June 2014

House Republicans are warning Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler to tread carefully as he tries to open up local governments to more broadband competition.

Their letter, led by House Commerce Vice Chairwoman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Rep Bill Johnson (R-OH), comes after Chairman Wheeler’s repeated pledges to make the market for Internet access more competitive by creating opportunities for community broadband projects, currently restricted by state laws.

“Inserting the Commission into the states’ economic and fiscal affairs as you have suggested ... violates state sovereignty in a manner that warrants deeper examination,” said the 60 House Republicans who signed the missive.

In their letter, the group of House Republicans urged Wheeler to defer to state governments, which “understand and are more attentive to the needs of the American people than unelected federal bureaucrats in Washington.”

Netflix is famous for the way it uses algorithms to determine what programs or movies its members might want to watch, but data plays a much broader role inside the company’s streaming service than just informing recommendations.

In a blog post, the company explained how it analyzes data to do everything from optimizing playback quality to identifying poorly translated subtitles. The post, written by Netflix ‎director of streaming science and algorithms Nirmal Govind, highlights several areas in which better algorithms could improve the Netflix experience, focusing largely on how to ensure the best-possible playback in any given situation --, at least, how to ensure users are getting the playback quality they expect.

However, the most interesting use of data Govind discussed might be how Netflix is using natural-language processing and text analysis to improve the actual quality of the movies and shows it streams.

Residents of the Big Apple will have an easier time finding New York City’s laws online, under new legislation proposed by a handful of city council members.

Int. 149 requires New York City to post a complete copy of its city charter, administrative code and official rules on NYC.gov, Gotham’s official website. The data must be presented in a searchable format and updated regularly.

Sponsored by Council Member Brad Lander, who represents the 39th Council District in Brooklyn, the bill is a response to concerns that finding municipal laws are some of the most difficult civic information to find online.

For years state governments have partnered with publishers to update and sift through their jumble of constantly changing legal codes, charging fees for any annotations, section titles, chapter summaries -- and almost every alteration to make the texts coherent and digestible. But activists and civic hackers have argued that citizens are entitled to all law -- however it’s packaged.

We believe there is a new regulatory paradigm where the Commission relies on industry and the market first while preserving other options if that approach is unsuccessful.

For all the ways the Internet has already transformed our lives, today’s network revolution is constantly creating enormous new opportunities to grow our economy, to enhance US competitiveness, and to improve the lives of the American people. Yet, these changes also raise new security challenges -- challenges that must be addressed if we hope to seize the opportunities.

So what, exactly, is the FCC’s role in this shared endeavor? The challenge of the FCC is to deliver on the national security and public safety effects mandate as the networks that enable those effects evolve from analog to digital. Foremost, the FCC must build upon past Federal and private sector work in cybersecurity. This new paradigm must be based on private sector innovation, and the alignment of private interests in profit and return on investment with public interests like public safety and national security. We will be guided by a top notch team, led by the Chief of our Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau Admiral Dave Simpson.

Our work on cybersecurity in the communications sector will be guided by a set of principles:

• First and foremost is a commitment to preserving the qualities that have made the Internet an unprecedented platform for innovation and free expression. That means we cannot sacrifice the freedom and openness of the Internet in the name of enhanced security.
• Second is our commitment to privacy, which is essential to consumer confidence in the Internet. We believe that when done right, cybersecurity enables digital privacy -- personal control of one’s own data and networks.
• Third is a commitment to cross-sector coordination. Particularly among regulatory agencies, we must coordinate our activities and our engagement with our sector stakeholders.
• Fourth, we continue support the multi-stakeholder approach to global Internet governance that has successfully guided its evolution, and we will oppose any efforts by international groups to impose Internet regulations that could restrict the free flow of information in the name of security.