DIGITAL DIVIDE
Dan Gillmor: Digital Divide Isn't The Real Issue (SJM)
INTERNET
Internet Group Starting Work On New Cyberspace Domains (NYT)
New Voice In Portals (SJM)
MP3.com Has Infringed on Copyrights Of Five Record Firms,
Judge Decides (WSJ)
Online Peacemakers Jump Into The Internet Fray (SJM)
PRIVACY/SECURITY
A Plan to Track Web Use Stirs Up Privacy Concerns (WSJ)
Privacy Isn't Public Knowledge Online Policies Spread Confusion
With Legal Jargon (USA)
U.S. Takes Aim At Web Predators, Pirates (USA)
TELEVISION
ABC Pulled from Time Warner Cable In Disney-Time Warner
Deal Impasse (WSJ)
NBC Yields to Affiliates, Ends Plan To Rebroadcast
News on PAX TV (WSJ)
JOURNALISM
A Working Issue for German Journalists (NYT)
Web Surfers Want the News Fast and Free (NYT)
MERGERS
Bell Atlantic and GTE Amend Merger Pact Affecting Web Unit (WSJ)
DIGITAL DIVIDE
DAN GILLMOR: DIGITAL DIVIDE ISN'T THE REAL ISSUE
Issue: Digital Divide
[Commentary] Dan Gillmor writes that bridging the digital divide will
require more than providing computer hardware. "Computers and networks have
little or no utility for people who are semi-literate. Yet this society has
willfully abandoned public-school children by refusing to provide them with
the kind of education they need in a world where brains mean vastly more
than brawn." He also points out that the digital divide is a symptom of our
societal problems as much as it is a problem in and of itself. "[A] home PC
doesn't counteract racist laws or prevent the police from stopping motorists
because of their skin color." Rather than spending valuable time trying to
provide everyone in the country with a PC and Internet access, Gillmor seems
to be suggesting that providing everyone in the country with access to civil
rights (like a decent education or freedom from police harassment) might be
a better idea. He sums it up thus: "Let's solve our most urgent problems,
and the digital divide will solve itself."
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Dan Gillmor]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/columns/gillmor/docs/dl04302000.htm)
INTERNET
INTERNET GROUP STARTING WORK ON NEW CYBERSPACE DOMAINS
Issue: Internet
ICANN, the Internet's international oversight body, has begun working on a
plan to create four new domains for Internet addresses. The four new domains
would include those that are open to anyone, others that are for specialized
businesses, some for noncommercial interests and others for personal use.
ICANN hopes to release a proposed plan within the next month and it is
expected to be a topic at ICANN's next board meeting in July at Yokohama,
Japan.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C6), AUTHOR: Jeri Clausing]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/05/biztech/articles/01doma.html)
NEW VOICE IN PORTALS
Issue: Internet
The new big thing in web access is the phone. Not the
cool-in-theory-but-actually-disappointing cellular Internet access that's
(finally) cropping up around the country. It's actually the phone. Several
new "voice portals" have been started in an effort to make accessing the Web
easier. "The phone is a whole lot easier to use for older people and people
who don't understand technology," says Simon Lam, co-founder of TelSurf, one
of the start-ups. The success of the new companies is pinned to voice
recognition software, of the kind currently used by the customer service
departments and switchboards of businesses around the country ("To inquire
about Beanie Babies press or say 'One'"). In order to navigate the
(boiled-down) Web via their phones, users speak different keywords and
listen as information is "read" to them.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Joshua L. Kwan]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/indepth/docs/voice050100.htm)
MP3.COM HAS INFRINGED ON COPYRIGHTS OF FIVE RECORD FIRMS, JUDGE DECIDES
Issue: Intellectual Property
Justice Jed Rakoff of U.S. District Court in New York ruled Friday that
Internet music company MP3.com Inc. had infringed on copyrights of Seagram
Co.'s Universal Music Group, Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Music Group, Sony
Corp.'s Sony Music Entertainment, Bertelsmann AG's BMG Entertainment and EMI
Group PLC's EMI Recorded Music. Friday's ruling was significant because it
confirmed that existing copyright law applies in the digital arena, a big
issue for music and movie companies desperately fighting piracy on the Web.
My.MP3.com allows users to listen to their music from any device connected
to the Web. Other Web sites offer a similar service but require consumers to
upload music from their own CDs first. MP3.com, on the other hand, allows
users to access about 80,000 CDs it has in its own database. That made it
possible for people to listen to music they don't own. While record
executives believe the portability offered by My.MP3.com, and similar
services, will make digital music more convenient for consumers, their
complaint was that MP3.com didn't talk to them and get a license to operate
the service before it was launched. Friday's ruling ruling paves the way for
a potentially crippling damage award and sent the company's stock plunging
40%.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal Interactive, AUTHOR: Martin Peers]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB957127367495121545.htm)
ONLINE PEACEMAKERS JUMP INTO THE INTERNET FRAY
Issue: E-Commerce
As more consumers and businesses buying merchandise online, complaints are
rapidly rising in a market where there are no physical borders and
traditional lines of jurisdiction don't necessarily apply. Several
e-businesses are stepping into the fray, offering online mediators. "There
is a big opportunity here," said Ethan Katsh, co-director of the University
of Massachusetts' Center for Information Technology and Dispute Resolution.
"There has been so much energy put into the development of e-commerce that
it was almost forgotten that e-commerce is not conducted in aUtopian
environment." In an effort to help standardize the resolution of Internet
disputes, the FTC and Department of Commerce are holding a workshop on the
subject June 6-7 in Washington, D.C.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Associated Press]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/breaking/merc/docs/002748.htm)
PRIVACY/SECURITY
A PLAN TO TRACK WEB USE STIRS UP PRIVACY CONCERNS
Issue: Privacy
A new start-up company has developed software that can track every site a
Web surfer visits and build a "digital silhouette," or a profile of him or
her based on those movements. Privacy advocates are concerned because this
software pushes the depth of digital eavesdropping to a new level. They
suggest that such profiling software will encourage more and more ISPs to
track customers. Lauren Weinstein, founder of the online Privacy Forum, said
that this could make less-affluent people, who flock to free ISP services,
particularly vulnerable. Because they can't afford monthly Internet fees, he
says, "a lot of people would be basically coerced into giving up their
personal information." Traditionally, large ISPs haven't tracked their
customers' surfing. Most tracking and profiling online has been done by
individual Web sites trying to determine who their visitors are, or by
advertising networks.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal Interactive, AUTHOR: Julia Angwin]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB957139612628916016.htm)
PRIVACY ISN'T PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE ONLINE POLICIES SPREAD CONFUSION WITH LEGAL
JARGON
Issue: Privacy
As a result of government pressure, most major Web sites now have privacy
policies explaining how they collect and use personal information gathered
from visitors. Recent analysis by an independent expert for USA TODAY of the
privacy policies of 10 major sites found that most of them are far from easy
to understand. The researchers discovered the policies to be ponderous, full
of jargon or written so as to leave many surfers scratching their heads,
says Mark Hochhauser, the psychologist and linguistics expert who analyzed
the sites. Take Yahoo's privacy policy, for example: When printed out, takes
eight pages. It has 3,405 words and 167 sentences. In a few weeks, the FTC
will release the results of its second audit of Web privacy policies. In
addition to looking at how many sites have privacy policies, it also will
look at how hard the policies are to understand. "These privacy policies are
a consumer fraud" and violate federal law, says Joel Reidenberg, a professor
of law at Fordham University and author of a book on U.S. privacy law. "To
provide a notice that most Americans cannot understand and argue that that
is sufficient is utter nonsense."
[SOURCE: USAToday (3D), AUTHOR: Will Rodger]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000501/2213980s.htm)
U.S. TAKES AIM AT WEB PREDATORS, PIRATES
Issue: Security
The U.S. Sentencing Commission, which makes recommendations on what
penalties federal judges should hand out, wants to increase the maximum
sentence for predators who target juveniles on the Internet. The commission
has also recommended increasing the penalties for criminals who steal the
credit identities of others and Internet pirates who steal data software
information and make it available on the Web for widespread use. The changes
are among several recommendations from the commission this year that focus
on computer and Web-related crimes in response to the rising illegal use of
new technologies. "The new technologies have provided new avenues for
criminals to use them to their advantage. It's disheartening how fast they
have taken advantage of the technology," said Diana Murphy, chairwoman of
the commission and a federal appeals court judge.
[SOURCE: USAToday (3A), AUTHOR: Gary Fields]
(http://www.usatoday.com/hlead.htm)
TELEVISION
ABC PULLED FROM TIME WARNER CABLE IN DISNEY-TIME WARNER DEAL IMPASSE
Issue: Cable
An impasse over transmission rights between Time Warner and Disney
has caused 11 Disney-owned ABC affiliates to be dropped from the Time Warner
Cable system during the May sweeps period. About two million homes on the
East Coast lost their ABC signal shortly after midnight Sunday. A total of
3.5 million homes nationwide were to be affected. Time Warner and ABC have
tried for months to reach a new national transmission deal. ABC wants Time
Warner to put some of its products -- The Disney Channel, soap-opera channel
SoapNet and Toon Disney -- on basic cable instead of pay channels. ABC also
wants to be paid by Time Warner for retransmitting, saying Time Warner pays
its own subsidiaries, such as CNN, for retransmitting their signals. ABC and
other over-the-air networks have had the right to demand compensation from
cable providers in exchange for their programming since Congress passed
1992's Cable TV Act.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal Interactive, AUTHOR: Associated Press]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB957161353274442792.htm)
See Also:
NEITHER SIDE BLINKS IN CABLE DISPUTE OVER ABC
[SOURCE: New York Times (A16), AUTHOR: Jim Rutenberg]
(http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/disney-timewarner.html)
NBC YIELDS TO AFFILIATES, ENDS PLAN TO REBROADCAST NEWS ON PAX TV
Issue: Television Economics
Responding to heavy criticism from NBC affiliates, NBC suspended a
controversial plan to rebroadcast "NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw"
on Paxson Communications Corp.'s PAX TV Network, in which NBC owns a 32%
stake. The affiliates were concerned the rebroadcast -- which was to be
tested this month before launching in the fall -- could lower their ratings
and take away viewers. NBC said it will instead focus on establishing a
joint sales agreement with the affiliates and PAX TV, giving stations the
opportunity to sell advertising on the PAX stations. In return, NBC would
like its affiliates to let the PAX outlets rebroadcast their local news.
Paxson, based in West Palm Beach, Fla., is willing to go along with the
revised plan.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal Interactive, AUTHOR: Joe Flint]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB957132007355751398.htm)
JOURNALISM
A WORKING ISSUE FOR GERMAN JOURNALISTS
Issue: International/Journalism
German television journalists are under close scrutinty for taking part in
paid corporate promotions and advertiing. The chairman of the German
Association of Journalists, Siegfried Weischenberg, says th problem is
underdeveloped journalistic ethics. "The lines between journalism and
outside activities here are not nearly as clear as they are in the United
States." (Of course, in the US, many journalists have made huge sums giving
speeches -- sometimes to industry groups.) "Television anchors are often
famous people, and their prominence increases the number of offers and the
number of temptations," Mr. Weischenberg said. Though German TV anchors are
hardly poor, they are far from rich, either.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C12), AUTHOR: Edmund Andrews]
(http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/germany-news-anchor.html)
WEB SURFERS WANT THE NEWS FAST AND FREE
Issue: Internet/Journalism
A new survey by Princeton Research Associates for ScreamingMedia.com found
that 89% of respondents had never paid for news or information on the Web
and 83% were not willing to pay. 85% said they would return to a site whose
news is updated frequently and 83% said they would go back more often to
sites with news not available elsewhere. ScreamingMedia executives say the
survey shows that information is valued not only for itself but also for the
speed it is delivered and context. The Wall Street Journal and few other
news orgs have been able to sustain a pure subscription model on the Web.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C12), AUTHOR: Felicity Barringer]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/05/biztech/articles/01surv.html)
MERGERS
BELL ATLANTIC AND GTE AMEND MERGER PACT AFFECTING WEB UNIT
Issue: Mergers
Bell Atlantic Corp. and GTE Corp. filed a modified merger proposal with the
Federal Communications Commission centered on GTE's Internet backbone
business, now known as Genuity. The modifications aim to insure Genuity's
independence from Verizon (the name of the new company once the merger is
complete). Under the revised proposal, Verizon has agreed to limit its stake
in the Internet business to 10%. However, if Bell Atlantic gets all of its
access lines approved by the FCC for long-distance use within five years, it
can then increase its stake in Genuity to 80%. The FCC has asked the public
to submit comment on the new proposal by next week.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal Interactive, AUTHOR: Staff Reporter]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB957131125574030285.htm)
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