June 2010

Facebook and National PTA join forces on online child safety

Facebook is teaming up with the National PTA to spread information to kids, parents and teachers about how to responsibly and safely use the Internet, the two organizations said. The aim of the partnership is to reduce cyberbullying and other risks to children online, issues that have gained attention in recent years as parents, lawmakers and regulators in Washington struggle to keep children safe as the Internet becomes an extension of kids' lives.

More sets, DVRs have changed the TV picture

Nearly 53% of all viewers watch TV alone, up slightly from five years ago, thanks to narrowly targeted programming and more sets in homes. Dramas such as ABC's Private Practice and Brothers & Sisters are most often watched alone. But reality series are frequently watched with other family members, while America's Funniest Home Videos and The Simpsons are often watched with kids. Ever wonder why networks promote premiere week so heavily? Early sampling is how most new shows get the bulk of their audience. On average, half of all viewers of new series that last a full season first see them in their first month on the air. Networks look for increased sampling throughout the season as a sign that shows are building word of mouth. NBC's Community got 28% of its total viewers with its premiere, but 20% of the audience tried it in the last four weeks of the season, an unusually high number. Scheduling changes also can give shows a boost: While 28% of Glee viewers saw this season's premiere, 18% watched for the first time during the 11th episode, when the show returned from a long break, behind Idol.

California political ad spending set for record

California is set for a year of record spending on political advertising after Meg Whitman poured $80 million into her successful bid to win the Republican nomination to replace Arnold Schwarzenegger as the state's governor.

At one stage Whitman, the former Ebay chief executive with a $1 billion fortune, was spending as much as $2 million a week on TV commercials that stressed her conservative credentials. But the strategy worked: her convincing victory on Tuesday over fellow Silicon Valley millionaire Steve Poizner sets her up for what is likely to be a closely fought contest with Jerry Brown in November's election.

Google could face privacy complaint

Privacy International, the London-based pressure group, is planning to file a criminal complaint with the UK police over Google's interception of private WiFi data.

The move comes after Google on Wednesday published an audit by third party computer forensics experts into how the data interception happened. Privacy International said the report indicates that the interception was deliberate and therefore in violation of UK wiretapping laws. Privacy International said a third party report showed that the code had been deliberately set to store private data, which is a violation of the UK's Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA).

Sen Franken Grills Justice Official on Comcast-NBCU

Sen Al Franken (D-MN) took aim at the Comcast-NBC Universal merger in a Senate Antitrust Subcommittee hearing June 9 on antitrust enforcement, as a top Justice Department official promised that the department would not rely on any stakeholders' promises when vetting a merger.

During his questioning of Christine Varney, assistant attorney general for antitrust, Sen Franken focused entirely on that merger and what he said was his "inherent distrust of NBC and Comcast's promises." Sen Franken said he could not stress enough that "it matters who runs our media companies," which he said influence how people looked at and understood the world. "So, it is a problem when the same company produces the programs and runs the pipes that bring us those programs," he said, adding, "at least it is to me." Sen Franken repeated his concerns about the percentage of in-house productions on network schedules since the deep-sixing of the financial interest and syndication rules in the early 1990's, and raised the specter of NBCU raising prices for its cable channels to Comcast and other MSOs since the price increase to Comcast would be "from one pocket to another.' Sen Franken said that NBC had assured Congress when arguing against fin-syn rules that their exit would not result in networks filling their schedules with their own programming. He asked Varney if she was aware of what had happened to NBC's schedule in the wave of that decision, and she had a ready answer. "They relatively promptly favored their own programming," she said. "That's exactly right," he answered.

Panel Backs Bill Targeting Misleading Online Tactics

The Senate Commerce Committee approved three bills June 9 aimed at curbing texting and cell phone use while driving, loud television commercials and misleading online marketing tactics.

The bills include legislation offered by Senate Commerce Chairman John (Jay) Rockefeller (D-WV) that would bar companies from automatically passing a consumer's credit or debit card information to a third-party online partner and also require such third-party merchants to clearly disclose the terms of their offers to consumers. The bill emerged out of the committee's investigation of a practice known as data-pass marketing. The committee's probe focused on firms that misleadingly get consumers to sign up for discount membership clubs and other services as part of other online transactions with online retail sites, which pass on consumer credit and debit card information to these third-party firms. The committee also approved legislation, introduced by Sen Rockefeller, that aims to crack down on drivers who text or use their cell phones while driving. The bill would create a grant program for states that enact laws to prohibit texting and hand-held cell phone use while driving. "I think it is most appropriate for the states to handle this issue and devise laws that best meet their particular needs," Commerce ranking member Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, who cosponsored the bill, said.

CALM Act Passes in Senate Committee

The Senate Commerce Committee passed the CALM (Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation) Act, which officially adopts the Advanced Television Systems Committee's recommended practices for variations in commercial volume in relation to the programs around them.

The bill passed June 9 by unanimous consent, which means there was no recorded vote. The bill, which passed the House in essentially the same form, directs the Federal Communications Commission to regulate commercial volume per the ATSC recommendations adopted last November. It gives cable operators and broadcasters a year from the law's adoption to comply. The Senate version has a few slight tweaks. One clarifies that the standards will be an FCC "mandate," not simply an incorporation of the ATSC guidelines. Another extends that mandate to any "successor" standard approved by ATSC. A third change deals with the language a wavier (up to two years beyond the effective date) for small cable operators or stations for whom adopting the regime, and the equipment necessary to regularize the volume, would be a financial hardship.

Senators Urge New Powers for President to Respond to Cyber Attacks

Sens Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Susan Collins (R-Maine), and Tom Carper (D-Delaware) plan to introduce today a new cybersecurity bill.

Under the legislation, the president could order emergency measures to combat cyber attacks, but the president's specific powers would be developed with companies and wouldn't allow the government to take over private networks or give it more surveillance authority. The bill would require the president to inform Congress in advance of what measures are being taken. The measures would expire in 30 days unless renewed by the president. Under the legislation, a White House Office of Cyberspace Policy would be established. The measure would leave it to businesses that run critical facilities such as power plants and telecommunications networks to choose the security they use to protect networks. A national cyber-security center would be created within the Department of Homeland Security. The center's Senate- confirmed director would advise the president on the federal government's computer-network security. The center would work with companies to develop requirements for tightening security and share warnings with the private sector about possible attacks.

Google Says West Should Press China On Censorship

Google is asking governments to put more pressure on China to stop censoring the Internet. Google's top attorney, David Drummond, described the practice as an unfair barrier to free trade and said Western governments should defend the flow of information the same way they do products.

The West has complained to the World Trade Organization that China sells its goods below cost and undermines competitors. He said government talks are "the only way that it's going to change, that this tide of censorship or this rising censorship is going to be arrested." "Censorship, in addition to being a human-rights problem, is a trade barrier," Drummond said. "If you look at what China does — the censorship, of course, is for political purposes, but it is also used as a way of keeping multinational companies disadvantaged in the market." "It should be obvious that the Internet sector is very important to the West and so we should be working on seeing that that kind of trade is protected," he said. Drummond did not say if he wanted the U.S. to make a case with the WTO, which could give the U.S. trading rights to compensate for harm to American companies. Instead, he said new trade rules may be needed to cover the Internet.

Reclassification and Spectrum Hot Topics at FCC Budget Hearing

At a House Appropriations Committee hearing on the Federal Communications Commission's FY 2011 budget, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski fielded lots of questions on the FCC's plan to reclassify broadband, saying he was willing to work with stakeholders to find the best way forward, which he continued to argue was his proposed "middle ground" between onerous regulation and doing nothing.

Subcommittee Chairman Jose Serrano (D-NY) asked Genachowski when he thought the FCC could put the reclassification issue behind it. The chairman did not provide a timetable but said the commission would not put broadband plan implementation on hold while it resolves the question of its authority over broadband access.

Rep John Culberson (R-TX) said he would introduce an amendment to block the FCC from reclassifying broadband under Title II. Media Access Project quickly weighed in against such a move. "Use of the appropriations process to block FCC efforts to clarify its authority over broadband transmission would be disastrous for the future of public access to the open Internet," said MAP associate director Matt Wood.

Chairman Genachowski asked Congress for help in reclaiming broadcast and other spectrum for mobile broadband. The chairman promised to take "full account" of over-the-air viewers, and continued to maintain that the plan would be a win-win-win (for broadcasters, viewers and the government), but said the government needs to move fast to head off a spectrum crunch. Congress needs to approve the FCC's plan to use some of the proceeds of that auction to compensate broadcasters for giving up spectrum. While much of the broadband plan the FCC can do on its own, spectrum reclamation is one of the things that Congress needs to weigh in on as well.

Benton

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