1. Monthly archive
  2. March 2018

March 2018

Cortez (CO) Council moves forward with broadband pilot

The Cortez (CO) City Council voted unanimously to approve the fees and costs for a broadband pilot program. Through the program, dubbed the Cortez Community Network Pilot, the city will install in-home wireless devices called GigaCenters, and provide fiber to connect some residents with the city’s existing network. Installation will cost $150, and participants in the pilot will pay $60 per month, plus a $10 rental fee for the device, to get internet speeds of up to 100 Mbps.

Justice Department Will Be Investigated Over Surveillance of Trump Campaign Official

The Justice Department’s inspector general, facing increasing political pressure from Republicans in Congress and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, said that his office would investigate the surveillance of a former Trump campaign official. The inspector general, Michael E. Horowitz, said he would examine whether law enforcement officials complied with the law and departmental policies in seeking permission from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to wiretap the former campaign adviser, Carter Page.

Why do people hand over so much data to tech companies? It's not easy to say 'no'

By now, most consumers understand that data collection is a core part of advertising-based businesses such as Facebook, Google and Snapchat. The practice can often be a boon to consumers: The more people share with the companies, the better they are able to serve up ads, search results, product recommendations and music and movie suggestions tailored to an individual's liking. Yet many remain unaware of the type of data collected and what companies ultimately do with it. While the answers often lie in privacy policies and terms of service agreements, few take the time to look them over.

Facebook Limiting Information Shared With Data Brokers

Facebook is curbing the information that it exchanges with companies that collect and sell consumer data for advertisers. The measures affect a group of so-called data brokers such as Acxiom Corp. and Oracle Data Cloud, formerly known as DataLogix, that gather shopping and other information on consumers that Facebook for years has incorporated into the ad-targeting system that is at the core of its business.

Turner Chief Pushes Back on Core Justice Department Argument

The head of Turner Broadcasting pushed back against one of the central arguments of the government’s case to block the AT&T and Time Warner merger, saying that his company’s channels would not be used as a weapon against rivals if the deal went through. The Justice Department has argued that Turner, which is owned by Time Warner, owns “must-have” channels like CNN and TNT that the merged company would use as leverage in negotiations with other cable and satellite TV operators.

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