Thomas Hale Boggs Jr, 73, Lobbying Giant
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2014
Today’s busy agenda http://benton.org/calendar/2014-09-16/
NETWORK NEUTRALITY
The FCC has now received 3 million net neutrality comments
FCC Flooded With Final Comments Over Future of Open Internet [links to web]
Public Knowledge to FCC: A Million Comments Later, the Need for Reclassification is Clear
Comcast: Keep Peering Out of Net Neutrality Debate
AT&T’s fascinating third-way proposal on network neutrality
Facts let us argue directly with net neutrality comments from around the world - AEI op-ed [links to web]
FCC Revisits Network Neutrality Exemption for Mobile Broadband
MORE ON INTERNET/BROADBAND
The Impact of the Internet on Society: A Global Perspective - op-ed
Beyond Internet Universalism: A Framework for Addressing Cross-Border Internet Policy - research
Sprint, Windstream traffic routing errors hijacked other ISPs
We deserve better web options - Lev Gonick op-ed
Connecticut Mayors Seek Gigabit Partners
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Map of the Stars
Privacy advocates split over NSA reform bill
US: Don’t Step on Freedom of the Press Abroad - Stuart Brotman op-ed
Google Report Shows Governments’ Increasing Demands for Users’ Data
FCC Revisits Network Neutrality Exemption for Mobile Broadband
PRIVACY/SECURITY
Stalkers, Inc.
Justice Sotomayor says technology could lead to “Orwellian world” [links to web]
Lawyers are the new foot soldiers in the privacy wars [links to web]
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
AWS-3 auction: DoD pledges to enable greater access to shared spectrum
Public Broadcasters Challenge Broadcast Incentive Auction [links to web]
TELEVISION
TWC Makes Dodgers Games Available on Broadcast [links to web]
BIG DATA
FTC warns of using big data to exclude consumers
OWNERSHIP
What is Minecraft and why did Microsoft just spend $2.5 billion on it?
See also: Why parents are raising their kids on Minecraft [links to web]
HEALTH
Smartwatches and Weak Privacy Rules - editorial
Apple Watch Privacy Questioned by Connecticut AG Jepsen
AMA Urges Overhaul of Electronic Medical Records
Consumer Access and Use of Online Health Records: It Takes Two to Tango - press release [links to web]
Health tracker Fitbit hires lobbying muscle [links to web]
COMPANY NEWS
Apple says iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus orders broke record [links to web]
Cable Operators Continue To Lead Industry In Profitability: Report [links to web]
Google Lends a Helping Hand to Madison Ave on Digital Proficiency [links to web]
STORIES FROM ABROAD
Berlin pushes Google to reveal search engine formula
Nominee for European Post Voices Concern About US Tech Giants [links to web]
MORE ONLINE
How a court ruling could boost power prices 20% [links to web]
Making Diversity Broader and Deeper [links to web]
Facebook Versus the Drag Queens [links to web]
NETWORK NEUTRALITY
3 MILLION NET NEUTRALITY COMMENTS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Brian Fung]
The Federal Communications Commission has just released an updated count of how many comments it's received on net neutrality -- and the number completely blows the previous estimate out of the water. To date, the public has filed 3 million comments on the matter. That's more than double the last official count of 1.48 million -- which itself was a substantial increase, attributed to the Internet slowdown protests.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-has-now-received-3-million-net-neutrality-comments | Washington Post
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
PK NET NEUTRALITY FILING
[SOURCE: Public Knowledge, AUTHOR: Laura Moy]
Public Knowledge filed reply comments in the network neutrality proceeding on behalf of ourselves and Benton Foundation. Our reply comments show how the initial comments (of which there were over a million!) supported our position that the Federal Communications Commission needs to reclassify internet as a Title II telecommunications service in order to protect the open internet. Here are the highlights of our filing:
The American public is deeply engaged with this issue, and views the preservation of the open internet as tied to fundamental American values.
Commenters highlighted privacy concerns that can only be addressed by reclassifying the internet as a Title II service.
Contrary to what some industry commenters claim, existing antitrust and consumer protection laws are clearly insufficient to protect the open internet.
Public Knowledge and The Harry Potter Association submitted net neutrality reply comments, representing over 14,000 video creators who are proud believers in an open internet. These signatures were collected through the launch of our website Video Creators for Net Neutrality.
benton.org/headlines/public-knowledge-fcc-million-comments-later-need-reclassification-clear | Public Knowledge | PK statement | PK - Video Creators for Net Neutrality
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
COMCAST NET NEUTRALITY COMMENTS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Comcast told the Federal Communications Commission that the company supports new network neutrality rules, but they should not apply to exchanges of Internet traffic (like paid peering deals with Netflix). Comcast said it supported new rules based on Sec. 706 authority, was strongly opposed to reclassifying the rules under Title II, and again reiterated its support for the FCC's tentative conclusion that peering was beyond the scope of the current rulemaking.
benton.org/headlines/comcast-keep-peering-out-net-neutrality-debate | Broadcasting&Cable
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
AT&T NET NEUTRALITY PROPOSAL
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Brian Fung]
Imagine an Internet with fast lanes that you -- not your cable company -- controlled. That's what AT&T is proposing to the Federal Communications Commission in an attempt to bridge the gap between regulation-wary industry groups and net neutrality advocates who want strong government protections for the open Internet. The path forward for AT&T's idea -- which has been discussed before -- is uncertain. Still, it's attracted some cautious approval from consumer groups, in a sign that some are still interested in a compromise amid what's become a major ideological fight in Washington over the future of the Internet. Here's what AT&T's proposal looks like: In a recent meeting with FCC officials, AT&T's senior vice president for regulatory policy laid out a plan that would allow individual consumers to ask that some applications, such as Netflix, receive priority treatment over other services, such as e-mail or online video games. That's different from the FCC's current proposal, which tacitly allows Internet providers to charge content companies for priority access to consumers but doesn't give the consumers a choice in the matter. AT&T's idea would still allow for commercial deals between companies. But they would have to be arranged as the result of one or more subscriber requests; the ISPs couldn't offer fee-based prioritization just because they wanted to. Some net neutrality advocates say they're heartened by the proposal.
benton.org/headlines/atts-fascinating-third-way-proposal-network-neutrality | Washington Post
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
FCC REVISITS MOBILE NET NEUTRALITY
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Edward Wyatt]
High-speed cellular Internet access has been largely exempt from regulations aimed at preventing Internet providers from slowing down or blocking websites and applications. But wireless broadband’s special status is quickly losing support. On Sept 16, the Federal Communications Commission will hold a round-table discussion to examine whether proposed network neutrality rules should cover mobile broadband. The battle lines will probably be clear: the cellphone companies against nearly everyone else. Removing the wireless exemption from some net neutrality rules would be a change in the commission’s stance since May, when the regulator laid out a set of proposed rules called “Protecting and Promoting the Open Internet.” In that draft, the newly proposed rules would subject wired Internet service providers to “commercially reasonable practices” of network management. But in recent weeks, voices calling for wireless broadband to be treated the same as wired services have grown louder.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-revisits-network-neutrality-exemption-mobile-broadband | New York Times
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
MORE ON INTERNET/BROADBAND
IMPACT OF INTERNET ON SOCIETY
[SOURCE: Technology Review, AUTHOR: Manuel Castells]
[Commentary] The Internet is the decisive technology of the Information Age, and with the explosion of wireless communication in the early twenty-first century, we can say that humankind is now almost entirely connected, albeit with great levels of inequality in bandwidth, efficiency, and price. Our current “network society” is a product of the digital revolution and some major sociocultural changes. One of these is the rise of the “Me-centered society,” marked by an increased focus on individual growth and a decline in community understood in terms of space, work, family, and ascription in general. But individuation does not mean isolation, or the end of community. Instead, social relationships are being reconstructed on the basis of individual interests, values, and projects. Community is formed through individuals’ quests for like-minded people in a process that combines online interaction with offline interaction, cyberspace, and the local space.
[Manuel Castells is the Wallis Annenberg Chair Professor of Communication Technology and Society at the University of Southern California]
benton.org/headlines/impact-internet-society-global-perspective | Technology Review | read the paper
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
CROSS-BORDER INTERNET POLICY
[SOURCE: Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, AUTHOR: Daniel Castro, Robert Atkinson]
What is needed is a framework that allows nations the right to customize Internet policy to their own national needs and rules, while at the same time constraining those rights in ways that enable global Internet commerce and digital free trade while also preserving the underlying global Internet architecture, like the global domain name system. While nations will not always agree unanimously on specific policy proposals, appropriate solutions, or even the relevant evidence, a common framework of understanding cross-border Internet policy issues will allow for healthier Internet policy debates, better cooperation and coordination between nations, and fewer policy conflicts. This report explores the nature of cross-border Internet policy conflicts and provides a sample of the types of conflicts that have been seen in recent years. It also discusses the limitations of existing Internet policy frameworks, offers an alternative perspective and outlines a specific set of rules that should be used for evaluating cross-border Internet policy conflicts. Finally, it operationalizes this framework using various examples to show the method in action.
benton.org/headlines/beyond-internet-universalism-framework-addressing-cross-border-internet-policy | Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
INTERNET ROUTING ERRORS
[SOURCE: IDG News Service, AUTHOR: Jeremy Kirk]
Internet traffic routing errors made by US operators Sprint and Windstream on the same day underscore a long-known Internet weakness, posing both security and reliability issues. Both of the errors involved Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), an aging but crucial protocol that is used by networking equipment to route traffic between different providers. Traffic routes are "announced" using BGP, and the changes are then taken up by routers around the world. But network providers frequently make erroneous announcements -- known as "route hijacking" -- which can shut off services, causing reliability issues or be used for certain kinds of cyberattacks. For about a day, Sprint made a BGP announcement that directed Internet traffic from an ISP in Macedonia through its own network, wrote Doug Madory, a senior analyst with Dyn's Renesys division, which monitors how global Internet traffic is routed. On the same day, Windstream commandeered traffic destined for Saudi Telecom, and then a day later for networks in Gaza and Iceland, besides three in China, Madory wrote.
benton.org/headlines/sprint-windstream-traffic-routing-errors-hijacked-other-isps | IDG News Service
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
WE DESERVE BETTER
[SOURCE: Crain’s Cleveland Business, AUTHOR: Lev Gonick]
[Commentary] Don't you love your cable guy, even if he now looks a lot like Coach Cowher? Beyond the hype, the story of our broadband future along the North Coast is not as rosy as you might think. While Crain's Cleveland Business got the story, the prospects of the very big, but not well understood, news about Charter Communications taking over household and business Internet services in Ohio begs the question of whether we're just chopped liver out here along Lake Erie. I'll cut to the chase. While lots of promises are being made in Washington (DC) and elsewhere, if one digs a little deeper, we in Cleveland are unlikely to see the benefits. We should demand better, we deserve better and we can do better.
[Gonick is CEO and co-founder of OneCommunity, a nonprofit provider of ultra-high-speed broadband services and programs.]
benton.org/headlines/we-deserve-better-web-options | Crain’s Cleveland Business
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
GIGABIT PARTNERS
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
New Haven, Stamford and West Hartford (CT) are putting the pedal to the metal on 1-Gig broadband service, and are inviting other cities to join their effort. The goal: Speed up service and reduce network costs for everyone. For "underserved" or disadvantaged areas, that would mean low-cost or even free service of at least 10 Mbps to 100 Mbps minimum, and for the rest "at prices comparable to other gigabit fiber communities across the nation." Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler said, “High-speed broadband is an essential asset for today’s communities and tomorrow’s economy. Too many Americans lack real choices for fast, affordable Internet service, which I why I’m heartened to see these leaders commit to bringing gigabit connectivity to the businesses and consumers of central Connecticut. Today’s announcement will lead to more competitive choices for consumers and more innovation to create jobs and improve the lives across the region.”
benton.org/headlines/connecticut-mayors-seek-gigabit-partners | Multichannel News | Chairman Wheeler
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
MAP OF THE STARS
[SOURCE: The Intercept, AUTHOR: Andy Muller-Maguhn, Laura Poitras, Marcel Rosenbach, Michael Sontheimer, Christian Grothoff]
Treasure Map is a vast National Security Agency campaign to map the global internet. The program doesn’t just seek to chart data flows in large traffic channels, such as telecommunications cables. Rather, it seeks to identify and locate every single device that is connected to the internet somewhere in the world -- every smartphone, tablet, and computer -- ”anywhere, all the time,” according to NSA documents. Its internal logo depicts a skull superimposed onto a compass, the eyeholes glowing demonic red. The breathtaking mission is described in a document from the archive of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. Treasure Map’s goal is to create an “interactive map of the global internet” in “almost real time.” Employees of the so-called “Five Eyes” intelligence alliance -- England, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand -- can install and use the program on their own computers. It evokes a kind of Google Earth for global data traffic, a bird’s eye view of the planet’s digital arteries.
benton.org/headlines/map-stars | Intercept, The
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
NSA REFORM BILL
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Andrea Peterson]
A coalition including civil liberties groups and government whistleblowers has come out against a Senate bill responding to the government surveillance and data collection revealed by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden. Many observers see the current Senate version of the USA Freedom Act as the most likely to succeed. But a letter released by the group argues that the language in the bill is too murky and could actually codify some controversial government programs while failing to provide meaningful prohibition against mass surveillance. "The USA Freedom Act has significant potential to degrade, rather than improve, the surveillance status quo," the letter warns. "At best, even if faithfully implemented, the current bill will erect limited barriers to Section 215, only one of the various legal justifications for surveillance, create additional loopholes, and provide a statutory framework for some of the most problematic surveillance policies, all while reauthorizing the Patriot Act." Signers of the letter include NSA whistleblowers William Binney and Thomas Drake, as well as journalist Daniel Ellsberg, who revealed the Pentagon Papers, and groups including Progressive Change Campaign Committee, the Sunlight Foundation, Restore The Fourth, and Fight for the Future. But notably absent from the list are some of the big-name civil liberties groups -- including the American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Center for Democracy & Technology and New America Foundation's Open Technology Institute -- who have signed on to a letter endorsing the version of the bill introduced by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT).
benton.org/headlines/privacy-advocates-split-over-nsa-reform-bill | Washington Post | The Hill
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
PRESS FREEDOM
[SOURCE: American Journalism Review, AUTHOR: Stuart Brotman]
[Commentary] Secretary of State John Kerry recently met in Jidda, Saudi Arabia to mobilize Arab nation support for the U.S.-led effort to destroy the Sunni extremist group that is known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). According to The New York Times, a senior State Department official speaking before the meeting with Arab foreign ministers said Kerry planned to not only ask the Arab states to increase their public condemnations of ISIS, but also to “ask them to use their state-owned media, too.” The Times said the official specifically mentioned two prominent news channels in the Middle East -- Al Jazeera in Qatar and Al Arabiya (owned by the Saudis but based in Dubai) as potentially part of this strategy for combatting ISIS through nationally owned media. Although media clearly are part of modern warfare, perhaps even more critical in an era of stateless terrorism and social media fluency, the U.S. should not be advancing the notion of having these news organizations slant their coverage to suit a particular foreign policy outcome, however admirable.
benton.org/headlines/us-dont-step-freedom-press-abroad | American Journalism Review | NYTimes
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
GOOGLE TRANSPARENCY REPORT
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Conor Dougherty]
Governments of all sizes are demanding that Google hand over growing troves of data about its users, according to the Internet giant’s latest transparency report. The report is a tally of all the times a government has used its legal authority to demand that Google hand over internal data about the people who use Google products like Gmail, YouTube or its namesake search engine. This is the 10th time Google has released numbers on government data requests. Each time, the number of requests has risen sharply -- reflecting Google’s growth as a company as well as governments’ increasing use of the company’s data in criminal investigations. The roughly 32,000 requests Google fielded in the first six months of 2014 were up 15 percent from the previous six months, and up 150 percent since the company started publishing its transparency report in 2009. The growth was faster in the United States, with 19 percent growth in the first half of 2014 versus the previous six months, and up 250 percent since 2009.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/09/15/google-report-shows-governments...
Google reports surveillance requests keep rising, up 250 percent in US since 2009 (GigaOm)
benton.org/headlines/google-report-shows-governments-increasing-demands-users-data | New York Times | GigaOm
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
PRIVACY/SECURITY
STALKERS, INC
[SOURCE: The Economist, AUTHOR: ]
Modern advertising is not far from the world of “Minority Report”. Internet ads now account for around a quarter of the $500 billion global advertising business, and the confluence of mobile devices and social networks allows advertisers to track and target people to a degree once reserved for fiction. As people spend ever more time online, thousands of firms are invisibly gathering intelligence about them, as our special report explains. By monitoring the websites people visit, these companies can infer their location, income, family size, education, age, employment and much more. One data firm has compiled a billion profiles of potential customers, each with an average of 50 attributes. Consumers are lumped into “segments” such as “men in trouble”—presumed to have relationship problems because they are shopping for chocolates and flowers—or “burdened by debt: small-town singles”. When people visit websites, advertisers bid to show them precisely targeted ads. The auctions take milliseconds and the ad is displayed when the website loads.
benton.org/headlines/stalkers-inc | Economist, The
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
SHARED SPECTRUM
[SOURCE: Fierce, AUTHOR: Tammy Parker]
The next major US spectrum auction, for AWS-3 frequencies, is slated to begin in less than two months, and the Department of Defense (DoD) is pledging to do what it can to reduce the size of coordination zones in the 1755-1780 MHz band to enable greater access to shared spectrum by commercial operations. That pledge is included in recently released government data, which is aimed at helping potential bidders assess how to proceed in order to coordinate their spectrum needs with incumbent DoD licensees in the 1755-1780 MHz band. The AWS-3 auction begins on Nov. 13, and the FCC hopes to raise a minimum of $10.587 billion for the airwaves. The auction will include the 1695-1710 MHz band, assigned as unpaired spectrum used for low-power uplink operations, and the 1755-1780 MHz band, which will be licensed for low-power uplink operations and paired with the 2155-2180 MHz band, which is unencumbered by federal users, for downlink operations. In most cases, federal spectrum users will have to exit the 1695-1710 MHz and 1755-1780 MHz bands or geographically share them with commercial users.
benton.org/headlines/aws-3-auction-dod-pledges-enable-greater-access-shared-spectrum | Fierce
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
BIG DATA
BIG DATA DAY AT FTC
[SOURCE: IDG News Service, AUTHOR: Grant Gross]
Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Edith Ramirez said the collection and analysis of big data holds great promise, but may also lead some companies to create profiles of consumers leading to discrimination. The FTC is "committed to rigorous enforcement" of current law related to data privacy and discriminatory practices, but companies, US policymakers and other groups need to have a deeper discussion about fair big data practices, Chairwoman Ramirez said. Big data "has the capacity to save lives, improve education, enhance government services, increase marketplace efficiency and boost economic productivity," Chairwoman Ramirez added. "But the same analytic power that makes it easier to predict the outbreak of a virus, identify who is likely to suffer a heart attack, or improve the delivery of social services, also has the capacity to reinforce disadvantages faced by low-income and underserved communities."
benton.org/headlines/ftc-warns-using-big-data-exclude-consumers | IDG News Service
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
OWNERSHIP
MICROSOFT-MINECRAFT
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Hayley Tsukayama]
Microsoft has cut a $2.5 billion deal for Mojang -- the video game studio responsible for the mega-hit, Minecraft. If the only part of that sentence that made sense to you was "Microsoft" and "$2.5 billion," here's a quick primer on Minecraft and why this latest news is such a big deal. Minecraft is a video game. It was developed by Mojang -- specifically by Mojang founder Markus "Notch" Persson -- and first released in 2009. Minecraft is what's known as a "sandbox" game, or one that lets players pretty much have their own run of the game's world, without specific objectives or, in Minecraft's case, even a plot. Mojang's "Chief Word Officer" Owen Hill wrote that the game had simply expanded beyond the independent developer's ability to handle it. Minecraft can strengthen Microsoft's hand in providing a unique portfolio of services to users as it competes with the likes of Google, Apple and Amazon. Microsoft doesn't have something as strong as Google's search, Amazon's Prime content or Apple's iTunes store, and therefore needs to pick up more services.
benton.org/headlines/what-minecraft-and-why-did-microsoft-just-spend-25-billion-it | Washington Post
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
HEALTH
SMARTWATCHES AND PRIVACY
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Editorial staff]
[Commentary] Even before Apple announced a smartwatch that can measure someone’s heart rate and the number of steps climbed in a day, wearable devices and mobile apps that log your every move and vital sign were growing in popularity. Apple’s size and influence as a trendsetter has now focused attention on the privacy implications of these machines and software. No amount of caution can truly take the place of strong privacy laws that give consumers control over what kinds of data companies collect about them and what businesses can do with it, something President Obama called for in 2012. Federal lawmakers have not passed such legislation, in large part because businesses that collect and use private data for targeted marketing have lobbied aggressively to preserve the status quo. The country should welcome innovative health devices but should also make sure that they do not becomes tools to invade individual privacy.
benton.org/headlines/smartwatches-and-weak-privacy-rules | New York Times
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
CONNECTICUT QUESTIONS APPLE WATCH
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Chris Dolmetsch, Tim Higgins]
Apple faces questions by Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen over privacy protections for users of the company’s watch, which includes features such as health tracking. AG Jepsen said he asked Apple’s Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook for a meeting with representatives of the company. AG Jepsen said he wants to know whether Apple will allow users to store personal and health information on the Apple Watch or on computer servers, and how that information will be protected. He said he would ask Apple if it will review privacy policies for apps, and if it intends to enforce policies requiring it to reject apps that offer diagnoses or treatment advice without regulatory approval.
benton.org/headlines/apple-watch-privacy-questioned-connecticut-ag-jepsen | Bloomberg
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORDS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Melinda Beck]
It's no secret that many physicians hate the electronic-medical-records systems they use, saying they are cumbersome, poorly designed and detract from patient care. Amplifying those concerns, the American Medical Association is calling for a major overhaul of EMR systems to make usability and high-quality patient care a higher priority. "The health system desperately needs working information technology to help support quality care," said AMA President-elect Steven Stack. "The current generation of EMRs and the way they are deployed is not supporting the quality of care we need it to." Dr. Stack blamed the federal government's Meaningful Use program for requiring EMR systems to serve too many functions and forcing the fledgling EMR industry to develop too quickly to respond to users' concerns. The program, which offers hospitals and doctors some $35 billion in incentive payments if they met ambitious timetables, has spurred rapid adoption of EMRs. As of Jan. 1, 2014, more than $19 billion in incentive payments have been distributed to 347,000 eligible hospitals and health-care professionals. But only about 10% of eligible providers have qualified for the next, stricter round of Meaningful Use requirements to date. Doctors and hospitals that haven't adopted EMR systems will face cuts in Medicare reimbursements starting in 2015.
benton.org/headlines/ama-urges-overhaul-electronic-medical-records | Wall Street Journal
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
STORIES FROM ABROAD
BERLIN VS GOOGLE
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Jeevan Vasagar, James Fontanella-Khan]
Berlin is calling on Google to disclose details of the secret formula that has allowed it to monopolize web search in Europe, in a move that is likely to be welcomed by competitors and fiercely resisted by the US tech company. Germany’s justice minister Heiko Maas said Google had to become more “transparent” about the algorithm used to create search engine rankings. Robert Kimmitt, a former US ambassador to Germany, criticized the demand. European companies and countries, in particular an export-driven economy like Germany “that needs open markets for its innovative products and services, should be concerned about calls for appropriation of intellectual property,” he said.
benton.org/headlines/berlin-pushes-google-reveal-search-engine-formula | Financial Times
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top