November 2014

How did Facebook influence voter turnout?

How did Facebook fare in rousing eligible voters to go out to the polls?

“On the megaphone, 7 million people on Facebook shared that they voted,” says Andy Stone, policy communicator for Facebook. This is about 7 percent of the 90 million registered voters, assuming that the registered voter population hasn’t changed significantly since 2012. While the “I voted” status sticks out as much as the stickers given out at polling locations, there were far more interactions and shares regarding election topics than actual "I voted" statuses. “On Election Day, November 4, through the end of the day, 27 million people on Facebook in the United States made more than 85 million interactions regarding the midterm elections,” Stone says.

Upgraded Health Site Faces Test

An updated version of HealthCare.gov now includes a window-shopping tool that could help the website withstand new pressures, including millions of people returning in coming months for insurance, federal officials said.

The window-shopping tool, which was added to the site Sunday evening, will let consumers see plans and premiums tailored to their needs before going through the process of signing up for coverage. The site is set to be relaunched in six days under a high degree of scrutiny from the public and lawmakers. Bottlenecks in the sign-up process, including verifying a consumer’s income and other personal information, were blamed for many of the site’s troubles in 2013.

Apple iPod antitrust trial: Consumers say iTunes was monopoly

In a federal court trial beginning Nov 12 with jury selection, Apple will try to fend off allegations that it violated antitrust laws through tech maneuvers that once restricted music downloads for iPods to its iTunes store.

While Apple abandoned the restrictions in question years ago, the stakes are still high -- damages could exceed $1 billion if antitrust violations are proven, and an adverse verdict would amount to a black eye for the company's past business practices. US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers is presiding over the trial in Oakland.

Sizing Up Big Media’s Big Advertising Problem

[Commentary] While digital platforms are indeed getting a bigger piece of the advertising pie, they don’t appear to be eating too much into TV’s slice. For media companies, a cyclical rather than secular shift may be playing a more dominant role at the moment. Some spending may have been shifted forward and the slowdown in 2014 may represent a resetting. Media owners and investors likely didn’t see that coming and had projected 2014 would bring faster growth than 2013.

AT&T to take on Slim’s telecoms empire

AT&T will purchase Iusacell from Grupo Salinas in an all-cash deal that values Mexico’s number-three mobile group at $2.5 billion including net debt of $700 million.

The deal brings to an end AT&T’s decade-long partnership with Carlos Slim’s América Móvil, which began to crack in July when the US group sold its 8 percent stake in the Mexican wireless group back to the tycoon for $5.6 billion and removed its two directors from the board. AT&T sold the stake to win regulatory approval for its $48.5 billion takeover of DirectTV, the satellite group that has a presence in several Latin American countries where Slim also operates. Its purchase of Iusacell marks a swift return to Mexico, and comes amid a sweeping overhaul of the telecoms market in the country, where regulators are forcing Slim to break up his empire and sell large chunks of it to rivals to spur competition.

Yes, Elections Matter

[Commentary] Although the full impact of the election will not be known for some time, we can take a look at who’s in and who’s out for the 114th Congress. At Headlines, we keep a close eye on two key Congressional committees because of their jurisdiction over many telecommunications issues and oversight of the Federal Communications Commission: the Senate and House Commerce committees.

Silicon Valley tech execs backed a candidate for Congress. And he lost.

Rep. Mike Honda, the Democratic congressman who had represented Silicon Valley since 2000, won reelection, defeating fellow Democrat, 38-year-old Ro Khanna, a former Obama administration trade representative and patent lawyer, by about 4,000 votes. The outcome was another blow to the tech community's efforts to grow its political clout -- this time close to home.

Futurology: US Failed With Broadband

Back in 2004, the Pew Internet Project asked experts for their predictions of the future of the Internet. The group wanted to know what to expect by 2014. More than half agreed that 90 percent of Americans would have high-speed Internet connections in their homes that were "dramatically faster" than previous speeds.

At the time, 34 percent of adults in the United States had a broadband connection either at work or at home, so the prediction was quite ambitious. In the imagined world of 2014, almost all Americans have access to high-speed Internet, allowing people to connect with new social networks, educational opportunities and health resources. While the prediction talked specifically about 90 percent of Americans having high-speed connections, that many Americans don't even have Internet period.

CBO Scores Standard Merger and Acquisition Reviews Through Equal Rules Act

Under current law, both the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice enforce federal antitrust laws, though in some instances, the manner in which that authority is exercised is different in the two agencies. The Standard Merger and Acquisition Reviews Through Equal Rules Act (H.R. 5402) would amend the Clayton Act and the Federal Trade Commission Act to align certain procedures followed by the FTC to review a proposed merger or acquisition with those followed by DOJ.

Specifically, the bill would:

Harmonize the standard each agency must meet before a federal court can issue a preliminary injunction against a proposed transaction;
Direct the FTC to resolve a contested merger or acquisition through a federal court rather than through administrative litigation; and
In cases where the FTC and the parties reach an agreement that allows the merger or acquisition to proceed, require the agency to submit the agreement to the federal court for its approval.

CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 5402 would not significantly affect discretionary spending. Enacting H.R. 5402 would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. CBO expects that the FTC’s efforts to prepare for and litigate a contested merger in federal court using the new standard specified in H.R. 5402 would not require a significant increase in staffing levels.

Elon Musk’s Next Mission: Internet Satellites

Elon Musk shook up the automotive and aerospace industries with electric cars and cheap rockets. Now, apparently, he’s focused on satellites, looking at ways to make smaller, less-expensive models that can deliver Internet access across the globe.

Musk is working with Greg Wyler, a satellite-industry veteran and former Google Inc. executive. Wyler founded WorldVu Satellites, which controls a large block of radio spectrum. Musk and Wyler have discussed launching around 700 satellites, each weighing less than 250 pounds. That is about half the size of the smallest communications satellites now in commercial use. The constellation would be 10 times the size of the largest current fleet, managed by Iridium Communications. The venture would face large financial, technical and regulatory hurdles. Industry officials estimate that it would cost $1 billion or more.

Benton

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