December 2014

Federal Election Commission Chairwoman-elect on 'dark money' mission

[Commentary] Federal Election Commission Chairwoman-elect Ann Ravel -- a left-leaning Democrat and campaign finance reformer -- won the FEC’s top job by a 5-0 vote of her commission colleagues on Dec 17. Expect her to evangelize campaign transparency and disclosure for all political players during her upcoming term as chairperson. Her target audience: outside-the-Beltway folks who aren’t election lawyers or political practitioners, but are nevertheless concerned about big money’s influence in politics.

Inside the Firewall: Tracking the News That China Blocks

Every day since Nov. 17, 2014, ProPublica has been testing whether the homepages of international news organizations are accessible to browsers inside China. Of the 18 in our test, 9 are currently blocked. The most-blocked news homepages over time appear to be the New York Times (Chinese, International, and US), Bloomberg, and (since the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre on June 4, 2014) the Wall Street Journal.

Meet the unofficial US Ambassador to Cuba: The Internet

[Commentary] The US government isn’t yet lifting the full trade embargo to Cuba, but the two countries will now allow communications devices, services and infrastructure to move more freely between them. The Internet certainly can’t cure all ills -- and it’s caused a few ills of its own -- but it’s become the key tool of global discourse. Diplomacy is great, but opening up the Internet lanes between the US and Cuba would create links between politicians, businesses, organizations, media outlets and even ordinary people. That’s a truly amazing thing.

Only 5 percent of Cubans can get on the same Internet Americans do. That could soon change.

In a remarkable shift, the Obama Administration and the Castro government agreed to a series of moves aimed at opening up Cuba to real, high-speed, Internet access.

Cuba and the United States have agreed to begin allowing communications devices and telecommunications services to move between the two countries. Only about 5 percent of the Cuban population can get on the full global Internet, and only, often, through government institutions, high-end hotels, and black market access. Whether the new US-Cuba agreement means simply that it will be easier for Cubans to get online or whether they'll also be freer to move around once there remains to be seen. But perhaps nowhere on the planet has the fracturing of the global Internet been more real than it has been in Cuba. The moves signal that perhaps, with the help of the United States, that will no longer be the case.

New Commerce Department Report Examines Competition Among US Broadband Service Providers

A new report released by the US Commerce Department's Economics and Statistics Administration examines, for the first time, competition at the full range of speeds of Internet service in the US.

The ESA report, “Competition Among US Broadband Service Providers,” finds that far more competition exists at slower speeds than at higher speeds. At download speeds of 3 megabits per second, 98 percent of the US population had a choice of at least two mobile ISPs, and 88 percent had two or more fixed ISPs available to them. At somewhat higher speeds, such as 10 Mbps, the typical person is able to choose among two fixed ISPs. At speeds greater than 10 Mbps, the number of providers decreases further -- only 37 percent of the population had a choice of two or more fixed-service providers at speeds of 25 Mbps or greater; only 9 percent had three or more choices. The report also found that four out of ten Americans did not live where very-high-speed broadband service -- 100 Mbps or greater -- is available.

Charlottesville (VA) is about to get ‘Google Fiber lite’ thanks to this small wireless carrier

Ting Mobile -- a small, Canadian-owned wireless carrier based in Mississippi -- said it was buying up an Internet service provider in Charlottesville (VA), home to the University of Virginia. The acquisition of Blue Ridge InternetWorks will kickstart new investments by Ting into the town's local fiber optic network, enabling new fixed broadband plans costing less than $100 a month for speeds roughly 100 times the current national average, or 1 gigabit per second. The plan to expand Charlottesville's existing 35 miles of fiber cabling reflects the growing interest in high-speed fiber nationwide that doesn't necessarily come from established communications companies like Verizon.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau accuses Sprint of illegal billing in lawsuit

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is suing Sprint for allegedly cramming customers' phone bills with illegal charges. The CFPB said Sprint violated prohibitions on unfair practices contained in the Wall Street reform law and is urging the courts to force the company to refund tens of millions of dollars to customers and impose fines.

The CFPB said the exact amount of customers affected and dollar amount would be uncovered as it proceeds with the lawsuit, which was filed in a federal court in New York. The lawsuit covers Sprint’s actions from 2004 to 2013, during which time the company outsourced its third-party billing for text message alerts. The CFPB alleged that the outside vendors had "unfettered access" to customers' accounts with inadequate oversight. The system, from which Sprint profited, allowed third parties to easily tack on illegitimate charges to customers' bills, according to the lawsuit. Most of the customers affected were targeted online to give up their cellphone numbers

ICANN targeted by hackers

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) announced that it believes its staffers were targeted by a hacking campaign that began in late November 2014. ICANN said it noticed early in December that a “spear phishing” attack on some employees had allowed hackers to gain access to administrative files containing domain operators’ names, addresses and phone numbers, as well as other sites. Systems relating to the operation of the Web address system have not been impacted, ICANN said.

Google gearing up for 2015 NSA fight

Google is already gearing up for 2015's fight over the National Security Agency. The company quietly launched a new “Take Action” page to mobilize its supporters and prepare for 2015’s battle. “In June of 2015, we have a huge chance to protect Americans from mass surveillance when a key part of the USA Patriot Act is set to expire," Google said. “That means we need to be ready to take action this coming year." Google’s early focus on the issue is a sign that it’s likely to hit the ground running.

Don't Count AM/FM Radio Out Just Yet

[Commentary] Will traditional radio survive in a world where podcasts take over? According to Pew’s State of the Media report, in 2013 a full 91 percent of Americans 12 and up listened to traditional radio at least once per week. That number is barely changed from 2012, or for that matter from 2002. In 2010, National Public Radio’s then-CEO Vivian Schiller prophesied: “Radio towers are going away within 10 years.” Four years later, that pronouncement is looking awfully silly. Radio companies still haul in billions of dollars in revenue. Even as terrestrial radio is overshadowed by podcasts and streams, it will continue to hold a place in our media landscape.

[Seth Stevenson is the author of Grounded: A Down to Earth Journey Around the World]

Benton

Search