Headlines

Shedding light on what your app is up to: 3 lessons for developers

Benton Foundation — Sun, 08 Dec 2013 20:29:44 +0000

What can app developers take from the Goldenshores Technologies’ “Brightest Flashlight Free” case?

Progress on Adoption of Electronic Health Records

Benton Foundation — Sun, 08 Dec 2013 20:28:14 +0000

As of October 2013, 85 percent of eligible hospitals and more than six in 10 eligible professionals had received a Medicare or Medicaid EHR incentive payment. Moreover, nine in 10 eligible hospitals and eight in 10 eligible professionals had taken the initial step of registering for the Medicare or Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs as of October 2013.

The Meaning of China’s Crackdown On the Foreign Press

Benton Foundation — Sun, 08 Dec 2013 20:27:04 +0000

The Chinese government is threatening to expel nearly two dozen foreign correspondents, working for the New York Times and Bloomberg News, in retaliation for investigations that exposed the private wealth of Chinese leaders. It is the Chinese government’s most dramatic attempt to insulate itself from scrutiny in the thirty-five years since China began opening to the world.

AT&T: We don't have to disclose NSA dealings

Benton Foundation — Sun, 08 Dec 2013 20:25:53 +0000

AT&T, under fire for ongoing revelations that it shares and sells customers' communications records to the National Security Agency and other US intelligence offices, says it isn't required to disclose to shareholders what it does with customers' data.

More than 3.7 million visited HealthCare.gov this week

Benton Foundation — Sun, 08 Dec 2013 20:24:56 +0000

More than 3.7 million people visited HealthCare.gov since the website was upgraded, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said.

One in ten forms sent to insurers still have errors, says Healthcare.gov spokesperson

Benton Foundation — Sun, 08 Dec 2013 20:23:47 +0000

The Administration has finally announced the error rate for “834 transmissions”, the data sent to insurance companies after applicants fill out their information on the Healthcare.gov marketplace. It's not good: one in ten forms contain errors.

Apple Wants Samsung to Pay $15 Million of Its Legal Tab, Now Over $60 Million for Current Case

Benton Foundation — Sun, 08 Dec 2013 20:22:35 +0000

In court filings, Apple asked a federal judge to order Samsung to pay more than $15 million in legal fees, an amount it says is a fraction of the more than $60 million in outside legal bills it has racked up in the current San Jose (CA) case.

FCC Targets Sinclair Sidecar Deals In 3 Markets

Benton Foundation — Sun, 08 Dec 2013 20:21:43 +0000

The Federal Communication Commission’s Media Bureau has alleged that the sidecar transactions that Sinclair Broadcast Group has proposed in three markets -- Charleston (SC), Birmingham (AL), and Harrisburg (PA) -- as part of its $985-million pending acquisition of Allbritton Communications would violate agency ownership rules.

Commissioner Pai Remarks Before Communications and Technology Task Force of ALEC

Benton Foundation — Fri, 06 Dec 2013 22:52:36 +0000

Federal Communications Commission member Ajit Pai spoke at a meeting of the American Legislative Exchange Council’s Task Force on Communications and Technology. Commissioner ...

The Columbus Compact

Benton Foundation — Fri, 06 Dec 2013 21:35:57 +0000

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler returned to Ohio State University this week to deliver the first of what he promises to be a series of speeches that will articulate his regulatory philosophy. There is great symbolism in returning to his alma mater, he said, because “the dateline of my first speech sends a more powerful message than anything you’ll find in the transcript.” He wanted to stress, not just in his words, but in his presence, that the American people is the FCC’s constituency. “That how we connect determines how jobs are created and lives are lived. And that your FCC believes its mission is as integral to the prosperity of the Ohio Valley as Silicon Valley.” The Chairman characterizes himself as “the public’s advocate in the midst of an historic revolution.” So let’s pause to parse out what he sees as the FCC’s role in the revolution.

Chairman Walden: Telecom Update Not a Cash Play

Benton Foundation — Fri, 06 Dec 2013 21:34:22 +0000

House Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman and House National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) put the kibosh on the idea that the new Republican push to rewrite the Telecommunications Act of 1996 is a thinly veiled attempt to shake down companies for campaign contributions.

The Path to a Successful Incentive Auction

Benton Foundation — Fri, 06 Dec 2013 21:32:00 +0000

Since my arrival at the Commission, I have spent more time working on the Broadcast Television Spectrum Incentive Auction than any other single issue. I believe we can conduct a successful auction in the middle of 2015.

80 percent of schools lack sufficient Internet

Benton Foundation — Fri, 06 Dec 2013 21:29:20 +0000

Needed to keep a school building running these days: Water, electricity -- and broadband.

US Telecom's McCormick: Network Neutrality Rules Have Had No Effect

Benton Foundation — Fri, 06 Dec 2013 21:28:13 +0000

US Telecom President Walter McCormick says that he has seen no impact from the Federal Communications Commission's network neutrality rules either on his members or on competition.

President Obama plans new limits on NSA surveillance

Benton Foundation — Fri, 06 Dec 2013 21:27:10 +0000

President Barack Obama said that he'll be reining in some of the snooping conducted by the National Security Agency, but he did not detail what new limits he plans to impose on the embattled spy organization.

The United States Releases its Second Open Government National Action Plan

Benton Foundation — Fri, 06 Dec 2013 21:26:14 +0000

The Obama Administration released the second US Open Government National Action Plan, announcing 23 new or expanded open-government commitments that will advance these efforts even further.

Netflix's War on Mass Culture

Benton Foundation — Fri, 06 Dec 2013 21:24:34 +0000

Given all the faces you see glued to computers, tablets, and cell phones, you might think that people watch much less television than they used to. You would be wrong. According to Nielsen, Americans on average consume nearly five hours of TV every day, a number that has actually gone up since the 1990s. That works out to about 34 hours a week and almost 1,800 hours per year, more than the average French person spends working. The vast majority of that time is still spent in front of a standard television, watching live or prescheduled programming. That’s why, should Netflix and the other streamers even partially succeed at redefining the network as we know it, the effects will be so profound.

Community broadband networks provide a public service

Benton Foundation — Fri, 06 Dec 2013 21:23:00 +0000

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake recently spoke the plain truth: "You can't grow jobs with slow Internet." This simple statement is the best explanation for why Baltimore is examining how it can use existing city assets and smart investments in the near future to expand access to fast, affordable, and reliable Internet access. It is also a slap across Comcast's face.

NSA tracks phone locations under executive order

Benton Foundation — Fri, 06 Dec 2013 21:21:49 +0000

The National Security Agency uses its authority under a 1981 executive order signed by President Ronald Reagan to collect cellphone location data around the world, the agency said.

Apple's Star Chamber

Benton Foundation — Fri, 06 Dec 2013 21:17:00 +0000

Impossible as it sounds, Judge Denise Cote has found a way to make the Justice Department's antitrust assault on Apple even more abusive.

Here’s why the House patent bill won’t put a stop to patent trolling

Benton Foundation — Fri, 06 Dec 2013 21:14:05 +0000

The House of Representatives just approved patent legislation called the Innovation Act. Supporters have portrayed it as an historic blow against patent trolling. But while the legislation will discourage some litigation tactics favored by trolls, it does nothing to fix the patent system's fundamental problem: the proliferation of low-quality software patents that have turned the system into an impediment to innovation.

German court invalidates Microsoft patent used for Motorola phone sales ban

Benton Foundation — Fri, 06 Dec 2013 21:12:56 +0000

Microsoft storage patent that was used to get a sales ban on products from Motorola Mobility in Germany has been invalidated by the German Federal Patent Court.

Samsung and Philips raided by European antitrust authorities

Benton Foundation — Fri, 06 Dec 2013 21:11:46 +0000

The European Commission said that, on December 3, it carried out unannounced inspections of electronics firms in several European Union countries, with the targets being companies that “may have put in place restrictions on online sales of consumer electronic products and small domestic appliances.”

Critics say the Internet’s copyright system is broken: it’s still better than the alternatives

Benton Foundation — Fri, 06 Dec 2013 21:10:16 +0000

2013 marks the 15th anniversary of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), a 1998 law intended to encourage new forms of online expression while also giving content owners a way to protect their work. So far, the system has more or less worked: the online world is bursting with creative compositions while copyright owners have an easy way to take down unauthorized copies of the Hunger Games. Lately, though, DMCA’s great balancing act is under strain with an outburst of grumbling from all sides.

FCC Detective Work Leads to Renewal Fines

Benton Foundation — Fri, 06 Dec 2013 21:08:54 +0000

If there had been any doubt that the Video Division of the Federal Communication Commission's Media Bureau would check a television station's online public inspection file to confirm the truthfulness of certifications made by the licensee in a pending license renewal application, that doubt has been eliminated.

Microsoft disrupts botnet that generated $2.7M per month for operators

Benton Foundation — Fri, 06 Dec 2013 21:07:43 +0000

Microsoft's Digital Crimes Unit, the legal and technical team that has driven the takedown of botnets such as Bamital and Nitol in 2013, announced that it has moved with Europol, industry partners, and the FBI to disrupt yet another search fraud botnet.

Court to rule on patent rights

Benton Foundation — Fri, 06 Dec 2013 21:05:27 +0000

Renewing its recent fascination with the kinds of inventions that can be patented, the Supreme Court agreed to clarify when an analytical method implemented by a computer or by a link on the Internet is eligible for monopoly protection.

Thirty Percent of Connect America Broadband Funding in Limbo

Benton Foundation — Fri, 06 Dec 2013 21:03:12 +0000

The fate of as much as 30 percent of money earmarked for five price cap carriers in the 2013 Connect America Fund program is in question, the Federal Communications revealed.

An Obituary for the Letter E

Benton Foundation — Fri, 06 Dec 2013 21:00:34 +0000

The letter E, an influential vowel and one of the most frequently used letters in the English language, died yesterday. It was 2,800 years old. The cause was obsolescence in the face of emerging technology, said the letter’s next of kin, the letter F.

FCC Unlikely to Bless a Comcast-TWC Deal: Regulator

Benton Foundation — Fri, 06 Dec 2013 13:24:39 +0000

Any effort by Comcast to acquire Time Warner Cable would face significant hurdles in Washington, according to Federal Communications Commission member Ajit Pai, casting doubt on a cable-industry consolidation scenario that has grabbed Wall Street's attention.