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50 million Facebook profiles harvested for Cambridge Analytica in major data breach
Cambridge Analytica, the data analytics firm that worked with Donald Trump’s election team and the winning Brexit campaign, harvested millions of Facebook profiles of US voters, in one of the tech giant’s biggest ever data breaches, and used them to build a powerful software program to predict and influence choices at the ballot box. A whistleblower has revealed Cambridge Analytica – a company owned by the hedge fund billionaire Robert Mercer, and headed at the time by Trump’s key adviser Steve Bannon – used personal information taken without authorisation in early 2014 to build a system that could profile individual US voters, in order to target them with personalised political advertisements. Christopher Wylie, who worked with a Cambridge University academic to obtain the data, said, “We exploited Facebook to harvest millions of people’s profiles. And built models to exploit what we knew about them and target their inner demons. That was the basis the entire company was built on.” Documents show that by late 2015 Facebook had found out that information had been harvested on an unprecedented scale. However, at the time it failed to alert users and took only limited steps to recover and secure the private information of more than 50 million individuals. The data was collected through an app called thisisyourdigitallife, built by academic Aleksandr Kogan, separately from his work at Cambridge University. Through his company Global Science Research (GSR), in collaboration with Cambridge Analytica, hundreds of thousands of users were paid to take a personality test and agree to have their data collected for academic use. However, the app also collected the information of the test-takers’ Facebook friends, leading to the accumulation of a data pool tens of millions-strong.
Cambridge Analytica Talked Business With Russians
Alexander Nix is a director of SCL Group, a British political and defense contractor, and chief executive of its American offshoot, Cambridge Analytica, which advised the Trump campaign. The firms’ employees, who often overlap, had contact in 2014 and 2015 with executives from Lukoil, the Russian oil giant. Lukoil was interested in how data was used to target American voters, according to two former company insiders who said there were at least three meetings with Lukoil executives in London and Turkey. SCL and Lukoil denied that the talks were political in nature, and SCL also said there were no meetings in London. The contacts took place as Cambridge Analytica was building a roster of Republican clients in the United States — and harvesting the Facebook profiles of over 50 million users to develop tools to analyze voters’ behavior. Cambridge Analytica also included extensive questions about Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin, in surveys it was carrying out in American focus groups in 2014. It is not clear what — or which client — prompted the line of questioning, which asked for views on topics ranging from Mr. Putin’s popularity to Russian expansionism. On two promotional documents, SCL said it did business in Russia. In both documents, the country is highlighted on world maps that specify the location of SCL clients, with one of the maps noting that the clients were for the firm’s elections division.
National Broadband Plan is vital to future net vitality
[Commentary] Eight years ago today, the US National Broadband Plan was released, as mandated by a law that received bipartisan support in Congress. That plan is rooted in a critical understanding of ongoing, dynamic forces that continue to shape what is commonly known as the broadband internet ecosystem. Its three pillars — broadband applications/content, devices, and networks — are essential parts that need to work seamlessly together so that all of us can experience the full benefits of the Internet in every aspect of our daily lives. So how has the United States fared since announcing this comprehensive blueprint for Internet development in 2010? My research study just published by the Telecommunications Research and Policy Institute, Net Vitality 2.0: Identifying the Top-Tier Global Broadband internet Ecosystem Leaders revisits a pioneering research approach first developed in 2010, which highlights countries that are leading on a global basis in their deployment and use of broadband applications and content; devices; and networks. As in 2015, the United States (along with the United Kingdom) remains in this top tier. South Korea, Japan, and France have been replaced in the current front ranks by China, Germany, and Canada (listed by population size). My research shows the original concept of a broadband internet ecosystem embodied in the National Broadband Plan remains both relevant and a very worthy goal for our country to continue. But rather than rest on laurels gained in recent years, the US should move even more assertively here, since the possibility of being overtaken by more aggressive countries in this realm (think China) looms in a clearly global competitive field.
[Stuart Brotman is the inaugural Howard Distinguished Endowed Professor of Media Management and Law and Beaman Professor of Communication and Information at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.]
Why Washington state isn’t scared of lawsuits over net neutrality law
Washington, the first US state to pass a network neutrality law after the repeal of federal rules, might have to get ready for a court battle. Washington's legislature and governor defied the Federal Communications Commission's claim that states cannot implement their own net neutrality rules, and they are likely to face a lawsuit from Internet service providers or their lobby groups. But the legislation's primary sponsor, State Rep Drew Hansen (D-Bainbridge Island), is confident that the state will win in court. State Rep Hansen is also a trial lawyer and has litigated preemption questions. "The FCC doesn't have preemption authority just because it says so," Hansen said. "Here is the oddity of the position that they're taking in the net neutrality repeal," Hansen said. "They're saying the Communications Act lacks any authority that would give them the ability to impose broad standards of conduct on the Internet, but grants them broad sweeping authority to preempt state consumer protection laws related to the same area. It's not clear to me how this can be the case."
Entire broadband industry will help FCC defend net neutrality repeal
The biggest lobby groups representing broadband providers will help the Federal Communications Commission defend the repeal of network neutrality rules in court. March 15, three trade groups that collectively represent every major home Internet and mobile broadband provider in the US filed motions to intervene in the case on behalf of the FCC. The motions for leave to intervene were filed by NCTA–The Internet & Television Association, CTIA–The Wireless Association, and USTelecom–The Broadband Association. NCTA represents cable companies such as Comcast, Charter, Cox, and Altice. CTIA represents the biggest mobile carriers, such as AT&T, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile, and Sprint. USTelecom represents wireline telcos with copper and fiber networks, such as AT&T and Verizon. All three groups also represent a range of smaller ISPs. As intervenors in the case, the groups will file briefs in support of the net neutrality repeal order and may play a role in oral arguments. NCTA's motion noted that its members would once again be subject to "common-carriage regulation under Title II of the Communications Act" if the FCC were to lose the case. CTIA said that its members "would be adversely affected if the [net neutrality] Order were set aside and the prior Title II Order classification and rules were reinstated."
DC Circuit Issues Partial Reversal of Wheeler-Era Robocall Decision
The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit has decided that not every smartphone is an autodialer subject to the restrictions of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). In a decision released March 16, the court reversed a 2015 Federal Communications Commission decision that robocalls to numbers of consenting parties that were subsequently transferred to nonconsenting parties violated the TCPA as well as the FCC's definition of the autodialers (automatic telephone dialing system, or ATDS) that can't be used without the call (or text) recipient's prior permission. The court found the FCC's definition of autodialers (something with the "capacity" to autodial) to reach "any and all smartphones," as well as downloadable apps and software additions, was "expansive," adding: "If every smartphone qualifies as an ATDS, the statute's restrictions on autodialer calls assume an eye-popping sweep." That is because the TCPA bars the use of an ATDS (so, theoretically any smartphone) from making any calls or text messages without prior consent, levying a $500 fine per violation. And that applies whether or not any autodialer software was use The TCPA cannot reasonably be read to render every smartphone an ATDS, said the court, so that any smartphone user would be in violation of federal law every time they made a call or sent a text without first getting permission. The court let stand the FCC's decision that a party can revoke consent to robocalls through "any reasonable means" and the scope of the FCC's exemption for relaying time-sensitive, health-related info. Current FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, who dissented from that 2015 decision, and whose dissent the court quoted in its decision, was pleased.
Here’s what you need to know about the US lawsuit against the AT&T-Time Warner merger
AT&T and Time Warner plan to merge in a $85 billion deal that would unite one of the largest distributors of content with one of the biggest producers of content, a roster that includes hits like HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” the Harry Potter films and major cable franchises like CNN. But not if the Justice Department has its way. The U.S. government has sued to block the deal, a move that some fret is actually political reprisal for CNN’s reporting on President Trump. The trial begins on Wednesday, March 21. What are the stakes for AT&T and Time Warner? Time Warner could lose out on $85 billion — which would go to its shareholders, including to executives. If the court rules against the acquisition, it might chill other media mergers in the works. Disney plans to buy Fox’s entertainment business and CBS and Viacom are working on a merger. There’s also Comcast’s bid for European pay TV operator Sky, a deal that appears to be designed to spoil Disney’s play for Fox. The potential second part of the case: The judge could wholly find in favor of the government and block the merger altogether, or he could find the government failed to prove its case and let the merger go through. There is a third option: If Judge Leon finds that the merger is anticompetitive, he could still let the deal go through with conditions or remedies to address anticompetitive concerns. Which would bring us to the potential second part of the case. The Justice Department will likely argue that no conditions should be allowed, since 1) any conditions would do nothing to curb consumer harm, and 2) even if some rules proved useful, it would be far too costly for the government to monitor. AT&T will argue it has already made a pretty big promise — to not black out any Time Warner channels in any future disputes for a period of seven years, with any disagreements subject to third-party arbitration. In other words, with that promise, AT&T has effectively already built in a key condition. The judge could also apply his own prescriptions to the merger, but even then he would only do so very narrowly. And if he does, he may work off the decree from the Comcast-NBCUniversal merger over which he presided.
Approving the Sinclair-Tribune deal would be indefensible
[Editorial] In 2004, Congress delivered what seemed to be an unmistakable message about ownership limits in the TV broadcasting industry. It ordered the Federal Communications Commission to institute a new cap: No company could own stations that collectively broadcast into more than 39% of US homes. So why hasn't the FCC summarily rejected Sinclair Broadcast Group's proposed purchase of Tribune Media, which would allow Sinclair-owned stations to beam their programs to more than 70% of U.S. TV viewers? Because by the deliberately skewed calculations of the FCC's current Republican majority, those stations' broadcasts don't reach the households they really do reach. Top Republicans on the commission concede that the discount is technically indefensible. They decided to restore it, however, on the argument that it cannot be changed without altering the 39% cap. The commission is now formally exploring whether it has the authority to change the cap, despite Congress' instructions in 2004 not to do so. Rather than let Sinclair own stations reaching almost three-quarters of the U.S. audience, the commission needs to close the door it opened and respect the law as it was written.
Battle Over A Tweet Could Reshape Online News
Digital rights groups and news associations are slamming a judge's recent ruling that Time, Yahoo and other publishers may have infringed copyright by embedding a tweet that contained a photo in news stories. The decision "has already created substantial uncertainty for media organizations, citizen journalists, educators, artists and activists," the News Media Alliance, Association of Magazine Media, Scripps Company, Electronic Frontier Foundation and Public Knowledge argue in a friend-of-the-court brief filed recently with U.S. District Court Judge Katherine Forrest in New York. The groups are urging Forrest to allow Time, Yahoo and the other companies to immediately appeal her recent decision. The dispute centers on a photo of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady taken in July 2016 by photographer Justin Goldman. He uploaded the picture to Snapchat, following which other users posted the photo to Twitter. After the photo appeared on Twitter, news sites including those operated by Time, Gannett, Breitbart and Yahoo embedded the Tweet in articles.
The $10 billion opportunity at Reuters
It’s the biggest assignment in journalism: Take a set-in-its-ways 167-year-old news organization and reconfigure it radically so that it can compete on the global stage against countless young digital upstarts. If it’s done right, billions of people could end up with trusted, independent, impartial news they would never otherwise have had access to. On the other hand, if it’s done wrong — or if it’s not assigned at all — then one of the world’s most storied newswires might be entering its final years. Welcome to Reuters, the news agency which faces, today, the most epochal decision in its history. If it doesn’t scale back, radically and quickly, its core financial-news offering, then in 30 years’ time it will be on life support. If it does make the change, however, then it can not only save itself; it might even be able to help transform billions of people’s access to trusted news. Opportunities like this don’t come along very often — indeed, to a first approximation, they never come along. But now, thanks to a $17 billion M&A deal in which private equity giant Blackstone is taking over the Thomson Reuters financial-terminal business, Reuters News (which is not part of the deal) has found itself in possession of an astonishing $10 billion lottery ticket. The catch: This lottery ticket is timed to self-destruct.
Rep. Louise M. Slaughter, NY Democrat who championed women’s rights, dies at 88
Rep Louise M. Slaughter (D-NY), a folksy New York liberal who championed women’s rights and American manufacturing for more than three decades as a Democratic congresswoman, and who became a top lieutenant for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as the first and only woman to lead the powerful Rules Committee, died March 16 at a hospital in Washington. She was 88 and the oldest sitting member of Congress. Initially one of just 29 women in the House of Representatives, Rep Slaughter was a flinty advocate of women’s access to health care and abortion. She was a co-author of the Violence Against Women Act, a landmark 1994 law aimed at curbing domestic abuse and aiding its victims. In 1991, she was part of a group of seven Democratic congresswomen who marched to the Senate to demand a delay in the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas.
President Trump, the Television President, Expands His Cast
The television pundit Larry Kudlow, best known for his patter on CNBC, was named as President Donald Trump’s chief economic adviser. Pete Hegseth, a co-host of “Fox & Friends Weekend,” is on the short list to become secretary of veterans affairs. John R. Bolton, the former United Nations ambassador and a frequent Fox News commentator, is under consideration for national security adviser. The moves are another sign that the dividing line between media and government has been all but erased under President Trump, a former reality star who views himself as the casting agent in chief. Television figures have served as press aides in past administrations, tasked with handling their former colleagues in the media. But the selection of Kudlow crossed a threshold of sorts: the elevation of a television star to a position of real influence over policies affecting millions of Americans. People close to him have said a major part of his deliberative process is how a decision will play on cable news. Where previous presidents courted news personalities, President Trump consults them, seeking policy and strategic advice from Fox News hosts like Jeanine Pirro, who at one point was interviewed for the job of deputy attorney general, and Sean Hannity. At least three Fox News hosts — Tucker Carlson, Kimberly Guilfoyle and Laura Ingraham — were approached about joining his communications team.
Benton (www.benton.org) provides the only free, reliable, and non-partisan daily digest that curates and distributes news related to universal broadband, while connecting communications, democracy, and public interest issues. Posted Monday through Friday, this service provides updates on important industry developments, policy issues, and other related news events. While the summaries are factually accurate, their sometimes informal tone may not always represent the tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang (headlines AT benton DOT org) and Robbie McBeath (rmcbeath AT benton DOT org) -- we welcome your comments.
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