June 2012

Chinese film distributor Bona Film Group Ltd. is in talks with four Hollywood studios about co-producing movies for international distribution. If realized, the plans would represent an acceleration of Chinese-U.S. film co-productions, which have typically been made on a one-off basis.

Some of the U.S. studios have entered joint ventures or co-productions with Chinese companies in recent months. Walt Disney Co., for instance, said in April it had partnered with China's DMG Entertainment to co-produce the next "Iron Man" film in China. Hollywood studios are keen to enter China's booming movie market, which generates over $2 billion in annual box office revenue and is expected to reach $5 billion by 2015, according to Chinese government reports. But the early days haven't been smooth, partly because the Chinese government controls the content of foreign movies. Beijing recently increased the number of foreign films allowed to be screened each year to 34 from 20, although the additional movies have to be either in 3-D or IMAX large-screen format.

Google purchased Meebo, the social media and advertising company, to add a team of engineers and some publisher-friendly social tools to its Google+ efforts.

Google said Meebo would work closely with its Google+ team after the purchase. Meebo, founded in 2005, was originally known for its web chat client called Meebo Messenger. It has now expanded to provide a Meebo Bar on webpages that encourage readers to share a site’s content through social media. Individual consumers are also encouraged to create profiles where they can mark their likes and dislikes and receive articles that reflect these preferences.

Facebook has some explaining to do to lawmakers, or at least that is the view from Capitol Hill on reports that the social network powerhouse was exploring ways to let kids under 13 use the site with their parent's permission. Currently, those kids are not supposed to be using the site, though by most accounts, millions do anyway. One of those concerned lawmakers is Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), co-sponsor of the kids online do-not-track information, who joined with his co-sponsor Joe Barton (R-TX) -- together they co-chair the Congressional Privacy Caucus -- to send a letter to Facebook Monday citing concerns about privacy and targeted advertising.

[Commentary] Civil society will be the critical player in a policy debate that has dominated recent tech news - whether the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) will be given the power by its Member States to regulate internet access and the internet itself.

Despite the fact that the US Government and US industry have vocally opposed this outcome, it is US civil society that has the biggest role to play to ensure that the Internet continues to be open and decentralized. The ITU is a United Nations agency focused on setting international standards related to information and communications technologies – and whose stated mission is to connect all the world’s people “wherever they live and whatever their means.” Among other things, the ITU allocates global radio spectrum, and coordinates the assignment of satellite orbits. What’s all the fuss? The ITU and its 193 Member States (including the US) and approximately 700 “Sector Members” will meet this December in Dubai at the World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT) to update the International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs), a treaty to which all Member States are signatories. But it will take more than jawboning by civil society groups here to stop the threat of an ITU takeover. US civil society (and by extension the US Government) must acknowledge the concerns of countries that believe that the US has too much control over Internet governance, and must address those concerns without giving control of the Internet to the ITU. Insisting that anything less than the status quo will lead to an ITU takeover is both untrue and ultimately self-defeating.