press release

The EU-US Privacy Shield Framework was designed by the US Department of Commerce and European Commission to provide companies on both sides of the Atlantic with a mechanism to comply with EU data protection requirements when transferring personal data from the European Union to the United States in support of transatlantic commerce.

The Privacy Shield Framework provides a set of robust and enforceable protections for the personal data of EU individuals. The Framework provides transparency regarding how participating companies use personal data, strong U.S. government oversight, and increased cooperation with EU data protection authorities (DPAs). The European Commission deemed the Privacy Shield Framework adequate to enable data transfers under EU law. Commerce will allow companies time to review the Framework and update their compliance programs and then, on August 1, will begin accepting certifications. To join the Privacy Shield Framework, a US-based company will be required to self-certify to the Department of Commerce and publicly commit to comply with the Framework’s requirements. While joining the Privacy Shield Framework will be voluntary, once an eligible company makes the public commitment to comply with the Framework’s requirements, the commitment will become enforceable under U.S. law. All companies interested in joining the Privacy Shield Framework should review its requirements in their entirety.

The Federal Communications Commission updated its rules so that Americans can receive more specific – and potentially life-saving – warnings through the Emergency Alert System (EAS) before extreme weather strikes.

The amended rules add three new “event codes” that can be used to warn the public about the storm surges and extreme winds that may accompany hurricanes and other severe weather events. The FCC has now added three additional codes – to signify an “Extreme Wind Warning,” “Storm Surge Watch,” and “Storm Surge Warning” – so that communities can receive more specific and relevant alerts during hurricanes or other severe weather. The updated rules require EAS equipment manufacturers to integrate the codes into new equipment and will also enable EAS participants to update their existing equipment in advance of next year’s (2017) Atlantic hurricane season.

The Broadcasting Board of Governors named engineer and attorney Dr. Nnake Nweke as the first-ever Director of its newly created Office of Internet Freedom. As Director of the new Office of Internet Freedom, Dr. Nweke will serve as the principal advisor to the BBG Board, the CEO, and BBG’s five networks – the Voice of America, Office of Cuba Broadcasting, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks – on technological and innovative efforts to circumvent Internet censorship around the globe. In this role, Dr. Nweke will lead the development of the BBG’s strategies on combating Internet censorship and will study its impact on BBG programming.

Dr. Nweke’s accomplished career includes more than 15 years of experience in information and communications technology, cybersecurity, Internet policy, engineering systems and technology policy. Most recently, he served as a branch chief in the Office of Engineering and Technology at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Earlier, he worked as a senior engineer in the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau of the FCC’s Cybersecurity and Communications Reliability Division, as well as a senior staff member of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, a Technical Specialist/Patent Agent for a Washington (DC) law firm, and a research engineer at the National Security Agency.

Columbia University President Lee C. Bollinger announced his appointment of Jameel Jaffer, deputy legal director at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), as founding director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University. In June, Columbia and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation announced the creation of the new institute which will work—through litigation, research and public advocacy—to preserve and expand the freedoms of expression and the press in the digital age.

A graduate of Harvard Law School, where he was an Editor of the Law Review, Jaffer served as a law clerk to Hon. Amalya L. Kearse on the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and then to Rt. Hon. Beverley McLachlin, Chief Justice of Canada. His writing has been published in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, and other publications. His new book, The Drone Memos, will be published by The New Press in November.

The Federal Trade Commission and State of Florida have taken action against defendants who ran an international tech support operation and allegedly misrepresented to consumers that malware or hackers had compromised their computers and that the operation was associated with or certified by Microsoft and Apple to fix their computers. A federal court has temporarily shut down the defendants’ operation, frozen their assets, and placed control of the businesses with a court-appointed receiver. The complaint alleges that defendants, based in Florida, Iowa, Nevada, and Canada, relied on a combination of deceptive online ads and misleading, high-pressure sales tactics to frighten consumers into spending hundreds of dollars for dubious computer “repairs” and antivirus software.

“Scammers like these use incredibly deceptive tactics that make consumers think they are receiving warnings from legitimate technology companies,” said Jessica Rich, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “We are proud to work with the Florida Attorney General’s Office to put an end to these fraudulent practices.” According to the complaint, the defendants caused consumers’ computers to display advertisements designed to resemble security alerts from Microsoft or Apple. These ads warned consumers that their computers could be infected with malware and urged them to call a toll-free number in the ad to safeguard both their computer and sensitive personal information stored on it.

Gray Television announced that it had secured new, diverse owners for six television stations that it had acquired and previously operated under shared service agreements.

The divestitures appear to be the direct result of recent statements by the Federal Communications Commission indicating that it would scrutinize any transfers of licenses that involve sidecar deals that indicate control or influence.

In Colorado, Gray will transfer one station to an Asian American husband and wife ownership team.

In North Dakota, one station will be transferred to a respected South Asian broadcaster.

Four other stations in various markets will be transferred to an ownership team consisting of two female broadcasters. All of the transfers result in full ownership and control of the broadcasting outlets by women and people of color.

The World Economic Forum has announced the launch of the NETmundial Initiative on Internet governance cooperation.

Through close collaboration with key government, industry, academic and civil society partners, including the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the new initiative will provide a venue for leaders from many regions and sectors of society to discuss and collaboratively address a range of emerging policy challenges related to the Internet.

Specifically, the initiative seeks to provide an international, multistakeholder platform that brings together government, business and civil society leaders, along with the representatives of technical communities, to sustain and strengthen an effective and distributed approach to Internet governance.

The initiative will seek to make a contribution to the positive evolution of multistakeholder Internet governance in two concrete respects:

• First, taking advantage of the World Economic Forum’s uniquely interdisciplinary, leader-level multistakeholder communities, it aims to support a broader policy dialogue on issues that would benefit from the engagement of additional relevant ministries, industries and academic and civil society expertise beyond those specializing in the ICT sector and participating regularly in traditional Internet governance fora.
• Second, it will serve as a platform for galvanizing support for capacity building in two respects: to support developing countries that wish to enhance their access to the Internet and build their own multistakeholder governance frameworks; and to explore ways to strengthen the capacity of the decentralized Internet governance ecosystem to respond to specific issues or problems that arise, including those encountered by developing countries which may not be in a position to readily identify relevant expertise and resources.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting announced $6.2 million in new, American Graduate: Let’s Make It Happen initiative grants to public media stations in 33 markets, focusing on where graduation gaps exist for students of different races, ethnicities, family incomes, and disabilities, as well as those with limited English proficiency.

Over the next two years, American Graduate public media station grantees will work with their local communities to increase understanding about the challenges for at-risk youth and develop long term solutions emphasizing the importance of a strong foundation in early education and the need for consistent caring adults.

Stations will highlight local leaders who have helped communities increase graduation rates and the everyday heroes in a child’s life who are committed to improving education outcomes as “American Graduate Champions.”

Access Humboldt filed comments supporting Public, Education and Government access (PEG) and the role of local franchise authorities as the Federal Communications Commission considers Comcast’s acquisition of Time Warner Cable.

The FCC should:

• Require Comcast, Charter and SpinCo to make all PEG channels on all of its cable systems universally available on the basic service tier, in the same format as local broadcast channels, unless the local government specifically agrees otherwise.
• Protect PEG channel positions.
• As a condition to any consent to the transfers, the FCC should prohibit discrimination against PEG channels, and ensure that PEG channels will have the same features and functionality, and the same signal quality, as that provided to local broadcasters’ primary channels.
• Require that all PEG programming is easily accessed on menus and easily and non-discriminatorily accessible on all the Applicants’ platforms.
• Require that PEG channels have the ability to be distributed on HD tiers.

The National Hispanic Media Coalition filed comments at the Federal Communications Commission in response to its Public Notice seeking input on Comcast’s proposed acquisition of Time Warner Cable.

The comments urge the FCC to incorporate a number of critical questions on how the acquisition would affect Latinos into its public interest analysis.

NHMC is calling on the Commission to examine how the acquisition would impact: Latino programmers and Latino-themed content carriage and distribution; pay TV and Internet affordability; data caps, overage fees and usage-based pricing; Comcast’s Internet Essentials program; customer service; business relationships with other multichannel video programming distributors (MVPD); the Open Internet; regional sports networks; and jobs.