1. Monthly archive
  2. September 2015

September 2015

Outside Parties Seek Inside Look at Charter-Time Warner Cable

Third parties are lining up to look at the documents in the Charter/time Warner Cable/Bright House deal. Among the entities who in the past couple of weeks have filed their acknowledgements of confidentiality with the Federal Communications Commission in order to access sensitive -- confidential and highly confidential -- documents in the deal include Dish, COMPTEL (which represents competitive carriers), the American Cable Association (which represents smaller operators), and Free Press. That follows the FCC's release during the week of Sept 14 of the protective orders that determine how documents, like programming contracts and work product, will be shared with outside parties, including competitors.

FCC Announces 3 Rural Broadband Experiments Ready to Be Authorized

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau announces that it is ready to authorize rural broadband experiments support for the provisionally selected bids. The bids that are ready to be authorized cover 292 census blocks in two states for a total of $2,821,652.85 in support. BARC Electric Cooperative in Virginia is one of the selected bids, as well as two from Northeast Rural Services, Inc. in Oklahoma. To be authorized to receive the support, the provisionally selected bidders are required to submit at least one acceptable irrevocable stand-by letter of credit and Bankruptcy Code opinion letter from their legal counsel by October 14, 2015.

US slams Europe over Facebook privacy controversy

The United States Mission to the European Union backed Facebook in its battle against the EU, accusing Europe's top court of making "inaccurate assertions" about America's intelligence services.

The US Mission slammed the court for questioning a crucial data sharing agreement between the US and EU. The US Mission slammed the court for questioning a crucial data sharing agreement between the US and EU. The deal, called "Safe Harbor Framework," makes it possible for thousands of US companies, including tech giants such as Google, Facebook, and Amazon. to transfer private data from the EU to their servers in the US. But the top legal adviser to European Court of Justice suggested the deal is no longer valid because of allegations of "mass, indiscriminate surveillance" by US intelligence services. The US hit back Sept 28, saying the claims are "simply not the case." The court's opinion is part of an ongoing case against Facebook, which was brought by Austrian law student Max Schrems. He said he was uncomfortable with the way Facebook transfers his personal data to the US, where it can be accessed by authorities with little respect for his privacy. Schrems was prompted to file his case by revelations in the case of Wikileaks whistleblower Edward Snowden.

Money, Data, and Democracy

[Commentary] Voter turnout is a big deal. Not just to political junkies and clipboard-wielding party volunteers but also to American foundations. According to Foundation Center's newest mapping tool, Foundation Funding for US Democracy, 180 foundations have spent more than $150 million on voter education, registration, and turnout since 2011, a period that includes one presidential and one midterm election. Seems like a lot of money to get Americans to do what people in many other countries die for. But we're good at spending a lot of money on our democracy.

Even this early in the campaign, big donors are talking big numbers, promising (threatening?) to spend $100 million or more each on their favorite candidates or issues. And political junkies are predicting that more than $4.4 billion will be spent on TV ads alone -- while election spending in total could run as high as $10 billion. Suddenly, nearly $150 million of foundation funding over four years doesn't look so big in comparison to $10 billion for a single election cycle.

[Lucy Bernholz is a senior research scholar at the Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society]

Apple's 'WiFi Assist' Feature Could Cause Surprising Spike in Data Use

Keeping track of your data usage isn't always an easy thing to do. And now several iOS 9 users are questioning whether a feature in Apple's new operating system designed to keep your connection stable is a potential data sink in disguise. The setting, called "WiFi Assist," automatically switches your phone over to the cellular network when you're in a place with spotty Wi-Fi.

The feature is on by default in iOS 9, meaning that your iPhones and iPads will seek out cell networks unless you tell them not to -- and could potentially eat up your data plan without you realizing it. It seems as though the problems start when users think they're somewhere with a good Wi-Fi connection, but their phones beg to differ -- leading to bill shock. Users concerned about that can turn the feature off near the bottom of the "Cellular" section of their Settings app.

How Apple is trying to protect your privacy as its products get more personal

In a revamped privacy policy Web site, Apple attempts to lay out how its philosophy on data collection distinguishes itself from its tech industry rivals. In essence, the company is telling customers it is not interested in their personal data, even as it must use more of that data to deliver personalized products. It is broken down into several sections -- such as how it handles information requests from the authorities including the National Security Agency, instructions on how to secure devices from, say, third parties which may be interested in tracking behavior, and how some of Apple's services work.

Others such as Google have also tried to explain data use policies in everyday language, but sometimes veer to toward being too general. A new section on the Apple News app states that it collects data on what each user is reading so it can offer personalized headlines and ads. But the service does not tie reading habits to an Apple account and uses a unique identifier -- which functions only within the News app -- to send you targeted ads. Readers can also remove a record of their reading history from their device.

© 1994-2024 Benton Institute for Broadband & Society. All Rights Reserved.