and they use lasers to transmit information — close to the speed of light! It’s amazing technology, but unfortunately very few homes have direct access to fiber networks today. That’s where my team comes in. Every day, we’re working to plan and build brand new Google Fiber networks in Kansas City and Austin. There are a few big steps:
Figure out where we can put our fiber. First, we use the infrastructure data that the city has shared with us to create a base map of where we can build (existing utility poles, conduit) and where we should avoid (water, sewer and electric lines). Then, a team of surveyors and engineers hits the streets to fill in any missing details.
Design the network. A hub-and-spoke design (30 utility poles per mile, for thousands of miles).
Build the network. Only once we have a solid plan can we get boots on the ground to start building our network. That’s when you’ll start to see crews out in the streets with their boom trucks, boring machines, and rolls of conduit and cables. [John Toccalino is construction manager at Google]
benton.org/node/161767 | Google
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SPECTRUM/WIRELESS
AN OPEN SPECTRUM AUCTION IS BEST FOR CONSUMERS AND PUBLIC SAFETY
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Leslie Marx]
[Commentary] The Federal Communications Commission will soon release guidelines for an incentive auction for wireless spectrum. The incentive auction that the FCC is currently designing will be unlike any prior auction for spectrum. The current owners of the spectrum (in this case, broadcasters) will offer spectrum for sale. However, like the auction of a piece of fine art, the sellers set the minimum price they are willing to accept for it. If the bidders (in this case, wireless carriers) do not meet the broadcasters’ price, the spectrum goes unsold, and the auction fails. If conducted properly, the Incentive Auction could bring tremendous benefits by enhancing wireless Internet and mobile phone capacity, raising billions of dollars in revenue for the US Treasury, and funding a dedicated public safety and first response network, which Congress established as a priority use for the proceeds of this auction. The spectrum to be auctioned has been estimated to be worth as much as $36 billion to wireless companies if it is sold in a fair, transparent and inclusive auction. But in this two-sided auction, the money raised from wireless carriers needs to pay for the broadcasters to give up their spectrum. If the FCC restricts Verizon and AT&T from bidding, the auction probably won’t raise as much money. Fewer broadcasters will sell less spectrum at lower prices with less new spectrum for mobile broadband and with less cash left over for the government. My analysis demonstrates that imposing restrictions on Verizon and AT&T could result in billions of dollars of lost revenue. In fact, if revenue falls below a certain level, the Incentive Auction could fail because there wouldn’t be enough money to pay the broadcasters to give up a useful amount of spectrum. [Leslie Marx, PhD, Professor, Duke University]
benton.org/node/161783 | Wall Street Journal
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TELEVISION
WATCHING TV
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Katherine Rosman]
We spend a full five hours and 16 minutes a day in front of a screen, and that's without even turning on a television. So says a statistic from eMarketer, a research firm that focuses on digital media and marketing. It says that for the first time we are devoting more attention each day to smartphones, computers and tablets. All of which points to a big question: What counts as TV-watching today? We are actually watching more television programming, just from a growing range of devices and platforms, say digital and television executives, as well as academics and statisticians. Traditional TV or cable-network fare is now available online, via streaming services like Netflix or for sale to be watched on mobile phones and tablets. The report says that adults are watching their televisions slightly less—with a daily intake of four hours and 31 minutes this year, seven minutes less than in 2012.
benton.org/node/161788 | Wall Street Journal
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CHILDREN AND MEDIA
PIRACY CURRICULUM
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Matthew Garrahan]
Hollywood movie studios and music labels are taking the fight against illegal content sharing to five-year-olds by sponsoring a new anti-piracy curriculum, which will be trialled in California schools. The curriculum, which will be aimed at elementary schoolchildren in kindergarten to sixth grade, has the support of the Motion Picture Association of America, the Hollywood lobbying group that represents the big film studios, and the Recording Industry Association of America, which represents music labels. The Centre for Copyright Information, which was formed by the MPAA, RIAA and five US internet service providers – Verizon, AT&T, Cablevision, Comcast and Time Warner Cable – sponsored Internet Keep Safe, a non-profit group, to draft the curriculum.
benton.org/node/161787 | Financial Times
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HEALTH
HOW THE TECH-SAVVY OBAMA ADMINISTRATION LAUNCHED A BUSTED HEALTHCARE WEBSITE
[SOURCE: The Verge, AUTHOR: Adrianne Jeffries]
[Commentary] The more we learn about the development of HealthCare.gov, the worse the situation looks. The site has been serving myriad errors since it launched, including preventing users from creating accounts, failing to recognize users who do have accounts, putting users in inescapable loops, and miscalculating healthcare subsidies. While the Administration is claiming a 50 percent reduction in wait times after adding new servers, other serious issues persist. It’s obvious that the site launched before it was ready. How could the Obama Administration, the brains behind the most sophisticated online political campaign ever, be responsible for something so bone-headed? To start, HealthCare.gov wasn’t built by the elite team that built Obama’s campaign tech. The main $93.7 million contract to build the exchange was awarded to CGI Federal Inc., a subsidiary of the behemoth Canadian firm CGI Group. As is common with large contracts, CGI subcontracted with other megafirms for different aspects of the site. For instance, the "federal data services hub" was built by Quality Software Services. Until the December 15th deadline to buy mandatory health insurance (or face a penalty), HealthCare.gov is in what amounts to a very public beta test. The Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the healthcare exchange at HealthCare.gov, is not releasing the number of people who have successfully enrolled. The number is likely in the "low thousands," reports The Wall Street Journal.
benton.org/node/161758 | Verge, The
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COMMUNITY MEDIA
THE FIRST BOOKLESS LIBRARY: BIBLIOTECH OFFERS ONLY E-BOOKS
[SOURCE: CNNMoney, AUTHOR: Julianne Pepitone]
BiblioTech is a new library in Texas, but you'd be forgiven for thinking otherwise. The library houses no physical books. Staffers at San Antonio's BiblioTech say it's the first "bookless library." And in addition to its catalog of 10,000 e-books, this techy library also provides a digital lifeline to a low-income neighborhood that sorely needs it. BiblioTech opened its doors Sept 14 on the south side of San Antonio, a mostly Hispanic neighborhood where 40% of households don't have a computer and half lack broadband Internet service. Although the library houses no printed books -- and members can even skip the visit by checking out its e-books online -- BiblioTech's staff says the library's physical presence is still key to its success. "We're finding that you really have to get your head around a paradigm shift," said Laura Cole, BiblioTech's special projects coordinator. "Our digital library is stored in the cloud, so you don't have to come in to get a book. But we're a traditional library in that the building itself is an important community space."
benton.org/node/161762 | CNNMoney
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LOBBYING
WHY SILICON VALLEY HAS BEEN SILENT ON THE SHUTDOWN
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Lydia DePillis]
Silicon Valley has recently sought to reverse its longstanding aversion to politics. Lobby shops for companies like Google and Facebook have ballooned, campaign contributions have started to flow, new organizations have formed, and high-profile advocacy campaigns have made headlines across the country. On the fight over the government shutdown and debt ceiling, though, they've been almost entirely absent. While it's possible pressure is being applied behind closed doors, industry trade groups like the Consumer Electronics Association have remained publicly silent, and no tech groups signed on to the Chamber of Commerce's letter urging Congress to get its act together and fund the government. Besides, as long as their main priorities, like patent trolls, are getting taken care of -- and companies can still go public -- techies figure everything else will sort itself out. "I think right now there's a lot of wait and see from the tech community on the shutdown," says Engine Advocacy strategist Mike McGeary, who translated the shutdown for his start-up types. "On one level, business is continuing on a whole lot of the issues that we've been working on, so that coupled with the relatively negligible impacts felt thus far, may have led to a copacetic sense of letting Washington work out its own problem here."
benton.org/node/161761 | Washington Post
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STORIES FROM ABROAD
RUSSIA TO MONITOR 'ALL COMMUNICATIONS' AT WINTER OLYMPICS IN SOCHI
[SOURCE: The Guardian, AUTHOR: Shaun Walker]
Athletes and spectators attending the Winter Olympics in Sochi in February 2014 will face some of the most invasive and systematic spying and surveillance in the history of the Olympic Games, documents shared with the Guardian show. Russia's powerful state security service FSB plans to ensure that no communication by competitors or spectators goes unmonitored during the event, according to a dossier compiled by a team of Russian investigative journalists. Government procurement documents and tenders from Russian communication companies indicate that newly installed telephone and Internet spying capabilities will give the FSB free rein to intercept any telephony or data traffic and even track the use of sensitive words or phrases mentioned in e-mails, webchats and on social media. Ron Deibert, a professor at the University of Toronto and director of Citizen Lab, which co-operated with the Sochi research, describes the Sorm amendments as "Prism on steroids," referring to the program used by the National Security Agency in the US and revealed to the Guardian by the whistleblower Edward Snowden.
benton.org/node/161757 | Guardian, The
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FREE SPEECH IN BRAZIL
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Loretta Chao]
Brazil is locked in a debate over freedom of expression, and at the center are its social-media users. Brazil is the country where Google says it receives the most take-down requests from courts and governments in the world. Though Brazil's constitution protects free speech, the country's laws against anonymity and defamation have been increasingly used by celebrities, companies and government officials to censor their critics. Brazil lacks protections, common elsewhere, which free Internet service providers from responsibility over user-generated content. That tension, between free speech and legal protections, has consequences offline as well.
benton.org/node/161785 | Wall Street Journal
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AT&T’S EUROPEAN AMBITIONS INCLUDE REGULATORY WISH LIST
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Scott Moritz & Amy Thomson]
AT&T sees new wireless technology in Europe stimulating a slumping industry with billions of dollars in network upgrades and blazing-fast mobile service, with a caveat: Some rules need to be changed. In a glimpse of its still-forming European strategy, AT&T, the largest US carrier, provided a wish list on what it would like to see from regulators to make an investment there worthwhile. During a visit to Europe, Chief Executive Officer Randall Stephenson called for consistent policies across different countries and for airwave licenses that offer more attractive terms for wireless companies. “How you manage spectrum policy will determine how much investment comes to Europe,” Stephenson said at the European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association summit in Brussels. Stephenson said companies like AT&T need assurances that public policy can be conducive to investment in European networks, which need upgrades to long-term evolution, or LTE, technology. At the top of Stephenson’s wish list is an overhaul of rules governing spectrum. AT&T is looking for changes to airwave ownership rules that give carriers the ability to control broad areas of territory over long periods of time so that there is incentive to build for the future. Stephenson also said Europe needs a market where operators can swap spectrum, letting them assemble pieces of their network to become more efficient. And he called for regulators to stop designating specific technology, such as 3G data, for certain airwave licenses, giving companies more flexibility to use the spectrum as they see fit.
benton.org/node/161780 | Bloomberg
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