July 2014

Statement Of FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai On Three TV Stations Going Dark Following Review Of The Sinclair/Allbritton Transaction

The Federal Communications Commission’s crackdown on joint sales agreements claims three more victims: two television stations in the Birmingham, Alabama market (WCFT and WJSU) and one television station in Charleston, South Carolina (WCIV).

How does this outcome serve the cause of diversity? And how does this outcome serve the cause of competition?

In Charleston, South Carolina, for example, WCIV would have been owned and operated by Howard Stirk Holdings, an African-American owned broadcast company. But apparently the FCC believes that it is better for that station to go out of business than for Howard Stirk Holdings to own the station and participate in a joint sales agreement with Sinclair. I strongly disagree.

How can tech companies diversify their workforce?

Kathryn Finney, the founder of DigitalUndivided, says for people of color, networking can be a stumbling block. "We're not part of those networks," Finney said.

But people who work in tech say helping others break in is only part of the solution. Leigh Honeywell, a security engineer, administrator of the Geek Feminism wiki, and member of Double Union, a feminist hacker space, said women who make it through the pipeline and get jobs in tech are confronted by a culture that can be downright sexist.

"It's really not cool to be encouraging all of these young girls and young people of color to enter a field where they are going to face discrimination," said Honeywell. "It's up to those of us that are here, both men and women to encourage attitude changes."

John Malone: Technology Companies Unlikely to Bid for Time Warner

Cable magnate John Malone says 21st Century Fox has long been eyeing a takeover bid for Time Warner and isn't likely to face competing bidders, pouring cold water on speculation that tech companies could emerge as rival suitors for the TV and movie company.

"It's such a large magnitude transaction," Malone said, adding that Fox's ability to pay with nonvoting stock and to access cheap debt means "that it would be very difficult to put together a competitive bid."

This Republican wants to keep the FTC from regulating data security

House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) thinks the Federal Trade Commission shouldn't be allowed to sue companies for breaches of customer data using its main legal authority.

In a hearing, Rep Issa slammed the agency for using what he called an "unlimited power" under Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. Section 5 is what gives the FTC the authority to take legal action against companies it believes has been behaving deceptively or unfairly.

Now the scope of that authority is coming into question just as technology have opened up new risks of data-related crimes like fraud and identity theft.

Statement from Assistant Secretary Strickling on Enhanced Privacy Notices Released by the Application Developers Alliance, Intuit and TRUSTe

We applaud the announcements from the Application Developers Alliance, Intuit and TRUSTe that they have released enhanced privacy notices for mobile applications, which are based on the code of conduct developed through a multistakeholder process convened by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

This is an important step that will give consumers more information about what data is being collected via mobile apps and empower consumers to protect their privacy. We are pleased that others have tested and implemented notices, including ACT: The App Association and Lookout, and we encourage other companies to implement similar privacy disclosures.

DOJ: Make Unauthorized Streaming a Felony

The Justice Department continues to press the Congress to clarify that Internet streaming can be prosecuted as a felony and not just a misdemeanor.

Felony prosecution would mean larger penalties, and DOJ argues, better deterrence to online pirates.

Chattanooga asks FCC for help in spreading broadband

City officials in Chattanooga (TN), petitioned the Federal Communications Commission to pre-empt a Tennessee law that bans the city from expanding its high-speed Internet network.

The Electric Power Board, which runs the network, has received requests to expand its broadband service to nearby communities, said Danna Bailey, the board’s vice president of corporate communications.

A state law passed in 1999, however, prohibits Chattanooga from offering Internet service beyond the area where it provides electric power. This restriction “frustrates” the intent of Congress, which is to ensure that every American has access to broadband, the petition said. The city asked the FCC to “pre-empt and declare unenforceable” the portion of the state law that prohibits the EPB’s broadband service from being offered outside its service area.

AT&T Preps Summer GigaPower Debut In Dallas/Ft. Worth

AT&T shed some light on its coming launch of fiber-fed “U-verse with GigaPower” services in pockets of Dallas and Ft. Worth, announcing that it’s on track to boot up service this summer.

AT&T, which tangles with Time Warner Cable and, to a lesser extent, with Charter Communications, in that area, didn’t pinpoint a launch date, but said the deployment will initially focus on the Dallas-area communities of Highland Park and University Park, offering “speed capability up to 1 Gbps.”

In Ft. Worth, the initial deployment will also be limited to 100 Mbps, with plans to offer up to 1-Gig by the end of 2014.

Senate NSA compromise likely to come next week

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) is close but not yet ready to unveil a negotiated measure to rein in government surveillance. Despite reports that the bill could be revealed soon, people familiar with the discussions said Sen Leahy will actually release the compromise legislation imminently.

Sen Leahy has been working with the administration on a compromise. The final bill will create “clear cut guidelines of what [intelligence agencies] can and cannot do” and “let the American people know that their privacy is going to be protected,” Sen Leahy said.

Wikipedia blocks anonymous edits (and trolling) from a congressional IP address

A Wikipedia administrator has blocked anonymous edits from a congressional IP address for 10 days because of "disruptive" edits being made by someone located in the House of Representatives.

These otherwise anonymous edits were brought to light recently by the Twitter account @Congressedits which was set up to automatically tweet changes to Wikipedia pages made from within the Capitol.

The Wikipedia community was notified of the block, according to Katherine Maher, chief communications officer for the Wikimedia Foundation. Maher said the "temporary, 10-day block on the IP address associated with the US Congress [was] due to disruptive editing originating from that address."

Benton

Search