February 12, 2013 (State of the Union tech talk)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2013
First Responder Network Authority Board Meeting in Boulder and ITIF hosts Where Do America's Broadband Networks Really Stand? http://benton.org/calendar/2013-02-12/
Oh, right… and the President has a couple of words to share with Congress tonight (see preview below).
AGENDA
State of the Union tech talk could fall on deaf ears
CHILDREN AND MEDIA
How Advertising Targets Our Children
See also: More Than a Pitchman: Why Stars Are Getting Marketing Titles [links to web]
Nancy Pelosi: Video Games Are Not The Reason For Violence In America
CYBERSECURITY
US said to be target of massive cyber-espionage campaign
Sources: White House to issue cybersecurity order Wednesday
Companies use cyberdefense to limit damage [links to web]
INTERNET/BROADBAND
Waste Is Seen in Program to Give Internet Access to Rural US
How Facebook Connect took down the Web
Delaware hopes to be first in Internet gambling [links to web]
CONTENT
Can conservatives break the copyright stalemate? [links to web]
PK's Special 301 Comments Reiterate Importance of Balance in Copyright Law - press release
Facebook sued over 'like' button [links to web]
WIRLESS/SPECTRUM
Deutsche Telekom defends T-Mobile/MetroPCS deal amid shareholder unrest [links to web]
AT&T's Stephenson: We didn't execute well on T-Mobile deal [links to web]
Oregon bill would boost fines for drivers on phones [links to web]
Apple and Samsung: A completely new form of tech rivalry [links to web]
Setting Up Shop in the Valley and NYC, Samsung Aims to Boost Its Software Side [links to web]
TELECOM
Millions Improperly Claimed US Phone Subsidies
Phone rate hikes have landline customers ready to cut the cord - analysis
HEALTH
Analysis predicts spike in telehealth patients [links to web]
Feds’ ‘E-Health’ initiative reaches out to patients [links to web]
Oregon bill would boost fines for drivers on phones [links to web]
DIVERSITY
All Hands on Deck: Closing the Gap Between Broadband Adoption and Availability Requires Collective Effort
Are New Rules Needed for a New Communications Industry? - analysis
Incentive Auction Advocates Urge the FCC to Reexamine Diversity in the Digital Age
JOURNALISM
Newspapers Turning Ideas Into Dollars
COMMUNITY MEDIA
How the Post Office Made America - op-ed
Public broadcasting funding in danger in Kansas [links to web]
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
Telecom Companies Report Minimal Disruption From Storm
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Consumer.Data.Gov is Live!
COMPANY NEWS
Apple and Samsung: A completely new form of tech rivalry [links to web]
Setting Up Shop in the Valley and NYC, Samsung Aims to Boost Its Software Side [links to web]
STORIES FROM ABROAD
Google to launch YouTube on TV [links to web]
AGENDA
State of the Union tech talk could fall on deaf ears
TECH AND THE STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Tony Romm]
Pledges to boost federal research, attract highly skilled foreign workers and upgrade the country’s infrastructure could figure heavily into the president’s State of the Union address. What happens to those plans on Capitol Hill, though, is another matter. The bold tech ideas articulated by President Barack Obama in speeches past have triggered some rough political battles between both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue — and it may be the same in 2013. It’s a familiar problem for this White House, which has experienced only mixed success translating previous State of the Union platforms into policies. For now, there’s a vague sense the President still plans to offer glancing mention of top issues in technology policy — a big boost to his longtime Silicon Valley backers. Administration sources have suggested this week the State of the Union will be an aggressive play, one that emphasizes economic recovery and the importance of innovation to future growth. As the President finalizes his speech, though, the administration still faces the beginning of what might be another round of tough skirmishes with Congress over tech policy.
benton.org/node/144898 | Politico
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CHILDREN AND MEDIA
HOW ADVERTISING TAGETS OUR CHILDREN
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Dr Perri Klass]
Researchers have long focused on the effects of cigarette and alcohol ads on children — and more recently, on the effects of subtler marketing through product placement in movies and TV shows. Studies show that advertising does help push children and adolescents toward unhealthy behaviors, but also that it is increasingly difficult to shield them as marketers exploit the Internet and social media. In a study published last month in the journal Pediatrics, Jerry L. Grenard, a health researcher at Claremont Graduate University, and his colleagues followed almost 4,000 students from seventh through 10th grades, assessing their exposure to alcohol advertising on television and asking about their alcohol use. A large body of literature shows that advertising does increase the odds of underage drinking, Dr. Grenard noted. But his new results take the concerns a step further. “This study linked exposure to alcohol advertising to an increase in alcohol use among adolescents and then that in turn is associated with higher level of problems with drinking alcohol, getting drunk, missing school, getting into fights,” he said. Adolescents who see alcohol advertising are being sold something that we would prefer them not to consume in any amount. Food advertising raises different issues, since children will certainly eat and will certainly have — and express — food preferences.
benton.org/node/144890 | New York Times
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VIDEO GAMES AND REAL LIFE VIOLENCE
[SOURCE: The Huffington Post, AUTHOR: Amanda Terkel]
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) pushed back against the argument that violent video games are responsible for mass shootings in the United States, pointing to other countries where similar games are played but rates of shooting deaths are low. As part of their larger effort to address mass shootings in the wake of the tragedy in Newtown (CT), House Democrats are proposing using federal dollars for scientific research on the "relationship between popular culture and gun violence." On "Fox News Sunday," host Chris Wallace challenged Pelosi on this plan, saying she should instead simply go to her "friends in Hollywood" and "shame them" into action. Rep Pelosi responded that Democrats wanted concrete scientific evidence in order to write the best legislation possible, and countered that Wallace's assumption about violence in the media could be incorrect. "I understand what you are saying," Rep Pelosi said. "I'm a mother, I'm a grandmother. But, they -- not Hollywood, but the evidence -- says that, in Japan, for example, they have the most violent games and the lowest death -- mortality -- from guns. I don't know what the explanation is for that except they may have good gun laws."
benton.org/node/144846 | Huffington Post, The
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CYBERSECURITY
MASSIVE CYER-ESPIONAGE CAMPAIGN
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Ellen Nakashima]
A new intelligence assessment has concluded that the United States is the target of a massive, sustained cyber-espionage campaign that is threatening the country’s economic competitiveness, according to individuals familiar with the report. The National Intelligence Estimate identifies China as the country most aggressively seeking to penetrate the computer systems of American businesses and institutions to gain access to data that could be used for economic gain. The report, which represents the consensus view of the U.S. intelligence community, describes a wide range of sectors that have been the focus of hacking over the past five years, including energy, finance, information technology, aerospace and automotives, according to the individuals familiar with the report, who spoke on the condition of anonymity about the classified document. The assessment does not quantify the financial impact of the espionage, but outside experts have estimated it in the tens of billions of dollars.
benton.org/node/144848 | Washington Post | Fast Company
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CYBERSECURITY ORDER
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Jennifer Martinez]
Apparently, the White House is poised to release a cybersecurity executive order on Feb 13, two people familiar with the matter told The Hill. The highly anticipated directive from President Barack Obama is expected to be released at a briefing Wednesday morning at the U.S. Department of Commerce, where senior administration officials will provide an update about cybersecurity policy. The executive order would establish a voluntary program where companies operating critical infrastructure would elect to meet cybersecurity best practices and standards crafted, in part, by the government. It has been revised several times over the past few months.
benton.org/node/144886 | Hill, The
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
BROADBAND TECHNOLOGY OPPORTUNITIES PROGRAM
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Edward Wyatt]
A look at the $4 billion Broadband Technology Opportunities Program, part of the Obama administration’s 2009 economic stimulus effort. The aim of the grant program is to extend high-speed Internet access to parts of the country that had little or none of it because private companies said it was too expensive to build. “These investments have the potential to reshape our nation,” said Lawrence E. Strickling, an assistant commerce secretary and the administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which runs the federal grant program. “We know that Americans who don’t have access to the Internet are increasingly cut off from job opportunities, education resources, health care information and even government services.” But local phone companies have complained about waste or unfair competition, like using some of the grants to build fiber networks where they already exist — including, in Colorado, in the easily accessible eastern plains that include Agate — rather than where they are most needed, in rural mountain towns. Nationally, $594 million in spending has been temporarily or permanently halted, 14 percent of the overall program, and the Commerce Department’s inspector general has raised questions about the program’s ability to adequately monitor spending of the more than 230 grants.
benton.org/node/144897 | New York Times
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FACEBOOK CONNECT TOOK DOWN THE WEB
[SOURCE: InfoWorld, AUTHOR: Peter Wayner]
On February 7, the websites that were closest to Facebook started crashing, and the world learned the potential downside to giving Facebook such a central role on the Internet. The problem arose from the Facebook Connect API, a clever bit of JavaScript that allows website developers to integrate their sites with Facebook. The developers need merely add this library to their main page, then users can easily share the website with their Facebook friends. It's intended to be a virtuous feedback loop that allows users to share, Facebook to gain more status updates, and websites to increase their traffic. It went wrong when Facebook started mishandling its end of the connection. The API will normally check to see if a user is logged in, then build a box full of information about the user that's seamlessly integrated with the website. For a bit less than an hour last Thursday, the API's background requests for information about the user were redirected to an error page, a result that confused the API and led it to take over the Web page and replace it with a big error message from Facebook. Instead of seeing the news or the weather or whatever their destination would normally display, users saw just a Facebook error. The small technical glitch highlighted just how powerful the Facebook API can be and just how much control websites cede to Facebook when they include its JavaScript library.
benton.org/node/144892 | InfoWorld
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CONTENT
SPECIAL 301 COMMENTS
[SOURCE: Public Knowledge, AUTHOR: Rashmi Rangnath]
Public Knowledge filed comments in the Special 301 process, the Office of the United States Trade Representative’s (USTR) annual exercise of naming countries that do not adequately protect intellectual property interests of Americans. PK believes that this process has turned into an exercise of pressuring countries to pass copyright laws that provide maximum benefits to rights holders, preventing many social, economic, and political benefits that flow from sensible limits on copyright owner rights. The negative fallout of this process affects not only citizens in foreign countries, but also US technology companies. Foreign citizens are hurt because Special 301 pressures their countries to avoid adopting limits to copyrights that would permit things such as access to educational materials, distance education, and digital libraries. US technology companies are hurt because often they rely on copyright limitations and exceptions to market products that use copyrighted material. For instance, MP3 players rely on exceptions that allow users to copy music. Search engines rely on copyright exceptions in order to copy web pages to facilitate searching and indexing. Many countries do not have these exceptions and the Special 301 process constrains their ability to adopt them. Things don’t have to be this way. The law allows the USTR to adopt an interpretation of copyright that is more balanced. Doing so would not only be fair to other countries, it would also be consistent with the US’s national interest. Yet the USTR has chosen to adopt an interpretation of copyright law that favors rights holders, and has done so through a process that raises many procedural concerns.
benton.org/node/144842 | Public Knowledge
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TELECOM
LIFELINE PROGRAM
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Spencer Ante]
The U.S. government spent about $2.2 billion last year to provide phones to low-income Americans, but a Wall Street Journal review of the program shows that a large number of those who received the phones haven't proved they are eligible to receive them. The Lifeline program -- begun in 1984 to ensure that poor people aren't cut off from jobs, families and emergency services -- is funded by charges that appear on the monthly bills of every landline and wireless phone customer. Payouts under the program have shot up from $819 million in 2008, as more wireless carriers have persuaded regulators to let them offer the service. Suspecting that many of the new subscribers were ineligible, the Federal Communications Commission tightened the rules last year and required carriers to verify that existing subscribers were eligible. The agency estimated 15% of users would be weeded out, but far more were dropped. A review of five top recipients of Lifeline support conducted by the FCC for the Journal showed that 41% of their more than six million subscribers either couldn't demonstrate their eligibility or didn't respond to requests for certification. The carriers—AT&T; Telrite; Tag Mobile USA; Verizon Communications; and the Virgin Mobile USA unit of Sprint Nextel -- accounted for 34% of total Lifeline subscribers last May. Two of the other largest providers, TracFone Wireless and Nexus Communications, asked the FCC to keep their counts confidential. Results for the full program weren't available.
benton.org/node/144896 | Wall Street Journal
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CALIFORNIA TELEPHONE DEREGULATION
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: David Lazarus]
[Commentary] I've heard from dozens of AT&T customers in recent weeks about big jumps in their bills for basic landlines and measured phone service, which provides customers with a fixed number of local calls each month. Welcome to the exciting world of deregulation, where state officials allow phone companies to do as they please in hopes of encouraging a more competitive marketplace. Since 2011, the California Public Utilities Commission has allowed phone companies to raise — or lower — basic phone rates whenever they choose, rather than seek approval from regulators. Since then, costs have steadily gone up.
benton.org/node/144895 | Los Angeles Times
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DIVERSITY
BROADBAND ADOPTION AND AVAILABILITY
[SOURCE: Minority Media and Telecommunications Council, AUTHOR: Simon Kwak]
As essential services, such as healthcare and education, are now being delivered through broadband technologies and can lead to a better quality of life, it is critical that government and private industry make a focused effort to promote and encourage adoption of broadband services. First, both government and private industry need to understand the barriers to broadband adoption. Second, once the barriers and challenges to adoption have been identified, the attention should shift toward lowering them. Third, a policy-setting agenda on telecom and broadband infrastructure should encompass a broader ecosystem to foster a deeper understanding of how broadband can be best utilized to serve as the foundation for an economy of the future.
benton.org/node/144840 | Minority Media and Telecommunications Council
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NEW RULES NEEDED?
[SOURCE: Minority Media and Telecommunications Council, AUTHOR: Kenneth Mallory]
Minorities and women are continuing to experience significant challenges in the media and telecommunications industry. Dwindling diversity and the growing use of new technologies, among other issues, are prodding many to consider whether new rules and policies are needed to respond to them. In broadcast media, for example, minorities and women own low numbers of radio and television stations, as demonstrated by a recent FCC report illustrating commercial broadcast ownership. In the telecommunications space, meeting the demand for greater spectrum for broadband-based technologies has become a priority for policymakers as Americans, and minorities especially, are using spectrum-based technologies like mobile wireless service at a remarkably high rate. Several stakeholders have participated in policy forums to weigh these issues.
benton.org/node/144839 | Minority Media and Telecommunications Council
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INCENTIVE AUCTIONS AND DIVERSITY
[SOURCE: Minority Media and Telecommunications Council, AUTHOR: Jacqueline Clary]
The greatest civil rights challenge of modern times is achieving universal broadband access, adoption, and informed use. Civil rights groups are as heavily invested in the outcome of the shift in resources that will result from the voluntary spectrum incentive auction as broadcasters and wireless providers. Why? Simply put, wireless service is making great strides to provide broadband access to traditionally underserved communities and to bridge the digital divide. Incentive Auction Advocates (IAA), a coalition of 36 national diversity and civil rights organizations, recently filed comments with the FCC reiterating the necessity of bringing new spectrum to the market quickly, while enabling greater opportunities for more diverse participation in the wireless market and prioritizing diverse ownership and programming on all platforms. In a relatively short time, Congress and the FCC have been able to turn the National Broadband Plan recommendation to “make 500 megahertz newly available for broadband use within the next 10 years [and 300 MHz] newly available for mobile use within five years” into a fairly comprehensive – albeit divisive – rulemaking proposal.
benton.org/node/144838 | Minority Media and Telecommunications Council
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JOURNALISM
NEWSPAPERS TURNING IDEAS INTO DOLLARS
[SOURCE: Project for Excellence in Journalism, AUTHOR: Mark Jurkowitz, Amy Mitchell]
In America's embattled newspaper industry, some business innovations are showing clear signs of success, according to a new report by the Pew Research Center. While many of these are occurring on the digital side, some papers are generating new print revenue-through circulation gains, niche products and even sales reorganization. The four news organizations profiled here are:
The Naples (FL) Daily News (weekday circulation 44,876). After the publisher and his managerial team overhauled the composition of the sales force and its operating philosophy, the paper saw overall revenue growth in 2011 and 2012. In Naples, protecting print revenue proved to be a significant part of the success story.
The Santa Rosa (CA) Press Democrat (circulation 53,292). As part of a revamped business plan, the paper developed the Media Lab, a sophisticated digital agency that provides a full range of online marketing services to merchants. In its first year, the lab accounted for roughly 25% of the paper's digital revenue and is expected to grow revenue by about 60% in 2013.
The (Salt Lake City) Deseret News (circulation 91,638). Former Harvard Business professor Clark Gilbert engineered a major reorganization of the Deseret media properties, building a digital company, creating a new-and more narrowly focused-editorial identity for the newspaper and unveiling a weekly national print edition. Digital revenue has been growing at over 40% a year since 2010 while daily and Sunday circulation jumped about 33% and 90% respectively from September 2011 to September 2012.
The Columbia (TN) Daily Herald (circulation 12,744). This small, but aggressive daily in an economically hard-hit Tennessee community rolled out more than a half dozen new revenue ideas in 2012 alone, some in print, but most in digital. The resultant growth in online revenues allowed the paper to keep overall annual revenue losses well below the national average-about 2% in 2012.
benton.org/node/144843 | Project for Excellence in Journalism
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COMMUNITY MEDIA
POST OFFICE
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Richard John]
[Commentary] Critics warn that ceasing Saturday postal service will be the first step down an irreversible “death spiral.” The controversy gets at a more fundamental question: Do we want the mail to remain a vital American institution in the digital age? The Post Office Act of 1792, with a broad civic mandate, vastly expanded the postal network while admitting newspapers into the mail at an extremely low rate. No less impressively, it guaranteed the sanctity of personal correspondence by protecting letters from the prying eyes of government. In a stroke, the founders provided the entire population with low-cost access to information on public affairs, while establishing a right to personal privacy. The results were astounding. Alexis de Tocqueville marveled at the skill with which postal administrators circulated hefty bundles of newspapers from New York and Philadelphia to the wilds of Detroit, then a thinly populated outpost on the western frontier. To his eyes, the post office was the only entity with the organizational capability to circulate the information of public significance that was essential to sustain America’s bold experiment with democracy. The German-born philosopher Francis Lieber called it an “element of civilization” — worthy of comparison with the printing press and the mariner’s compass.
benton.org/node/144887 | New York Times
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EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
NEMO DISTRUPTION
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Thomas Gryta]
Telecom companies reported no major disruptions but offered few specifics about the impact from the snowstorm, which comes four months after superstorm Sandy caused widespread problems for the major carriers. Verizon Communications, which operates a large wired network in the Northeast, said the total reports of problems were "within a normal range for this time of year" although it expects an increase as the storm runs its course. A small number of telephone poles are down, the company said, and more than 50 locations related to wireline operations -- mostly in Massachusetts and Rhode Island -- are using backup power. AT&T said the "vast majority" of its wireless sites in the hardest hit areas were operating as usual, and it has deployed crews and equipment to restore any problems. Sprint Nextel said the overall impact has been "minimal" and it is servicing any affected sites as roads are cleared. T-Mobile USA, which is owned by Deutsche Telekom AG, said the impact was "minimal" with a "small percentage" of sites hit.
benton.org/node/144849 | Wall Street Journal | Associated Press
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
CONSUMER DATA GOV
[SOURCE: The White House, AUTHOR: Sophie Raseman, Nick Sinai]
The Obama Administration launched the Smart Disclosure Data Community at Consumer.Data.gov, an important step to empower Americans with the data and tools they need to make more informed choices in the marketplace. “Smart disclosure” is the act of making potentially useful data more readily available—both to consumers directly and to innovators who can use it to build tools that help consumers make smart decisions. Federal agencies have already taken steps to promote smart disclosure by unleashing their data to support creation of a range of new apps, websites, and services—including product comparison websites, mobile shopping apps, and personalized dashboards that help consumers monitor their finances and energy usage. The Community is a first-of-its-kind centralized platform containing over 400 smart disclosure data sets and resources from dozens of agencies across government. Using the Community, entrepreneurs and innovators can access free Federal data to create the consumer applications, products, and services of the future—all in one convenient location. This new Community is part of the Administration’s ongoing commitment to foster an Open Government and unlock the potential of Open Data for the benefit of American citizens.
benton.org/node/144841 | White House, The
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