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December 2015

Hillary Clinton is getting crushed on social media, captured in one word cloud

A word cloud of all mentions related to Hillary Clinton during the month of November does not exactly highlight the kinds of words you want to see if you work at Clinton headquarters in Brooklyn (NY). The most obvious words associated are "unethical", "behavior", "fired", and "lies". It’s driven by the intense dislike for Clinton by activists on the left and the right, but mainly the right. Their constant drumbeat of criticism overwhelms any positive buzz that the Democratic frontrunner gets from her fans. One negative post on a critical, obscure web site, for instance, got mentioned more than 45,000 times on Twitter. Many of the other Clinton items mentioned most frequently link back to staunchly conservative sites.

Fixing a Problem with the Hearing Aid Compatibility Mandate

[Commentary] One significant problem with the hearing aid compatibility mandate for wireless providers, especially smaller ones, and the hearing loss community is that there is currently no definitive list of which wireless handsets actually meet or exceed the necessary standards set by the Federal Communications Commission. While it is true that Commission rules require individual wireless handset manufacturers and providers to make available information on all hearing aid-compatible models currently offered and the associated rating information for those handsets, this hasn't provided the comprehensiveness needed to aid compliance. In other words, providers are not certain which wireless phones rate at a standard of M3 or T3 or better.

It would seem more than reasonable to require the FCC, either through the FCC's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau or Office of Engineering and Technology, to maintain an accurate, user-friendly, up-to-date list (or at least updated semi-annually) that not only retail providers, but also consumers, can review to inform them of various phone options and to ensure that the handsets they intend to purchase are hearing aid compatibility compliant. But such a list doesn't exist today. And claims have been made that the information on the Accessibility Clearinghouse site may not be completely accurate. Instead, providers are potentially liable for penalties if they rely on incorrect information about the compatibility of phone models.

CWA supports good jobs, good networks in IP transition

The Communications Workers of America (CWA) filed reply comments at the Federal Communications Commission in support of an FCC proposal to adopt clear criteria to evaluate a telecommunication carrier’s request to discontinue, reduce, or impair legacy service. As communications infrastructure changes from copper to fiber, the fundamental goals of communications policy remain the same: universal service, consumer protection, public safety and national security, and competition. These goals are best advanced by a skilled, career communications workforce with workers’ rights and protections on the job. CWA supports eight criteria proposed by the FCC to evaluate whether alternative technologies constitute adequate substitutes for copper landline services:

  1. Network capacity and reliability
  2. Service quality
  3. Device and service interoperability
  4. Service for individuals with disabilities
  5. PSAP and 911 service
  6. Cybersecurity
  7. Service functionality
  8. Coverage

CWA urged the FCC to add an additional criteria: affordability. If an alternative service is more expensive -- such as wireless with data caps or satellite service for Internet access -- then it is not an adequate substitute to legacy wireline service.

December 16, 2015

The Future of Media and Technology: Growth, Convergence, Disruption

Panels will focus on new civil rights concerns, efforts to increase diversity and inclusion in Silicon Valley, the open Internet, media diversity, online surveillance and digital privacy, and how the digital economy will benefit consumers, particularly those from communities of color.


Dark Clouds Over the Internet

[Commentary] A global Internet unbounded by territorial limits is pure fantasy. Down where the cables lie and the servers spin, territory still matters. Other nations are increasingly exercising their territorial control over the Internet, often in ways that mimic America’s worst practices. Because American law has made it nearly impossible to obtain digital evidence through legitimate channels, foreign police are turning to illegitimate ones. If the global Internet is going to be warped to suit governments’ interests, we must ensure that it isn’t broken up into cantonized national networks with less privacy, less efficiency, less commerce and less speech. That means making it easier for foreign governments to get data when that access is justified and harder when it is not.

International agreements are one solution, and America and Britain are rumored to be negotiating such a deal. In the meantime, American technology companies should be free to comply directly with foreign government requests for data, as long as that access is warranted and meets international standards of due process and human rights. If America fails to allow such access, it will happen anyway in a brute and extralegal manner — and the result will be a less secure, less efficient Internet.

[Andrew Keane Woods is an assistant professor of law at the University of Kentucky]

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