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December 2013

Media outlets renew push for access to secret spy court decisions

A group of prominent media companies, including the New York Times and Bloomberg, are fighting a decision by America’s secret spy court to exclude a media advocacy group from seeking access to the court’s rulings.

In a petition, the media companies complained that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court ”ignored Supreme Court precedent” by ruling that the Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic at Yale Law School had no standing to seek access to decisions that explain why the NSA can collect millions of phone and email records. The claims set out in the petition -- which was also signed by entities like Politico, the New Yorker and the Reporters’ Committee for Freedom of the Press -- appear to provide further grist to a claim by the New York Times in July that the secret FISA court ”has quietly become almost a parallel Supreme Court,” issuing its own series of rulings on important constitutional questions.

FirstNet releases RFI on apps, kills BTOP negotiations

The First Responder Network Authority moved further along with planning for the LTE-based nationwide public-safety broadband network (NPSBN) by issuing a request for information (RFI) on application platforms. However, FirstNet also put an end to negotiations with several public-safety entities hoping to lease its spectrum for public-safety networks within their jurisdictions.

The RFI seeks input on eight specific areas, including mobile device application solutions, mobile app stores, Big Data/ API and cloud solutions, public safety data from agencies, data security, app testing and certification, publisher interfaces, and identity management. RFI responses are due Jan. 17, 2014. This latest RFI is the 12th one issued by FirstNet during 2013. FirstNet said it received more than 300 comments from a wide range of stakeholders on these RFIs. Meanwhile, FirstNet ceased negotiations with Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) grant recipients as of Nov. 15. However, BTOP entities with which FirstNet was negotiating could still opt to accept the spectrum-lease terms FirstNet left on the table for them in November 2013.

Redone HealthCare.gov faces new test

The revitalized Obamacare enrollment website will be tested Dec 2 as consumers -- and Washington -- try to log back on to HealthCare.gov, two months after its troubled rollout flatlined even big health law supporters.

The test will start on what’s expected to be heavier Web traffic on Dec 2. And it will last through Dec. 23, the deadline for millions of people — including those who have had their policies canceled — who want to log on and get coverage that starts on Jan. 1. The soft relaunch on Dec 1 also reset the effort by the Administration and its health care allies to have 7 million people sign up in Obamacare insurance exchanges in the next four months. If people can sign on and get covered, the White House hopes, it could start rebuilding support for President Barack Obama’s signature health law and confidence in the President himself. But that of course means that the site has to work reasonably well, reasonably consistently -- and that no new crises emerge. The site serves 36 states that decided not to run their own exchanges.

Music legends deserve R-E-S-P-E-C-T

[Commentary] For creators and producers, music is their livelihood. Their work product -- their property -- is what pays the bills. In recent months, the House Judiciary Committee has begun exploring whether copyright law is in need of revision in light of technologies that have revolutionized the way we access information and entertainment. This investigation could also reveal whether the compact between those who create music, those who distribute music and those who consume music remains fair and workable.

A quirk of history protects songs recorded before 1972 under state law and songs recorded after Feb. 15, 1972 under federal law. Some digital radio services interpret that disparity to resist paying legacy artists who recorded music before 1972. The inexplicable result is that artists whose recordings were made before 1972 are not compensated by digital radio services while their counterparts whose recordings were made after that time are paid.

Stay classy ND: Ron Burgundy co-anchors newscast

Television viewers in Bismarck (ND) were treated to some real class when none other than the great Ron Burgundy read them the news.

Actor and comedian Will Ferrell reprised his "Anchorman" role for KXMB's news broadcast. The former "Saturday Night Live" star is promoting "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues," a sequel to the 2004 film about a fictional news team's sexist reaction to the arrival of an ambitious female reporter. Dressed in his signature rust-colored three-piece suit and a striped tie, Ferrell read stories off the teleprompter, punctuated them with exaggerated eye blinks and engaged in witty banter with weekend anchor Amber Schatz and the rest of the Bismarck news team. The online video of the 30-minute newscast, which is making the rounds on social media, is part of a widespread marketing campaign for the movie sequel that has included Dodge Durango commercials, a new Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavor named "Scotchy Scotch Scotch," and Burgundy's own exhibit at the Newseum in Washington (DC).

Dish Investors Can’t Exclude Ergen From LightSquared Bid

Charlie Ergen, Dish Network’s chairman and controlling shareholder, can’t be excluded from the satellite TV company’s bid in LightSquared’s bankruptcy auction, a Nevada judge ruled in a shareholder lawsuit.

Clark County District Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez in Las Vegas said the shareholders presented “no evidence and no coherent legal theory of irreparable harm” to bar Ergen and other Dish directors the investors claim are beholden to him from participating in the $2.22 billion bid for LightSquared assets. The Jacksonville Police and Fire Pension Fund sued the Dish board on behalf of the company, arguing an independent committee should oversee the LightSquared bid because Ergen had privately bought about $1 billion of the bankrupt company’s debt.

(Nov 28)

TiVo CEO: Netflix Rises To ‘Must-Have’ Status

The idea of integrating Netflix with the set-top box has been met with mixed interest among US cable operators, but the growing popularity of the subscription video service has made it a must-have from the over-the-top video world, TiVo president and CEO Tom Rogers said.

“Our view has been that the merger of linear and television and streaming over-the-top TV is where the future is, and Netflix has clearly risen to the level of a must-have on the over-the-top side,” Rogers said. “I don’t think consumers feel as if they have a full package of options until Netflix is included.” TiVo’s integration of Netflix in the US has mostly been limited to its retail lineup of DVRs. Overseas, that’s been a different story, as UK-based operator Virgin Media and Com Hem move ahead with plans to offer TiVo-powered leased boxes that integrate Netflix. Domestically, some of TiVo’s multiple system operator (MSO) partners, mostly notably RCN, have a shown a strong desire to offer Netflix in TiVo boxes they lease to customers as Netflix clears hurdles that have historically prevented it from offering its service on MSO-distributed boxes in the US. Netflix is also trying to negotiate set-top box integration deals with operators such as Comcast, but so far has met some resistance partly due to Netflix’s insistence that those operators join Open Connect, its private content delivery network.

Diagnosis for Healthcare.gov: Unrealistic Technology Expectations

The fiasco with the $600 million federal health insurance website wasn’t all bureaucratic. Forcing slow and disparate databases run by government and insurance companies to work together in real time -- and then launching the service all at once -- would have challenged even technology wunderkinds.

In particular, the project was doomed by a relatively late decision that required applicants to open an account and let the site verify their identity, residence, and income before they could browse for insurance. That meant the site would have to interface in real-time with databases maintained by the Internal Revenue Service and other agencies. “You could put 100 Google engineers on it, and it’s not going to fix [the fact] that the scope of the project is flawed or fix the IRS system if it’s slow,” says John Halamka, chief information officer of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. This problem did not plague many of the health-care exchanges at the state level. For example, the Massachusetts system lets you shop for insurance anonymously, and even apply for an insurance policy without setting up an account. Identity confirmation is done later, before the policy becomes effective. Similarly, the exchange in Kentucky -- which, like the federal website, went live on October 1 -- didn’t require users to set up an account or verify their identity before enrolling.

New Phoenix Center study finds that government should transfer management of spectrum to private sector

Today, the Federal Government has assignments for about half of what is considered to be “beachfront” spectrum. However, most agree Government agencies, and the Government as a whole, use and manage spectrum resources inefficiently. In a new study entitled Market Mechanisms and the Efficient Use and Management of Scarce Spectrum Resources, the Phoenix Center examines the difficult yet key question of how policymakers can improve Federal Government use and management of scarce spectrum resources so as to possibly free up and repurpose some spectrum for commercial use.

After review, the Phoenix Center concludes that if the goal of spectrum use and management is economic efficiency, then policymakers should expand the private sector’s management of the nation’s scarce spectrum resources. To begin, the Phoenix Center evaluates whether or not several proposed “ghost market” solutions to the efficiency problem will be effective. Next, the Phoenix Center finds that even when the Federal Government is assumed to act rationally, Government management of spectrum resources is not desirable beyond some minimum level. “Efficiency in spectrum management is far more important than efficiency in spectrum use,” says study co-author and Phoenix Center Senior Fellow Professor Randy Beard. “The fact that the Pentagon pays $750 for a hammer does not mean a consumer can’t purchase one for $10 at the local hardware store. In contrast, if the Government is an inefficient manager of spectrum, then the consequences of its inefficiency are realized across the entire spectrum ecosystem.”

December 2, 2013 (Why cable isn't selling you gigabit Internet)

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for MONDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2013

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler visits Columbus, Ohio http://benton.org/calendar/2013-12-02/

… and check out the WashingTECH Holiday Celebration http://benton.org/node/168950


INTERNET/BROADBAND/TELECOM
   Why Comcast and other cable ISPs aren’t selling you gigabit Internet
   The US now has over 83 million broadband subscribers
   Traditional phone lines may go away
   You Spent $1.2 Billion Shopping Online on Black Friday [links to web]

SPECTRUM/WIRELESS
   Cellphones Leave Gaps for Emergency Services
   Mobile cramming is still on lawmakers’ agenda [links to web]
   Want Calls on Planes? You’ll Need to Speak Up [links to web]
   Your mobile phone may be unlocked. Don't bother cheering - analysis
   Open Issues for 600 MHz Auction: Paired or Unpaired, EA or CMA?
   Data proves we pay for things on mobile, but we're still nervous about security [links to web]

PRIVACY
   US judge dismisses Apple consumer lawsuit over data privacy
   Google's privacy policy violates Dutch data protection law, Dutch DPA says [links to web]

CONTENT
   When Ads Look Like Content
   Turning to Public to Back Investigative Journalism [links to web]
   Web Companies Embrace TV Ads [links to web]
   Out of Print, Maybe, but Not Out of Mind [links to web]
   The US Army got caught pirating $180 million in software. It’s settling for $50 million. [links to web]
   NFL TV blackout rule flagged by lawmakers [links to web]
   Musicians hoping Pandora will join royalty-fee cause [links to web]
   The Big Ten’s Bigger Footprint [links to web]

GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE
   Healthcare.gov now works for 80 percent of users after 400 fixes, administration says
   Insurers Claim Health Website Is Still Flawed
   H-P Replaces Verizon as Host of Website
   GSA's crowdsourcing website named finalist for innovation award [links to web]

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
   Pressure builds on Speaker Boehner for NSA vote
   Snowden docs: US spied on G20 summit

AGENDA
   Congress Faces Long To-Do List Before Year's End

POLICYMAKERS
   Chairman Wheeler Appointed FCC Defense Commissioner - public notice [links to web]
   Longtime TV Consultant and Recruiter Is Stepping Aside, Not Down [links to web]
   Paul F. Crouch, 79, Evangelical Broadcaster [links to web]

STORIES FROM ABROAD
   EU to Stay in Data Pact With U.S.
   Europe’s response to U.S. surveillance is hopeful rather than harsh - analysis [links to web]
   Bloomberg Code Keeps Articles From Chinese Eyes
   South Africa’s IP lesson for America - analysis [links to web]
   Broadband firms set to get easier sewer access across Europe in upcoming rule change [links to web]
   Northwest passage fiber optic line could support defense arctic strategy [links to web]
   Google's privacy policy violates Dutch data protection law, Dutch DPA says [links to web]

MORE ONLINE
   Boosting STEM Education, Facebook Starts Christmas Early With Laptops for Schools [links to web]

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INTERNET/BROADBAND

BROADBAND COMPETITION
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Jon Brodkin]
Gigabit-class broadband is capturing the imagination of Internet users throughout the country. With Google and other companies bringing fiber-based services that deliver a gigabit of data each second to the home, communities are accelerating their push to get the highest speeds. A consumer who really needs 1,000 megabits of bandwidth is probably a rare creature, but excitement over fiber deployments show there is at least some demand for what is a ludicrous speed compared to most home Internet connections. Cable companies haven't been ignoring this consumer demand… but they haven't done anything to satisfy it, either. While DOCSIS 3.1 products may be available next year, the first deployments to home customers aren't expected until at least 2015. A CableLabs presentation says that trends indicate there will be "1Gbps premium offers in 2016 or later." “Is there anywhere else in the ecosystem where somebody demonstrates something that's really cool and great, and faster and better, and doesn't put it out for more than two years?" said Blair Levin, a former Federal Communications Commission official and current executive director of Gig.U. "Would Apple ever say, 'here's a phone we're thinking about doing, maybe a couple years from now you'll get it. We could do it today but… no, we're not going to do that'?" Although vendors promise that it's coming (eventually), some observers believe there just hasn't been enough competition to spur a large-scale shift to gigabit cable speeds. Cable vendors have been forced to offer better deals or upgrade their marketing in communities with competition from fiber. But fiber deployments are still limited, and most US consumers have little choice among Internet providers. (Dec 1)
benton.org/node/168967 | Ars Technica
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THE US NOW HAS OVER 83 MILLION BROADBAND SUBSCRIBERS
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Rani Molla]
Slowly and surely, the US is inching towards the 100 million broadband subscriber milestone. Latest figures compiled by Leichtman Research Group show that about 83.5 million folks buy broadband access from major cable and telecom companies. The data doesn’t include the number of users who subscribe to satellite broadband, wireless broadband or are customers of independent service providers. During the three months ending September 30, 2013, data shows that these big companies added a little over 520,000 new broadband connections, a majority of them going to Comcast and other cable companies that are selling faster connections compared to their phone company counterparts. Many cable company executives in recent days have said that folks are opting for their broadband-only services instead of paying for traditional television services.
The top cable companies accounted for 84% of the net broadband additions for the quarter and added about 440,000 subscribers.
AT&T and Verizon added 828,000 fiber subscribers (via U-verse and FiOS) in 3Q 2013, while having a net loss of 798,000 DSL subscribers.
(Nov 29)
benton.org/node/168933 | GigaOm
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TRADITIONAL PHONE LINES MAY GO AWAY
[SOURCE: Detroit News, AUTHOR: Gary Heinlein]
State regulators and a seniors group are trying to hang up on a move to speed the drop of traditional land-line phone service in Michigan, a proposal the state’s largest telephone company says would ease adoption of new technology and improve its competitiveness. A bill affecting all phone companies, but clearly linked to a technology changeover by phone giant AT&T, would let a telecommunications firm end traditional land-line phone service with 90 days’ notice, effective in three years. The proposal under debate in a Senate committee would cut in half the time for the state approval process, but opponents want safeguards built into the legislation to ensure families aren’t stripped of land-line service and left vulnerable. “Many seniors and families rely on the safety net” of traditional phone lines, said Melissa Seifert, government affairs director for AARP in Michigan. In addition, “Our concern is whether they’re leaving behind people who rely on services like a dialysis machines or Lifeline (Medical Alert) that require land lines.” AT&T Michigan public affairs director Matt Resch said the company believes the Federal Communications Commission should oversee its nationwide build-out of new technology called Voice Over Internet Protocols or VOIP phone service. The technology is an improvement that meets new consumer needs in the digital age, he said. “It’s really more for a streamlining of the process, a bureaucratic streamlining,” Resch said. The legislative debate is occurring as traditional land-line customers in Michigan have declined more than 60 percent to 2.6 million in 2012 from 6.6 million in 2000, according to FCC statistics. (Nov 30)
benton.org/node/168942 | Detroit News
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SPECTRUM/WIRELESS

CELLPHONES AND EMERGENCY SERVICES
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Ryan Knutson]
Amid all the privacy concerns about cellphone tracking, one important group is arguing that location data isn't precise enough: emergency responders. Police and others say 911 dispatchers are having trouble sending help to callers who use cellphones. The reason: unlike a landline, cellphones provide just a rough estimate -- with a possible radius of a few hundred yards -- of the caller's location. Data released this summer renewed attention to the problem and set off a debate over the adequacy of the tracking data that cellphone carriers share with emergency dispatchers. The proliferation of cellphones has been both a blessing and a headache for law-enforcement officers and other emergency responders. More people with cellphones means it is easier than ever to make a quick call for help. But if a caller can't speak or isn't familiar with his or her location, cellphones make it harder to find them, particularly if they are indoors. Around 38% of households have ditched landlines and rely solely on cellphones, according the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and more people are using them for 911 calls. In California alone, 75% of 911 calls placed in the state during a recent 18-month period were made using cellphones. In reaction to the shift, 911 dispatchers in recent years have begun asking callers first where they are, rather than the nature of their emergency. (Dec 1)
benton.org/node/168966 | Wall Street Journal
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UNLOCKED CELLPHONES
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Michelle Quinn]
[Commentary] Here are a few things to consider before celebrating the cellphone unlocking news:
There isn't a stampede to change carriers: Carriers are already creating shorter-term contracts. But still, the industry churn rate -- the number of people changing carriers -- is about 2 percent. OK, that number may go up if it becomes easier to switch carriers and T-Mobile is trying to woo competitors' customers with its "Uncarrier" campaign. But thanks to the marketing wizardry of Apple, Samsung and other hardware firms, what consumers often want to do is change their devices, not their carriers, as soon as their contracts expire.
There is nowhere to go: Mobile phones are often made with technology tailored to the carrier. That means that there are only a few permutations possible in switching carriers with the same phone. A T-Mobile subscriber can move to AT&T and supposedly vice versa. It gets trickier moving to Sprint and Verizon. You might have voice and not data service. This may be something carriers and handset manufacturers will fix, but right now, switching is not seamless.
It's typically a bad deal for a consumer to keep their current phone beyond the contract, since the price of the phone is built into the monthly bill. Once the contract expires, carriers don't currently offer a lower monthly rate. This means you are still paying for a phone that you've already, effectively, paid for. Currently, the major carriers don't have a tailored plan for those who bring their own phone. Again, that may change. If people hold on to their phones longer, carriers may see new markets to reach.
The more cost-sensitive consumer may lose out: There may be pluses for the consumer on a tight budget. The availability of unlocked phones could help the resale market, for example, where phones are usually cheaper. And Simpson, of Consumer Watchdog, says it could be valuable for consumers to know the true cost of their phone and the costs of those long-term contracts. Even if, he said, "it may mean higher initial costs." That's OK for some. But many people can't fork over $600 for a smartphone at Christmas and then shop for carrier plans. This switch could also raise costs in the prepaid phone market, which is about 30 percent of the U.S. mobile phone market. That could hurt some consumers, especially those with lower incomes who tend to take advantage of these types of phones.
(Nov 29)
benton.org/node/168963 | San Jose Mercury News
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OPEN ISSUES FOR 600 MHZ AUCTION: PAIRED OR UNPAIRED, EA OR CMA?
[SOURCE: telecompetitor, AUTHOR: Joan Engebretson]
There’s been a lot of public debate about whether limits should be placed on Verizon and AT&T as the government makes plans to auction TV broadcast spectrum in the 600 MHz band. But considerably less attention has been paid to some other equally important decisions that must be made in connection with that auction. One of the issues is how much spectrum should be made available on an unlicensed basis. Another issue that must be resolved is whether the band plan will be based on paired spectrum or whether some spectrum will be sold on an unpaired basis. Paired spectrum enables carriers to use one swath of spectrum for upstream traffic and a separate swath for downstream traffic, making it well suited for the frequency division duplexed form of the LTE standard known as FDD-LTE. But Sprint already has considerable unpaired spectrum and would probably like the opportunity to obtain more. The carrier plans to deploy an alternate form of LTE known as TD-LTE which separates upstream and downstream traffic using time division multiplexing, eliminating the need to use paired spectrum. TD-LTE is popular in other parts of the world -- including Japan, where it has been deployed by Sprint’s new owner Softbank. Perhaps the Federal Communications Commission will attempt to use different geographic areas for different portions of the spectrum swath freed up through the broadcast auction. Potentially the FCC also could opt to make a mixture of paired and unpaired spectrum available. But complicating matters is the fact that no one knows how much spectrum TV broadcasters will voluntarily relinquish. Accordingly any plan the FCC makes will need to plan for various amounts of total spectrum. (Nov 27)
benton.org/node/168910 | telecompetitor
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PRIVACY

US JUDGE DISMISSES APPLE CONSUMER LAWSUIT OVER DATA PRIVACY
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Casey Sullivan]
US District Judge Lucy H. Koh has dismissed a consumer lawsuit over data privacy against Apple, saying the plaintiffs had failed to show they had relied on any alleged company misrepresentations and that they had suffered harm. The four plaintiffs claimed in 2011 that Apple had violated its privacy policy, saying the iPhone maker had designed its iOS environment to easily transmit personal information to third parties that collect and analyze such data without user consent or detection. They also claimed that they suffered damages by paying too much money for their iPhones and by losing storage space, among other things, according to court documents. Judge Koh dismissed the case. "Plaintiffs must be able to provide some evidence that they saw one or more of Apple's alleged misrepresentations, that they actually relied on those misrepresentations, and that they were harmed thereby," Judge Koh said in the November 25, 2013 ruling. (Nov 27)
benton.org/node/168920 | Reuters | The Verge | GigaOm
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CONTENT

SPONSORED CONTENT
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: William Launder]
In their search for new ad revenue, many news outlets have embraced "sponsored content" -- advertisements that are meant to blend in with regular editorial content. Now regulators are taking a look at the practice. The Federal Trade Commission on Dec 4 will host an informal workshop for advertisers, publishers and legal experts titled "Blurred Lines: Advertising or Content?" to discuss whether media outlets are adequately identifying sponsored stories on their websites as promotional pitches, and to consider if consumers might be misled. The gathering isn't a hearing or investigation of sponsored content or its practitioners. But it could serve as a jumping-off point for the FTC, which is charged with preventing unfair or deceptive advertising practices, to eventually establish guidelines governing sponsored-content practices. (Dec 1)
benton.org/node/168962 | Wall Street Journal
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GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE

HEALTHCARE.GOV FIXES
[SOURCE: The Verge, AUTHOR: Adrianne Jeffries]
Healthcare.gov, the error-riddled website where uninsured Americans are supposed to shop for health insurance, now works for "in the zone of 80 percent" of users, a White House official said. That's up from just 30 percent of users who were able to navigate through the entire site five weeks ago. Officials say the site can now support its original goal of 50,000 concurrent users. "While we still have work to do, we have made significant progress with Healthcare.gov working for the vast majority of users," said Jeff Zients, who is leading the effort to repair Healthcare.gov. The improvement is the result of more than 400 software fixes and hardware upgrades, including a significant hardware upgrade on Nov 29 that roughly doubled the site's capacity. The error rate, which the government defines as system timeouts or failures, is now around .75 percent, down from more than 6 percent. Response times have been under a second for the last three weeks, down from eight seconds. It's all good news for users who have been trying to buy insurance through the site but were stopped by bugs and long wait times. But new data released by the White House also shows just how underprepared Healthcare.gov was when it launched. (Dec 1)
benton.org/node/168947 | Verge, The | Washington Post
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HEALTHCARE FIXES AND GLITCHES
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Robert Pear, Reed Abelson]
Weeks of frantic technical work appear to have made the government’s health care website easier for consumers to use. But that does not mean everyone who signs up for insurance can enroll in a health plan. The problem is that so-called back end systems, which are supposed to deliver consumer information to insurers, still have not been fixed. And with coverage for many people scheduled to begin in just 30 days, insurers are worried the repairs may not be completed in time. The issues are vexing and complex. Some insurers say they have been deluged with phone calls from people who believe they have signed up for a particular health plan, only to find that the company has no record of the enrollment. Others say information they received about new enrollees was inaccurate or incomplete, so they had to track down additional data — a laborious task that would not be feasible if data is missing for tens of thousands of consumers. In still other cases, insurers said, they have not been told how much of a customer’s premium will be subsidized by the government, so they do not know how much to charge the policyholder. (Dec 1)
benton.org/node/168968 | New York Times | WSJ | FT
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H-P REPLACES VERIZON
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Spencer Ante, Christopher Weaver]
The Department of Health and Human Services signed a contract with Hewlett-Packard to replace Verizon's Terremark subsidiary as its web-hosting provider for the federal health-insurance marketplace, according to people familiar with the matter. Terremark's data center hosts key elements of HealthCare.gov, as well as a digital juncture used to exchange information between it and state-run exchanges, federal agencies and insurers. HHS had awarded $55.4 million to Verizon since its contract began in 2011, including an award for $9.4 million of new website capacity this month, federal contracting records show. But this spring, H-P's Enterprise Services group was awarded a $38 million contract to provide web-hosting services over the summer, contracting records show. The contract was for the government's health-insurance marketplace, said a person familiar with the matter. Terremark was a subcontractor on a bid for the new contract but lost out to H-P, said another person familiar with the matter. An HHS official said the agency "has begun the necessary activities to transition the data center to H-P." We are working to ensure a smooth transition between the two contractors." The federal government had worked with Verizon to make changes to the current system to improve its reliability in early November, the official said. (Nov 27)
benton.org/node/168904 | Wall Street Journal
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS

NSA VOTE?
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Brendan Sasso]
House Republican leaders are under pressure to allow a vote on legislation that would curb the National Security Agency (NSA). Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has defended the NSA's spying programs, but a growing bloc of his conference is signing on to a bill that would end the NSA's practice of collecting records on virtually all US phone calls, which was revealed in leaks by Edward Snowden. One House Democratic aide argued that the Republican leaders are boxed in. If they don't allow a vote on standalone NSA reform legislation, the aide said, members will demand NSA-related amendments to must-pass legislation like the defense and intelligence authorization bills. "Leadership is working to ensure that there is a well-coordinated process with all interested parties going forward," a GOP leadership aide said. (Nov 30)
benton.org/node/168945 | Hill, The
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SNOWDEN DOCS: US SPIEDON G20 SUMMIT
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Blake Neff]
The United States spied on a G20 meeting in Toronto with the assistance of Canada's government, according to new documents leaked by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden. President Barack Obama and 25 other world leaders were gathered in Canada for six days in 2010. According to the documents, the US converted its Ottawa embassy into a security command post throughout the summit, with its efforts “closely co-ordinated with the Canadian partner.” The National Security Agency's Canadian “partner” is Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC), which, like the NSA, obtains intelligence by hacking computer networks, intercepting phone calls and engaging in other forms of digital espionage. (Nov 28)
benton.org/node/168918 | Hill, The
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AGENDA

CONGRESSIONAL AGENDA
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Janet Hook, Kristina Peterson]
Congress is heading into the final stretch of its legislative session with a pile of year-end policy decisions before it and little time to address them. Lawmakers are struggling to negotiate deals on farm programs and food stamps, and on the budget for a fiscal year that began two months ago. Many want to pass new Iran sanctions, stave off a cut to doctors' Medicare payments and revisit policy on unemployment benefits. The window for joint congressional action is narrow. The House returns from Thanksgiving recess Dec. 2, while the Senate reconvenes Dec. 9. If the House adjourns for the year as planned on Dec. 13, the two chambers will be in session simultaneously for only one week in December. The year's final month caps a legislative session that has been long on partisanship, indecision and brinkmanship, and short on compromise and lawmaking. Congress has enacted only 52 new laws this year. At that pace, lawmakers would fall far short of the 284 laws enacted by the prior Congress from early 2011 to early 2013, according to the website GovTrack, which follows legislation. That itself was a significant drop-off from earlier sessions. Lawmakers have spent relatively little time in Washington this year. The House has been in session for 143 days so far, the Senate for 142. In 2011, the House met for 175 days and the Senate for 170. (Dec 1)
benton.org/node/168969 | Wall Street Journal | The Hill
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STORIES FROM ABROAD

EU TO STAY IN DATA PACT WITH US
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Frances Robinson, Sam Schechner]
The European Commission has decided not to withdraw from the so-called 'Safe Harbor' agreement on data protection following a review of the trans-Atlantic data-sharing pact, according to a draft commission document. Safe Harbor protects US companies that participate from being sued in Europe under the European Union's data protection directive. Instead, it allows breaches to be dealt with in the US, while offering the same protection for EU companies operating in the US. While the protections are reciprocal, the agreement primarily benefits US companies, by shielding them from lawsuits under EU legislation, which is tougher in this area than its US counterpart. "Given the weaknesses identified, the current implementation of Safe Harbor cannot be maintained," said the commission, which is the EU's executive arm. "However, its revocation would adversely affect the interests of member companies in the EU and in the US... Safe Harbor should rather be strengthened." The EU will discuss the shortcomings of the deal with US authorities. Officials aim to propose remedies for current shortcomings by summer and have them "implemented as soon as possible." Exceptions for national security should be used "only to an extent that is strictly necessary and proportionate," the document adds. (Nov 27)
benton.org/node/168906 | Wall Street Journal | European Commission | The Hill
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BLOOMBERG CODE KEEPS ARTICLES FROM CHINESE EYES
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Edward Wong]
In early 2011, during a period of heightened tension between the Chinese government and foreign journalists, Bloomberg News created coding to give editors the ability to categorize stories under a new class, called 204. Such stories would not show up on Bloomberg terminals in mainland China. Managers did this after Chinese officials stressed to top editors in Hong Kong that the license granted to Bloomberg by the State Council allowed the company to publish only financial data and news on its terminals, not political news, employees said. Within Bloomberg, the code has its critics. “I think of this as self-censorship,” said one journalist, who added that editors choose to apply the code to any article that might offend senior Chinese officials. The code’s defenders, though, explained to their colleagues in internal conversations that Bloomberg must abide by the definition of its State Council license -- or at least by the narrowest definition put forward by Chinese officials. Two Bloomberg spokespeople have declined to comment on the code. (Nov 29)
benton.org/node/168930 | New York Times
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