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For the seventh time, Google released new numbers showing requests from governments to remove content from our services.
From July to December 2012, we received 2,285 government requests to remove 24,179 pieces of content—an increase from the 1,811 requests to remove 18,070 pieces of content that the company received during the first half of 2012. It has become increasingly clear that the scope of government attempts to censor content on Google services has grown. In more places than ever, Google has been asked by governments to remove political content that people post on our services. In this particular time period, Google received court orders in several countries to remove blog posts criticizing government officials or their associates.
Of particular note were three occurrences that took place in the second half of 2012:
- There was a sharp increase in requests from Brazil, where Google received 697 requests to remove content from our platforms (of which 640 were court orders—meaning we received an average of 3.5 court orders per day during this time period), up from 191 during the first half of the year. The big reason for the spike was the municipal elections, which took place last fall. Nearly half of the total requests—316 to be exact—called for the removal of 756 pieces of content related to alleged violations of the Brazilian Electoral Code, which forbids defamation and commentary that offends candidates. We’re appealing many of these cases, on the basis that the content is protected by freedom of expression under the Brazilian Constitution.
- Another place where Google saw an increase was from Russia, where a new law took effect last fall. In the first half of 2012, we received six requests, the most we had ever received in any given six-month period from Russia. But in the second half of the year, Google received 114 requests to remove content—107 of them citing this new law.
- During this period, we received inquiries from 20 countries regarding YouTube videos containing clips of the movie “Innocence of Muslims.” While the videos were within our Community Guidelines, we restricted videos from view in several countries in accordance with local law after receiving formal legal complaints. We also temporarily restricted videos from view in Egypt and Libya due to the particularly difficult circumstances there.
Transparency Report: More government removal requests than ever before Google: government censorship requests jumped 20% in last six months (GigaOm)
Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) said that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the body for New York City’s arteries of public transit, had completed the first phase of a citywide project to install Wi-Fi and voice-calling service in its subway stations. Service is now expanded to 36 subway stations, including the six that were tested last year.
Major stations, including Times Square and Rockefeller Center, are included in the expansion. The project allows for voice-calling, text-messaging and Internet browsing from the station platforms — not on the trains themselves. And you’ll have to be a customer of participating wireless services to access voice and data. Carriers AT&T and T-Mobile have already signed on to provide service for wireless voice and data for their customers. Executives from Verizon and Sprint were also in attendance at Gov. Cuomo’s press conference, as the two carriers say they plan to be a part of the network down under.
Wi-Fi, Voice Calling Come to More New York City Subway Stations
[Commentary] In a study of organizations around the world, KPMG found that more than one billion people have been affected by data loss incidents in the last five years.
The sectors that sustained the greatest amounts of data loss in 2012 were education, technology, and government. To fight back, organizations today are investing heavily to increase protection and control of data, and equipping employees with the necessary tools and education to safeguard information. One of the most effective solutions is for companies to hire their own hackers. These "white hat hackers" break into their own company's systems to find and fix vulnerabilities before they can be exploited. Stronger security measures can help entities that are striving to stay ahead of data loss threats, but organizations must be committed to continuous improvement and adaptation. Today's protection strategies are likely to be obsolete tomorrow.
Why lost , stolen data has touched one billion of us
The Senate Judiciary Committee approved legislation that would require police to obtain a warrant before accessing e-mails, Facebook messages and other private online content. The bill, which is sponsored by Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), was approved on a voice vote and now heads to the Senate floor.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the committee's ranking member, noted that the House is considering expanding Electronic Communications Privacy Act to require a warrant to access GPS data in addition to email content. He said that if the Senate decides to adopt GPS protections, the Judiciary Committee should first hold a hearing to study the issue more closely. He also argued that the Senate should carefully consider the concerns of Securities and Exchange Commission Chairwoman Mary Jo White, who has warned that the legislation could impede civil investigations where agents do not have warrant authority. The committee adopted an amendment from Sen Grassley on that would require the Government Accountability Office to conduct a review of how police are using the law. Leahy also added a technical amendment to clarify that the bill does not affect wiretap or foreign surveillance laws.
Senate Judiciary panel votes to require warrants for police e-mail searches Senate Judiciary Passes Update to Email Privacy Law (AdWeek) Senate Judiciary Approves Electronic Privacy Bill Update (B&C)
Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) objected to an amendment to the online sales tax bill from Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). Sen Baucus, who serves as Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said it was a "travesty" that the Marketplace Fairness Act was not going through his committee before coming to the Senate floor.
"This is a travesty, the way this bill is being considered," Chairman Baucus said. Sens Collins and Angus King (I-Maine) said their amendment would have given retailers and states a year to comply with the Marketplace Fairness Act, S. 743, which would empower states to collect taxes on purchases made online by consumers in their states. Currently, the bill gives 90 days for compliance. The bill would exempt small businesses that earn less than $1 million annually from out-of-state sales and requires states to provide retailers with software to calculate sales taxes based on a buyer’s zip code. But some senators in states without sales tax, such as Montana, say it would burden retailers in their states by forcing them to collect taxes for other state governments.
Sen Baucus: Bringing online sales tax bill to the floor is 'a travesty'
The National Governors Association has a message for Grover Norquist and Americans for Tax Reform: The online sales tax bill on the Senate floor does not violate ATR’s no-tax pledge.
NGA, which backs the sales tax bill, noted that the Congressional Budget Office had ruled that the Marketplace Fairness Act had no impact on federal revenues. The group also said that the anti-tax pledge that ATR administers – and the vast majority of congressional Republicans have signed – calls on lawmakers to oppose marginal rate increases or the net reduction of tax credits and deductions. “Marketplace Fairness does neither. It is not a new tax or a tax increase,” NGA said in its statement. “It clearly does not violate the pledge. In fact, the American for Tax Reform themselves admitted to leadership of the National Governors Association that this was not a violation. To say anything else is disingenuous.”
Governors group: Sales tax bill doesn't violate tax pledge
Many people begin their search for goods and services on Google, Yahoo or Bing, compared with 37% on Amazon and 7% on eBay. When it comes to mobile searching, 87% of respondents prefer to use a search engine such as Google or Bing when conducting searches on smartphones and tablets, compared with 13% who prefer to use apps from Yelp or Amazon. The Raymond James survey data should alleviate some concerns by marketers over the move toward apps on mobile or more vertical search engines, like VerticalSearchWorks or Daybees -- where consumers can access information on events -- and away from traditional engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo.
Google, Bing, Yahoo Still Anchor For Finding Information
While the Senate considered an overhaul of a sweeping quarter-century-old law governing e-mail privacy, a House Judiciary Committee panel received dueling arguments over when and how police can track the location of Americans carrying a cellphone.
For investigators, knowing where a suspect is and at what time can be crucial to an investigation. Cellphones have become a powerful tool for establishing those facts — one detective scheduled to testify on Capitol Hill described them in prepared remarks as a “witness” to a crime. Less clear is the law on how authorities can extract that information from cellphones. Law enforcement officials say procuring a search warrant, based on probable cause, is too time-consuming and slows down an investigation. The law is vague on what information cellphone carriers must turn over to law enforcement and whether the officials require judicial review. Under what circumstances can police obtain a “tower dump,” meaning identify cellphone users whose devices pinged off a particular cellphone tower? Should a warrant be required to monitor the location of an individual with whom a known suspect is communicating? Should a warrant be required for specific location information of a known suspect? There is no consensus in the law on these questions.
For Congress, a Question of Cellphone Tracking
Fewer cellphone calls are being dropped and data speeds are on the rise as all the major carriers expand their LTE networks. That’s the good news in a report from RootMetrics, which measures real-world cellphone performance nationwide. Sprint, AT&T and T-Mobile all reduced their call failure rates from the first half of the year to the second, according to RootMetrics. Verizon’s rate increased fractionally, but was still an industry-best 0.7 percent for the second half of the year.
Cellphone Customers Have at Least a Couple Reasons to Smile
The Federal Communications Commission’s Wireline Competition Bureau hereby announces the results of the 2012 Lifeline annual recertification process.
In the Lifeline Reform Order, the FCC required that each eligible telecommunications carrier (ETC) and, where applicable, state Lifeline administrators, a state agency or an agent of the state (collectively, “state agency”) recertify the eligibility of each ETC’s subscriber base as of June 1, 2012 by the end of 2012, and report the results to the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) on FCC Form 555 by January 31, 2013.2 Subscribers that are no longer eligible or who do not respond to attempts to recertify their eligibility must be de-enrolled from the program. Based on results from the FCC Forms 555 submitted by ETCs, and analysis from USAC, the Bureau reports that 29 percent of all subscribers that were enrolled in the program in June 2012 have been de-enrolled from the program.
FCC Announces Results of the 2012 Annual Lifeline Recertification Process