Swift Response to Net Neutrality Proposals

September 24th, 2009 • Industry News, Legal Issues
Tags: communications, FCC, net neutrality, The Progress and Freedom Foundation

The chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission on Monday proposed stricter rules to ensure that wireless and wireline Internet providers don’t block or slow traffic over their networks, a widely anticipated move that drew swift criticism from the telecommunications industry.

In a speech before the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., Julius Genachowski outlined plans to codify and expand “open Internet” guidelines first endorsed by the FCC in 2005. The Obama appointee said that instances of carriers obstructing online telephone services, intentionally degrading peer-to-peer file sharing and preventing access to political content, threaten to stifle technical advances and compromise the free flow of information.

“We have an obligation to ensure that the Internet is an enduring engine for U.S. economic growth, and a foundation for democracy in the 21st century,” Genachowski said.
Telecom trade associations and free market groups generally portrayed the announcement as unnecessary government meddling with the potential to undermine investment and complicate the legitimate need to manage traffic, spam and malware.

The FCC’s original policy stated that network operators can’t stop users from accessing lawful Internet content, applications and services or prevent them from connecting “non-harmful” devices, such as smart phones. On Monday, Genachowski advocated additional rules to prevent broadband providers from discriminating against particular types of content or applications, by for instance degrading service, and to ensure that carriers are transparent about the way they manage their network.

Open access advocates and online companies like Google Inc. of Mountain View have long argued that allowing carriers to throttle traffic based on sites or applications creates de facto gatekeepers with the power to pick online winners and losers. They applauded the announcement on Monday.

“This is a pivotal moment for the future of the Internet,” said Ben Scott, policy director at Free Press, on a conference call today.

In particular, he said the rules would the stop telephone and cable companies from pursuing their stated intention of beginning to sell “prioritization or quality of service” to companies. “Under such a model, the carriers would essentially say: ‘We can’t guarantee your application will work unless you pay us and then we’ll make sure yours work at the expense of others.’ That business model of pay for play . . . replicates the commercial market power that we have in every other dominant media form (including radio, television, magazines and newspapers). It reverses the most exceptional and dynamic thing about the Internet, which is that it is open.”

The net neutrality debate has heated up in the wireless arena in recent weeks, as controversy swirled over Apple Inc.’s decisions to block various applications from its popular iPhones. Notably, it denied the Google Voice app, a potential competitor to Apple’s carrier partner, AT&T Inc. Similar disputes have arisen over smart phone makers discouraging the use of their devices as wireless modems for laptops. How the proposed rules would affect these issues will depend on their final form.

Genachowski invited feedback from the industry, consumers and others, and said the FCC will hold public workshops as it begins the rule making process.

“This is not about government regulation of the Internet,” Genachowski said. “It’s about fair rules of the road for companies that control access to the Internet.”

Read more here.

Woman Loses $4K to Scammer Posing as Friend on Facebook

September 8th, 2009 • 2 comments Identity, Legal Issues, Social Networks, Uncategorized
Tags: Uncategorized

Jayne Scherrman, of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, was the unfortunate victim of a scam that turned her compassion and trust into a $4,000 profit, the AP reports. A still unknown crook hacked the Facebook account of Jayne’s friend Grace Parry and began to send Jayne messages, purporting to be Grace and claiming that she and her husband had been detained in London and were in need of money.Jayne figured if the couple could reach her only by Facebook, then they were in dire straits, indeed, and quickly wired $600 as per the scammer’s instructions. As is common in these kinds of schemes, subsequent messages were sent requesting additional funds. In this case, the huckster blamed the exchange rate when explaining the discrepancy between the funds needed and the amount initially requested.

All in all, Jayne eventually sent $4,000 via Western Union to the impostor before realizing that she had fallen victim to a scam. On August 26th, she alerted the authorities.

This tactic has been used before, but there ways to avoid a snakey scammers:

• First and foremost, never wire any money without speaking directly (on the phone, not via e-mail or Facebook) to any friend who requests your help financially.
• If you believe there is a plausible reason this friend cannot reach you by phone, don’t be afraid to ask them to confirm their identity. Ask questions that only they would be able to answer.
• Don’t ask about birthdays or hometowns, facts that could be readily ascertainable online, but instead about where the two of you first met, first boyfriends, or high school mascots.
• If you know or suspect a friend’s account has been hacked, try to alert that person directly. Then, warn all of your mutual friends, and finally contact the site’s administrators regarding your suspicions. Both your friend and shared pals will be thankful.

Follow these basic guidelines, resist your immediate urge to blindly offer help, and you’ll avoid falling victim to the widespread 419 scams that have taken a more personal twist when crooks ditched their Nigerian princess roots. [From: AP/Yahoo! News]

Facebook To Comply with Canadian Privacy Law

August 27th, 2009 • Identity, Legal Issues, Social Networks
Tags: facebook, reuters, The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada

Facebook will enhance its social-networking site’s privacy features over the next 12 months as a result of a set of recommendations from the Canadian government.

Facebook will increase the information it provides to its users about its privacy features, as well as make technical changes to tighten privacy controls, the company said Thursday.

The changes come as a direct result of a review of Facebook’s privacy policies and controls conducted by The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada . Facebook cooperated with the Canadian agency’s study, which lasted more than a year, reports Reuters. Specifically, Facebook will update its privacy policy so that it more clearly explains its privacy practices. Facebook will also reach out to users, prompting them to review their privacy settings. Canada’s privacy commissioner had previously threatened to take Facebook to court if the company did not resolve “serious gaps” in the way it handles users’ personal information and retains data from deactivated accounts.

Facebook announced plans to give users more control over how their information is shared with third party developers, as well as offering a clearer option for users to deactivate or delete their accounts.

“Giving people more control over what information they share and with whom is at the heart of how we think about privacy at Facebook,” the company wrote in its blog. “As people better understand how information is shared and gain more control over it, they become more comfortable and confident in sharing.”

Facebook has about 12 million Canadian users. It has a total of more than 250 million active users worldwide.

SEC Fumble: Social Media Ban Revised

August 19th, 2009 • Industry News, Legal Issues
Tags: Big 10, college football, facebook, social media marketing, Southeastern Conference (SEC), The Charlotte Observer, TwitPic, twitter

The Southeastern Conference (SEC) has been tackled by the very social media channels it has been trying to ban.

What’s Facebook’s Newest Status Update? Users file privacy lawsuit against us :(

August 18th, 2009 • Identity, Legal Issues, Social Networks
Tags: CNET News, facebook, privacy laws

According to CNET News, a group of Facebook users filed a civil lawsuit Monday that alleges the social-networking site is violating California consumer privacy laws.