September 6, 2012 (Broadband; Privacy)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2012
The FCC hosts “Developing with Accessibility” -- http://benton.org/calendar/2012-09-06/
INTERNET/BROADBAND
Sweden tops Tim Berners-Lee's web index
Broadband Touted as Driver of Economic Growth
FCC Announces "Measuring Mobile America" Program To Test Mobile Broadband Performance - press release
Commissioner Ajit Pai On His Visit To Kansas City's Google Fiber Project - press release
Californians spend freely on Amazon.com before sales tax deadline [links to web]
The homeless use Facebook?! Similarities of social network use between college students and homeless young adults - research [links to web]
PRIVACY
Privacy and Data Management on Mobile Devices - research
App Developers Win Round In Privacy Lawsuit
US Groups Urge EU to Resist Weakening Privacy Proposal
FTC Publishes Guide to Help Mobile App Developers Observe Truth-in-Advertising, Privacy Principles - press release [links to web]
Does the Public Have an Appetite for Political Cookies? [links to web]
CYBERSECURITY
Sec Clinton calls for US, China to work together on cybersecurity
Official: Congress must establish electric grid cybersecurity authority [links to web]
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
Groups seek to overturn ruling allowing warrantless phone tracking
AT&T $600 Million Bid Undervalues NextWave, Investor Says [links to web]
Apple's U.S. share of smartphones grows to 33.4 percent [links to web]
T-Mobile Touts Unlimited Mobile Data Strategy [links to web]
Mobile Study Identifies Need For Better On-Site, In-App Search [links to web]
Time-Warner Cable, carriers roll out mobile red carpet for Democratic convention [links to web]
Apple vs. Samsung: Is copying theft or innovation? - op-ed [links to web]
Motorola and Nokia Try to Gain an Edge in the Smartphone Market [links to web]
To small carriers the iPhone is about prestige, not activations [links to web]
In-flight cell phone use studied, but not taking flight [links to web]
ELECTIONS AND MEDIA
Democrats Part with GOP on Network Neutrality, Online Privacy
Obama Campaign Plank Hints at Cyber Executive Order [links to web]
DNC Touts Open Government Initiatives in party Platform [links to web]
How Obama can win back the media - analysis [links to web]
Democratic Convention on Par With RNC; Fox Wins Night [links to web]
Michelle Obama trumps Romney on Twitter [links to web]
DNC’s Twitter Victory Wasn’t Won on a Level Playing Field
Time-Warner Cable, carriers roll out mobile red carpet for Democratic convention [links to web]
Does the Public Have an Appetite for Political Cookies? [links to web]
TELEVISION
It’s a Long, Hard Road to Retransmission Reform - analysis
Rep Eshoo: CALM Act Meant to Apply to Promos [links to web]
Why Fox is essential viewing [links to web]
Apple TV No IPhone As Talks Bog Down With Media Companies [links to web]
TELECOM
ACA, NCTA Press FCC for Action on CLEC Cross-Ownership [links to web]
JOURNALISM
Foundations give local news and information projects a boost - press release
Newspaper Publisher Journal Register Files for Bankruptcy and Plans for a Sale [links to web]
What is the value of social media to public service journalism? New research project - press release [links to web]
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Feds Say Mobile-Phone Location Data Not ‘Constitutionally Protected’
Apple: We Didn’t Give FBI Any Device IDs [links to web]
What's the big deal with iPhone UDIDs? [links to web]
AGENDA
Heading Back to Kansas - press release
STORIES FROM ABROAD
Ireland unveils broadband plan [links to web]
Online sharing, information overload is worldwide problem: poll [links to web]
MORE ONLINE
Five technology skills every student should learn [links to web]
Cellphones’ role in crashes doubted [links to web]
INTERNET/BROADBAND
WEB INDEX
[SOURCE: BBC, AUTHOR: ]
Sweden has topped a new global index evaluating the state of the web in 61 countries, with the US coming second and the UK third. Compiled by Sir Tim Berners-Lee's World Wide Web Foundation, it ranked both the social and political impact of the web. It found that only one in three people are using the web globally and fewer than one in six in Africa. It highlighted censorship and high broadband prices as barriers to a "web for all." Using data from the past five years, it scored nations in seven different categories. These were: communications infrastructure - the state and availability of web-enabling infrastructure; institutional infrastructure - education, laws, regulation and censorship; web content - what relevant and useful content is available; web use - the extent to which the web is used in a country; political impact; economic impact and social impact.
benton.org/node/133728 | BBC | The Atlantic | LATimes
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BROADBAND AND ECONOMIC GROWTH
[SOURCE: National Journal, AUTHOR: Juliana Gruenwald]
As Democrats this week tout their proposals for boosting the nation's economy, two telecom policy observers argued that more attention should be paid to promoting investment in broadband technologies. "We all know that growth is driven by innovation," Michael Mandel, chief economic strategist for the left-leaning think tank the Progressive Policy Institute, said during a policy discussion sponsored by Bloomberg at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte. "All innovation is being anchored by broadband." He noted that while broadband touches most aspects of the economy, it has been undervalued as a driver of economic growth. In a paper he co-authored in July, Mandel found that broadband providers AT&T and Verizon topped a list of the top 25 non-financial companies that invested the most capital in the United States in 2011. Former-Rep Harold Ford Jr. (D-TN), who now serves as honorary co-chairman for Broadband for America, which is funded by broadband companies, noted that broadband companies employ 10 million people in the United States and were responsible for 4.1 percent of gross domestic product in 2010. "The one bright spot for growth has been broadband," Ford said.
benton.org/node/133807 | National Journal
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MEASURING MOBILE AMERICA
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
The Federal Communications Commission announced the launch of Measuring Mobile America, the first nationwide mobile broadband performance measurement program. As mobile broadband has become part of our everyday communications infrastructure, it remains difficult for consumers to get detailed information about their mobile broadband performance. The program will expand the FCC’s broadband measurement program to test mobile performance data. Building on the model for the FCC’s ongoing Measuring Broadband America program, the first broadscale study of actual home broadband performance throughout the United States, the FCC will work with wireless carriers, the public interest and research community, and other stakeholders to deliver consumers detailed information about mobile broadband performance. The Measuring Broadband America program has been proof-of-concept that a public-private partnership designed to promote transparency could yield tangible benefits for millions of American consumers. In the one year between the first and second Measuring Broadband America reports, the FCC saw significant improvements in broadband performance and offerings. On September 21, 2012, the Federal Communications Commission will hold an open meeting to discuss the new program.
benton.org/node/133761 | Federal Communications Commission
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COMMISSIONER PAI ON GOOGLE FIBER
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai]
It is critically important that states and local communities adopt broadband-friendly policies when it comes to rights-of-way management. When broadband service providers seek to construct next-generation networks, they need to access government-controlled land, poles, and conduits in order to lay fiber and install other infrastructure. Currently, too many providers who try to obtain such access are confronted with daunting sets of federal, state, and/or municipal regulations that often delay and sometimes deter infrastructure investment and broadband deployment. This wasn’t the case in Kansas City. Instead, local governments made a significant upfront commitment to expedite and simplify the permitting process. Indeed, this was one of the main reasons that Google selected Kansas City out of the more than 1,100 communities that applied. I encourage municipalities across the nation to study Kansas City’s example and to see if they can streamline their own rights-of-way management policies. In addition, the Federal Communications Commission should work with stakeholders to develop model regulations, guidelines, or best practices for rights-of-way management that facilitate fiber deployment while safeguarding legitimate government interests. In the end, consumers will benefit from a more proactive, forward-thinking approach to these matters. More generally, to enable the nationwide deployment of next-generation networks like Google Fiber, we need to eliminate regulatory barriers to innovation and investment at all levels of government. Whether we are dealing with economic regulation or rights-of-way management, we cannot apply 20th century approaches to our 21st century challenges.
benton.org/node/133799 | Federal Communications Commission | B&C
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PRIVACY
PRIVACY AND DATA MANAGEMENT ON MOBILE DEVICES
[SOURCE: Pew Internet & American Life Project, AUTHOR: Jan Lauren Boyles, Aaron Smith, Mary Madden]
More than half of mobile application users have uninstalled or avoided certain apps due to concerns about the way personal information is shared or collected by the app, according to a nationally representative telephone survey conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project. In all, 88% of U.S. adults now own cell phones, and 43% say they download cell phone applications or “apps” to their phones. Among app users, the survey found:
54% of app users have decided to not install a cell phone app when they discovered how much personal information they would need to share in order to use it
30% of app users have uninstalled an app that was already on their cell phone because they learned it was collecting personal information that they didn’t wish to share
Pew also asked about three general activities related to personal data management on cell phones. Among all those who own a cell phone of any kind, we found that:
41% of cell owners back up the photos, contacts and other files on their phone so that they have a copy in case their phone is ever broken or lost
32% of cell owners have cleared the browsing history or search history on their phone
19% of cell owners have turned off the location tracking feature on their cell phone because they were concerned that other individuals or companies could access that information
benton.org/node/133735 | Pew Internet & American Life Project
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PRIVACY LAWSUIT
[SOURCE: MediaPost, AUTHOR: Wendy Davis]
A federal judge has dismissed a privacy lawsuit by consumers against 17 tech companies on the grounds that the consumers' written complaint -- which is supposed to outline their allegations and legal theories -- is too unwieldy for them to proceed. "The court is not sure who these voluminous screeds are addressed to," U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks in Austin (TX) wrote in an order throwing out the 343-page complaint. "Certainly, they are not written with an eye toward this court's busy docket. Perhaps, plaintiffs had the court of public opinion in mind when they drafted them." The lawsuit dates to March, when a group of consumers sued Path, Hipster, Twitter, Facebook and other tech companies for allegedly collecting or storing users' address books without their consent.
benton.org/node/133747 | MediaPost
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EU PRIVACY PROPOSAL
[SOURCE: National Journal, AUTHOR: Juliana Gruenwald]
A group of US consumer and privacy groups urged the European Union to move forward on tough new privacy rules, saying stronger European protections will benefit US Internet users and others around the world. "We support the EU General Data Protection Regulation and believe that it provides important new protections for the privacy and security of consumers. Moreover, we believe that the promotion of stronger privacy standards in Europe will benefit consumers around the globe, as businesses improve their privacy practices and security standards," nearly two dozen US groups said in a letter Wednesday to the European Parliament. They included the Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, and Public Citizen. Earlier this year, the commission proposed changes to strengthen the European Union's 1995 data privacy directive. They include shifting the directive into a "regulation" that would be binding on EU states when it is finalized. Other changes include expanding the definition of what data is considered "personal information," requiring companies to offer consumers a "right to be forgotten" online, and authorizing privacy officials to impose bigger fines for privacy violations.
benton.org/node/133750 | National Journal
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CYBERSECURITY
CYBERSECURITY AND CHINA
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Jennifer Martinez]
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for the United States, China and other countries to work together on addressing the rising threat of cyber attacks at a press conference in Beijing. "Both the United States and China are victims of cyber attacks. Intellectual property, commercial data, national security information is being targeted," Sec Clinton said. "This is an issue of increasing concern to the business community and the government of the United States, as well as many other countries, and it is vital that we work together to curb this behavior." Though Sec Clinton extended an olive branch to China in her remarks, the United States and the rising Eastern superpower have had somewhat of a rocky relationship when it comes to cybersecurity.
benton.org/node/133803 | Hill, The
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WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
CHALLENGING WARRANTLESS PHONE TRACKING
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Timothy Lee]
A coalition of civil liberties groups has asked a federal appeals court to revisit a recent ruling that held the police did not violate the Fourth Amendment when they tracked suspect Melvin Skinner's cell phone without a warrant. The brief argues that a three-judge panel of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals had misunderstood both the relevant Supreme Court precedents and the technical details of how the police had accomplished the tracking. The groups -- the American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and the Center for Democracy and Technology -- want the case re-heard by a panel of all Sixth Circuit judges. The legal arguments in the case center on US v. Jones, a Supreme Court decision from earlier this year that found it unconstitutional to attach a GPS device to a car and track it for 28 days without a warrant. In contrast, the police tracked Skinner using the GPS in his cell phone instead of attaching a separate GPS device to his car. And they tracked him for only 3 days rather than 28.
benton.org/node/133797 | Ars Technica
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ELECTIONS AND MEDIA
DEMOCRATS PART WITH GOP ON NET NEUTRALITY, ONLINE PRIVACY
[SOURCE: National Journal, AUTHOR: Juliana Gruenwald]
Like the GOP platform adopted last week during the party’s convention in Tampa, the Democrats’ plan pledges to take steps to shore up the nation’s cyberdefenses, to protect intellectual property, and to resist international attempts to impose new regulations on the Internet. But unlike the GOP plan, the Democratic platform again endorsed the idea of network neutrality, saying, “President Obama is strongly committed to protecting an open Internet that fosters investment, innovation, creativity, consumer choice, and free speech, unfettered by censorship or undue violations of privacy.” Another area where the parties depart is on privacy. The Democratic platform backs Obama’s call for a consumer “Privacy Bill of Rights” and to offer consumers a chance to opt-out of Internet tracking. The administration’s privacy bill of rights, unveiled in February, calls on companies to do more to protect personal data by, for example, telling consumers about what data is being collected and how it is used. The administration called on Congress to codify its privacy proposals into legislation but the Democratic platform is silent on the issue. The GOP platform discusses the need to protect individual liberty from government intrusion. However, the Republican platform does not mention the need to enhance consumer privacy. The Democratic platform touted President Obama’s proposal to promote access to wireless broadband services. It notes that the administration has pledged to ensure that 98 percent of the country has access to wireless broadband service and is “finding new ways to free up wireless spectrum.”
benton.org/node/133755 | National Journal
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DNC’S TWITTER VICTORY WASN’T WON ON A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD
[SOURCE: nextgov, AUTHOR: Joseph Marks]
Michelle Obama’s ability to inspire nearly twice as many tweets per minute as Republican nominee Mitt Romney during her Democratic National Convention speech may have been due to more than being “personal and real.” The first lady had a home turf advantage. Democrats are significantly more likely than Republicans or independents to say social networking sites are important to them, according to a study released by the Pew Internet and American Life Project. Nearly 50 percent of Democratic social media users told researchers that social sites are important for “keeping up with political news” compared to about 34 percent of Republicans. About 35 percent of Democrats said the sites were important for “recruiting people to get involved with political issues,” “finding other people who share your views,” and “debating or discussing political issues” compared to about 25 percent of Republicans.
benton.org/node/133791 | nextgov
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TELEVISION
RETRANSMISSION REFORM
[SOURCE: TVNewsCheck, AUTHOR: David Hatch]
Cable and satellite operators may compete for subscribers, but they are united in their determination to gut the retransmission consent rights that the broadcasters were granted in the 1992 Cable Act and have used effectively to wrest billions of dollars in carriage fees from cable and satellite. The operators will need to be determined. With broadcasters vowing to resist any changes to the law, convincing Congress to reform the law will not be easy or quick. Even the most optimistic cable reps concede it could take years. The push for the change is led Time Warner Cable, DirecTV, Dish Network, the American Cable Association, Public Knowledge, Verizon, U.S. Telecom and the 27 other members of the American Television Alliance, a coalition that plans to keep the heat on this fall and into the next Congress. On the retransmission sidelines are Comcast, which promised NBC affiliates during its courting of NBCUniversal not to disrupt the existing framework, and the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, which has members on both sides of the issue.
benton.org/node/133763 | TVNewsCheck
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JOURNALISM
KNIGHT GRANTS
[SOURCE: Knight Foundation, AUTHOR: Press release]
Twenty local news and information projects across the country, all backed by their community or place-based foundations, have been awarded $3.67 million in matching funds as winners of the Knight Community Information Challenge. The winners will:
Open up data: In Boston, a project will train journalists and community members on how to better use data in reporting, and in Chicago, a project will use existing data to increase local government accountability by creating mobile apps and tools.
Strengthen their local news and information infrastructure: In New Jersey, Portland, Ore. and Santa Barbara, Calif., news collaboratives will create and share content across print, web and radio platforms.
Empower communities around social issues: In Mississippi, residents targeted by payday lenders in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the Horizon oil spill will learn about local safe lending options. In Washington (DC), an online tool will track affordable rental properties and in Key Biscayne, Fla. residents will monitor coastal and marine habitat to inform people about and help protect the environment.
benton.org/node/133737 | Knight Foundation
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GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS
MOBILE PHONE LOCATION DATA
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: David Kravets]
The Obama administration told a federal court that the public has no “reasonable expectation of privacy” in cellphone location data, and hence the authorities may obtain documents detailing a person’s movements from wireless carriers without a probable-cause warrant. The administration, citing a 1976 Supreme Court precedent, said such data, like banking records, are “third-party records,” meaning customers have no right to keep it private. The government made the argument as it prepares for a re-trial of a previously convicted drug dealer whose conviction was reversed in January by the Supreme Court, which found that the government’s use of a GPS tracker on his vehicle was an illegal search. With the 28 days of vehicle tracking data thrown out of court, the feds now want to argue in a re-trial that it was legally in the clear to use Antoine Jones’ phone location records without a warrant. The government wants to use the records to chronicle where Jones was when he made and received mobile phone calls in 2005.
benton.org/node/133812 | Wired
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AGENDA
HEADING BACK TO KANSAS
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai]
I'll be back in Kansas this week -- for the first time in my capacity as a Commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) -- to meet with a wide range of Kansans to talk about communications policy, technology, and rural deployment, and how they are helping to transform our way of life. Given the rapid transition to high-speed broadband networks and services globally, we are at a critical crossroads as regulators. It is important that the FCC work to remove barriers to investment and innovation and help unleash a wave of economic growth and job creation all across the country. Specifically, I'll be speaking with a variety of citizens in Oswego about the importance of rural broadband. I'll also have the privilege of participating in a roundtable discussion with rural telecommunications companies in Parsons, my hometown. I expect that reforms of the Universal Service Fund and ways to accelerate rural broadband deployment will be major topics of discussion during both of these meetings. Additionally, I will have the honor of addressing the Parsons Rotary Club (of which my father was a member), the debate team at Parsons High School, and the student body at Oswego High School. With each group, I hope to share my views on how the FCC can enable the private sector to better serve small-town businesses, health care facilities and students. The issue of broadband deployment also will take me to Kansas City. Google may be a relatively old company by Silicon Valley standards, but it's a recent entrant to the Kansas City market. Its Google Fiber project represents an innovative approach to broadband Internet network deployment. I'm looking forward to learning more about technical details regarding the project's infrastructure; how state and local regulatory streamlining helped to facilitate quicker construction of the network; and how consumers are responding to the offering thus far. Hopefully, there are lessons to be learned from the project that can be applied in other markets across the country, big and small.
benton.org/node/133759 | Federal Communications Commission
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