Los Angeles Times

[Commentary] Fans of network neutrality -- the idea that Internet service providers shouldn't be able to block, slow, or favor some content providers over others -- should show Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler a little love.

Obviously, that's not because Chairman Wheeler's open Internet proposal, scheduled for presentation to his fellow Federal Communications Commission members, upholds the net neutrality principle. It doesn't; by condoning "paid prioritization," through which some content providers can pay to get better access to users than others, it does immense violence to the principle.

No, Chairman Wheeler deserves some love because his ham-handed way of putting out his plan has placed what might otherwise be an obscure proposal followed mainly by techies on a much bigger burner. Chairman Wheeler has responded to the public uproar generated by his plan to back off it, a wee bit. It's still bad for the Internet.

The upcoming vote wouldn't implement Chairman Wheeler's proposal, but open it up for public comment. But it would be a major step in the wrong direction.

There is no question that allowing such arrangements would be a major retreat for the FCC. The agency would be placed in the position of ruling on commercial deals that already had been put in place, and trying to unwind those it didn't like, based on very murky standards. This would be like trying to dismantle a skyscraper after it's been built.

The number of commercials in the typical hour of television has grown steadily during the last five years, according to a new study from the ratings measurement firm Nielsen.

The rise in commercials can be attributed to two factors: Broadcast and cable networks are allotting more time for commercials, and advertisers are increasingly using shorter spots to hawk their products.

In 2009, the broadcast networks averaged 13 minutes and 25 seconds of commercial time per hour. In 2013, that figure grew to 14 minutes and 15 seconds. The growth has been even more significant on cable television. In 2009, cable networks averaged 14 minutes and 27 seconds per hour. In 2013, the average was 15 minutes and 38 seconds. At the same time, the number of 30-second commercials has declined while 15-second spots have increased. Not only is more time being devoted to ads, but more spots are being jammed into commercial breaks.

When Paramount Pictures and Regency Enterprises were finishing up "Noah," they looked to an unusual market to release the $130-million biblical epic: China. But "Noah" and his ark won't be landing in China any time soon.

The country's cinematic censors have refused to give the Russell Crowe movie one of the nation's limited non-Chinese release slots, two people with knowledge of the studio's efforts to bring the movie to the mainland said.

"Noah," which was released domestically March 28, has grossed $99 million in the US and an additional $233 million so far overseas. China probably would have been another key to the film's global popularity. Aside from religious sensitivity, another person with knowledge of China's censorship system said "Noah" may have been shunned partially out of commercial concerns as well.

Less than a day after news broke that Apple was in talks to acquire Beats Electronics for $3.2 billion, many observers were still scratching their heads.

Yes, Beats makes some popular headphones. Yes, it's launched a streaming music service, though one that appears to be off to a slow start. And yes, Beats has some serious brand buzz thanks to co-founder Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre.

That said, it was hard to find someone who thought the deal for Apple, at that price, made much sense. In a note to clients, Gene Munster, a Piper Jaffray analysts who is generally bullish on Apple, said the company would be better off spending its considerable war chest on something else.

"We are struggling to see the rationale behind this move," Munster wrote. "Beats would of course bring a world class brand in music to Apple, but Apple already has a world class brand and has never acquired a brand for a brand's sake." Given Apple's challenges in areas like Web services, Munster said he'd rather see that kind of money put toward buying a stronger Internet service.

[Commentary] Your personal information is yours. Yet that simple idea, which should serve as the basis of all privacy-related laws and regulations in the United States, seems to have eluded those who profess to be the guardians of consumer data.

The White House reiterated its call for greater protection of people's personal info -- two years after proposing a "privacy bill of rights" that went nowhere in Congress.

A new report, written by a group led by White House counselor John Podesta, says that "big data" -- the various entities that benefit from knowing all there is to know about you -- is growing out of control. We're talking about sensors in our homes, cities, wearable devices, that collect and share information about our surroundings, our behavior, our health and our whereabouts.

His report suggests some modest legislative changes, along with "voluntary, enforceable codes of conduct" for businesses and government agencies to keep consumer data from being abused or getting into the wrong hands. I don't know. Seems to me that if sensors everywhere is the problem, voluntary codes of conduct aren't the solution.

Moreover, while the report addresses the ease with which people's information can be collected, crunched and put to use, it fails to adequately convey the sense of violation that comes with businesses and government officials knowing your habits, behavior and activities.

The report says that "we must ensure that effective consumer privacy protections are in place to protect individuals." But it stops short of doing anything about it, such as requiring that private companies disclose to consumers what they know about them. The report also recommends that US privacy safeguards be extended to non-US citizens "because privacy is a worldwide value." This is apparently a bone being thrown to European businesses and governments.

Europeans enjoy far more robust privacy protections than Americans and have long complained that their data are unfairly exploited by US companies. The White House wants Europeans to know that we feel their pain. But that's not good enough. The Europeans have it right: They begin any discussion of data use with an acknowledgment that all people have a right to privacy -- a right that's only implied, not spelled out, in US law.

When it comes to tablets, Apple remains the dominant leader, but rival Samsung is catching up. Apple iPad sales fell from 19.5 million during the first quarter of 2013 to 16.4 million during that period in 2014. At the same, Samsung grew its tablet sales from 8.5 million to 11.2 million during the first quarter of 2014, according to figures released by IDC, an analysis firm.

Those sales caused Apple's share of the tablet market to fall from 40.2% in 2013 to 32.5% in the first quarter while Samsung grew its share of the market from 17.5% to 22.3%.

During the period, Samsung released a handful of new tablets, including the Galaxy NotePro and Galaxy TabPro, with numerous productivity features that were aimed toward professionals. The company also packaged its tablets with other devices and products in numerous carrier promotions. The tactics seem to be paying off.

"Samsung continues to work aggressively with carriers to drive tablet shipments through attractively priced smartphone bundles," IDC said in a statement.

The whole market struggled with sales during the first quarter of 2014. According to IDC, tablet sales grew only 3.9% from 2013. Along with Apple, Asus and Amazon also saw their tablet sales decrease compared with 2013.

"The rise of large-screen phones and consumers who are holding on to their existing tablets for ever longer periods of time were both contributing factors to a weaker-than-anticipated quarter for tablets and 2-in-1s," Tom Mainelli, IDC program vice president of devices and displays, said.

Venture capital rising to levels not seen since 2001. Companies with no profits going public. Billions of dollars being paid for start-ups.

These and other signs that the tech boom may be taking an irrational turn are leading some notable investors to utter the dreaded word "bubble," waking up the ghosts of an era many in Silicon Valley would prefer to keep buried.

Media company Viacom has significantly expanded its international footprint by buying television outlet Channel 5 Broadcasting in Britain.

Viacom -- which owns cable channels MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central -- said it has agreed to pay nearly $760 million to British press baron Richard Desmond for the over-the-air channel.

Several other US media companies had been interested in Channel 5, which launched in 1997 as Britain's fifth public broadcasting service. The channel notches more than 42 million viewers a month.

“The acquisition of Channel 5 accelerates Viacom’s strategy in the UK, one of the world’s most important and valuable media markets,” Viacom Chief Executive Philippe Dauman said in a statement announcing the move. "We believe we will be able to invest in even more programming for Channel 5," Dauman told analysts. He said Viacom would pay cash for the channel.

A Chinese government crackdown on “lewd and pornographic” content has ensnared Internet giant Sina.com, with authorities saying that inappropriate articles and videos were found on the portal and that the company would be stripped of its online publication and video licenses.

The National Office Against Pornographic and Illegal Publications said tips from the public led to the discovery of 20 articles and four videos on the site that violated regulations.

"Some of these articles were as long as 500-plus chapters and clocked millions of clicks ... imperiling social morals and seriously harming minors' physical and mental health," the statement said.

Sina said it was “deeply saddened” by the developments and offered “sincere apologies.” “We are sorry and ashamed,” the note continued, adding that the company had established a rectification team to deal with the situation and invited users to continue to “monitor and criticize us.”

The revolutionary Fan TV set-top box and viewer guide will soon be available to Time Warner Cable customers across the country, marking the first formal roll-out of a product that delivers a combination of live TV, pay-TV services and online video on demand through a minimalist receiver.

Fan TV, which San Francisco-based start-up Fanhattan unveiled 11 months ago, is unusual in at least three respects. All the programming, including broadcast TV, is transmitted via Internet Protocol, à la an online video service such as Netflix. The viewer guide offers several different ways to find movies and TV shows, integrating "over the top" options from the Web with those from live TV.

And the Zen-inflected set-top is not only far more attractive than the typical cable box, its touch-controlled remote is a breakthrough in ease of use. The heart of Fan TV is the guide, whose combination of online offerings and live TV listings with reviews, social-media tools and other resources from the Web is unlike anything cable operators have offered to date.