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The United States warned Antigua and Barbuda not to retaliate against U.S. restrictions on Internet gambling by suspending American copyrights or patents, a move it said would authorize the "theft" of intellectual property like movies and music. "The United States has urged Antigua to consider solutions that would benefit its broader economy. However, Antigua has repeatedly stymied these negotiations with certain unrealistic demands," said Nkenge Harmon, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Trade Representative's office.
US warns Antigua against "government-authorized piracy"
The Congressional Bi-Partisan Privacy Caucus co-chairs celebrated Data Privacy Day with a call for companies not to collect the personal info of anyone without their consent, and particularly children. Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) and Joe Barton (R-TX) are political opposites who are joined in their support of kids' do-not-track legislation and greater privacy protections from online tracking generally. "Privacy is a priority and it should not be taken lightly. We will continue to work with our colleagues to increase privacy protections, and we look forward to working more on this issue during the 113th Congress," they said.
Reps Markey, Barton Pledge to Keep Pushing on Privacy
In recognition of Data Privacy Day, House Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) and Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittee Chairman Lee Terry (R-NE) are urging American consumers to be vigilant in protecting their online data and privacy. The committee held several hearings last Congress examining how personal information is protected on the Internet and will continue its review of online privacy issues throughout the 113th Congress to ensure individual privacy is protected in a manner that preserves Internet growth and innovation.
“On this Data Privacy Day, I urge American families to take a minute and review their digital footprint. Thanks to American ingenuity and innovation, we are spending more and more of our time online - the Internet is where we shop, learn, and play. But as technology advances, so do privacy threats. It is important for consumers to be aware of how their personal information is viewed and shared online,” said Chairman Upton. “We held a number of hearings last Congress examining online privacy and consumer protection issues, and the committee will continue these efforts in the new Congress to protect consumers without harming innovation.”
“Today we recognize Data Privacy Day to raise consumers’ and policymakers’ awareness of online privacy concerns. Protecting personal information online is becoming an increasingly difficult challenge as technology continues to advance and our society becomes more interconnected. Our challenge as lawmakers is to protect individual privacy without undercutting the Internet economy, innovators and application developers. The Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade will continue to be a voice in the online privacy discussion in the ongoing effort to ensure a balanced approach toward addressing these important consumer issues,” said Chairman Terry.
On Data Privacy Day, Chairmen Upton and Terry Remind Consumers to Be Vigilant with Personal Information Online
Disney sent a scathing letter to Rep Ed Markey (D-MA) in response to privacy concerns he raised last week about a new technology being implemented at the company’s theme parks.
The Senate hopeful was inquiring about Disney’s new MyMagic+ program that streamlines visitors’ interactions, allowing them to use a bracelet as a credit card, room key and parking ticket — but also allows Disney to track visitor movements, like what rides someone goes on. CEO Bob Iger pushed back candidly against Markey’s implicit allegations, calling the letter “unfortunate and extremely disappointing.” “We are offended by the ludicrous and utterly ill-informed assertion in your letter dated Jan. 24, 2013, that we would in any way haphazardly or recklessly introduce a program that manipulates children, or wantonly puts their safety at risk,” Iger writes in the letter. “Had you or your staff made the slightest effort, you would have found most of the answers to your questions already existed and were publicly available online.” Iger’s response outlines the program’s privacy considerations and “reiterate[s] the basic facts” that a Disney representative outlined to reporters. The program is completely optional, for example, and parents have full control over their child’s participation, Iger writes. And Disney doesn’t use personal information to market to kids under 13, nor does it share the data with third parties for marketing purposes, he added. In an attachment to the letter, Disney outlines how guests can control how their data is used and request the information be deleted. The company also tempers concerns over location-based information.
Disney strikes back at Rep Markey privacy concerns
Samsung is gearing up for battle in both Washington and the marketplace. Its smartphone is outselling Apple’s iPhone, and the South Korean electronics firm is spending more than ever on Washington lobbying. The roughly $800,000 Samsung spent in 2012 is the most the company has ever spent on lobbying in Washington, with $480,000 in the fourth quarter alone going to the lobbying firm Akin Gump, listing “IP infringement” among its issues. Samsung and its subsidiaries spent $370,000 in the first three quarters of 2012, according to The Center for Responsive Politics.
Samsung’s lobbying grows with its market share
Facebook’s top privacy officer reiterated the social network’s new Graph Search mantra: Your privacy settings are safe.
The revolutionary search feature, which allows users to query available data by asking simple questions, is rolling out to testers and eventually more users. But some criticism is rumbling amidst one early user’s launch of a blog highlighting information that is made easier to glean through Graph Search. “In terms of privacy and honoring privacy, we are absolutely honoring the controls that people have in the audience that they’ve selected with every piece of content that they share,” Facebook Chief Privacy Officer Erin Egan said at a Data Privacy Panel at The George Washington University on Monday morning. “I think what some of these searches are showing is that there is information that people might have shared with an audience that they didn’t want to see it,” she added, touting the social network’s tools that allow users to check and adjust a data point’s privacy settings. The company highlighted the feature’s privacy considerations from the get-go, as co-founder Mark Zuckerberg was quick to promote the feature as “privacy aware” at its unveiling earlier this month.
Facebook: Fear not on Graph Search privacy
Hollywood’s relationship with Silicon Valley has gone from devout adversary to grudging admirer. Blame it on the narrative.
Technology and its icons have transfixed American culture and transformed cinematic production. As a bout of recent films indicates, a field that has been connected with oversized nerds and luckless date nights has become a nuanced world to question and explore. “It’s changing our lives,” said Paul Saffo, a technology forecaster and consulting professor at Stanford University. “That’s a hell of a good story and catnip for Hollywood.”
Hollywood's latest star: Silicon Valley
Republicans are running a 1.0 digital ground game operation in a 3.0 world — and they know it.
At their recent leadership retreat, Chairman Reince Priebus and others sounded the bell for closing the vast technological divide that made all the difference for Democrats in getting out the vote last fall in numbers that stunned the pundit class. “Let’s host Skype-based training sessions and Google hangouts on campaign strategy, fundraising, door-to-door advocacy, and digital tools,” Priebus urged at the Republican National Committee’s winter meeting in Charlotte (NC). “We need to give the next generation of organizers access to the brightest experts.” He went on: “And in the digital space, we don’t want just to keep up. We want to seize the lead.” That’s easier said than done, and insiders aren’t heartened that the most specific he got was references to well-worn online video conferencing tools. Simply put, the Democratic National Committee has nearly a decade’s jump — and counting — thanks to innovative software for gathering detailed voter information that includes input from Democratic campaigns at every level of the ballot.
GOP digital divide may take years to bridge
With the majority of adults in the U.S. and Europe walking around with smartphones in their pockets, the idea of having a high-powered computer at your beck and call may seem like old news. But globally, the smartphone revolution is just beginning.
The next billion people who get online are likely to do so with a mobile device. And while the global democratization of computing power is just around the corner, this trend has left Apple — the company that more or less created the modern smartphone — in an awkward spot. That mobile revolution won't be happening just in China but also in Brazil, Russia and India, says Chris Jones, a global market analyst at Canalys. And while those are the four obvious — and biggest — emerging markets, Jones also points to places like Indonesia, Southeast Asia, the rest of Latin America and Africa. In the next few years, hundreds of millions of people in these countries will be getting smartphones and getting online for the first time. "So there's an enormous opportunity there in the emerging markets," Jones says. The social implications for all that smartphone use are going to be enormous. And while that seems like a great business proposition for Apple, this opportunity is actually pretty complicated for the tech giant.
As Developing World Goes Mobile, Can Apple Make The Sale?
SNL Kagan analyst Derek Baine argued that sports costs are not the only reason for rising cable bills. Baine predicts that by 2018, retransmission payments cable operators pay to carry local TV stations will have ballooned to almost $5 per sub per month, or about what they pay now for ESPN, the poster-channel for escalating sports rights costs. The average cost of a sports channel over the last decade has increased at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR)of 3.5%, he says, compared to 2.9% for all channels. CAGR is actually smaller than the average over the past five years, however, due to the launch of lower-priced channels like the NHL Network.
Kagan Analyst: Sports Costs Not Only Reason for Burgeoning Bills