October 2010

Broadcasters took a big step toward eliminating free TV shows on the Web after they blocked access to their programming online this month to enforce their demands to be paid.

Recent actions by Fox, ABC, NBC and CBS in two separate fee disputes suggest that after a few years of experimenting with free, ad-supported viewing, broadcasters believe they can make more money from cable TV providers if they hold back some programming online. That could mean new limits on online viewing are coming: Broadcasters might make fewer of their shows available to begin with, or delay when they become available -- say, a month after an episode is broadcast, rather than the few hours it typically takes now. It would make it tougher for viewers to drop their cable TV subscriptions and watch shows online instead. If cable and satellite TV providers can hang on to more subscribers, broadcasters can then demand more money from them to carry their stations on the lineups.

As part of the Obama Administration's commitment to promoting the vast economic opportunity of the Internet and protecting individual privacy, the National Science and Technology Council has launched a new Subcommittee on Privacy and Internet Policy.

Populated by representatives from more than a dozen Departments, agencies and Federal offices, and co-chaired by the two of us, the subcommittee will develop principles and strategic directions with the goal of fostering consensus in legislative, regulatory, and international Internet policy realms. The public policy direction developed by the Subcommittee will be closely synchronized to privacy practices in federal Departments and agencies, resulting in a comprehensive and forward-looking commitment to a common set of Internet policy principles across government. These core principles include facilitating transparency, promoting cooperation, empowering individuals to make informed and intelligent choices, strengthening multi-stakeholder governance models, and building trust in online environments.

At the same time, the Subcommittee will work closely with private stakeholders to identify Internet policy principles that promote innovation and economic expansion, while also protecting the rule of law and individual privacy. Throughout this process, the Subcommittee will endeavor to strike the appropriate balance between the privacy expectations of consumers and the needs of industry, law enforcement and other public-safety governmental entities, and other Internet stakeholders.

The Subcommittee is made up of representatives from the following Federal agencies:

• Department of Commerce (Co-Chair)
• Department of Justice (Co-Chair)
• Department of Education
• Department of Energy
• Department of Health and Human Services
• Department of Homeland Security
• Department of State
• Department of Transportation
• Department of the Treasury
• Small Business Administration
• Other departments and agencies designated by the co-chairs. Of note, the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission will be invited to participate.

The following organizations in the Executive Office of the President shall also be represented on the Subcommittee:

• Domestic Policy Council
• National Economic Council
• National Security Council and National Security Staff
• Office of Management and Budget
• Office of Science and Technology Policy
• United States Trade Representative
• Office of the U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator
• National Security Staff Cybersecurity Directorate

Data protection officials in the UK are re-opening their investigation into Google after the search group admitted its Street View cars had captured complete emails and passwords from domestic WiFi networks.

The Information Commissioner's Office cleared Google of breaching the data protection act in May, after examining a sample of the Street View data. Google said it accidentally collected "fragments" of information travelling over unsecured wireless networks. But regulators in Canada and Spain have accused Google of breaking local laws. Facing such responses, Google said on Friday that it had collected more complete personal data than it had initially realized. "It's clear from those [regulators'] inspections that while most of the data is fragmentary, in some instances entire emails and URLs were captured, as well as passwords," wrote Alan Eustace, Google's senior vice president of engineering and research in a blogpost. In response to this, the ICO said on Sunday that it would ask Google if emails and passwords were collected in the UK too.

The Parents Television Council spent most of the last decade as a conservative superstar in the culture wars. By pressuring the Federal Communications Commission to crack down on racy programming, the council was responsible for record-setting fines against media giants like CBS and the News Corporation. But the organization now finds itself damaged, defanged by court challenges to the FCC's hard-line position, by its own dwindling finances and by internal troubles that resulted in its accusing a former senior employee of extortion.

Meanwhile, the entertainment industry -- once so afraid of the council's wrath that Fox blurred the naked behind of an animated character -- is pushing the boundaries of taste with renewed intensity. Forget cartoon nudity. One of CBS's new fall sitcoms is called "$#*! My Dad Says." A catchy song with a highly vulgar title and chorus by the Warner Music Group singer Cee Lo Green has burned up the Web. Miley Cyrus, the 17-year-old Disney star, writhes on a bed in black underwear in her new music video. The council has tried to focus public indignation on such programming, but the efforts have mostly failed to gain serious traction.