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  2. November 2016

November 2016

Police Agencies Want an Easier Time Serving Warrants to ISPs

For pretty much any crime involving the Internet, often the first step in an investigation is trying to figure out who is behind an IP address. But, according to the FBI and other law enforcement agencies, there is a problem: often it’s unclear which organisations are actually in a position to respond to legal orders for information, because of the way that IP addresses are distributed by Internet service providers (ISPs). In response, several law enforcement agencies are pushing for a change in how WHOIS data, the basic contact information of who is affiliated with an IP address, is recorded. Although likely not a privacy risk, the move, which will probably come into effect sometime in 2017, still presents a significant shake-up in how ISPs retain information.

Google Ran Secret Video Ad Experiments and Here's What It Found

YouTube ran a series of secret ad tests to help brands get a sense of what works in digital video and what grabs people's attention for the most amount of time. The Google Creative Lab ran the experiment using 16 different videos with variations on pacing, sound and other factors, including whether vertical video was important. Those with longest view-through rates were obviously the most compelling, and could be used for coming up with best practices in online video.

The point of the tests was to see how ads might perform creative choices are made with mobile environments in mind as opposed to desktop, or even TV. The average completion rate for the average video ad on mobile devices is 22%, according to Google. On desktop, it's 28%. The best-performing video in the test, one in which fast pacing was the dominant factor, achieved a 33% "view-through" rate on mobile., Google said.

Sunlight Foundation hands off data tools to ProPublica, The Marshall Project

ProPublica and The Marshall Project have stepped forward to assume control over several data tools from The Sunlight Foundation’s data tools division in an effort to maintain and update the research and analytical tools that Sunlight, an open government advocacy group, can no longer afford to preserve.

ProPublica, the independent investigative newsroom, is taking on five federal legislative tools from Sunlight Labs, including Politiwoops, which tracks deleted tweets from politicians. The Marshall Project, another nonprofit news outlet, will assume control over the Hall of Justice, which contains datasets and research about criminal justice. The Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks money in politics, has also stepped forward to take over two campaign finance data tool, as have The Department of Commerce and Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute. ProPublica will assume control over the five tools immediately, ProPublica deputy managing editor Scott Klein said in a post about the changes. Come Election Day, the nonprofit news site will implement a series of larger changes to the tools, and will integrate them into existing ProPublica datasets and tools, he said. The other transfers will be completed on a rolling basis through November 10, Sunlight Labs director Kat Duffy said in a post about the changes. None of the organizations will receive financial assistance from Sunlight in order to take over these projects.

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