1. Monthly archive
  2. December 2018

December 2018

Sponsor: 

Slate, New America, and Arizona State University.

 

Date: 
Thu, 01/24/2019 - 00:00 to 02:00

Many have hailed online streaming as the music industry’s savior. Streaming revenue surpassed traditional format sales in 2017, and services like Spotify are even making it possible for artists with no mainstream presence or even record label contracts to make a living. But streaming is also bringing changes that may not be good for the industry, musicians, or listeners. Songs now need to get to the chorus faster to avoid being skipped, albums have more tracks because artists are being paid by the song, and the disparity between pop superstars and everyone else is increasing


DC attorney general sues Facebook over alleged privacy violations from Cambridge Analytica scandal

The attorney general for the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit against Facebook for allowing Cambridge Analytica, a political consultancy, to gain access to the names, "likes" and other personal data about tens of millions of the social site's users without their permission. The lawsuit filed by Karl Racine marks the first major effort by regulators in the US to penalize the tech giant for its entanglement with the firm. It could presage even tougher fines and other punishments still to come for Facebook as additional state and federal investigations continue.

Gauging Household Digital Readiness

While research on the impact of broadband continues to increase, a broad understanding of what being digital ready entails is missing. This study—based on a 1,214 nonrepresentative household survey weighted by income, age, and educational attainment—developed a digital readiness index (DRI) score based on three related but distinct dimensions: device & internet access (DIA), digital resourcefulness and utilization (DRU), and internet benefits and impact (IBI).

Commissioner O'Rielly Gets Defensive When Experts Call Him Out

In Oct, Federal Communications Commissioner Michael O’Rielly accused municipal networks, including Chattanooga’s EPB Fiber Optics, of violating the First Amendment by limiting subscribers free speech. Journalists and organizations who know better were quick to correct him. In a Dec 13, 2018 blog post, he lashed out at his critics and tried to defend or explain his earlier comments, but once again missed the mark.

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