June 2014

Should consumers trust data brokers to protect their information?

[Commentary] Federal regulators say companies that buy and sell consumer data operate largely in the shadows and should be reined in with new privacy laws. The marketing trade group that speaks for so-called data brokers says that no such laws are necessary and that these companies do a fine job of policing themselves.

As the Joker said in Tim Burton's "Batman," "Who do you trust? Hubba, hubba, hubba! Money, money, money! Who do you trust?" Left to their own device over the years, data brokers have consistently striven to keep consumers in the dark about the information they collect and what they do with it.

The Federal Trade Commission isn't trying to shut the industry down. It simply wants to give people more say over how their personal info is used.

Among the agency's recommendations is creation of a website that would allow consumers to see what various data brokers know about them and opt out of having their info used in the future. It also wants retailers and other businesses to notify consumers before sharing information with data brokers and, again, to allow people to opt out of such activities. If information is especially sensitive, such as medical info, people would have to be asked for their permission before it could be placed in the hands of data brokers.

These are excellent proposals. Will Congress act on them? I wouldn't hold my breath, considering Washington's lousy track record for privacy safeguards since the Sept 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

WWDC: Three awesome new Apple features that also protect your privacy

Apple critics are already bummed that the company didn't release a new TV or shiny iDevice during its 2014 keynote at the World Wide Developers' Conference. But WWDC has always been mainly about the software, and for fans of iOS and Mac OS X, there's actually a lot to like.
Some of the biggest changes take place under the hood.

And this time, Apple has released a handful of software features that promise to improve security without sacrificing ease of use, which is often the tradeoff when it comes to protecting your data. Here's a sampling.

Mindblowingly huge e-mail attachments. The next version of Apple's operating system, Yosemite, will support attachments that are up to 5 GB in size.
A fingerprint sensor API. Apple introduced a hardware update to the iPhone that let users sign into their Apple accounts and unlock their devices just by pressing their thumb to the built-in sensor. Now, Apple's making that same hardware available to developers, meaning you'll soon be able to log in and make purchases with your fingerprint on third-party apps, too.
Support for third-party keyboards. After years of forcing people to use the keyboard that came with the iPhone, Apple is allowing other keyboards onto iOS.

Time Warner Cable spreads its Wi-Fi wings with Boingo deal

Now that Time Warner Cable has it made it easier for customers to access its Wi-Fi hotspot networks with its recent upgrade to Hotspot 2.0, and it’s starting to expand its wireless coverage with roaming deals.

It’s now signed a new roaming deal with wireless ISP Boingo, giving it access to its network of hotspots in busy US transit hubs, including airports, train stations and even New York City subway platforms. The deal is reciprocal, meaning Boingo’s wireless customers can access TWC’s 32,000-node hotspot network, built in commercial corridors and other highly trafficked areas throughout its cable territory. TWC broadband customers won’t get access to Boingo’s entire hotspot footprint, just travel hubs in about 100 US locations.

Networks Are Writing Discounted C7 Deals, But Not Everyone's Biting

Even with Kevin Reilly out at the News Corp broadcaster and ratings declines from an aging American Idol, Fox has managed to score a serious deal: GroupM, arguably the biggest media agency network, is buying C7 advertising rating system guarantees.

One of the networks is said to be dangling a 3 percent pricing discount in front of agencies that will agree to C7 guarantees. It hasn't even been that long since the networks started selling C3 -- the shift to C7 is something buyers have long resisted, given the length of time it takes to process the data and the need for immediate returns on ads such as movie trailers.

With C7 guarantees, you may see that your ad was delivered, but if your ad was delivered on unskippable video-on-demand on Tuesday and your movie opened on Friday, it's probably not a great feeling to shell out cash for that delivery.

So let the message go forth: the economics are acceptable at the moment. That may mean that Fox is selling the C7 impressions for a low enough rate to interest the network, of course -- but it also means that a major border has been crossed in the technical progress of the advertising negotiations. One reason the market has been slow to start, industry sources told Adweek, is the preponderance of proprietary tech among research teams at the networks selling the inventory.

Internet Governance, Privacy, and the Right to Be Forgotten

[Commentary] In May, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) generated controversy with its ruling on privacy. The case involved a Spanish man’s grievance with Google over a search result for his name that linked to information outlining a 15-year-old bankruptcy proceeding. The ECJ ruled that Google, and other search engines, should be required to remove the information that is deemed “inadequate, irrelevant or no longer relevant, or excessive in relation to the purposes for which they were processed and in the light of the time that has elapsed”.

The ECJ held search engines responsible for the results delivered to its users. This ruling suggests that search engines can affect the reputation of an individual person, as opposed to functioning as a tool that enables users to access information across the Internet.

The ECJ acknowledges that this ruling will not deter potentially damaging information from being discoverable since the information will still exist on the Internet even if a search engine can’t link directly to the result. Would this type of ruling ever occur in the United States? It’s difficult to imagine a ruling like this to come from an American court, for the following reasons:

One: Given the First Amendment, it would be difficult to justify limits on publication of digital material.
Two: The United States and Europe have fundamentally different approaches to protecting privacy. In his recent paper Cameron Kerry describes the political and legal differences between the EU and the US.

Rethinking Privacy: Though Technology has Outpaced Policy, That's No Reason to Give Up

[Commentary] Privacy isn’t dead, it’s just going through an identity crisis. As policymakers struggle to define a meaningful role for themselves in one of the most contentious areas of American politics, the advancement of digital technologies only makes the issue loom larger.

Each convenient new feature developed by Apple, Google or Facebook fuels a public conversation about the border between cutting-edge and creepy. Privacy is almost universally valued by humanity, but technology is advancing so quickly that people haven’t even had time to settle on a useful definition for the word, let alone a solution that everyone can live with.

One reason policymakers are struggling so much with emerging privacy issues is that the issues themselves are simply unprecedented. “It’s a huge challenge, because it becomes what lawyers call ‘a normative issue,’” Schwartz said. For practical purposes, Schwartz said, it is not wise to act as though privacy is dead, because the stakes are high. Vigilance is needed, he said, because the victim of ineffective privacy legislation is the public.

For the most part, policymakers don’t understand modern technology very well, Schwartz contends, and they’re not anticipating technological disruptions in society. There should be groups dedicated to imagining all the various scenarios that could arrive, he said, as is done in the intelligence community, because there will be disruptions and privacy is worth safeguarding.

Secret Service Software Will 'Detect Sarcasm' In Social Media Users

The Secret Service is purchasing software to watch users of social networks in real time, according to contract documents.

In a work order, the agency details information the tool will collect -- ranging from emotions of Internet users to old Twitter messages. Its capabilities will include “sentiment analysis,” "influencer identification," "access to historical Twitter data," “ability to detect sarcasm," and "heat maps" or graphics showing user trends by color intensity, agency officials said.

The automated technology will "synthesize large sets of social media data" and "identify statistical pattern analysis" among other objectives, officials said. The tool also will have the "functionality to send notifications to users,” they said. Employees within the Secret Service's Office of Government and Public Affairs will be using the new system, agency officials said.

Maker Studios to Lay Off Staff After Disney Deal

Maker Studios will lay off about 10 percent of its staff of 380, according to individuals familiar with the large network of online video channels. Maker is making the staffing changes after its acquisition by the Walt Disney in a deal worth $500 million (and as much as $950 million).

Staffing changes are commonplace after a deal that size, especially for a company with as much overhead as Maker. Maker's nearly 400 staffers span production, advertising sales, technology, merchandising and other sectors.

“Maker's business is constantly evolving, and we routinely reassess our internal resources and make strategic adjustments, reducing staff in some areas while actively hiring in others,” Maker said. It shares many synergies with Disney, which can help the network's reach overseas and consumer products division while using Maker's beach head on YouTube to promote its own stars and movies.

FAA to Consider Exemptions for Commercial UAS Movie and TV Production

The US Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration announced that seven aerial photo and video production companies have asked for regulatory exemptions that would allow the film and television industry to use unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) with FAA approval for the first time.

If the exemption requests are granted, there could be tangible economic benefits as the agency begins to address the demand for commercial UAS operations.

However, all the associated safety issues must be carefully considered to make sure any hazards are appropriately mitigated.

The petitioner must still obtain operational approval from the FAA. The Motion Picture Association of America facilitated the exemption requests on behalf of their membership.

The firms that filed the petitions are all independent aerial cinematography professionals who collectively developed the exemption requests as a requirement to satisfy the safety and public interest concerns of the FAA, MPAA and the public at large. The firms are asking the agency to grant exemptions from regulations that address general flight rules, pilot certificate requirements, manuals, maintenance and equipment mandates.

They are also asking for relief from airworthiness certification requirements as allowed under Section 333. Under that section of the law, certain airworthiness requirements can be waived to let specific UAS fly safely in narrowly-defined, controlled, low-risk situations.

To receive the exemptions, the firms must show that their UAS operations will not adversely affect safety, or provide at least an equal level of safety to the rules from which they seek the exemption. They would also need to show why granting the exemption would be in the public interest.

Apple Looks to Consolidate Health and Fitness Data With HealthKit

Apple made its long-anticipated foray into health and fitness information gathering with HealthKit, a Passbook-like application that pulls in data from third-party apps and consolidates them in one comprehensive health-related profile.

There are existing apps for “everything from monitoring your activity level, to your weight, to chronic medical conditions like blood pressure and diabetes,” Apple’s Craig Federighi, senior vice president of software engineering, said. “But right now that information lives in silos.”

With HealthKit in iOS 8, there’s now a single profile of activity and health. Not surprisingly, Apple named Nike as an early partner in this. But it also named the reputable Mayo Clinic as a partner.

Benton

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