1. Monthly archive
  2. November 2015

November 2015

A redcoat solution to government surveillance

[Commentary] Efforts to halt the government's mass surveillance of ordinary citizens have taken two forms: urging Congress to do the right thing (something it rarely does anymore) or suing spy agencies under the 4th Amendment (which prohibits most warrantless searches and seizures). Neither strategy has been particularly effective. Perhaps another route is available, using an amendment so rarely cited that the American Bar Assn. called it the "runt piglet" of our Constitution. It's the 3rd Amendment, which prohibits the federal government from lodging military personnel in your home.

The National Security Agency is part of the Department of Defense and therefore of our nation's military. By law, the NSA director must be a commissioned military officer, and per its mission statement, the NSA gathers information for military purposes. That's strong evidence that NSA personnel would qualify as soldiers under the 3rd Amendment. And why did the framers prohibit the government lodging soldiers in private homes? Besides a general distaste for standing armies, quartering was costly for homeowners; it was also an annoyance that completely extinguished a family's sense of privacy and made them feel violated. Sound familiar? I'm not alone in seeing the ever-expanding federal government's military-run surveillance as a modern form of quartering troops in our homes. Several mainstream but inventive constitutional law professors have argued that the 3rd Amendment applies to surveillance. Like me, they see that the ubiquitous incorporeal presence of a military agency in our household systems is as significant to us as the physical presence of redcoats was in the 1700s. Let's dust off the 3rd Amendment to make this point, and soon.

[State Rep Mike Gatto is a lawyer and the assemblyman from California's 43rd District in Los Angeles County]

Decrypting the Encryption Debate

[Commentary] Following the horrible terrorist attacks in Paris, there have been renewed calls to impose restrictive government control over encryption by some analysts studying the attack. Their logic seems to be that such a large group of terrorists could not have planned the attacks over time without using some form of encryption to shield their activities from authorities, even though no actual evidence of encrypted communications has yet been found. I’m actually somewhat surprised encryption remains a controversial topic thousands of years after its creation.

The ability to encrypt and use cyphers to hide messages from unauthorized readers goes back at least as far as Roman times, when notes were written on leather strips wound around a pole of a certain diameter. To reassemble the message once the leather was unwound, the exact size pole needed to be employed on the other end. Over the years, hundreds of manual forms of encryption and an almost unlimited number of codes have been created to protect information. In fact, of the few ancient technologies still being used today, probably only encryption still carries such controversy. Whether we discover the terrorists in Paris used encryption, those horrible events have stirred the pot in the age-old encryption debate. The many good uses of encryption far outweigh the potential bad.

[John Breeden is the CEO of the Tech Writers Bureau]

How Roger Ailes Built Fox News Into a Media Powerhouse

A Q&A with Roger Ailes, Chairman and CEO of Fox News.

Roger Ailes runs one of the most valuable networks, on track to bring in $2.3 billion in revenue in 2015, per SNL Kagan, twice that of CNN. And now, the net has another jewel in its crown, boasting the most-watched non-sports cable program ever, with 24 million people tuning in for the first GOP debate this past August. When asked if cord cutting concerns him, Ailes said, "Well, it does if it keeps up. There's an advantage to being the No. 1 channel. I think we'll get hurt less than most. So, yes, I'm looking at it. Anytime there's an attack on the money, you have to look at it." When asked about the relationship with Donald Trump, he said, "Look, I've always had the same relationship with Donald for 30 years. It's a friendly relationship, surprisingly enough. I did call him after the first go-round and I said, 'What the hell is wrong with you? The United States is at war with every goddamn country in the Middle East and you're at war with Megyn Kelly and you think that looks good? It doesn't look good.'"

World Radiocommunication Conference allocates spectrum for future innovation

The World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 (WRC-15) has concluded its deliberations as delegates sign the Final Acts that revise the Radio Regulations, the international treaty governing the use of radio-frequency spectrum and satellite orbits. WRC-15 addressed over 40 topics related to frequency allocation and frequency sharing for the efficient use of spectrum and orbital resources. The outcomes ensure high quality radiocommunication services for mobile and satellite communications, maritime and aeronautical transport, air and road safety as well as for scientific purposes related to the environment, meteorology and climatology, disaster prediction, mitigation and relief.

The ITU Radiocommunication Sector has been set an ambitious studies programme for the next four years covering a wide range of services from amateur radio to broadcasting, mobile broadband, mobile satellite, fixed satellite, earth stations on mobile platforms, and space exploration services. WRC-15 adopted a revised version of Resolution 12 on Assistance and Support to Palestine, which resolves to continue assistance to Palestine and to enable Palestine to obtain and manage the spectrum required to operate telecommunications networks and wireless services. This followed an Israeli-Palestinian agreement to facilitate cellular phone operations and the establishment of a modern and reliable telecommunication network in Palestine.

Media Policy Project
London School of Economics and Political Science
Monday, 7 December 2015
18.30 – 20.00
European Parliament, Brussels

The session will focus on the ongoing revision of the Audio-Visual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) and the independence of media regulatory authorities, as outlined in Article 30 of the Directive. The aim of this session is to provide MEPs and other stakeholders with an overview of the key challenges to be addressed in the revision. The European Commission recently conducted a public consultation (closed 30 September 2015) and is currently preparing revisions to the Directive which will then be submitted to the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union.

The session will be hosted by Sabine Verheyen MEP and will include contributions from Lorena Boix Alonso, ‎Head of Unit, Converging Media and Content in DG Connect, European Commission; Madeleine de Cock Buning, Vice Chair, European Regulators Group for Audiovisual Media (ERGA); and Dr Wolfgang Schulz, Research Lead, INDIREG and Professor, Hans-Bredow-Institut. The session will be introduced and chaired by Dr Sally Broughton Micova, Lecturer in Political Communication at the University of East Anglia and Fellow at the LSE Media Policy Project and Giovanni Melogli, Lead Campaigner, European Media Initiative.

This event is open to individuals who hold an access pass to the European Parliament.


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