Category: FCC
November 23rd, 2009
Internet: A threat to government or the other way around? (Part 4)
Justice systems around the world had their entire world turned upside down over the past several years because of the Internet. The basic sets of laws, often founded on a nation’s constitution are being used in ways that many forefathers never anticipated or envisioned. Republic, Dominion and Socialist government institutions around the world are all facing the same issues - often without any clear path of legal precedent.
One of the challenges facing courts is jurisdiction. Because of the very nature of the Internet, legal systems are now faced with new roadblocks that did not exist 10 years ago. Traditional methods of law enforcement and legal treaties do work and continue to be the basis of process and dealing with prosecution and trials. Interpretation of existing laws and applying them to Internet-related cases has not been a significant challenge in many cases. But there are some new aspects of what is admitted into court.
Evidence
What has shocked the system is how Internet-based materials are now used in the courts as evidence. Everything from ISP logs, website blogs, and social media sites (among others) are now being used in ways that prosecutors and jurists have never had to deal with in the past. It is also becoming a battle ground for several areas of law, particularly the integrity of evidence. This has many in the legal world concerned. It’s becoming clear that this will be an area of significant debate and will have far-reaching consequences. Internet evidence does not have look and feel of traditional evidence and, in many cases, has yet to be challenged as to its validity. Prosecutors are faced with a dilemma that impacts how and what they prosecute. This in turn has created a new source of political initiatives that are not only questionable, but in some parts of the world viewed as extreme.
Don’t have a Law yet? We’ll make one
The evolution of law and how it is created has traditionally been a slow and low priority part of the political system. No longer is that the case. Government ministers and cabinet officials appear to be fast-tracking new laws, specifically because of the Internet at a rapid pace of late. Politicians are practically tripping over themselves drafting new bills that claim that they know how to fix the problems of cybercrime and abuse. These ideas are moving at such a rapid pace that often few people actually have read the fine print. What concerns many is the advice politicians are getting on how Internet law should be created. Governments all over the world will have significant impact on such issues as free speech, Net neutrality, news, crime and governance of institutions.
Prosecution
There is not much sympathy for the courts in many parts of the world. That may soon change as news travels across the multimedia world of the Internet. Attorneys general throughout the United States are political and create their own priorities and thus control what is heard before the courts. This may have significant consequences as to the timing of how the Internet evolves and impact the economics of the service that potentially influences it’s usage for decades. In the United Kingdom, the courts will have to take into account European treaties and the European Parliament. Canada’s magistrates may strike down or uphold newly created laws that may wind up creating in-balance that could take years to reverse.
Rules await the Internet
Regulators such as the CRTC, FCC, OfCom are charting new territory in communication rules and regulations. Lawmakers are beginning to micro-manage this process. No one yet knows what the impact these new elements will have on the judicial system. It will take years before this is known and goes through several rigorous tests of the court system. Case law may take a decade or more before any true outcomes are known. By that time, a nation will have changed political administration and have new agendas that reset the cycle before some true outcomes are known. Net Neutrality will be debated and wind up before the courts in jurisdictions around the world. The results will vary like your bandwidth speed and access to content.
Global perspective
Laws of a nation are now being combined in many parts of the world. The very essence of a sovereign nation set of laws is slowly being merged into a single set by which it will adhere to. This is particularly true in Europe where the European Parliament is attempting to create laws specifically surrounding the Internet. This has the potential to create political and legal challenges for courts in how they make decisions. The consequences have significant long term impacts on how courts operate and what order of Appeals and jurisdiction as they enter cyber space with profound outcomes yet to be decided.
The Supreme Court
Supreme Court decisions have not had an impact on the Internet - but likely will. Major court decisions at local, state, and provincial levels are being appealed and many will eventually be argued before the Supreme Court. That draws concern because of how many governments nominate and select jurists to be a part of the Supreme Court framework. In general terms, the institution is politically driven and has the potential to create decisions that may in fact be contrary to the very principles that many of us take for granted. It also works in the other direction. Many a government has had policies and laws overturned by the courts. Key segments will be privacy, Internet access and tracking - along with content management tangled with identity security. It could be argued that elected government officials are not a threat to the Internet, the courts are. The counter point is that will force parliamentarians to change the law, a task far easier said than done. Compounding the problem is that the highest courts around the world have (almost) unlimited tenure until death. Jurists that will have profound impacts on the stance of governments surrounding Internet issues are in China, Pakistan, India, Russia, and the Middle East. China is unique in that it will have to eventually deal with treaties in which it is a signatory to, but no one has yet to appeal any government policies. It may soon have to. If WTO treaties are before their court system, the Internet could be next.
The court system in most democratic nations has dynamics rarely resulting in quick decisions. It may take years before government’s leaders and the lawmakers truly understand what they are dealing with. Some will fail in creating new laws that are considered extreme by many; others may actually pass the litmus test of a Supreme Court decision. History awaits the outcome.
Epilogue - it will never have an ending
So here we are; some of the files are out in the open, more need further decryption, understanding and updating. The pace of the discussion is increasing and appears to be moving along with few delays. 2010 promises to be the start of a new decade that has a few fundamental issues to resolve. The debate has begun and could be a pivotal point in how society uses and government manages the Internet.
November 19th, 2009
FCC releases broadband agenda
The FCC released its broadband agenda and supplied a presentation on areas to be reviewed which is due in 90 days. It covers a very broad (no pun intended) area of topics. The statistics embedded are worth reading about. Among them;
- Broadband adoption by adults: 63%
- Smart phone adoption: 31%
- No Broadband available: estimated at 3 to 6 million Housing units
- Cost Estimate that it costs 25 times LESS to have broadband urban areas compared to rural
The presentation is available on the FCC site.
Loading ...November 19th, 2009
FCC wants public comment on digital democracy - voting online
Last month I wrote about online voting and the trend to continue to move towards this type of service. The FCC is looking for comments which will influence the FCC’s policy and submit back recommendations to Congress. Online town hall meetings using multimedia applications are also being reviewed. The extent to which voting options are available are not part of the FCC’s review or mandate. Paper ballots and in person voting are not likely going anywhere anytime soon.
It will be interesting to see if the value of online voting is swayed by the economics and accuracy of voter tabulations and participation. There are a lot of arguments for and against electronic and online voting. Another focus area likely to surface is the digital divide - many people simply do not use the Internet, let alone own a computer. As I noted in my previous post, there are other ways it could still be accomplished such as smart phones or kiosks connected to the election service platform.
Submissions are due by December 10 of this year.
Loading ... Loading ...November 18th, 2009
Web and Newspaper Journalist joins FCC
FCC Commissioner Copps has announced that former New York Daily News Web Editor Joshua Cinelli has been hired to his office as an advisor on Media issues.
Mr. Cinelli has served most recently as news web editor at The New York Daily News. He has previous experience reporting for newspapers in Portland, Oregon, and New York City, and has done multimedia coverage for The Huffington Post. Cinelli also served as Legislative Director for a member of the Texas House of Representatives. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the City University of New York’s Graduate School of Journalism - where he was awarded the Arthur “Punch” Sulzberger Scholarship, the Time Inc. Scholarship, and the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Journalism.
Mr. Copps has been with the FCC since 2001. A list of his speeches can be found on the FCC website.
November 5th, 2009
FCC Chairman testifies on driving while texting
Last week I posted that the Government of Ontario has implemented a ban on driving while using a mobile phone or CB radio. U.S. Congress is now holding hearings on the issue.
Chairman Julius Genachowski of the Federal Communications Commission testified before the Subcommittees on Communications, Technology and the Internet, Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection, Committee on Energy and Commerce on the topic of Technological Devices and Vehicle Safety. Chairman Genachowski’s testimony brought out some interesting facts.
1995: approximately 34 million people had subscribed to a mobile phone.
2009: 276 million
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported in 2008 that driver distraction is the cause of 16% of all fatal crashes - 5,800 people killed - and 21% of crashes resulting in an injury - 515,000 people wounded.
I posted last week that 6 U.S. states have banned driving while talking on a cell phone. 18 states now have some kind of law, primarily aimed at texting while driving.
President Obama signed an Executive Order banning all Federal employees (except in an emergency) from texting while driving any government vehicle or driving while on the job.
According to the Automobile Association of America (AAA), nearly 50% of teens admit to texting while driving.
Bluetooth and speech-to-text technology sales are likely to skyrocket, along with civilian versions of Heads Up Displays (HUD) in rear view mirrors.
November 2nd, 2009
Net Neutrality: You own the Internet - make sure it becomes Law
Last week I wrote about how Net Neutrality could be blown to pieces in satire and followed up with another piece suggesting that the Internet is not free from government monopolies and corporate service providers. An advocate of an open system that has choice and no boundaries barring access needs some ammunition to fight back with. It has plenty if used appropriately.
For the first time in the world, there’s a service that has a unique platform, allowing all free people to interact, demonstrate, express and bind together to resolve issues. The internet is the vehicle which has and will continue to drive change, innovation, and create an entirely new political landscape that does not have limitations. Could turn out to be a bad or good thing. But internet users will be decision makers on this point, not corporations. Read the rest of this entry »
October 30th, 2009
ZDNet Government version of Throw out the Trash Day
Friday is always an interesting day to report news. In the hit political drama series produced and written by Aaron Sorkin, The West Wing, he came up with how the White House Press Secretary got into a routine with staffers in the Communications office to gather up all the news that should be announced, but prayed nobody read about it. Well guess what, covering the news on Government issues can be the same! So every Friday, it will be Take out the Trash Day .
Here’s my take on some news that isn’t all that interesting but still made it online somewhere….
Throw out the trash day
From the New York Times - Governor of California sends secret code message (this too was a story line in one of the episode of The West Wing) - Arnold got some pretty good writers!
Wired Magazine says an ISP owner still under gag order by the FBI. Wonder if the ISP had any other news to report, like are customer connections still working?
The BBC found thieves who think copper is still worth stealing from British Telecom - an entire Kilometer ripped out from a conduit by truck!
Minister of Environment for Australia jumps onto the smart grid energy bandwagon. Soon the entire world will have governments and utility companies capable of remotely shutting off your electricity and you won’t have a choice.
Also included on the last Friday of each month, I will blog my take on the best and worst government websites. Send me an email if you find ones that I should rate. At the end of the year I’ll announce the ‘awards’ of each category.
Best Website for month of October for Content
Best Website - Organization of Content
Most innovative government website:
Worst website for Content
Worst website - Organization of content
October 27th, 2009
Banks and auto sector got bailed out, are telecom providers next?
U.S. Senator John McCain came out with statements against government interference or the creation of regulations by the FCC. Instead he came out proposing a new law to prevent law. The Senator stated that Net Neutrality would stifle profitability, innovation, commerce and that jobs would not be created with such regulation. Telecom and Internet Service providers are not hiring and with current debt levels some are barely profitable. But for how long? The FCC’s proposed Net Neutrality rulesare probably the least of the worries that are on the horizon for the Internet. Worldwide the industry has been turned upside down and none of the industry players got bailouts like the banks or auto sector did. Debt at many of the main telecom players are at unbelievable levels;
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France Telecom: 34.7 Billion Euros
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British Telecom: 16.1 Billion Euros
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Cable & Wireless: 922 million Pounds
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Italia Telecom: 35.8 Billion Euros
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Telstra : 16.1 Billion Au
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New Zealand Telecom: 2.8 Billion NZ
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NT&T : 639 Billion Yet
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Bell Canada: 14 Billion Cdn
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Telus: 7.5 Billion Cdn
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AT&T: 60.8 Billion US
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Sprint: 21.6 Billion US
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Comcast: 30.0 Billion US
These levels are sustainable for most, providing the economy doesn’t get any worse and credit facilities do not collapse any farther. Nortel collapsed under debt, Alcatel and Lucent merged and is heavily leveraged, leaving Cisco as the only healthy one. Job creation and innovation will have to come from companies that have little or no debt burden. Most of ones listed above have made significant cuts in employment. Government regulates providers already, and does offer some incentives, grants and loans for internet innovations, and they are in debt in the trillions of dollars already. The private sector will be the innovator and career opportunities engine for internet services and applications that create healthy profit. Companies like RIM, Microsoft, Cisco and Google have significant advantages in growth capabilities. But it will be small and medium business (SMB) sized companies that will likely be responsible, and are rarely given credit for doing so around the world. Many wonder if they can bail out the industry before government has to.
October 22nd, 2009
Net Neutrality: Why the Internet will never be free. For anything. So get used to it
Call it Net Neutrality if you want, but it doesn’t exist, nor is it required when you already have antitrust, regulatory and other local and state, and international law in place. Choice, innovation and open access are the principles in a free enterprise competitive market, not the halls of government.
Before I start, I wish to make clear that ’Law’ is what makes our society what it is today. Without, we would have anarchy and society as we know it today would not exist. Also this is not your typical blog story, what follows is an medium depth look at the problems and challenges Net Neutrality would have on providers, users and government policy if implemented. It doesn’t ask all the questions or give solutions to every aspect in fine detail but does give the reader a general knowledge and sense of issues.
Overview - Net Neutrality - a philosophy or set of regulations?
Your government will ensure Net neutrality with whatever they believe it is. You may not like it, but it is coming. I just don’t know if the lawmakers know what they are getting themselves into. The world believes the Internet is open to everyone. Some are arguing and even demanding we need Law and the RIGHT to eliminate censorship and have choice in all its forms. The Internet is the People’s network and everyone owns it. Thus Net Neutrality would enable and ensure innovation, freedom, choice and access. Read the rest of this entry »
October 21st, 2009
Antitrust: Time to break apart the phone companies -- again?
In the global meltdown of the economy, corporate earnings are the bellwether of survival. The old adage that the strong get stronger and the weak…. they just collapse. But some corporations now control significant market share that some believe borders on antitrust violations in the U.S. In Australia, Canada and Japan, corporate consolidation has risen significantly over the past several years. There’s no indications of policy direction or change at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the U.S, CRTC (Canada) or OFCom (U.K.). which would trigger antitrust or anti-competition hearings.
There are very few industries collecting guaranteed revenue. Utilities and financial institutions are the two biggest. Within utilities, telecommunications has had a unique blend of service ‘delivery’ since the beginning. Initially, a single entity that provided everyone the services, is what created instant monopolies. Fast forward 80 years, and antitrust had its second big challenge (after Standard Oil) with AT&T, which was broken up in the United States in 1984 and the Canadian “group” of telecommunications known as Stentor self-destructed in 1999 because regulator tariffs choked their ability to compete with new entrance into the market. Read the rest of this entry »
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