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EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS

CELLPHONE COMPANIES RESIST RULES FOR DISASTERS
[SOURCE: ProPublica, AUTHOR: Cora Currier]
Cell phone carriers have successfully pushed back against rules on what they have to do in a disaster. The carriers insist that emergency standards should be voluntary, an approach the Federal Communications Commission has gone along with. After Hurricane Katrina, for instance, carriers successfully opposed a federal rule that would have required them to have 24-hours of backup power on cell towers. In another instance, an FCC program to track crucial information during an emergency — such as which areas are down and the status of efforts to bring the network back — remains entirely voluntary. Nor is the information collected made public. After Sandy, when thousands roamed the streets looking for service, many had no idea where they could get a signal. AT&T and Sprint, among the major carriers, didn't initially release details on what portion of their network was down. The emergency issue has been part of a trend in deregulation of the telecommunications industry. Since 2010, more than 20 states have passed laws limiting their regulation of telecoms. "The FCC is very concerned about the nature of their overall authority and whether rules would survive a court challenge," says Harold Feld, senior vice president of Public Knowledge, a technology advocacy nonprofit. "So their approach is to push and nudge and come up with things that would be more acceptable to the industry." "Traditional carriers had reliability requirements, and reporting requirements," says Susan Crawford, a visiting professor at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and a former technology adviser to President Obama. "We treat wireless and broadband much differently."
benton.org/node/140776 | ProPublica
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WIRELESS/SPECTRUM

COURT UPHOLDS FCC DATA ROAMING RULES
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Brendan Sasso]
A federal court rejected Verizon's challenge to the Federal Communications Commission's data roaming rules, an important victory for the commission as it looks to fend off a series of lawsuits that would curb its regulatory power over Internet services. In a unanimous decision, a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said that the data roaming requirements fall under the FCC's "broad authority" to manage the airwaves. The FCC has long required that cellphone service providers offer reasonable voice roaming terms to their competitors. Roaming occurs when subscribers travel beyond their own carrier's network and use another company's cell towers to complete a call. The FCC adopted an order last year that expanded those roaming rules to cover wireless Internet service. Verizon sued, claiming that the FCC overstepped its authority under the Communications Act. Verizon said the rules represented an "unprecedented and unbounded theory of regulatory power over wireless Internet service." But the court ruled that Title III of the Communications Act "plainly empowers" the FCC to expand its roaming rules to cover data. The court also rejected Verizon's claim that the rules treat cellphone carriers as "common carriers," which is prohibited under the Communications Act.
benton.org/node/140722 | Hill, The | Judicial Opinion | The Verge | B&C
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DATA ROAMING AND OPEN INTERNET RULES
[SOURCE: Public Knowledge, AUTHOR: John Bergmayer]
The Federal Communications Commission won a big legal victory when the DC Circuit denied a challenge by Verizon to its data roaming order. The data roaming order itself is important, since it updates the FCC's long-standing voice roaming rules to include wireless Internet access services. It allows smaller carriers to offer nationwide service, and it makes it so that all users can travel around the country without losing service or incurring high bills. But many people immediately starting thinking about what the implications of this decision are for the FCC's Open Internet rules.
benton.org/node/140720 | Public Knowledge
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TEXT MESSAGING
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Brian Chen]
Cellphone users are sending more text messages than ever, but increasingly they are free — thanks to the Internet. While that is good news for consumers, it could cost the world’s wireless companies tens of billions of dollars in lost revenue. Standard texting, the kind where you send abbreviation-filled messages over a cellphone network, has been in decline in many parts of the world, and now appears to be shrinking in the United States. That is because smartphones can use free Internet-powered services that send messages over data networks instead, and those services are attracting millions of users. The shift is opening an opportunity for big companies like Facebook and Apple and smaller start-ups like WhatsApp and Kik, which are making aggressive grabs at this market, aiming to put themselves at the center of how people communicate in the smartphone era.
benton.org/node/140806 | New York Times
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APP DEVELOPERS
[SOURCE: Register, AUTHOR: Neil McAllister]
Apple's App Store and the Google Play store each claim to offer over 700,000 apps to choose from, but only a tiny fraction of them bring in significant revenue for their developers, according to research from analyst firm Canalys. In fact, the company says, of the $120m in total revenue generated from paid app downloads and in-app purchases in the US during the first 20 days of November 2012, fully half was split between just 25 developers. All but one of those top 25 earners were game developers, including Disney, Electronic Arts, Gameloft, Glu, Kabam, Rovio, Storm8, and Zynga, among others. On average, Canalys found that 145 of the top 300 apps in the Apple App Store were games during its sample period, while the format accounted for 116 of the top 300 apps on Google Play. The one exception on the top-earners list was Pandora, which markets the popular Pandora Radio app for its personalized music service.
benton.org/node/140798 | Register
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VERIZON SELECTS
[SOURCE: Verizon Wireless, AUTHOR: Torod Neptune]
In the increasingly internet and mobile data driven society we live in today, there are times we all share personal information with others in exchange for something that benefits us; perhaps it is a coupon, or access to a website that contains details about a product or service in which we are interested. Beginning this week, Verizon Wireless plans to reach out to some of its consumer customers asking them to opt-in to participate in a new initiative called Verizon Selects, which is part of the company’s Precision Marketing portfolio. Verizon Wireless will offer customers who opt-in to Verizon Selects a coupon or some other form of reward, most likely from a popular retailer, in exchange for their participation. If a customer chooses not to opt-in, absolutely nothing about their relationship with us changes. Customers are not part of Verizon Selects unless and until they opt-in. Simply put, Verizon Selects will use location, web browsing and mobile application usage data, as well as other information including customer demographic and interest data, to create specific insights. Verizon Selects analyzes this information about customers to see whether they fit into certain audiences Verizon or third party marketers are trying to reach. Depending on the results, participating customers will receive marketing messages or offers that may be of more interest to them than what they see or receive today. These messages could be delivered in various ways such as email, text, postal mail or online or mobile advertising. We are asking customers to opt-in to Verizon Selects because of the types of information being used and because the capabilities provided to third-party marketers gives them the ability to reach customers directly. It’s important to remember that Verizon DOES NOT share information that identifies customers personally outside of Verizon.
benton.org/node/140792 | Verizon Wireless
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INTERNET/BROADBAND

VERIZON’S MISGUIDED ATTACK ON THE INTERNET
[SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle, AUTHOR: John Diaz]
[Commentary] Verizon takes the prize for most outrageous claim of a First Amendment right. Its challenge to the 2010 Federal Communications Commission rule that requires an open Internet - effectively preventing the companies that provide online connections from censoring or favoring content - as an abridgement of Verizon's free speech. If Verizon's argument as presented to a federal appeals court holds, then the constitutional guarantee of "free speech" suddenly would include the right to suppress someone else's ability to transmit or receive information. Verizon's argument, absurd on its face, veers to the bizarre when it tries to compare the role of broadband service provider to that of a newspaper. Verizon suggests in its federal court filing that broadband providers possess "editorial discretion" - and should be free to feature some content over others, or exclude content, just as a newspaper decides what is and is not fit for publication. Such an argument, of course, misses the essence of the Internet, which is to allow the user to act as his or her own editor in deciding what is of interest. Here's the twist: Verizon clearly knows better. Its joint statement with Google about the prospect of open-Internet rules in early 2010 stated: "The minute that anyone, whether from the government or the private sector, starts to control how people access and use the Internet would be the beginning of the end of the 'net as we know it."
benton.org/node/140775 | San Francisco Chronicle
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SAFE WEB ACT
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Jennifer Martinez]
President Barack Obama signed into law a bill that would reauthorize the Federal Trade Commission's authority to clamp down on Internet fraud and online scammers based abroad. Outgoing Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-CA) was the lead co-sponsor of the bill, the U.S. Safe Web Act, which expands the FTC's powers so it can share information about cross-border online fraud with foreign law enforcement authorities. The bill was originally passed by Congress in 2006 and was set to expire next year. With the president's signature, the measure is reauthorized through September 2020.
benton.org/node/140767 | Hill, The | House Commerce Committee
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FREE SPEECH ON THE INTERNET
[SOURCE: The Verge, AUTHOR: Nilay Patel]
Is Twitter more like a phone company or more like a newspaper? It's a laughably strained comparison — Twitter is Twitter, not some relic of a previous era — but the answer is central to understanding the pressures on large internet service providers to regulate what their users say. And as more and more speech takes place on the internet, the answer becomes more and more important: the future of free speech might have more to do with corporate censorship than the First Amendment. The First Amendment is one of our country's most cherished institutions — and one of its most profoundly misunderstood. The confusion comes from those first five words: "Congress shall make no law." Congress isn't allowed to abridge your freedom of speech. That means the First Amendment only applies to the government, not private parties — as every kid eventually learns, your parents certainly don't have to respect your right to free speech. "Most first-year law students don't understand this point," says Geoffrey Stone, a constitutional law professor at the University of Chicago Law School. "They think their employer can't fire them because they criticized the president, and they're wrong." That also means that the First Amendment doesn't apply to Twitter or Facebook or Tumblr or any other private messaging platform.
benton.org/node/140701 | Verge, The
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STATE BROADBAND INDEX
[SOURCE: TechNet, AUTHOR: John Horrigan, Ellen Satterwhite]
States are actively pursuing ways to use broadband to promote economic development, build strong communities, improve delivery of government services, and upgrade educational systems. The ingredients for meeting those goals are fast and ubiquitous broadband networks, a population of online users, and an economic structure that helps drive broadband innovation and investment in new broadband uses. Not all states have these ingredients in equal measure. In this report, the TechNet State Broadband Index rates the states on indicators of broadband adoption, network quality, and economic structure as a way of taking stock of where states stand. The ratings show that the top five states are: Washington, Massachusetts, Delaware, Maryland, and California.
benton.org/node/140799 | TechNet
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MARY MEEKER
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Hayley Tsukayama]
CD wallets, bookshelves, DVD towers and even garages may be fading away as a new generation lets technology affect the way it thinks about ownership. Citing the rise of services such as Spotify, ZipCar and Netflix, venture capitalist Mary Meeker of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers is calling attention to what she says is a trend being embraced by the “asset-light” generation. Using these kinds of services frees up time and physical space in users’ lives, Meeker said in her annual Internet Trends report, which she presented at Stanford University. Stepping into the shoes of a 25-year-old, Meeker sketched out the life of a consumer who is more focused on services than goods. In an asset-light lifestyle, she said in her report, “it’s easier for people to get what they want when they want it by buying for access to a vast range of goods and services — such as all the movies on Netflix — rather than for ownership of a particular object or title.
benton.org/node/140717 | Washington Post | | Wall Street Journal
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ELECTIONS AND MEDIA

FOX ENCOURAGED PETRAEUS TO RUN
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Bob Woodward]
Roger Ailes, the longtime Republican media guru, founder of Fox News and its current chairman, had some advice last year for then-Gen. David H. Petraeus. Ailes asked a Fox News analyst headed to Afghanistan to pass on his thoughts to Petraeus, who was then the commander of U.S. and coalition forces there. Petraeus, Ailes advised, should turn down an expected offer from President Obama to become CIA director and accept nothing less than the chairmanship of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the top military post. If President Obama did not offer the Joint Chiefs post, Petraeus should resign from the military and run for president, Ailes suggested. The Fox News chairman’s message was delivered to Petraeus by Kathleen T. McFarland, a Fox News national security analyst and former national security and Pentagon aide in three Republican administrations. McFarland said that Ailes — who had a decades-long career as a Republican political consultant, advising Richard M. Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush — might resign as head of Fox to run a Petraeus presidential campaign. At one point, McFarland and Petraeus spoke about the possibility that Rupert Murdoch, the head of News Corp., which owns Fox News, would “bankroll” the campaign.
benton.org/node/140772 | Washington Post
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PRIVACY

FACEBOOK VOTING
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Jessica Guynn]
Twenty-four hours after Facebook opened the polls, more than 100,000 users have cast their votes 10 to 1 against Facebook's proposed changes to its policies. That includes a proposal that would do away with Facebook users' right to vote on future changes. Hoping to get out the vote, the Electronic Privacy Information Center and the Center for Digital Democracy have joined forces with Facebook critic Julius Harper. They say they are campaigning to raise awareness about the vote. "We are making good progress," said Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center. Most Facebook users don’t seem to know that a vote is taking place.
benton.org/node/140768 | Los Angeles Times
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FACEBOOK VOTING
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Hayley Tsukayama]
The latest Facebook privacy policy changes are up for a vote Dec 4, including whether or not to continue to allow Facebook users to vote on new proposals. The social network announced proposed changes to its Statement of Rights and Responsibilities and its data use policy late last month. In an explanation of the changes, Facebook said that it would like to change how it shares anonymous user information with its affiliates. Part of the reason for this change, the company explained, is to deal with its recent acquisition of the photo-sharing site, Instagram. “This provision covers Instagram and allows us to store Instagram’s server logs and administrative records in a way that is more efficient than maintaining totally separate storage systems,” according to a company blog post. “We’ve added additional language to this proposal to clarify that the sharing of information among our affiliates is and will be done in compliance with all applicable laws, and where additional consent of our users is required, we will obtain it.” Other changes include adding language to clarify the difference between privacy settings and timeline visibility settings and updating the advertising policies to make it clear that user posts can be used in ads for political or religious views.
benton.org/node/140715 | Washington Post
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FACEBOOK SETTLEMENT
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Brandon Bailey]
A federal judge gave preliminary approval to a negotiated settlement of a class-action lawsuit over Facebook's use of its members' names and photos in online advertising, while a public interest lawyer vowed to continue pressing objections that the deal fails to protect minors. Under the settlement, Facebook would set aside $20 million to provide a cash payment of up to $10 each to Facebook users who objected to their names being used in so-called "Sponsored Stories" advertisements. Facebook also agreed to create new user controls that will let people opt out of the program. US District Judge Richard Seeborg ruled that the settlement meets the requirements for preliminary approval, adding in a written order that it "has no obvious deficiencies" and "appears to be the product of serious" negotiations between lawyers for Facebook and a group of users who filed suit against the ad program. Both sides told the judge last month they felt the agreement was a fair settlement. But attorneys for the nonprofit Center for Public Interest Law had argued that Facebook should be required to get affirmative consent from parents before using the name or photo of any Facebook user who is under 18. Center attorney Robert Fellmeth said Monday that he will file a further objection to the settlement and vowed to take the case to appellate court if Judge Seeborg grants final approval.
benton.org/node/140713 | San Jose Mercury News
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CALIFORNIA APP PRIVACY
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Joe Mullin]
They had a month—and now it's over. Any California mobile-app developers who don't have a privacy policy obviously available to consumers need to get one and fast. If they don't, they could be facing potentially massive fines: up to $2,500 per app download. On October 30, California Attorney General Kamala Harris started notifying dozens of mobile-app developers that they weren't in compliance with a state law that requires all "commercial online services" that gather personal information to have a clearly displayed privacy policy. State lawyers are going to send out a wave of "up to 100" letters warning the developers to get in shape or face those fines.
benton.org/node/140706 | Ars Technica
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OWNERSHIP

Q&A WITH CRAID AARON
[SOURCE: Public Affairs Television, AUTHOR: Bill Moyers]
A Q&A with Free Press CEO Craig Aaron. The Federal Communications Commission is set to vote to relax a longstanding ban that prevents one company from owning radio and television stations and newspapers in the same city — a move that activists are calling a giant Christmas present to Rupert Murdoch. The media titan has floated the idea of buying The Chicago Tribune and The Los Angeles Times, the dominant papers in cities where he already owns TV stations. What’s worse, the FCC is operating behind closed doors, rather than inviting public comment on the issue. Aaron is asking people to speak out — by signing a petition, writing an editorial and calling congressmen. Aaron and his organization have been among those leading the charge against increased media monopolization. Similar attempts to change ownership rules were thwarted in 2003 and 2007.
benton.org/node/140756 | Public Affairs Television
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FREE PRESS RESPONDS TO FCC
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Free Press policy director Matt Wood took issue with Federal Communications Commission Media Bureau Chief Bill Lake's defense of his chairman's media ownership item. "[B]ased on what we do know, it is flat-out wrong to suggest that the top four ranking exemption would prevent ownership of a top TV station and a major newspaper in the same market," Wood said. Lake had said that suggestions the item would make it easier to own a top TV station and a major newspaper were off base. "Reports that the order would make it easier to own a top TV station and a major newspaper in a market are wrong," he said. "In fact, the order would strengthen the current rule by creating an express presumption against a waiver of the cross-ownership ban to allow such a combination." Wood said the FCC may be trying to put a damper on News Corp. buying the L.A. Times or Chicago Tribune, but even that "misses the mark," he said, since the Fox stations in L.A. and Chicago often are not in the top four in their markets due to the strength of the Univision stations there. "So, [News Corp. chairman] Rupert Murdoch could still target those flagship newspapers thanks to the rule change this chairman is proposing," he said. "As for claims that the proposal is stronger than the current rule," said Wood, "what we have currently is a ban on newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership. We believe the Genachowski proposal for the top 20 markets is the same as the Kevin Martin proposal, which was thrown out by the court and rejected by Congress. All that the new proposal strengthens is the likelihood for increased media consolidation."
benton.org/node/140709 | Broadcasting&Cable
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MURDOCHS WANT HACKING LAWSUIT DISMISSED
[SOURCE: Deadline, AUTHOR: Dominic Patten]
Rupert Murdoch and his son James Murdoch want an American class action lawsuit against them and News International over the UK phone hacking scandal dismissed. Not because they may have acted badly but, in a motion filed late last week, because they believe they didn’t break the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. “Even if plaintiffs disagree about how the misconduct at News of the World was handled, their claims sound in mismanagement, which does not as a matter of law state a securities fraud claim,” the Murdoch’s motion says. “It is well-settled that a plaintiff cannot bootstrap mismanagement claims into a federal securities law action.”
benton.org/node/140700 | Deadline
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TELEVISION

CABLE ECONOMICS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Adam Davidson]
Cliffhangers may have been around for more than a thousand years — since at least the composition of “One Thousand and One Nights” — but no one has monetized them as brilliantly as cable networks. In order to get paid, Charles Dickens had to sell the next chapter of his serialized novels; in order to sell advertising, ABC had to order more episodes of its hit show “Lost.” But for the next several months, AMC is converting our eagerness to see “Breaking Bad” into millions of dollars without showing a single new episode. Cable TV has developed one of the most clever business models in our modern economy. Until recently, AMC was a basic-cable backwater known for “Three Stooges” marathons. But a few years ago, it tweaked its business and began offering two or three hours of original programming on a few dozen nights a year. Starting with “Mad Men” in 2007, the network landed hit shows that developed small but obsessive followings. Soon after, it began making larger financial demands of the cable and satellite providers, like Comcast and DirectTV, that carry the network. AMC now charges these providers about 40 cents a month for each subscriber, including the millions who will never watch “Mad Men” or “Breaking Bad.” These providers can refuse to pay up, but doing so would infuriate legions of vocal viewers. AMC collects $30 million a month in fees alone on a base of 80 million subscribers, which is pretty good considering that the last episode of “Breaking Bad” had fewer than three million viewers. This business model, perhaps as much as artistic creativity, is responsible for TV’s current golden age.
benton.org/node/140719 | New York Times
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HEALTH

NICK AND JUNK FOOD
[SOURCE: MediaPost, AUTHOR: Karlene Lukovitz]
A coalition of health groups is pressuring Viacom to implement stronger nutritional standards for the foods marketed on Nickelodeon. The Food Marketing Workgroup -- led by the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest and Berkeley Media Studies Group, and comprising the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, Jamie Oliver Food Foundation, Environmental Working Group and others – sent a letter to Viacom Inc. president/CEO Philippe Dauman and Nickelodeon president Cyma Zarghami. The letter urges the executives to “implement strong nutrition standards for all of the company’s food marketing to children,” including all television advertising on Nickelodeon channels, company sites and mobile platforms. It also urges the company to apply stricter nutrition standards for products that want to use licensed characters like Dora the Explorer and SpongeBob SquarePants. The letter -- part of a larger campaign being launched by the Workgroup that includes social media, a letter-writing campaign to Nickelodeon’s CEO and other efforts -- is the latest volley in the ongoing controversy over food marketing to children.
benton.org/node/140761 | MediaPost
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TELECOM

AT&T SEEKS LIFELINE
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Holman Jenkins Jr]
[Commentary] AT&T has proposed phasing out the old telephone network in favor of one using IP, or Internet protocol. Not widely appreciated, AT&T, Verizon and other regulated operators are obliged to maintain the old phone service as long as customers want it, and to stand ready to provide a connection to anyone in their service territory who asks. These days that's not many: mostly the elderly and rural dwellers whose service has long been sustained by hidden subsidies possible only under a system of regulated monopolies. Coming soon: the death spiral, as fewer and fewer of these customers are left to bear the cost of maintaining the network. That's why AT&T has put before the Federal Communications Commission a plan to wean the country off POTS, or plain old telephone service, and retire the regulatory obligations that go with it. To this end, the company announced last month that it was willing to extend its fixed broadband network to several million customers in its service territory who don't yet have access. That would still leave millions of customers within the footprint of AT&T's existing phone system where the business case (i.e., absence of profits) wouldn't justify extending the broadband network.
benton.org/node/140795 | Wall Street Journal
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VERIZON TO UPGRADE
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Thomas Gryta]
Verizon Communications is replacing copper wire damaged by superstorm Sandy with fiber-optic cable, a move that allows the company to sell more services to customers. The accelerated installation of fiber cable in storm-damaged areas lowers the maintenance costs for the company while providing an almost instant increase in revenue from customers, Verizon Chief Executive Lowell McAdam said. Verizon is aiming to transfer as many services as possible off of older, slower copper lines and onto its faster FiOS network, where it wants to improve its scale. "When we convert someone over, they almost always take the double play off the bat," he said, referring to a bundling of two of the companies services that include phone, TV and Internet.
benton.org/node/140793 | Wall Street Journal
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POLICYMAKERS

NOMINATIONS HEARING
[SOURCE: US Senate Commerce Committee]
The Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing to explore the nominations of appointees, including current Federal Communications Commission member Mignon L. Clyburn and proposed Federal Trade Commission member Joshua D. Wright. Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) said, “President Obama has re-nominated Federal Communications Commissioner Mignon Clyburn to another term. This Committee favorably reported her nomination back in 2009, and I am glad that she is willing to serve in this important position for another term. I have always urged Commissioner Clyburn and the other commissioners to approach their work at the FCC with a few simple values: they should protect consumers, promote competition, and make sure that all Americans – including Americans who live in rural places like West Virginia – have access to an up-to-date, affordable communications network. I know she shares these values and look forward to hearing from her about where she thinks the Commission will be going over the next few years.” Senate Democrats, led by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), threatened to pass a resolution of disapproval over the FCC’s media ownership rules, currently under circulation at the agency. Mentioning her newspaper experience, Commissioner Clyburn told the Senators that at her request, the FCC opened up a comment period on the FCC’s broadcast minority report, which showed minority ownership at radio and TV stations was low. “Diversity and media are what I lived and breathed,” Commissioner Clyburn said. The GOP also had a message to send to the FCC about its attempts to regulate the Internet. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) who is retiring from the Senate, told Commissioner Clyburn the FCC’s network neutrality rules “seemed like an overreach.” Sen Hutchison wanted to know if the FCC would seek to reclassify the Internet to impose “common carrier regulations.” Commissioner Clyburn dodged the question, responding she would keep an open mind. “I am not comfortable commenting on a pathway forward,” Commissioner Clyburn said.
On Wright’s nomination, Chairman Rockefeller said, “Our final nominee is Josh Wright, who is a law professor at George Mason University. He has been nominated to be a commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the federal government’s most important consumer protection agency. Mr. Wright is a very accomplished young scholar. He has written extensively on antitrust and other issues that would likely come before him as an FTC Commissioner. In his academic writing – some of which has been funded by groups with a clear anti-regulatory agenda – Mr. Wright makes it very clear that he believes that market forces can solve almost any consumer protection problem. While it is easy to espouse ideas like this from the academic ivory tower, serving as an FTC Commissioner is a very different job. As a commissioner, his job will be to enforce the law as it is written, not as he theorizes it should be. In the real world, some business practices hurt consumers and his job is to protect the consumers, not make excuses for the businesses. I look forward to hearing what he has to say on this subject.” Wright said he would recuse himself from any law enforcement action involving Google for 2 years. Wright, a George Mason University professor, was co-author of a paper in 2011, "Google and the Limits of Antitrust: The Case Against the Case Against Google," defending the company. Wright would not commit to recusing himself beyond that timetable, but Sen Cantwell said she wanted him to give her that answer at a follow-up to the hearing. Sen Barbara Boxer (D-CA) said she appreciated that, but wanted a list of the companies who might have business before the FTC that had supported his work so she could get a sense of what he could rule on. Wright was also asked to give follow-up answers on his view of FTC do-not-track and notice and choice proposals.
Chairman Rockefeller intends for the committee to vote on the nominations next week.
benton.org/node/140778 | US Senate Commerce Committee | Chairman Rockefeller | AdWeek | B&C
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STORIES FROM ABROAD

US FAILS ON NET RESOLUTION
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Matt Smith, Joseph Menn]
An American and Canadian proposal to protect the Internet from new international regulation has failed to win prompt backing from other countries, setting up potentially tough negotiations to rewrite a telecom treaty. The idea, also supported by Europe, would limit the International Telecommunication Union's rules to only telecom operators and not Internet-based companies such as Google and Facebook. That could reduce the prospective impact of efforts by other countries including Russia and some in the Middle East and Africa to obtain more powers to govern the Internet through the ITU, an arm of the United Nations. Those efforts, slated for discussion next week, could make Internet anonymity - or the ability to remain anonymous online - more difficult to maintain and could bolster censorship, critics say.
benton.org/node/140765 | Reuters
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COURT CHALLENGE TO FACEBOOK’S PRIVACY POLICIES
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Kevin O’Brien]
An Austrian student group said it planned to challenge Facebook’s privacy policies in Irish court in coming months, alleging that the social networking giant had failed, despite repeated requests and formal complaints made by its members, to adapt its privacy policy to the restrictions of European data protection law. The group, called Europe vs. Facebook, said it would begin collecting donations to challenge Facebook's privacy policy in Ireland, where the company’s European business is based. Max Schrems, an Austrian law student at the University of Vienna who organized the effort, said that Facebook has no interest in adapting its service to meet stricter European privacy requirements.
benton.org/node/140698 | New York Times
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