February 2014

Google Fears FCC's New Internet Powers

A recent court decision that endorsed a broad view of the Federal Communications Commission's authority over the Internet has Google and other web companies nervous.

In closed-door meetings with regulators and Capitol Hill staff, Google's lawyers have said they're worried how the FCC may use its newfound powers, according to multiple people familiar with the meetings. The extent of the FCC's authority over Google and other Web services remains unclear, and the current FCC has given no indication that it is interested in pushing aggressive new regulations. But the possibility that the commission could begin telling Google how to organize its search results or handle its users' data is enough to spook the company's army of Washington lobbyists.

The Bitcoin Industry Embraces What It Was Built To Avoid -- Rules And Regulation

Bitcoin was designed to be unregulated by any government or central authority. But according to some of the cryptocurrency’s biggest supporters, the crash of the prominent Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox is the latest sign that Bitcoin needs to adopt some sort of oversight if it is going to survive and thrive.

“I think regulation is a must at this point,” said Todd Williams, a stockbroker and Bitcoin investor since 2010. “Maybe not for all businesses working in Bitcoin, but for any company or organization that is holding a large amount of other people’s money.” The Tokyo-based Mt. Gox, which may have lost some $340 million in Bitcoins to hackers, received a subpoena overnight from New York prosecutors, a sign that a US federal investigation is underway. Japanese authorities are also investigating. A growing number of participants believe the nascent Bitcoin industry needs to accept the fact that expanding beyond the fringe comes with some trappings of accountability

FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai Announces Staff Appointment

Federal Communications Commissioner Ajit Pai announced that Brendan Carr has joined his staff as Legal Advisor for wireless, public safety, and international issues. Commissioner Pai also announced that Jeffrey Neumann, who has been serving as Acting Legal Advisor while on detail from the Media Bureau’s Engineering Division, will be rejoining the Bureau.

Brendan Carr joins Commissioner Pai’s office from the FCC’s Office of General Counsel. In that role, Carr provided legal advice on a wide range of spectrum policy, competition, and public safety matters. Prior to joining the FCC, Carr was an associate at Wiley Rein LLP, where he worked on telecom litigation, appellate, and regulatory matters. Earlier in his career, Carr served as a law clerk for Judge Dennis Shedd of the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Carr graduated magna cum laude from the Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law and obtained a certificate from its Institute for Communications Law Studies. During law school, Carr gained experience interning for Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy, the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau, and the US House of Representatives, Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet. Carr received his undergraduate degree from Georgetown University.

Cloud service providers fight back, challenge NSA

For US cloud computing companies that have long been fighting to defend the privacy protections involving data stored in their servers or passing over their networks, the ongoing revelations about the extent of the National Security Agency's surveillance activities could carry a huge price tag. But some of the firms most affected have been fighting back.

Many of the leading companies in the tech sector have mobilized their legal and policy teams in response to the NSA revelations. In addition to the joint litigation seeking greater transparency on government data requests, several companies that compete vigorously in the marketplace have banded together to form the Reform Government Surveillance coalition, championing a series of principles that would limit federal intelligence authorities and introduce new oversight and accountability measures.

Dodger Fans Shut Out as Providers Balk at Time Warner Cable Fee

Los Angeles Dodgers fans who enjoyed watching a rejuvenated team on TV last season may find themselves shut out when the squad retakes the field this season -- unless they subscribe to Time Warner Cable.

The cable company, going live with a new Dodgers network, hasn’t convinced DirecTV, AT&T or other pay-TV operators to carry the channel, potentially missing almost two-thirds of the second-largest US TV market. At $4-plus a month, SportsNet LA would be the town’s most costly regional channel, packaged on a basic tier that all subscribers must take. Time Warner Cable’s 2013 accord for 25 years of Dodgers games, pegged at $8.35 billion by the team and the league, is testing the value of sports programming after a run-up in costs. Time Warner Cable needs competitors to sign up and charge their customers for the network to profit.

Apple Files Appeal In E-Book Antitrust Case

Apple filed papers telling a federal appeals court in New York that a judge's finding it violated antitrust laws by manipulating electronic book prices "is a radical departure" from modern antitrust law that will "chill competition and harm consumers" if allowed to stand.

Apple filed its formal written arguments before the Second US Circuit Court of Appeals, asking the appeals court to overturn the judgment in Apple's favor, or grant a new trial in front of a different judge. Apple's papers refuted the antitrust finding, and said its entrance into the e-book market "kick-started competition in a highly concentrated market, delivering higher output, lower price levels, and accelerated innovation."

Next-Generation Cybersecurity Ratchets Up

It should come as no surprise that US intelligence officials ranked cybersecurity as the number one threat to US interests during a recent congressional hearing. Despite years of widely reported and costly break-ins, we are still woefully deficient when it comes to protecting our digital assets. The problem is that the systems and safeguards currently in use have not kept pace with the rapid technological changes. Traditional security mechanisms, such as firewalls and antivirus systems, are static, difficult to configure, and even tougher to update as new threats emerge. But there is some good news: Entrepreneurs have paid close attention to these scary scenarios, and thanks to them, better cybersecurity measures are on the horizon.

Companies Wrestle With the Cost of Cybersecurity

There are long-standing questions over the costs and benefits of cybersecurity. The Obama Administration stoked the debate by issuing new guidelines urging companies in important industries such as energy, banking and telecommunications to do more to protect and monitor their networks, and to train employees. Some business groups criticized the proposal, saying it would push them to spend money for uncertain benefits.

Increased spending might not make sense for an individual firm, they say, even if it might make the nation safer. The White House proposal is "pro-public and not pro-commercial," said Larry Clinton, president of the Internet Security Alliance, a business group. Cybersecurity measures must be cost-effective for an individual company, or be "supported by some sort of economic incentive," he said.

Cybersecurity Firm Advises Caution in Dealing With NSA

For two months RSA Executive Chairman Art Coviello has faced criticism that his company helped the National Security Agency spy on customers of the computer security firm.

He suggested that the government wasn't upfront about what it would do with his products and said other companies should be wary of working with US intelligence. If the NSA "exploits a tradition of trust within the security community, that's a problem," Coviello said. "If that is an issue, we can't work with the NSA," he said in a subsequent interview. Security researchers have questioned why RSA continued to use the Bsafe formula even after mathematicians discovered holes more than seven years ago. "There is maybe a little 20/20 hindsight here," Coviello said. Relatively few researchers found problems with the formula before the Snowden leaks, he said.

Dalai Lama Visits Silicon Valley to Talk Tech Ethics

As part of the Dalai Lama’s three-day tour of the Bay Area, the 78-year-old Tibetan spiritual leader visited Santa Clara University to talk to technology leaders -- including Charles Geschke, co-founder of Adobe, and Jane Shaw, former chairman of the board of Intel. The conversation -- which the Jesuit university hopes will be the first of many -- centered around how to bring compassion to a capitalistic Silicon Valley.

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