DIGITAL DIVIDE
Entrepreneurs Apply Tech Expertise To Social Problems
BROADCASTING
Premium Cable May Go Digital Only, Cost More
British Start Push to Open Media Sector
INTERNET
Webcasters Head to Washington in Royalty Protest
Lawmakers Still Prefer Snail Mail
PRIVACY
House Privacy Bill Puts Onus On Consumers
Privacy Groups Want Tougher DoubleClick Settlement
DIGITAL DIVIDE
ENTREPRENEURS APPLY TECH EXPERTISE TO SOCIAL PROBLEMS
Digital Partners, a Seattle-based nonprofit is seeking to bring together
information technology experts, entrepreneurs, foundations and development
organizations to help create small businesses that would stimulate local
economies. Raj Merchant, the president of the Portland chapter of Digital
Partners said, "We can't solve world hunger, but we have 10 projects
ongoing, and we are aligned with universities and companies to implement
these projects." The nonprofit will be hosting a fundraiser on May 17 to
raise money and awareness for the projects. Several politicians and business
and technology executives, including Bill Gates, have expressed support for
the nonprofit and its mission.
[SOURCE: The Business Journal of Portland, AUTHOR: Aliza Earnshaw]
(http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2002/05/06/daily34.html)
BROADCASTING
BRITISH START PUSH TO OPEN MEDIA SECTOR
British government's proposal to scrap many restrictions on media ownership
would make it one of the first European Union countries to open its media
market fully to outsiders. The new legislation, proposed Tuesday and
expected to become law within the next year, would allow owners outside the
European Union, notably American companies, to buy British television and
radio broadcasters. The law would also scrap rules that forbid joint
ownership of television and radio stations. And it would pave the way for a
single company to own ITV, Britain's largest commercial television network.
Analysts say the new rules, which would amount to the biggest shake-up of
British broadcasting ownership in decades, are sure to generate merger
deals, especially with American companies. "It has always been perceived
that the larger United States media groups would be interested in expanding
into Europe, but have been precluded from doing so by regulation," said Mark
Beilby of Deutsche Bank.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Suzanne Kapner]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/09/business/media/09BRIT.html)
(requires registration)
PREMIUM CABLE MAY GO DIGITAL ONLY, COST MORE
Premium channels such as HBO, Showtime and Starz/Encore may move from the
tradition analog signal to digital. If the premium channels were only
available on digital service many premium channel subscribers would be
forced to pay an additional monthly fee. Consumer Union's Gene Kimmelman
criticized the move and said cable operators are, "leveraging their monopoly
to squeeze more revenue from consumers for the same services." He also
stated that switching from analog to digital "may violate the prohibition
(in the 1992 Cable Act) against requiring consumers to buy more than basic
cable to get movie channels."
[SOURCE: USA Today, AUTHOR: David Lieberman]
(http://www.usatoday.com/money/media/2002-05-09-cable-gouge.htm)
INTERNET
WEBCASTERS HEAD TO WASHINGTON IN ROYALTY PROTEST
More than two dozen Web radio companies are in Washington this Thursday and
Friday to protest to members of Congress about proposed royalty rates. The
rates recommended by a Copyright Royalty Arbitration Panel would, according
to the companies, would put many Web casters out of business. Under the
Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the Librarian of Congress is required to
set broadcast royalty rates for Web radio stations by May 21. While the
suggested rate of 14/100ths of a cent per listener per song seems small,
Webcasters say it would add up to more than 200 percent of sales. "We are at
a crux of a pivotal time in this industry," said Kurt Hanson, publisher of
"RAIN: Radio And Internet Newsletter" and one of the protest supporters. "If
Internet radio is allowed to survive, it will obviously be a 'win' for
consumers, but it will also be a 'win' for artists and creators, keeping
alive new venues for their work."
[SOURCE: Washington Post; AUTHOR: Sue Zeidler, Reuters]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56441-2002May8.html)
LAWMAKERS STILL PREFER SNAIL MAIL
Online political advertising firm Mindshare Internet Campaigns conducted an
electronic poll of congressional staffers regarding use of e-mail. Despite
the recent threats of anthrax-laced letters, the study finds, staffers
prefer standard mail to e-mail by a margin of 5-1. The congressional
staffers said that the cost effectiveness of e-mail is no match for the
effectiveness of personal visits and physical letters in communicating with
constituents. Mindshare cofounder Jonah Seiger said in a press release that
"It is clear that congressional staff struggle with how to handle
constituent e-mail."
[SOURCE: Washington Post; AUTHOR: David McGuire]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A53591-2002May8.html)
PRIVACY
HOUSE PRIVACY BILL PUTS ONUS ON CONSUMERS
A privacy bill introduced yesterday by Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-FL would allow
U.S. businesses to freely share customer information unless explicitly
forbidden by customers. Sponsors of the bill seek to minimize the impact of
basic privacy protections on businesses. Stearns said sharing consumer data
has been extremely important in growing the U.S. economy and the "underlying
principle that anchors the bill is 'do no harm'." The bill would not allow
consumers to sue if their privacy was violated and the Federal Trade
Commission would handle enforcement. A competing bill is currently under
review in the Senate that would require businesses to obtain explicit
permission from consumers before sharing sensitive information.
[SOURCE: USA Today, AUTHOR: Reuters]
(http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2002/05/08/privacy-bill.htm)
PRIVACY GROUPS WANT TOUGHER DOUBLECLICK SETTLEMENT
Prior to the scheduled start of court hearings concerning alleged privacy
violations by online advertising company DoubleClick, two privacy groups
have filed a formal objection to a proposed settlement. The Electronic
Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and Junkbusters state that the proposal
"does not provide any significant benefit to class members that was not
previously agreed to by DoubleClick as part of its earlier agreement with
the Federal Trade Commission under the terms of the Network Advertising
Initiative (NAI)." The groups charge that DoubleClick has not made any
"significant changes" to its practices or policies and has not offered any
"meaningful" privacy protection. NAI guidelines were established in 2000 in
response to EPIC and Junkbusters' complaint that DoubleClick engaged in
unfair and deceptive practices. DoubleClick and other Internet advertisers
agreed to adopt the NAI in exchange for a halt to all further FTC
investigations. The objection filed on Tuesday claims that the current
proposed settlement to a number of class-action suits fails to meet even the
NAI guidelines that DoubleClick has already accepted. EPIC and Junkbusters
have offered the court a list of nine changes that they said should be made
to the proposed settlement. The groups also asked for an independent company
to regularly audit DoubleClick's compliance with the settlement.
[SOURCE: Newsbytes; AUTHOR: Michael Bartlett]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/176471.html)
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