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January 2014

Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
8:30 am
http://www.jointcenter.org/events/stem-urgency-science-technology-engine...

Opening Remarks:
Brian D. Smedley, Ph.D.
Interim President and CEO, Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies

Featured Remarks:
Ms. Kimberly Worthy,
Teacher, Social Studies Department Chair, and Member of the Board of Directors, Howard University Middle School of Mathematics and Science; Teacher of the Year, District of Columbia, 2009

Research Presentation:

Joseph S. Miller, Esq.
Deputy Director and Senior Policy Counsel, Media and Technology Institute, Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies

John B. Horrigan, Ph.D.
Senior Research Fellow, Media and Technology Institute, Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies

Panel Discussion:

Maria Cardona, Principal, Dewey Square Group (Moderator)

Allyson Knox, Director, Education and Policy Programs, Microsoft

Joseph S. Miller, Esq.
Deputy Director and Senior Policy Counsel, Media and Technology Institute, Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies

John B. Horrigan, Ph.D.
Senior Research Fellow, Media and Technology Institute, Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies


Marissa Mayer calls for more NSA transparency

Yahoo's Marissa Mayer is calling on the United States to be more transparent about its data collection practices, as other top tech CEOs urge the international community to establish privacy guidelines.

Mayer said that revelations about government snooping have hurt her company, and that Yahoo now wants "to be able to rebuild trust with our users." The Yahoo CEO was speaking as part of a technology panel with other tech executives at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Cisco CEO John Chambers echoed Mayer's remarks, saying that government leaders should start working together to create transparent guidelines related to privacy, safety and data collection, all of which would allow businesses to function more efficiently.

The Internet of things needs a new security model. Which one will win?

The internet of things is an entirely new way of building out networks and services, so why would we use old client-server or even cloud-tested forms of security? What comes next?

One idea gaining ground is that we will accept that the system is insecure and then develop software and procedures to determine what we can trust on the fly. It has the same underlying assumption that influences Netflix’s Chaos Monkey concept, which is to assume systems will break and prepare for it in all manner of ways. In a related concept, perhaps instead of stopping data breaches we’ll stop those who profit from them, from actually making money. And finally there’s the concept of designing with security in mind, which is of course a lot harder than it might seem. But this is the approach most security researchers are advocating, with some even encouraging government agencies to impose fines of consumer electronics companies if their products are hacked.

T-Mobile will cash your checks: how it works

T-Mobile is now getting into the check-cashing business.

The service, called Mobile Money, is timed for a February launch and will be available at T-Mobile retail locations and participating Safeway stores around the country. The big promise from T-Mobile is that the service will allow users to cash their checks without “excessive fees” that traditional check-cashing companies require. Customers don’t have to be T-Mobile wireless subscribers to be Mobile Money subscribers -- or vice versa -- but being both has its perks. The company will automatically waive monthly fees for its wireless customers. So, how will it work? T-Mobile customers will get a T-Mobile prepaid Visa Card that can be loaded and reloaded through the Mobile Money app. The company did not give specifics but said it will offer the services at a “reduced fee or $0 cost” for its registered wireless customers. The service will require no minimum balance and also promises no overdraft fees. From their Mobile Money accounts, users will be able to direct-deposit paychecks, deposit checks via smartphone camera, make purchases, pay bills and withdraw cash from 42,000 ATMs across the country, T-Mobile said.

Verizon Releases First Transparency Report

Verizon’s 2013 Transparency Report presents the number of demands the company received from law enforcement in the United States and other countries in which it did business from January 1, 2013 through December 31, 2013. In the future, Verizon will update its Transparency Report semi-annually to show the number of demands it received in the prior six months.

Security fears stoke tech spending on lobbying

Major technology companies saw their lobbying fees jump in 2013 as they focused on reforming National Security Agency surveillance programs and other issues.

Facebook plowed more than $6.4 million into lobbying in 2013, nearly twice the $3.8 million it spent the year before, according to lobbying disclosure documents. Microsoft spent nearly $10.5 million, a jump from the $8.1 million spent in 2012. Apple spent $3.37 million, up from $1.97 million in 2012. An exception to the rule was Google, which saw its K Street spending drop from $16.5 million in 2012 to $14 million in 2013. A handful of new trade groups and businesses also got into the game for the first time in 2013. The Internet Association, which counts AOL, Amazon, Ebay and Yahoo among its members, only began lobbying in 2013 and spent $1.6 million to influence Congress and regulators. Twitter and Yelp hired their first lobbyists in 2013. The companies’ lobbying spending -- $90,000 and $30,000, respectively -- is just a sliver of the millions that larger companies spend.

President Obama Goal For Quick Revamp Of NSA Program May Be Unworkable, Some US Officials Fear

US officials directed by President Barack Obama to find a way to end the government’s role in gathering Americans’ phone records are deeply concerned that there may be no feasible way to accomplish the task soon, according to individuals familiar with the discussions.

Even among US officials who applauded the recommendation in principle, there is a growing worry that the President’s goals are unattainable in the near future, officials said. Telephone companies have said they do not want to be responsible for the database, and no one has come up with a workable idea for how a third party could hold the records. No meeting has been scheduled between government officials and the phone companies to discuss the issue, and no decision has been made about approaching the companies to further discuss the possibility of them holding the records. Other officials, including many in the intelligence community, said they are skeptical that a new system could balance national security and privacy interests better than the one that exists.

Some former intelligence officials said they thought President Obama’s team would pull through. “Clapper and Attorney General Holder will meet the deadline because that’s what you do,” said John McLaughlin, a former deputy CIA director. He added: “I’m guessing they’ll present some options. What the president would be looking for is a playbook -- not just a concept but, ‘Here’s how we would propose to do it . . . and here’s how you would turn it on.’ ”

CIGI and Chatham House launch Global Commission on Internet Governance

Carl Bildt, Sweden’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, will chair a new Global Commission on Internet Governance, launched by The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) and the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House).

The Global Commission is a two-year initiative that will produce a comprehensive stand on the future of multi-stakeholder Internet governance. The commission will include about 25 members drawn from various fields and from around the world, including policy and government, academia and civil society. The Global Commission on Internet Governance will encourage globally inclusive public discussions and debates on the future of Internet governance through a public consultation platform, and through other institutional, media, and academic channels. It will create and advance a strategic vision for the future of Internet governance that can act as a rallying point for states that are striving for a continued free and open Internet.

The commission will focus on four key themes: 1) Enhancing governance legitimacy; 2) Stimulating innovation; 3) Ensuring human rights online; and 4) Avoiding systemic risks.

What the heck is “net neutrality” anyhow?

[Commentary] The root of network neutrality is the fear that we’re getting a raw deal on Internet service. This fear -- grounded in the fact that it’s more expensive to build a network that covers a dispersed population than to cover one that lives in high-rise buildings -- is combined with a theory about network design and network quality that’s fundamentally defective.

Network neutrality advocates believe that broadband information networks are very, very simple, somewhat like the water system. All it takes to supply a city with water is a well, a pump, and some pipes, so hooking the city up to the Internet should just be about some wires, some switches, and a little bit of electricity. The wires may break from time to time, but when that happens you just patch ‘em up and it all works like magic. It would be great if things were really like that, but they simply aren’t. Broadband is like a water system that pumps fifty percent more water each year to each home for the same price. That would be pretty hard for most water systems to do unless they were massively overbuilt to begin with.

[Bennett is a visiting fellow at AEI]

TIA Announces its Tech & Telecom Policy Priorities for 2014

The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), the leading association representing the manufacturers and suppliers of high-tech communications networks, released its 2014 Innovation Agenda, which identifies the organization’s tech and telecom policy priorities for the year ahead.

The Innovation Agenda is focused on three high level goals: Drive Investment, Recapture Global Investment, and Enable Forward-Looking Technologies. With each, TIA has identified specific policy positions it will advocate to help achieve these critical goals. As President Obama prepares for his upcoming State of the Union address, TIA also delivered a letter thanking the President for his commitment to the Information and Communication Technology industry and calling on him to continue to support initiatives that will invigorate technology innovation, grow the U.S. economy and create jobs. As part of its Innovation Agenda, and in the letter to President Obama, TIA has outlined several top priorities.

These include:

  • Broadband Development. Through economic and regulatory incentives for network deployments and upgrades, the US government can create investment in next-generation broadband infrastructure.
  • Expand Global Market Access & Trade Opportunities. Securing access to international markets can be achieved by promoting trade liberalization and policies that are market-based and technology-neutral.
  • Enhance Global Cybersecurity. Global voluntary approaches to cybersecurity and critical infrastructure protection are necessary to avoid policies that could negatively impact investment in innovation, market access, interoperability, and security of global networks.

In addition, TIA’s Innovation Agenda reflects an expanded organizational focus in an area that is increasingly important for the future of technology and society:

  • Health IT. Healthcare systems should fully leverage the broad array of solutions available in the health information technology ecosystem, including the devices, systems, software applications, and other technologies that store, share, and analyze health information.

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