February 2015

When Internet access becomes a weapon

[Commentary] Social Media has rightly been celebrated as an empowering tool for ordinary citizens to mobilize against repressive rulers, and make marginalized voices heard. But a crucial question remains unanswered: why should power-hungry states, with de facto control over access to the Internet, impassively concede to defeat? The simple answer is: they do not.

Behind the scenes, autocratic governments across the world have been extremely active in developing and refining a whole arsenal of tools to surveil, manipulate and censor the digital flow of information in their own country. In a forthcoming study in a new special issue of the Journal of Peace Research, I argue that governments fighting to maintain political control have an incentive to implement Internet blackouts in conjunction with larger military offensives. Regime forces are likely to utilize these shutdowns as a tactical advantage when facing intense confrontation from violent opposition groups. It looks like Internet blackouts form a part of the Syrian regime’s arsenal of tools aimed at crushing the opposition. Digital censorship -- in its most extreme form represented by full blackouts -- is part of a dangerous new repressive strategy in the 21st century.

[Anita Gohdes is a Post-Doctoral Researcher at the University of Mannheim (Germany)]

FTC fines marketers of two apps that claim to detect melanoma

The Federal Trade Commission announced two enforcement actions against the makers of two smartphone apps -- "Mole Detective" and "MelApp" -- that claim to be able to detect the symptoms of melanoma simply by snapping a picture of a mole with a smartphone. The apps were downloaded by thousands of people and claimed to be able to calculate melanoma risk as high, medium or low by analyzing the pictures. The apps were on the market from 2011 to 2012, and cost as much as $4.99 to purchase.

Both apps did suggest that users should see a physician if they had real concerns. But Mary Engle, the FTC's associate director for advertising practices, said that the app advertisements gave an overall impression that they could be used as diagnosis tools. Marketers for both apps have agreed to settlements with the agency that prevent them from claiming that the apps can accurately detect or diagnose symptoms of melanoma. The company behind MelApp's marketing, Health Discovery Corp., will pay $17,063 as part of its settlement. Mole Detective's developer and original marketer, New Consumer Solutions, will pay $3,930; the agency is pursuing a judgment against a separate, British marketing firm -- L. Health Ltd. -- which did not elect to settle with the FTC.

2016 campaigns are beefing up staffs. So are the media who will cover them.

Forget about 2016. With the presidential campaign just getting started, the race for the White House figures to be the most covered, and perhaps the most over-covered, story of 2015. Major news organizations have all but made that official by engaging in an arms race of sorts to hire more political journalists.

The staffing binge comes as many in the news media are cutting back in other areas. “There are way more political writers than political news,” said a prominent political editor, who, in classic political fashion, asked not to be identified so that he could opine without repercussions. “Tons of companies don’t seem to care about profit; they only care about their profile.” This editor, whose political staff is expanding, laments that the bidding for reporters has driven up salaries, even for young and relatively unseasoned journalists. Some younger, promising reporters have received offers in excess of $150,000 a year, far more than they would have commanded just a few years ago, he said. “It’s a very good time to be a political reporter if you’re any good,” he added, “but the salaries being kicked around are absurd.”

Cable lobby: Internet rules could be tied up in court for five years

Network neutrality rules slated for a vote Feb. 26 are likely to be tied up with lawsuits for the next two to five years, according to Michael Powell, President of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association. Powell has previously suggested the NCTA could be one of a number of organizations to join in litigation. “To put it briefly, litigation with [Federal Communications Commission] appeals is a pretty long, drawn-out process,” he said. “I would predict that it’s at least two and up to five years before the rules are fully and finally settled.” Powell added, “If you look at the current set of net neutrality rules in 2010, it’s 2015 and we still don’t have a new set, and this debate has gone on for a decade.”

'Obama for America'’s tech team sets sights on making mobile retail easier

A new startup, Modest, has created a platform that lets businesses build better smartphone-based retail apps. The company was founded by the folks behind the Obama for America campaign. Modest is set to publicly throw open its doors to those beyond the handful of companies that it already works with and announce that its lead investor is Eric Schmidt, the chairman of Google.

The company has already drawn an undisclosed sum of investment from the likes of Pritzker Group Venture Capital, 500 Startups, Hyde Park Venture Partners, and even Dirk Elmendorf, the founder of Rackspace. “At Obama for America, we were a bunch of smart engineers and we had amazing marketing people and everyone was the best in the world and we had millions of dollars to spend, but if you're a bakery down the street you don't,” Reed said. “We're not here to build a solution that works for giant enterprise, we're here for the retailer down the street.”

FCC Sets Comment Cycle for Political Ad Filing Requirement

The Federal Communications Commission has announced comment dates for its proposal to expand its online public file requirements pertaining to political ads. Comments on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking are due March 16 and reply comments are due April 14.

TV stations had been the only service required to post public inspection files to an FCC-maintained database. The agency had held off extending that requirement, and other public file requirements -- like Equal Employment Opportunity, children's TV and more -- to cable and satellite operators, which are all still required to keep those files available for public inspection locally, but the FCC had signaled it was likely to extend the requirement.

Comcast Drops More Wi-Fi Strategy Hints

Comcast is keeping its future wireless plans under wraps, but executives did drop hints that the operator working on new strategies and product ideas that prefer Wi-Fi connectivity and use cellular networks as a backup – a growing service category typically labeled as “WiFi-first".

Comcast has already deployed about 8.3 million Wi-Fi hotspots -- through a mix of rollouts in public venues, business locations and in home-side gateways. “We’re working on how we monetize that [Wi-Fi] asset and bring it to market,” Neil Smit, president and CEO of Comcast Cable, said. “We do believe in the asset and [are] working on ways on bringing it to market in the coming months.” He said Comcast would make further announcements on its plans “when we have the product well-defined and developed.”

21st Century Fox Roadblocks Women's World Cup Spot

With the Women’s World Cup just 100 days away, English-language rights-holder Fox Sports is kicking up the promotional pitch behind the quadrennial event. 21st Century will roadblock a 30-second spot, entitled “It’s Not Over,” flagging the tournament across 34 networks. The promo is slated to run around 8 pm on Feb. 24 on Fox, Fox News Channel, FX, FXX, FXM, National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo Wild, Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports 2, Fox Deportes, Fox Soccer Plus, Big Ten Network and Fox Sports’ 22 owned-and-operated regional sports networks. The promo is a cut-down from the 60-second commercial that bowed on Fox during its coverage of the Daytona 500.

How's the Media Industry These Days? Confused.

It’s no secret that the media industry has been high on the list of businesses that have been disrupted by the Internet and are struggling to find a new footing. For a few years, things appeared to be settling down a bit, as the music, written word, and video businesses seemed to be on promising digital paths. Record labels and artists were selling music on iTunes. TV networks sold new shows there and at Amazon, and sold old ones for streaming to Netflix. Big news organizations churned out iPad apps, and more started charging for their online content, even as some of their star journalists found they could fund their own breakaway sites.

Those tentative paths to digital stability, though, are either faltering, or at least coming under serious question. In their place, media companies and creators seem to be entering a new period of confusion, as the financial, technological and consumer behaviors they counted on are changing rapidly. How do I know this? I attended last week’s Code/Media conference and listened to speaker after speaker address these issues. The air of uncertainty was palpable.

How Julie Brill Is Cultivating a Defense of the US Privacy Framework

Federal Trade Commissioner Julie Brill has been busy cultivating a defense of the US privacy framework while also planting seeds for lasting and meaningful interoperability with Europe. She was part of a must-see panel discussion with the European Commission’s Paul Nemitz. At times friendly and collegial while at others serious and contentious, the debate delved into the tricky fate of the Safe Harbor agreement, European concerns since the Snowden disclosures in 2013 and the role the FTC plays enforcing that agreement.

Ultimately, Commissioner Brill is optimistic about resolving tensions with Europe. “Part of my optimism goes back to the common privacy principles that we share and the efforts underway on both sides of the Atlantic to examine whether our different privacy frameworks are sufficiently able to protect consumers in an era of big data and the Internet of Things.” For her, it’s not about whether the US or the EU system is the “winning” system; it’s about whether both sides of the Atlantic will be able to develop an interoperable framework to keep a lucrative data-driven economy going. And one that consumers will trust.

Benton

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