May 2016

PATENTS

GOOGLE WINS JAVA CASE
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Jack Nicas]
A federal jury ruled that Google’s use of Oracle’s Java software didn’t violate copyright law, the latest twist in a six-year legal battle between the two Silicon Valley companies. Oracle sued Google in 2010 for using parts of Java without permission in its Android smartphone software. A federal appeals court ruled in 2014 that Oracle could copyright the Java parts, but Google argued in a new trial that its use of Java was limited and covered by rules permitting “fair use” of copyright material. A 10-person jury agreed. Google acknowledged using 11,000 lines of Java software code. But it said that amounted to less than 0.1% of the 15 million lines of code in its Android mobile-operating system, which runs most of the world’s smartphones. Oracle sued Google for using 37 Java APIs in Android. Google said requiring it to have a license for the APIs would stifle software innovation by discouraging programmers from using APIs. That would make software development harder and could render some apps inoperable, Google said. Oracle, meanwhile, argued that Google took its property without permission. The verdict is unlikely to end the long legal saga, which already had a brief stop at the US Supreme Court. Oracle quickly said it would appeal.
benton.org/headlines/google-wins-java-copyright-case-against-oracle | Wall Street Journal
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INTERNET/BROADBAND

LESSONS FROM THE 2016 NET INCLUSION SUMMIT
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Robbie McBeath]
On May 18th and 19th, I had the pleasure of attending the first (and hopefully annual) Net Inclusion Summit, hosted by the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA), at the beautiful Kansas City Public Library. Policymakers, academics, city officials, librarians, advocates, citizens, and corporate representatives came together to discuss one of the most important and growing topics in the field of telecommunications policy: digital inclusion. The flurry of activities -- panels, workshops, and speeches -- all revolved around how to expand access, adoption, and use of broadband. There were so many great individuals and organizations gathered there. Through their conversations, there emerged several lessons learned and many important questions raised over how to best increase digital inclusion.
https://www.benton.org/blog/lessons-2016-net-inclusion-summit
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INTERNET ACCESS ISN'T JUST A TECH ISSUE. IT'S A CIVIL RIGHTS ISSUE.
[SOURCE: Huffington Post, AUTHOR: Kim Bellware]
In major metropolitan areas across the US, unequal access to the Internet is cutting some people off from a better future. Citizens on the wrong side of the digital gap are losing out on economic, educational and social opportunities. It’s not just a technical problem for the 21st century. “This is a civil rights issue,” said Bill Callahan, director of Connect Your Community. “Low-income people, people with less than a high school education and older people are the groups in any population who are least likely to have an Internet connection at home,” he said. Callahan’s group advocates for digital access and literacy in greater Cleveland (OH) and Detroit (MI). In those cities — and others from Baltimore (MD) to New Orleans (LA), from Miami (FL) to Glendale (AZ) — as many as 30 to 40 percent of residents can’t easily get online, according to 2013 data. Rural areas have a fairly well-known set of digital access problems that include high cost and sluggish speeds due to the lack of broadband infrastructure. But in suburban and metro areas, libraries are typically cited as a the saving grace for residents who lack online access at home. That’s not good enough in our wired world. “If the best someone can do is point you to the library, that’s basically ‘separate but equal,’” said Callahan, making a pointed reference to the very argument that the Supreme Court once declared didn’t justify segregated schools.
benton.org/headlines/internet-access-isnt-just-tech-issue-its-civil-rights-issue | Huffington Post
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS

SENATE COMMITTEE ADVANCES MEASURE LETTING AGENCIES CRACK DOWN ON PERSONAL EMAIL
[SOURCE: nextgov, AUTHOR: Jack Moore]
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted to advance the Federal Information Systems Safeguard Act, a bill that would allow federal agencies to bypass employee unions in order to block access to webmail and other websites deemed security risks. The committee unanimously voted to approve the measure May 25 along with more than a dozen other bills relating to government management. The legislation "puts us on a path forward to ensure that federal agencies can act quickly to address any vulnerabilities and secure their IT networks,” said Sen Joni Ernst (R-IA), who introduced the Senate version of the “Federal Information Systems Safeguard Act.” The bill allows agency heads to bypass federal rules requiring them to consult with unions about workplace matters in order “to limit, restrict, or prohibit access to any website the head of the agency determines to present a current or future security weakness.” The Senate bill’s language is less expansive than that included in a similar bill passed out of a key House committee earlier in 2016. The House version, which would allow agency heads to "take any action" necessary to remediate security vulnerabilities, came under fire from Democratic Reps who called the bill “dangerously overbroad” and ripe for abuse by agency heads. "No matter what you believe about blocking employee access to e-mail, this bill goes so far beyond that it loses the point," said Rep Elijah Cummings (D-MD), in a statement at the time.
benton.org/headlines/senate-homeland-security-committee-advances-measure-letting-agencies-crack-down-personal-e | nextgov
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OWNERSHIP

VERIZON'S MULTI-BILLION-DOLLAR PLAY TO TAKE OVER NETFLIX, AMAZON, GOOGLE, AND FB
[SOURCE: Fast Company, AUTHOR: Ainsley O'Connell]
It’s easy to pooh-pooh AOL, which telecommunication company Verizon bought in 2015 for $4.4 billion. The company operates in a murky territory somewhere between the platinum brands of the media elite and the digital content farms relentlessly driving clicks. But in AOL, led by Google ad-veteran Tim Armstrong, Verizon saw an opportunity to start assembling the makings of a new media empire capable of competing in the attention economy with the likes of Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Google, and even Facebook. Never mind that Verizon had little to no experience in the content-creation domain; it owned the means to reach millions of customers via its broadband lines and wireless spectrum (it is the largest wireless provider in the United States), and imagined that it could drive additional revenue by exerting greater influence over the content and advertising layered on top of those capabilities. As incumbents in cable and telecom converge with Silicon Valley platforms, and Verizon is using its ample resources to claim strategic territory.
benton.org/headlines/verizons-multi-billion-dollar-play-take-netflix-amazon-google-and-facebook | Fast Company
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JOURNALISM

NEWS AND SOCIAL MEDIA
[SOURCE: Pew Research Center Journalism and Media, AUTHOR: Jeffrey Gottfried, Elisa Shearer]
A majority of U.S. adults – 62% – get news on social media, and 18% do so often, according to a new survey by Pew Research Center, conducted in association with the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. In 2012, based on a slightly different question, 49% of U.S. adults reported seeing news on social media. But which social media sites have the largest portion of users getting news there? How many get news on multiple social media sites? And to what degree are these news consumers seeking online news out versus happening upon it while doing other things? News plays a varying role across the social networking sites studied. Two-thirds of Facebook users (66%) get news on the site, nearly six-in-ten Twitter users (59%) get news on Twitter, and seven-in-ten Reddit users get news on that platform. On Tumblr, the figure sits at 31%, while for the other five social networking sites it is true of only about one-fifth or less of their user bases. It is also useful to see how, when combined with the sites’ total reach, the proportion of users who gets news on each site translates to U.S. adults overall. Facebook is by far the largest social networking site, reaching 67% of US adults. The two-thirds of Facebook users who get news there, then, amount to 44% of the general population. YouTube has the next greatest reach in terms of general usage, at 48% of US adults. But only about a fifth of its users get news there, which amounts to 10% of the adult population. That puts it on par with Twitter, which has a smaller user base (16% of US adults) but a larger portion getting news there.
benton.org/headlines/news-use-across-social-media-platforms-2016 | Pew Research Center Journalism and Media
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GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE

LIFELINE INVESTIGATION
[SOURCE: House of Representatives Commerce Committee, AUTHOR: Press release]
House Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) announced that the committee is launching an investigation into waste, fraud, and abuse in Universal Service Lifeline program. The investigation comes on the heels of the Federal Communications Commission’s recently issued Notice of Apparent Liability alleging massive fraud in the Lifeline program perpetrated by Total Call Mobile. Committee member Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS) sent a letter to the committee asking the committee to investigate the mismanagement of the Lifeline program. In light of the FCC’s notice and Rep. Pompeo’s letter, Chairman Upton writes, “I have instructed Committee staff to begin an investigation of the Lifeline program consistent with your recommendation. As you so aptly observe, such action is necessary to ensure not only that ratepayer dollars are responsibly spent but also to ensure the long-term effectiveness of the program for those that truly need the assistance.”
benton.org/headlines/house-commerce-committee-launches-investigation-universal-service-lifeline-program | House of Representatives Commerce Committee | letter to Rep Pompeo
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Analysis

May 2016

Uber's Drive-By Politics

ABC, CBS, Fox News Express Interest in Trump-Sanders Debate

Hillary Clinton finally figured out a good answer on her latest e-mail problem

Opinion: Why the new report on Hillary Clinton’s e-mail is so damning

WSJ chief reminds editors to be 'fair' to Trump

How Los Rios Community College District Overcomes Generational Differences in Tech Adoption

UN Vote Blocks Committee to Protect Journalists Access

Overcoming barriers to a European digital single market

Humanitarian Aid Is As Close As Your Phone

May 27, 2016 (Google Java Oracle)