December 2014

US Tech Giants Battle Europe’s Sovereign States

From Berlin to Madrid, from London to Paris, US technology companies are in a pitched battle with Europe’s sovereign states. It is a clash that pits governments against the new tech titans, established industries against upstart challengers, and freewheeling American business culture against a more regulated European framework. And it poses one of the greatest threats to US technology giants since their emergence from garages and college campuses over the past four decades.

First and foremost, the battle is about economics. It is also a clash about values: Silicon Valley’s default setting of light regulation is colliding with the greater European emphasis on preserving individual privacy. And perhaps most fundamentally, it is about control of the Internet, the world’s common connection and crucial economic engine that is viewed as being under the sway of the US.

UK watchdog intervenes in Google case

The UK’s privacy watchdog has made an unusual last-minute intervention in a case that pits Google against three Internet users who are accusing the US technology group of secretly tracking their browsing habits and breaching their data protection rights.

The High Court permitted them to bring their claim in the UK courts rather than in California, where Google is based. The company has gone to the Court of Appeal to seek to overturn this ruling. The Information Commissioner, which regulates Internet companies and the use of private data, has intervened in the case as an interested third party, arguing that parts of the case raise issues about data protection laws. The case is significant because it touches on growing concern about online privacy and how personal internet data are protected. The Internet users allege that Google tracked and collated information relating to their Internet use in 2011-12 without their knowledge.

Why cyber armies are a good investment for countries like North Korea

Given the increasingly digital nature of warfare in the world, it makes economic sense for North Korea to pour resources in entities such as Bureau 121.

Some investigators believe this group, or something like it, committed the damaging hack against Sony Pictures, a revenge scheme for the studio’s upcoming release entitled “The Interview” -- a comedy about an attempted assassination of North Korea’s leader. The country is also suspected to have carried out a series of other attacks against South Korean companies. On the digital battlefield attackers have a distinct advantage. For hackers to win, they only need to breach a system once, while defenders must deflect each and every attack to be successful. In other words, North Korea could attack again and again with little consequence, causing immense damage without paying much cost, except for the lavish lifestyle of its hackers.

President Obama renews NSA spying program after reform bill fails

The Obama Administration has renewed a controversial spying program that would have been ended under legislation that was blocked by a Senate filibuster. The move came amid opposition from critics of the National Security Agency’s program; they have urged President Barack Obama to abandon the controversial phone records program on his own, since the reform bill failed in Congress.

National Security Agency data program back in federal court

The government's bulk collection of Americans’ call records was brought before a US appeals court for the third time in as many months. At least one member of the three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Seattle (WA) questioned the standing in Smith v. Obama.

"The injury is in the collection of the data, your honor," said Peter Smith, husband and attorney to the plaintiff, Anna Smith, a neonatal nurse who brought the suit against the government following the disclosure that the National Security Agency was collecting phone metadata on millions of customers. The appeal comes after a lower court ruled that the collection did not violate the Fourth Amendment.

Don't destroy the open Internet

[Commentary] There are now no enforceable rules to ensure small businesses, nonprofits and individuals can continue to access online content without fear of discriminatory practices or content blocking by Internet service providers who own the information pipelines. Indeed, without new rules, service providers could create fast lanes, impose new fees, and even block certain content and promote other content to bolster their bottom line.

The Federal Communications Commission can pass rules that prevent toll booths, content blocking and discrimination by simply reclassifying broadband as a common carrier service under Title II of the Communications Act. Any approach that stops short of reclassifying broadband under Title II will not allow the FCC to adopt the rules we need today to protect customers and businesses, and will result in high social and economic costs. We urge the FCC to act quickly to implement fair rules of the road that protect businesses and consumers and preserve the power of the open Internet.

Blows Against the Empire

[Commentary] Years ago, Comcast and Time Warner Cable and their brethren carried out a series of swaps and deals aimed at dividing up the country’s cable subscribers. With Comcast's proposed merger with Time Warner Cable, we'll reach an unwelcome tipping point: if the Federal Communications Commission and Congress don't stop the merger, the combined company will, on its own, control 50 percent of the Internet access market for speeds over 25 Mbps.

Now that the government has been through the learning process of the NBCU merger, it understands that the hidden grinding power of Comcast is deeply related to its size. When one company can decide at its leisure -- under no pressure from either competition or oversight -- how, when, and why particular information reaches more than half of American households, at what price, we've got a problem.

Maybe someday we'll develop the industrial policy that will get the nation the upgrade to fiber and the ubiquitous, cheap connectivity we need to compete on the global stage. Until then, it's good to hear the other side of the Comcast discussion speaking with one voice. If the government doesn't listen, they'll be setting a new standard for tone-deafness.

[Crawford is the John A. Reilly Visiting Professor in Intellectual Property at the Harvard Law School]

Americans Feel Better Informed Thanks to the Internet

Rather than crushing them with too much information and making it hard to find useful material, most Americans say the Internet and cell phones have brought benefits in learning, sharing and diversifying the flow of information into their lives. A new survey by the Pew Research Center finds that the vast majority of Americans believe their use of the web helps them learn new things, stay better informed on topics that matter to them, and increases their capacity to share ideas and creations with others.

Analysts: Dish will have leverage over Verizon, AT&T if it scores paired AWS-3 spectrum

With bidding in the AWS-3 spectrum auction winding down, financial analysts think Dish Network is likely going to walk away as a major winner, especially if it can secure paired spectrum licenses in major markets.

According to a research note from analysts at New Street Research, that would give Dish leverage over Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility, which have likely spent big at the auction. "The best case for the carriers is that they win all of the spectrum. If Dish does win a number of licenses in key markets, the carriers will be in a tough spot strategically."

Pause That refreshes: FCC should take time to follow up AWS-3 victory with a successful incentive auction

[Commentary] The AWS-3 wireless spectrum auction has given the Federal Communications Commission a great opportunity to pause and rethink its framework for the broadcast incentive auction.

It should also relieve the pressure not only financially, but in terms of deadline. The incentive auction was designed when it was not clear how much the first two auctions -- H Block and AWS-3 -- would raise. The AWS-3 (with an assist from H Block) has essentially paid the freight for FirstNet, the first-responder broadband network, with plenty left over for E-911 and other projects, with still billions more for the federal treasury. So the pressure should now be off the incentive auction, which anticipated having to cover some of those expenses.

Benton

Search