1. Monthly archive
  2. September 2014

September 2014

Google Report Shows Governments’ Increasing Demands for Users’ Data

Governments of all sizes are demanding that Google hand over growing troves of data about its users, according to the Internet giant’s latest transparency report.

The report is a tally of all the times a government has used its legal authority to demand that Google hand over internal data about the people who use Google products like Gmail, YouTube or its namesake search engine. This is the 10th time Google has released numbers on government data requests. Each time, the number of requests has risen sharply -- reflecting Google’s growth as a company as well as governments’ increasing use of the company’s data in criminal investigations. The roughly 32,000 requests Google fielded in the first six months of 2014 were up 15 percent from the previous six months, and up 150 percent since the company started publishing its transparency report in 2009. The growth was faster in the United States, with 19 percent growth in the first half of 2014 versus the previous six months, and up 250 percent since 2009.

Privacy advocates split over NSA reform bill

A coalition including civil liberties groups and government whistleblowers has come out against a Senate bill responding to the government surveillance and data collection revealed by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden. Many observers see the current Senate version of the USA Freedom Act as the most likely to succeed. But a letter released by the group argues that the language in the bill is too murky and could actually codify some controversial government programs while failing to provide meaningful prohibition against mass surveillance.

"The USA Freedom Act has significant potential to degrade, rather than improve, the surveillance status quo," the letter warns. "At best, even if faithfully implemented, the current bill will erect limited barriers to Section 215, only one of the various legal justifications for surveillance, create additional loopholes, and provide a statutory framework for some of the most problematic surveillance policies, all while reauthorizing the Patriot Act." Signers of the letter include NSA whistleblowers William Binney and Thomas Drake, as well as journalist Daniel Ellsberg, who revealed the Pentagon Papers, and groups including Progressive Change Campaign Committee, the Sunlight Foundation, Restore The Fourth, and Fight for the Future.

But notably absent from the list are some of the big-name civil liberties groups -- including the American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Center for Democracy & Technology and New America Foundation's Open Technology Institute -- who have signed on to a letter endorsing the version of the bill introduced by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT).

Apple says iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus orders broke record

Pre-orders for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus topped a record-breaking 4 million in the first 24 hours the phones were on sale, according to Apple. The first iPhones will be delivered to some customers Sept 19, but many who pre-ordered will have to wait until next month to get their hands on the new devices. People who wait in the now-traditional epic lines at Apple stores on Sept 19 also may be able to snag a new phone, but supplies there will not be endless either.

TWC Makes Dodgers Games Available on Broadcast

Baseball fans in Los Angeles will get to see on TV the last six games of the Dodgers season, according to Time Warner Cable, which said it had struck a deal with LA independent station KDOC to air the games.

The Dodgers games have been airing on TWC's SportsNet LA, where they will continue to air. But they have been off various pay-TV outlets there unwilling to agree to the regional sports net's carriage terms. Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) is already worried about next year saying, “We must act now to assure that the Dodgers are not blacked out for the 2015 season.” Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler said, “I’m pleased that now all Dodger fans will be able to join the excitement of watching the final regular season games in advance of the playoff race. The leadership of Representative Cárdenas and Mayor Garcetti kept this issue in the forefront and the FCC will continue to go to bat for consumers in resolving programming disputes. We hope that long-term agreements will be the next step and can be achieved quickly without depriving fans of any regular season games next year.”

Public Broadcasters Challenge Broadcast Incentive Auction

In a petition for reconsideration filed by the Association for Public Television Stations, public broadcasters have asked the Federal Communications Commission to change its proposed rules for the broadcast incentive auction to insure that at least one noncommercial station remains in each market, or at least a noncom-reserved channel is left open. "The incentive auction rules as adopted by the FCC overturn more than six decades of FCC precedent reserving spectrum for noncommercial educational service," said PBS President Paula Kerger, CPB President Patricia Harrison and APTS President Patrick Butler.

Connecticut Mayors Seek Gigabit Partners

New Haven, Stamford and West Hartford (CT) are putting the pedal to the metal on 1-Gig broadband service, and are inviting other cities to join their effort. The goal: Speed up service and reduce network costs for everyone. For "underserved" or disadvantaged areas, that would mean low-cost or even free service of at least 10 Mbps to 100 Mbps minimum, and for the rest "at prices comparable to other gigabit fiber communities across the nation."

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler said, “High-speed broadband is an essential asset for today’s communities and tomorrow’s economy. Too many Americans lack real choices for fast, affordable Internet service, which I why I’m heartened to see these leaders commit to bringing gigabit connectivity to the businesses and consumers of central Connecticut. Today’s announcement will lead to more competitive choices for consumers and more innovation to create jobs and improve the lives across the region.”

FTC warns of using big data to exclude consumers

Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Edith Ramirez said the collection and analysis of big data holds great promise, but may also lead some companies to create profiles of consumers leading to discrimination.

The FTC is "committed to rigorous enforcement" of current law related to data privacy and discriminatory practices, but companies, US policymakers and other groups need to have a deeper discussion about fair big data practices, Chairwoman Ramirez said. Big data "has the capacity to save lives, improve education, enhance government services, increase marketplace efficiency and boost economic productivity," Chairwoman Ramirez added. "But the same analytic power that makes it easier to predict the outbreak of a virus, identify who is likely to suffer a heart attack, or improve the delivery of social services, also has the capacity to reinforce disadvantages faced by low-income and underserved communities."

Nominee for European Post Voices Concern About US Tech Giants

Google should be blocked from expanding into making goods like cars and televisions, the European Union’s nominee for digital economy commissioner said.

The nominee, Günther Oettinger, a fellow German and political ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel, suggested that American technology giants like Google threatened to reap the rewards from developing innovative products, consigning European businesses to delivering parts and services. ‘‘It must not happen that Google makes future products such as cars or televisions and that European companies are left in the role of suppliers,’’ Oettinger said.

Diversity Statement

The Benton Foundation is committed to fostering diversity and inclusion both in the U.S. media and at the Foundation. The collective sum of the individual differences, life experiences, knowledge, innovation, self-expression, unique capabilities and talents that our employees invest in their work represents a significant part of not only our culture, but our reputation and the Foundation’s achievement as well.

We embrace and encourage our employees’ differences in age, color, ethnicity, disability, family or marital status, sexual orientation, language, national origin, race, religion, and other characteristics that make each of our employees unique. Our priority is to recruit, retain, and promote individuals without regard to these characteristics, and also because these unique qualities bring value to the Foundation and the people we serve.

Our commitment manifests itself in the development of policies and practices to promote diversity and engage everyone in that pursuit. Toward that end, the Foundation’s diversity initiatives are applicable—but not limited—to our practices and policies that comply with all relevant laws providing equal opportunity in employment for all persons, and prohibiting discrimination or harassment by reason of race, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law. Our equal employment opportunity policy applies to all aspects of employment with the Foundation, including hiring, promotion, discharge, pay, benefits, training, classification, and referral. The Foundation and its leadership intend to remain focused on achieving the full value of a diverse workforce operating in an inclusive environment where all can excel.

SERVING DIVERSE CONSTITUENCIES

Benton promotes critical goals and values for full participation in and enjoyment of the benefits of 21st century communications technology. Foundation staff advocate for pragmatic government policies that ensure affordable broadband networks are available to all, extending opportunities to those who can benefit most. Our focus is on addressing the communication needs of vulnerable communities including low income Americans, seniors, children, rural populations and Native Americans.

Three values define our work:

  1. Access - Every American, regardless of ethnicity, location and income, must have affordable access to fixed and mobile broadband networks, and the video and voice services that run over them.
  2. Equity – Everyone must have a fair opportunity to tap into the potential of communications tools to improve their lives and communities.
  3. Diversity - Americans must have the ability to both access and create content that reflects the diversity of viewpoints which exist throughout the nation.

Since 2010, the Foundation has worked on Universal Service Fund reform with a specific focus on the Lifeline and E-rate programs, the former targeting low income consumers and the latter schools and libraries serving a variety of populations. We have supported efforts to develop and support important consumer protection policies, particularly in the privacy arena, which help vulnerable communities access, adopt and utilize, broadband and voice services.

One of our major initiatives is exploring collaborations on Broadband Adoption Challenges for Low-Income Elderly.  Benton’s 2012 conference, Getting Seniors Online, highlighted Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) projects serving low-income seniors. This event led to the development of a working relationship with the National Telecommunications and Information Agency (NTIA) to further explore how best to identify effective practices from the BTOP projects and articulate those practices in the manner most helpful to the FCC as it works to transition the low-income phone subsidy (Lifeline) from supporting voice service to broadband. In addition, we are discussing opportunities to raise awareness about the challenges of getting seniors online with Senior Service America, Inc.

Map of the Stars

Treasure Map is a vast National Security Agency campaign to map the global internet.

The program doesn’t just seek to chart data flows in large traffic channels, such as telecommunications cables. Rather, it seeks to identify and locate every single device that is connected to the internet somewhere in the world -- every smartphone, tablet, and computer -- ”anywhere, all the time,” according to NSA documents. Its internal logo depicts a skull superimposed onto a compass, the eyeholes glowing demonic red. The breathtaking mission is described in a document from the archive of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. Treasure Map’s goal is to create an “interactive map of the global internet” in “almost real time.” Employees of the so-called “Five Eyes” intelligence alliance -- England, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand -- can install and use the program on their own computers. It evokes a kind of Google Earth for global data traffic, a bird’s eye view of the planet’s digital arteries.

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