September 2015

US State Department Launches Global Connect Initiatives at UN General Assembly

The US Department of State unveiled a new initiative called “Global Connect,” which seeks to bring 1.5 billion people who lack Internet access, online by 2020. On behalf of the Secretary of State, Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Catherine Novelli delivered a key-note address at UN Headquarters on “Development in the Digital Age” to announce this new diplomatic initiative.

In her remarks, the Under Secretary highlighted how, through Global Connect, major US development agencies will begin to make Internet access a top priority in their work around the world. To accomplish this, the Dept of State lead by example. Major U.S. development agencies will begin to make Internet access a top priority in their work around the world. The Dept of State will also urge international development banks to recognize the Internet as an essential element of every country’s infrastructure – as the World Bank has already done. It will also partner with other governments from highly connected countries and enlist their expertise. The Dept of State will work with private industry which has created innovative solutions to connect people in remote areas. In short, we will pursue an “all of the above” approach.

Early in 2016, the Dept of State will bring together governments and stakeholders to further advance our “Global Connect” initiative and help bridge the digital divide.

Microsoft Responds to Windows 10 Privacy Concerns

It has been nearly two months since the launch of Windows 10, and Microsoft is finally responding to the growing privacy concerns around the new operating system. In a detailed blog post from Windows chief Terry Myerson, Microsoft details all of the ways Windows 10 collects and uses data. Myerson claims “Windows 10 collects information so the product will work better for you,” and that “you are in control with the ability to determine what information is collected.”

There have been a number of concerns over the content of application crash data, but Myerson reveals Microsoft doesn’t collect content or files, and that the company takes “several steps to avoid collecting any information that directly identifies you, such as your name, email address or account ID.” Why does Microsoft even need this data? Myerson says Microsoft has used the data collected to roll out reliability fixes to Windows 10 "within 24 hours" of a particular crash.

Republicans Question Constitutionality of President Obama's Plan to Give Up Internet Authority

The Obama Administration's plan to give up its role in the technical management of the Internet could be unconstitutional, according to top Republican lawmakers. The Commerce Department announced in 2014 that it will end its authority over the severs and other infrastructure necessary for computers around the world to reach websites. In a letter released Sept 28 dated Sept 22, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA), House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Sen Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Rep Darrell Issa (R-CA) argued that the plan could violate the constitutional provision that only Congress has the power to "dispose of...property belonging to the United States."

"If the contact governing US oversight of the Internet is indeed government property, the Administration's intention to cede control to the 'global stakeholder community' -- including nations like Iran, Russian and China that do not value free speech and in fact seek to stifle it -- is in violation of the Constitution and should be stopped," Sen Cruz said in a separate statement.

FISA Court Gets First Public Advocate

A well-known Washington (DC) lawyer has been appointed to be the first of a total of five amici curae -- friends of the court -- who will act as a sort of ombudsman or public advocate at the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC). The move was one of the provisions in the USA Freedom Act, which passed in June 2015 as a package of modest reforms to the national security system. The attorney, Preston Burton, was named to the post by the FISC earlier in Sept, which was not widely reported until Sept 25.

Burton was likely selected because he has dealt with many security-related cases in the past, including former CIA intelligence agent Aldrich H. Ames, and former FBI Special Agent Robert Hanssen. In addition, according to his own biography, he "has held a Top Secret/SCI level security clearance at numerous points in his career," which he will likely need again. Previously, hearings before the FISC were ex parte, or one-sided, with the judge only hearing from government representatives. Prior to the Snowden leaks, all FISC opinions, as well as its entire docket, had been totally secret. In the court’s history, warrants (and related orders) are approved more than 99 percent of the time.

Nexstar Offers to Buy Media General for $1.85 Billion

The Nexstar Broadcasting Group said that it had made an unsolicited offer to buy Media General for $1.85 billion in cash and stock, potentially upending Media General’s recent bid for the Meredith Corporation. The proposal comes less than three weeks after Media General offered to pay $2.4 billion for its rival Meredith, the publisher of Better Homes and Gardens magazine and owner of a variety of local television stations. Media General said at the time that the Meredith deal would create one of the largest owners of broadcast network affiliates in the United States, with annual revenue of about $3 billion. The combined company would have 88 stations in 54 markets and reach about 30 percent of American television households.

To counter skeptics, LTE-U backers are rolling out a new lobbying group

Facing opposition from consumer advocates and the cable industry over a new but controversial flavor of 4G LTE, T-Mobile, Verizon, Qualcomm and a handful of other companies will launch an industry coalition in an effort to sway federal regulators in Washington's latest technology fight. The coalition, Evolve, wants the Federal Communications Commission to avoid regulating LTE-Unlicensed, a new form of LTE that proponents claim will vastly improve consumers' mobile data speeds and coverage.

Qualcomm and Verizon are among LTE-U's leading developers, but the rest of the wireless industry is eager to adopt the technology. It promises to give wireless carriers more capacity as Americans turn increasingly to mobile devices for Internet browsing, streaming video and online games. Other founding members of Evolve are expected to include AT&T, the Competitive Carrier Association, which represents smaller telecom companies, and CTIA, the country's top wireless association.

UN Broadband Commission affirms new focus on Sustainable Development Goals

The power of broadband to leapfrog development roadblocks and bring access to education, healthcare and employment opportunities should put high-speed information and communication technology (ICT) network roll-out at the top of every country’s sustainable development goals (SDG) strategy, according to members of the UN Broadband Commission for Digital Development. The adoption of the 17 SDGs sees the Commission enter a new phase, with 22 new members drawn from a range of sectors including the global technology industry, government ministers, leaders in education and healthcare, and two additional UN bodies.

What can the UN do for press freedom?

[Commentary] The United Nations General Assembly shifts into high gear on Sept 28, and leaders of some of the world’s most repressive countries will be in full public relations mode. Vladimir Putin of Russia, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt, Hassan Rouhani of Iran, and Xi Jinping of China will not only address the General Assembly, they will speak at public events, do the rounds of think tanks, and seek out opportunities for friendly media coverage. Journalists should not allow themselves to be made accomplices in efforts to whitewash media repression.

Instead of enabling some of the world’s most draconian leaders to burnish their image without consequence, journalists, diplomats, and all others with whom they engage should demand accountability for their deplorable records on press freedom. The UN itself needs to be held to account for the gaping disparity between its press freedom rhetoric and the results. Inevitably, the response must be to strengthen the human rights mechanisms and to increase enforcement powers.

Spectrum Auction Group EOBC Disbanding

The Expanding Opportunities for Broadcasters Coalition is disbanding as of Sept. 30, citing anti-collusion rules and procedures mostly in place. EOBC, which has 87 member stations and has been headed by executive director Preston Padden, cited various successes already achieved, as well as Federal Communications Commission anti-collusion rules, which prevent stations from working together on auction strategies.

EOBC got a legal opinion related to the anti-collusion rules that recommended that it dissolve between the auction procedures public notice, which was approved Aug. 6, and the start of the anti-collusion rules, which kick in later in the fall, said Padden, who will continue to do part-time consulting, including on the auction. The anti-collusion rules will be in effect from when broadcasters can register for the auction, likely sometime in November, until the auction ends.

Statement of FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai On Sprint's Decision Not to Participate in the Incentive Auction

Sprint’s decision not to participate in the incentive auction highlights the folly of the Federal Communications Commission’s attempt to pick winners and losers before the auction begins. It also intensifies doubts about how competitive the bidding will be for set-aside spectrum and whether American taxpayers will receive fair compensation for that scarce public resource.

Sprint’s announcement only strengthens my belief that the FCC should not have granted a spectrum giveaway in this auction or placed artificial limits on carriers’ participation.

Benton

Search