December 2013

Public Knowledge Leads Petition for FCC to Protect Phone Customers’ Privacy

Do you think your phone service provider should be able to sell or share your personal data with anyone, for any reason? No? Neither do we. More importantly, neither do lawmakers, which is why in 1996 they passed a law that severely restricted what carriers can do with all this personal information. The law modified the Communications Act to add Section 222, “Privacy of customer information.” That’s why we filed a Petition for Declaratory Ruling at the Federal Communications Commission asking it to declare that the types of records AT&T is reportedly selling to the government are protected under Section 222.

We believe that phone carriers are running afoul of the Communications Act when they share customers’ call logs with third parties, even if they first purge those call logs of certain personal details such as names and phone numbers. It's important that the FCC acknowledge that the Communications Act severely restricts how carriers may use or sell sensitive information known as customer proprietary network information (CPNI) and take steps to stop this from happening in the future.

Joining us on the Petition are Benton Foundation, Center for Digital Democracy, Center for Media Justice, Chris Jay Hoofnagle, Common Cause, Consumer Action], Electronic Frontier Foundation, Electronic Privacy Information Center, Free Press, New America Foundation’s Open Technology Institute, and US PIRG.

FCC Continues Push on mHealth Innovation

At the recent mHeath Innovation Expo, the Federal Communications Commission brought together a terrific mix of exhibitors from the government, telecommunications, healthcare and health information technology communities who share a dedication to encouraging new and innovative mHealth products, and streamlining their introduction for use by consumers, including people with disabilities. Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, who opened the event, said innovation was key to the success of mHealth. Our goal is for the use of mHealth technology to become a routine medical best practice – sooner rather than later. We hope our work with the community -- through events such as the FCC’s mHealth Innovation Expo -- is a catalyst for more and better mHealth.

Fox's National NFL Games Are the Biggest Draw on TV

Sunday Night Football may rule the prime-time roost, but it’s the late national games on CBS and Fox that boast TV’s biggest deliveries. According to Nielsen live-plus-same-day data (Sept. 5-Dec. 9), the 4:25 p.m. NFL broadcasts once again are eclipsing the formidable Sunday night franchise. With eight games on the books, including an early-afternoon Thanksgiving contest, Fox and its America’s Game of the Week broadcast is leading the pack, averaging a whopping 27.3 million viewers and a 15.7 household rating.

In the Spirit of the Valley, It’s Silicon This and Silicon That

The sliver of land in Northern California between salt ponds and the Pacific Ocean has for many come to symbolize all that is prosperous and innovative in the world. Silicon Valley. The land of Google and Intel and Jobs. But for communities of entrepreneurs and start-up founders elsewhere, the Valley is not the only Mecca. Global start-up communities have blossomed in the last decade, and there are now more than 1,500 incubators around the world that foster the development of new tech ideas, according to Angel List, a network for start-ups and entrepreneurs. or many of these hubs of innovation, the legitimacy of their growth has been rooted in how people refer to them -- often times in reference to their California predecessor:

  • Silicon Alley -- New York City
  • Silicon Allee -- Berlin
  • Silicon Beach -- Santa Monica (CA)
  • Silicon Prairie -- Chicago
  • Silicon Plateau -- Bangalore, India
  • Silicon Roundabout -- London
  • Silicon Wadi -- Tel Aviv

United States Patent and Trademark Office and National Telecommunications and Information Administration
December 12, 2013
8am - 5pm
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/federal-register-notice/2013/request-comments-de...



December 11, 2013 (Incentive Auction Hearing)

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2013

House Commerce mark-up and Vietnam Media Use on today’s agenda http://benton.org/calendar/2013-12-11/


FCC OVERSIGHT
   Recap: Crafting a Successful Incentive Auction: Stakeholders' Perspectives
   House Majority Outlines FCC Oversight Hearing Focus
   Committee Leaders Urge FCC to Suspend Work on “Fairness Doctrine 2.0” - press release
   Congress Says No With FCC Set to Go on In-Flight Calls [links to web]

SPECTRUM/WIRELESS
   Recap: Crafting a Successful Incentive Auction: Stakeholders' Perspectives
   Congress Says No With FCC Set to Go on In-Flight Calls [links to web]
   A Gold Rush Hits Wireless Spectrum [links to web]
   Stephenson: AT&T would accept limits to spectrum purchases during incentive auctions [links to web]
   US Cellular Eyes FCC for Cues on Upcoming Auctions [links to web]
   New York Asks Cellphone Carriers to Explain Why They Rejected Antitheft Switch
   NYC Mayor Bloomberg Announces Country's Largest Continuous Free Public Wi-Fi Network - press release [links to web]
   911 Location Accuracy Group Calls Out Wireless Industry
   Phone Apps Help Government, Others Counter Violence Against Women [links to web]

BROADBAND/TELECOM
   AT&T's Stephenson: IP transition will start showing cost savings in 3 years
   Lawmakers bet on online poker
   Here’s how AT&T is going to build its gigabit service in Austin
   Private sector falling short on providing Internet access - op-ed
   Santa Cruz may build the future of California Internet access

TELEVISION
   Report: 70% of U.S. Households Have DVRs, Netflix or Use VOD [links to web]
   Fox COO Chase Carey: ‘A La Carte Cable is a Farce’ [links to web]

ACCESSIBILITY
   How a blind person ‘sees’ the Internet

CONTENT
   Videogame Makers Fight Efforts to Study Link to Violence

EDUCATION
   After Setbacks, Online Courses Are Rethought
   Missing From Science Class - editorial

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
   New documents show how the NSA infers relationships based on mobile location data
   NSA uses Google cookies to pinpoint targets for hacking
   Silicon Valley, not Washington, needs to lead on privacy reform - editorial [links to web]
   National Security and Local Police - research [links to web]
   Patriot Act author: Feinstein's bill ‘a joke’ [links to web]
   Privacy group sues for information on e-mail surveillance [links to web]
   Big Tech vs. NSA: Pot calling the kettle black? - analysis [links to web]
   New York Court Won’t Order Fox Reporter to Testify, Shoring Up State Shield Law

GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE
   History Will Forget The Obamacare Website's Bungled Launch - analysis [links to web]

LOBBYING
   NCTA Launches Online Image Campaign [links to web]

POLICYMAKERS
   The Obama appointees who could save net neutrality

STORIES FROM ABROAD
   No Pacific Rim Accord by End-of-Year Target, Trade Negotiators Say [links to web]
   Worker Deaths Raise Questions at an Apple Contractor in China
   AT&T Inks First LTE Roaming Deal in Canada [links to web]

COMPANY NEWS
   Verizon's McAdam: New FiOS markets are not in the cards [links to web]
   Verizon CEO: Our NY wireless problems are nearly fixed [links to web]
   AT&T’s Stephenson: We can't keep doing big subsidies on phones [links to web]
   Gannett to Add USA Today to Local Papers [links to web]
   Doctor On Demand App Gives $40 Medical Consultations From the Comfort of Your Smartphone [links to web]
   NimbleTV Brings TV Everywhere to New York, Without Permission From the TV Industrial Complex [links to web]
   NBCU Awards $1.2M In Grants To Nonprofits [links to web]
   Netherlands Tops Netflix ISP Speed Index - press release [links to web]

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FCC OVERSIGHT

RECAP OF INCENTIVE AUCTIONS HEARING
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Kevin Taglang]
The Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing to examine the issues surrounding implementation of the voluntary incentive auction of broadcast television spectrum, which is being conducted by the Federal Communications Commission as required by the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012. The witnesses were Gary Epstein, the chair of the FCC’s Incentive Auction Task Force; Rick Kaplan from the National Association of Broadcasters (a former head of the FCC’s Wireless Bureau); AT&T’s Joan Marsh; Preston Padden, the Executive Director of the Expanding Opportunities for Broadcasters Coalition; the Competitive Carriers Association’s Steven Barry; Harold Feld of Public Knowledge; and Hal Singer of the Progressive Policy Institute. A fun time was had by all. [much more at the URL below]
benton.org/node/169791 | Benton Foundation | Chairman Rockefeller | Sen Thune | IDG News Service | B&C | Broadcasting&Cable | The Hill
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HOUSE MAJORITY OUTLINES FCC OVERSIGHT HEARING FOCUS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
According to the majority staff memo for the Dec 12 Federal Communications Commission oversight hearing in the House Communications subcommittee, the top issues for Republicans are the broadcast incentive auctions, government spectrum policy, universal service, and the IP transition. The subcommittee is scheduled to hear from all five commissioners. On the incentive auction front, the memo says the FCC has not answered a number of fundamental questions. Those include "broadcast station valuation," coordination with Canada and Mexico on border issues, and suggestions that the FCC may limit the aggregation of low-band spectrum. The memo also makes a point of FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s move to delay the auction timetable, pointing out that “recently, Chairman Wheeler stated that although the broadcast incentive auction is among his top priorities, the Commission will aim for an auction in 2015, one year later than Chairman Genachowski’s planned timeline.” But the statute also gave the FCC until 2022 to complete the auction process, so the commission is not pushing up against a deadline. It does have to auction 65 MHz of spectrum by February 2015, with the first of two auctions coming in January 2014.
benton.org/node/169763 | Broadcasting&Cable
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COMMITTEE LEADERS URGE FCC TO SUSPEND WORK ON “FAIRNESS DOCTRINE 2.0”
[SOURCE: House of Representatives Commerce Committee, AUTHOR: Press release]
House Commerce Committee leaders, along with every Republican member of the Communications and Technology Subcommittee, wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler urging him to suspend the FCC’s efforts to conduct a field study that could lead to a revival of the Fairness Doctrine. Members cited similar concerns with respect to the original Fairness Doctrine and committee leaders urged then-FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski to remove the statute from the Code of Federal Regulations in 2011. The doctrine was eliminated in August 2011. “Given the widespread calls for the commission to respect the First Amendment and stay out of the editorial decisions of reporters and broadcasters, we were shocked to see that the FCC is putting itself back in the business of attempting to control the political speech of journalists. It is wrong, it is unconstitutional, and we urge you to put a stop to this most recent attempt to engage the FCC as the ‘news police,’” wrote the members. “The commission has no business probing the news media’s editorial judgment and expertise, nor does it have any business in prescribing a set diet of ‘critical information.’ These goals are plainly inappropriate and are at bottom an incursion by the government into the constitutionally protected operations of the professional news media.” The letter asks seven questions about the FCC’s study and requests an answer from the FCC by January 10, 2014.
benton.org/node/169774 | House of Representatives Commerce Committee | TVNewsCheck | AdWeek | B&C
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SPECTRUM/WIRELESS

911 LOCATION ACCURACY GROUP CALLS OUT WIRELESS INDUSTRY
[SOURCE: Government Technology, AUTHOR: Brian Heaton]
As more people transition to smartphones as their only communications device, pinpointing a 911 caller’s exact position can be challenging using GPS, particularly if the person is indoors or in an urban area where the signal may be weaker. While the wireless industry uses various technologies and procedures to ensure call location accuracy, a new advocacy group isn’t satisfied with the results and is pushing the Federal Communications Commission for stricter regulations. The Find Me 911 Coalition is filing a petition with the FCC to urge the commission to adopt indoor accuracy requirements through the commission’s rulemaking process. Led by Jamie Barnett, former chief of the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, Find Me 911 claims that half of the 911 calls from cellphones in North Carolina over the past year did not include accurate location data to find a caller. In addition, the group recently released a report showing similar struggles in Texas based on FCC data.
benton.org/node/169767 | Government Technology
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CELLPHONE ANTITHEFT
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Brian Chen]
New York State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman is investigating why American cellphone carriers have yet to embrace antitheft software on Samsung smartphones, raising questions about possible coordination among the biggest carriers. AG Schneiderman sent letters seeking information to the chief executives of five carriers, Randall L. Stephenson of AT&T, Daniel S. Mead of Verizon Wireless, Daniel R. Hesse of Sprint, John Legere of T-Mobile US and Kenneth R. Meyers of U.S. Cellular. AG Schneiderman requested detailed information on why the carriers were not supporting a so-called kill switch that Samsung Electronics wanted to load on its phones. The feature would have allowed users to “brick” their phones, or disable the devices remotely, to discourage criminals from stealing them.
benton.org/node/169811 | New York Times
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BROADBAND/TELECOM

AT&T'S STEPHENSON: IP TRANSITION WILL START SHOWING COST SAVINGS IN 3 YEARS
[SOURCE: Fierce Cable, AUTHOR: Sean Buckley]
AT&T may have set 2020 as the year when it will transition its traditional telephone network to all IP, but CEO Randall Stephenson says that the carrier will start seeing cost savings by 2016. "We have a number of initiatives, including Project Agile, which is about streamlining our operations around an IP product set." Stephenson added many of the real savings won't come until they can actually shut down a TDM-based switch that has been primarily used to deliver traditional telephone service and special access services such as DS-1s. "The really big numbers come when you get really close to turning off the switch on the old legacy TDM infrastructure," he said. "There are significant network and IT costs involved in sustaining those products and you don't turn the lion's share of those off till you take that last product out of service." A key element in moving ahead with the IP transition is the Federal Communications Commission. Although AT&T has been one of the leading advocates of the TDM-to-IP transition, the telecommunications company has expressed frustration over the FCC's slow pace in giving it guidance on the next steps to conduct TDM-to-IP trials in two of its 4,500 wire centers. It appears that AT&T is now getting the clarity it needs.
benton.org/node/169789 | Fierce Cable
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LAWMAKERS BET ON ONLINE POKER
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Julian Hattem]
House lawmakers are doubling down on a push to legalize Internet gambling. A House Commerce Committee panel held a showdown over a legislative effort to license and regulate online poker. States have tended to take the lead on regulation of online gambling in recent years, but many lawmakers say that federal action is necessary to prevent money laundering and consumer abuse. “While unfettered online gaming here in the US is surely not the ideal, absent a clear mandate from Congress, we risk exposing our constituents to an environment of a ‘race to the bottom’ which could present itself,” Rep Lee Terry (R-NE) said. Rep Joe Barton (R-TX), who has introduced the Internet Poker Freedom Act, said that times have evolved to require the new regulations. “Now we have the Internet and iPhones and iPads and apps and all these things,” he said. “Just about the only thing you can’t do [online] anymore is play poker. And that is changing.”
benton.org/node/169779 | Hill, The | The Hill
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AT&T’S FIBER SERVICE IN AUSTIN
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Stacey Higginbotham]
AT&T is set to launch its GigaPower fiber to the home service in Austin (TX) any day now. Eric Small, VP, fiber broadband planning at AT&T says Austin isn’t a pilot market for AT&T’s fiber to the home effort just because Google has picked the area for its own fiber-to-the-home project (although the government concessions for Google should also help Ma Bell). Small said Austin residents consume 15 percent to 20 percent more broadband than the average AT&T U-verse customer making it a good place to test demand for higher speed services. More Austin residents also have subscribed to AT&T’s fiber-to-the-node U-verse service than currently subscribe to the older DSL technology. The city’s residents are a modern, broadband lovin’ people. Small said that since AT&T’s fiber-to-the-node installation in 2005, in certain parts of the country, in new neighborhoods and in some apartment buildings AT&T has upgraded to fiber to the premise, so the technology involved in the GigaPower service isn’t completely foreign. (Unfortunately for people who live in those neighborhoods, AT&T only offers the standard U-Verse speeds of 24 Mbps or 18 Mbps as opposed to higher speeds associated with fiber to the premise). Now, in Austin, AT&T will upgrade its fiber to the node technology with fiber to the premise and eventually offer the gigabit speeds that fiber can handle. To do this, AT&T is using technology that could be described as “plug and play” to connect homes back to their neighborhood cabinets and terminals. It’s also manufacturing the cables for each neighborhood offsite as opposed to building each fiber strand in the field. AT&T is considering extending its rollout of ultra-high speed fiber optic broadband service to other cities in the US, said CEO Randall Stephenson.
benton.org/node/169805 | GigaOm | Financial Times
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PRIVATE SECTOR FALLING SHORT ON PROVIDING INTERNET ACCESS
[SOURCE: Kentucky.com, AUTHOR: Mimi Pickering]
[Commentary] Internet access has been identified by the United Nations as a basic human right. And as more everyday tasks, social interactions and economic activity move online, high-speed Internet is a public necessity. Unfortunately, far too many mountain communities cannot use the Internet to its potential because of lack of network infrastructure, accessibility and affordability. The private sector is not providing the Internet services we need. With few providers, competition that could drive technological investment and lower prices is lacking. The giant telecommunications corporations that control much of the market are investing primarily in metropolitan areas where they can maximize profits. AT&T and Verizon are actually pushing bills in the legislature that would eliminate their responsibility to provide basic landline phone service throughout the state without any enforceable commitment to invest in new, equally affordable technology. This would be another blow consumers and businesses in places like East Kentucky and the remote Appalachian region. The Central Appalachia Regional Network, of which Appalshop is a part, surveyed telecommunications policies proposed and enacted in six Appalachian states and made a number of recommendations that could improve access:
Institutionalize broadband priorities in state government. A permanent legislative committee with staff and resources would help the state organize its efforts to improve broadband investments, infrastructure, and deployment. A permanent department within the executive branch could do similar work.
Provide state funding for broadband investments. Kentucky has done this successfully in the past. These programs need continuing financial support to help provide tax credits, subsidies, loans and grants to businesses that invest in broadband infrastructure and deployment as well as families who need help paying for broadband services.
Subject broadband and wireless technologies to regulation by the Kentucky Public Service Commission. This could ensure that consumers are protected against the lack of access, poor quality and high prices. A consumer bill of rights would ensure that customers are getting what they're paying for. This would be an important step toward holding telecommunication companies responsible.
Improve Internet adoption rates through digital literacy programs and subsidized access to computers for moderate and low-income families.
[Pickering directs Appalshop's Community Media Initiative]
benton.org/node/169739 | Kentucky.com
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SANTA CRUZ MAY BUILD THE FUTURE OF CALIFORNIA INTERNET ACCESS
[SOURCE: Silicon Valley Business Journal, AUTHOR: Lauren Hepler]
There's no industry quite like the summer beach industry in Santa Cruz County, where tourism is an unrivaled economic driver generating an estimated $500 million in direct travel spending annually. Now, Santa Cruz County policymakers are exploring a new strategy to diversify the local economy: Expand Internet access and capacity to attract and keep would-be entrepreneurs, consultants and satellite offices for Silicon Valley tech companies. Santa Cruz County Supervisor Zach Friend is pushing a comprehensive broadband policy overhaul that he hopes will catalyze both regulatory streamlining and new infrastructure. Sacramento is watching his progress closely for insight on a potential broadband-driven statewide economic development model. As part of this pursuit, the Santa Cruz County board of supervisors in November approved an eight-month timeline to overhaul its broadband infrastructure plans and regulations. Specific areas of focus include permitting fee reductions and a proposed “dig once” ordinance that would make it easier to install new fiber optic cables during other work on area roads or utilities lanes. One particularly large broadband infrastructure project currently awaiting a decision from the California Public Utilities Commission is a 90-mile fiber “backbone” network that would run from Santa Cruz to Soledad. Companies including AT&T have also proposed broadband expansion projects in the region, which could be made easier with reform.
benton.org/node/169743 | Silicon Valley Business Journal
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ACCESSIBILITY

HOW A BLIND PERSON ‘SEES’ THE INTERNET
[SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle, AUTHOR: Caleb Garling]
Dragging and dropping, bringing up right-click menus on a specific part of the screen or just reading through a webpage become complicated tasks when you are blind. There are organizations like Lighthouse and other tools that help the visually impaired navigate a computer. But Kevin Jones has been speaking recently at small software development conferences on how to make considerations for the visually impaired. “When you look at a computer screen, you think of it as a two dimensional array,” he says of sighted people, pointing out the huge amount of information — “the bigger picture” — available with a quick glance at a monitor. “But with a screen reader, it’s a one dimensional display.” Jones has a computer science degree and uses a Braille reader to read code, a device that generates the tactile language on a small pad. He’s learning AppleScript to, eventually, write accessibility improvements for VoiceOver. But Braille readers can come up short for navigating the Internet.
benton.org/node/169797 | San Francisco Chronicle
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CONTENT

VIDEOGAMES AND VIOLENCE
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Jennifer Levitz]
Legislative proposals to study whether videogames are linked to real-life violence or mental health -- prompted by a rash of mass shootings -- have stalled amid a campaign by the industry to quash the efforts, according to lobbying records and lawmakers. The Entertainment Software Association fought such bills in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland and New Jersey this year and in Oklahoma last year, records and interviews show. The measures either died or are locked in legislative committees. The association, whose 34 members include Microsoft and the U.S. subsidiaries of Sony and Nintendo, now are taking aim at a similar federal bill, according to records and a co-sponsor of the bill. Multiple studies have delved into violent media and its effects with varying and hotly debated results. Some have shown correlations between videogames and aggression, while others said the results are flawed. Critics accuse the industry of trying to discourage scrutiny of a booming business. Global videogame sales outpaced music sales in 2011 and grew faster than movies, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. Game sales are expected to climb to $82.9 billion annually by 2017 from the expected $65.5 billion this year.
benton.org/node/169807 | Wall Street Journal
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EDUCATION

ONLINE COURSES RETHOUGHT
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Tamar Lewin]
Two years after a Stanford professor drew 160,000 students from around the globe to a free online course on artificial intelligence, starting what was widely viewed as a revolution in higher education, early results for such large-scale courses are disappointing, forcing a rethinking of how college instruction can best use the Internet. A study of a million users of massive open online courses, known as MOOCs, released this month by the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education found that, on average, only about half of those who registered for a course ever viewed a lecture, and only about 4 percent completed the courses. Much of the hope -- and hype -- surrounding MOOCs has focused on the promise of courses for students in poor countries with little access to higher education. But a separate survey from the University of Pennsylvania released last month found that about 80 percent of those taking the university’s MOOCs had already earned a degree of some kind. And perhaps the most publicized MOOC experiment, at San Jose State University, has turned into a flop.
benton.org/node/169815 | New York Times
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MISSING FROM SCIENCE CLASS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Editorial staff]
[Commentary] A big reason America is falling behind other countries in science and math is that we have effectively written off a huge chunk of our population as uninterested in those fields or incapable of succeeding in them. Women make up nearly half the work force but have just 26 percent of science, technology, engineering or math jobs. Blacks make up 11 percent of the workforce but just 6 percent of such jobs and Hispanics make up nearly 15 percent of the work force but hold 7 percent of those positions. There is no question that women and minorities have made progress in science and math in the last several decades, but their gains have been slow and halting. And in the fast-growing field of computer science, women’s representation has actually declined in the last 20 years, while minorities have made relatively small gains.
benton.org/node/169813 | New York Times
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS

NSA INFERS RELATIONSHIPS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Ashkan Soltani, Barton Gellman]
Everyone who carries a cellphone generates a trail of electronic breadcrumbs that records everywhere they go. Those breadcrumbs reveal a wealth of information about who we are, where we live, who our friends are and much more. And the National Security Agency is collecting location information in bulk -- 5 billion records per day worldwide -- and using sophisticated algorithms to assist with US intelligence-gathering operations. How do they do it? And what can they learn from location data? The latest documents show the extent of the location-tracking program.
benton.org/node/169821 | Washington Post
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NSA USES COOKIES
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Ashkan Soltani, Andrea Peterson, Barton Gellman]
The National Security Agency is secretly piggybacking on the tools that enable Internet advertisers to track consumers, using "cookies" and location data to pinpoint targets for government hacking and to bolster surveillance. The agency's internal presentation slides, provided by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, show that when companies follow consumers on the Internet to better serve them advertising, the technique opens the door for similar tracking by the government. The slides also suggest that the agency is using these tracking techniques to help identify targets for offensive hacking operations. For years, privacy advocates have raised concerns about the use of commercial tracking tools to identify and target consumers with advertisements. The online ad industry has said its practices are innocuous and benefit consumers by serving them ads that are more likely to be of interest to them. The revelation that the NSA is piggybacking on these commercial technologies could shift that debate, handing privacy advocates a new argument for reining in commercial surveillance.
benton.org/node/169819 | Washington Post
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NEW YORK SHIELD LAW
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Leslie Kaufman]
A New York State shield law protecting journalists was bolstered when the state’s highest court refused to require a Fox News reporter to return to Colorado to testify in the case of James E. Holmes, the man accused of shooting 12 people in July 2012 in a movie theater in Aurora. In unusually strong language, the New York Court of Appeals wrote, “There is no principle more fundamental or well-established than the right of a reporter to refuse to divulge a confidential source.” First Amendment experts said that the ruling, written by a 4 to 3 majority on the court, could make New York, already the home to numerous media companies, a kind of safe haven for journalists.
benton.org/node/169809 | New York Times
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POLICYMAKERS

THE OBAMA APPOINTEES WHO COULD SAVE NET NEUTRALITY
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Brian Fung]
[Commentary] When one of the country's most powerful appeals courts heard oral arguments on net neutrality in September, it looked as if the Federal Communications Commission's rule against Web traffic discrimination might be headed for the trash bin. But the successful confirmation of the first of three Obama nominees to the DC Circuit court improves the regulation's chances of survival. With the Senate's recent rule change on filibusters, Patricia Millett has become the first judicial nominee to benefit from approval by simple majority. By the end of the year, the Senate could approve Obama's two remaining nominees to the court, Nina Pillard and Robert Wilkins. Altogether, the court would then have seven members appointed by Democratic administrations to the four that were appointed by Republican presidents (although the D.C. Circuit also has a handful of semi-retired judges appointed by Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush that can choose to rule from time to time).
benton.org/node/169777 | Washington Post
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STORIES FROM ABROAD

PEGATRON CORP
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: David Barboza]
Labor rights activists say the Pegatron Corporation, the Taiwanese manufacturer that produces Apple’s new iPhone 5C in Shanghai, has failed to explain at least five deaths of young workers in recent months. They say workers interviewed by China Labor Watch, a nonprofit group that monitors working conditions in China, have complained about long working hours and harsh working conditions at Pegatron, including some of the same pressures that in previous years led to health and safety problems at Foxconn Technology, Apple’s biggest contract supplier in China. “Considering the sudden deaths of five people and the similar reason of the deaths, we believe there should be some relations between the tragedy and the working conditions in the factory,” said Li Qiang, who runs China Labor Watch.
benton.org/node/169793 | New York Times
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New documents show how the NSA infers relationships based on mobile location data

Everyone who carries a cellphone generates a trail of electronic breadcrumbs that records everywhere they go. Those breadcrumbs reveal a wealth of information about who we are, where we live, who our friends are and much more. And the National Security Agency is collecting location information in bulk -- 5 billion records per day worldwide -- and using sophisticated algorithms to assist with US intelligence-gathering operations. How do they do it? And what can they learn from location data? The latest documents show the extent of the location-tracking program.

NSA uses Google cookies to pinpoint targets for hacking

The National Security Agency is secretly piggybacking on the tools that enable Internet advertisers to track consumers, using "cookies" and location data to pinpoint targets for government hacking and to bolster surveillance.

The agency's internal presentation slides, provided by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, show that when companies follow consumers on the Internet to better serve them advertising, the technique opens the door for similar tracking by the government. The slides also suggest that the agency is using these tracking techniques to help identify targets for offensive hacking operations. For years, privacy advocates have raised concerns about the use of commercial tracking tools to identify and target consumers with advertisements. The online ad industry has said its practices are innocuous and benefit consumers by serving them ads that are more likely to be of interest to them. The revelation that the NSA is piggybacking on these commercial technologies could shift that debate, handing privacy advocates a new argument for reining in commercial surveillance.

Silicon Valley, not Washington, needs to lead on privacy reform

[Commentary] If the largest US Internet companies want to win back the trust of consumers who care about online privacy, they should start not with appeals to Washington but with reform of their own data-collection technologies and practices. That data has helped boost their sales yet made users vulnerable to secret surveillance. Surely an industry that invented everything from Internet search to the sponsored tweet can develop better ways to keep user data safe -- if that's indeed one of its primary concerns. Whether it is though remains an open question after public statements made this week failed to mention several key facts about why secret National Security Agency surveillance is hurting their industry's reputation.

After Setbacks, Online Courses Are Rethought

Two years after a Stanford professor drew 160,000 students from around the globe to a free online course on artificial intelligence, starting what was widely viewed as a revolution in higher education, early results for such large-scale courses are disappointing, forcing a rethinking of how college instruction can best use the Internet.

A study of a million users of massive open online courses, known as MOOCs, released this month by the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education found that, on average, only about half of those who registered for a course ever viewed a lecture, and only about 4 percent completed the courses. Much of the hope -- and hype -- surrounding MOOCs has focused on the promise of courses for students in poor countries with little access to higher education. But a separate survey from the University of Pennsylvania released last month found that about 80 percent of those taking the university’s MOOCs had already earned a degree of some kind. And perhaps the most publicized MOOC experiment, at San Jose State University, has turned into a flop.