Lighting Up the Lines on the Administration’s Internet Plan

By: Julius H. Hollis is the CEO and Chairman of the Alliance for Digital Equality

Next month, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is scheduled to present its National Broadband Plan to Congress and the stakes could not be higher. Broadband opens doors that allow for extraordinary opportunity — opportunity that should be available to all Americans at an affordable price.

As we anxiously await the details, our society prepares to undergo tremendous structural changes in how vital government services are delivered. These services are a lifeline, particularly for our underclass. America’s low-income communities cannot afford to be further disadvantaged as a result of a lack of the benefits that the digital future promises (education, entertainment, healthcare) due to the rising price of Broadband.

I share the FCC’s commitment to equal rights for Internet users, but I am genuinely concerned about the unintended consequences that well-intentioned net neutrality policies could have on America’s underclass. For many families, the brutal recession that we continue to battle has already pushed the dream of high-speed Internet access out of reach. Implementing new network neutrality regulations that may not allocate costs in a fair or equitable manner, particularly in these times of economic uncertainty, is of serious concern. (more…)

Right Click, Copy and Paste

Images often times express more than words.  I, for one, very much enjoy including images with my blog posts to compliment the topic of the post.  I certainly do not take my digital camera out and take my own pictures but do a Google image search to find that perfect picture that embodies my post, I right click on the image and place it in my post.   I admittedly have a nonchalant attitude towards intellectual property on the Internet.  Perhaps that is because I came of age during the Napster revolution or I am accustomed to copying images and text from other websites and including it in my work.  Digital technology has revolutionized how society views IP rights online.

The California Assembly is taking steps to protect photographers and public figures whose images are used without consent online.  AB 632, introduced by Assembly Member Davis, would require a social networking site to prevent an image of a person that is posted on the site from being copied or reproduced by another person without the permission of the user who posted the image.  In a further measure to protect unauthorized reproduction of a person’s image; social networking websites would be required to create a mechanism for users to flag images for removal of images of that user that are posted without their authorization. (more…)

Congress has a love/hate relationship with new media

A recent article from the LA Times discusses the love affair Congress Members have with Twitter. American’s politicians are using Twitter to communicate with staff, constituents and effectively campaign for themselves.  For once Congress seems to be ahead of the curve, in a recent survey of advertisers:

Almost half of the 1,015 advertisers polled said that Twitter use will grow exponentially over the next few years, compared with just 12% of consumers who felt the same. One-fifth of…….advertisers and 12% of consumers say Twitter is just something for young people, which contradicts a much-publicized report by a Morgan Stanley intern arguing the opposite. If McCain and his 150 fellow Congressional Twitterers, according to Tweet Congress, are any indication of the website’s audience, it’s not a young person’s game. -via Is Congress the ultimate ad agency with Twitter? | Top of the Ticket | Los Angeles Times.

Recently we had a conversation with Nancy Tarr, whom we hope will play a major role within#NMP, about this phenomenon. The very people who will have to decide on important legislation in the coming future regarding this space are still trying to understand how to use social media. The simple fact is, Congress (members and staff) are in this torrid love hate relationship with the reality that Twitter, YouTube, live streaming from your mobile device, is making the world and policy making more accessible and transparent.

The major question is: Do we want Congress to be an ad agency for new media? (more…)

AP v. AHN Case Settled but “Hot News” Doctrine Still Alive

Traditional and digital media collide once again in the form of news dissemination.  Ever heard of the phrase “history repeats itself?”  This saying is demonstrated in Associated Press v. All Headline News Corp., No. 08-cv-323 (Memorandum and Order, Feb 17, 2009) where the court held that the “hot news” doctrine created by the US Supreme Court in 1918 may be applied to digital news distribution.

In Associated Press v. All Headline News Corp., AP brought a copyright infringement suit against All Headline News Corp., a website that redistributes news articles.  AP alleged AHN was redistributing AP articles in their entirety and passing them off as AHN articles.  In addition to copyright infringement, the AP brought a number of other claims, including misappropriation under the “hot news” doctrine, a New York common law doctrine.  The Supreme Court of the United States upheld the “hot news” doctrine in the famous 1918 case International News Service v. Associated Press, 248 U.S. 215 (1918).

On face, this case may appear to simply be a copyright infringement issue…after all we are all taught in grade school that copying another person’s work and passing it off as your own is wrong (in college we find out its illegal).  The impact of this case’s outcome is that IP rights will either be assigned to AP’s reporting when in digital format or they will not.  Digital format can mean any online content distribution from the daily blogger to large websites like AHN.  This does NOT mean that the content can no longer be placed online by third parties, but under AP’s official policy, everyone from bloggers (like me) to Drudge himself will need permission from AP before posting their content.  Permission usually also means that the person posting content must pay AP for the content.

Those of us in the news industry know that AP does not usually enforce their “official policy” but they do require that AP receives credit/acknowledgement when their articles are posted by third parties.

So now that we understand how a case like this can impact our use and consumption of online materials…how was the case decided?  It settled!  However, before the parties settled, the court found in favor of AP on AHN’s motion to dismiss stating that AP had a claim under the “hot news” doctrine following the Second Circuit’s holding in National Basketball Ass’n v. Motorola, Inc., 105 F.3d 841 (2d Cir. 1997), that a valid claim for misappropriation under the “hot news doctrine” lies where a plaintiff pleads the following:  (more…)

Can Social Media Make Government Work Better?

Living in the information age is a blessing and a curse. We find ourselves spending half of our time searching for specific information in databases and search engines. Our government is comprised of hundreds of agencies, committees, subcommittees, and layers of bureaucracy. To Belt Way outsiders it seems obvious that entities, which cover similar policy areas, should be able to easily communicate and share information. However, on Capitol Hill the obvious is not reality, plans to centralize authority and merge agencies like the Commodities Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission have foundered on Capitol Hill.

My first thought upon hearing this was, “I thought we learned our lesson with intelligent agency communication failures?” According to Norman Ornstein at Roll Call there are serious turf wars in our government, which contributes to inefficiency and poor policy making. So how do we solve difficulties in finding and sharing information?

Enter, the age of social media and “pedias.”

Intellipedia, the first government “pedia” was introduced in 2004 by a CIA analyst. Intellipedia is a proprietary, Wikipedia-like system set up to enable 16 separate intelligence-related agencies, from the CIA to the FBI, the National Security Agency and various entities in the Department of Defense, to share information, data, theories, insights and ideas in an interactive fashion, and to edit the entries that are put onto the network. There are now tens of thousands of articles on Intellipedia, with hundreds added every week.

Intellipedia is shear brilliance, this simple tool is connecting people across agencies, which would most likely never meet, and allows them to share information vital to our national security. For example, data uncovered by one analyst may be shot down by another, reducing the likelihood of dry holes or actions taken on the basis of faulty intelligence.

For Congress a “pedia” can be created for legislation and be a place where staffers and Members can share policy information.

In lieu of merging agencies and commissions, “pedias” can be created as a medium for information exchange. Social media is allowing staffers, analysts, committee persons, and citizens to participate in policy making. This is not only smart government but good democracy.

In a world of instant communication, we cannot afford for our government to fall behind. Information is everywhere, social media helps us find and utilize the right information. More importantly social media allows us to carry on conversations about security and policy involving any subject matter.

We would love your feedback on the idea of connecting Capitol Hill through social media tools. Does centralizing information through “pedias” work or create more headaches?

Broadband Bridge to Social Media in Rural America

Larger pipes means more social media users. Many video conversation sites, flash based sites, AJAX driven applications require dedicated connections to the web. Many rural American’s are still unable to gain access to the broadband world.

For many, broadband may be as familiar a technology as cable television. Others may not be aware of the advantages high-speed Internet service offers. It can place adults in a virtual classroom and allow them to get a college or graduate degree — from their own homes. It gives physicians and hospitals instant access to medical records and enables remote diagnostic medicine, which can help enhance healthcare delivery in rural areas. It can allow a rancher in West Texas to sell every head of cattle in an online auction, expanding the reach of his business and raising his earning potential without the need to leave his ranch.  (Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, via TheHill.com – Bringing broadband to rural America.)

Such policies allow small business growth in rural America, but also increased use of social media solutions.

News Release: Copyright Issues Top Congressional Agenda for New ABA Task Force

The American Bar Association Section of Intellectual Property Law announced today that it has established the Copyright Law Reform Task Force to make recommendations to Congress on upcoming copyright-related bills and proposals.

The new task force, chaired by June M. Besek, section council member and executive director of the Kernochan Center for Law, Media and the Arts at Columbia Law School, will focus on proposals to change existing copyright laws and to create new domestic and international mechanisms to enhance compliance with copyright and other intellectual property law norms.

Following the model of the section’s Patent Law Reform Task Force established two years ago to respond to the ever-changing landscape in patent reform legislation, the Copyright Law Reform Task Force selected its members from the leadership of the section’s key copyright committees, copyright experts from academia and the section’s senior management.

The Copyright Law Task Force forms at a critical time in Congress. Both the House and the Senate Judiciary Committees are now addressing copyright matters after postponing consideration of those concerns to concentrate on patent law reform during the first 16 months of the 110th Congress.

via Copyright Issues Top Congressional Agenda for New ABA Task Force – News Release.

Facebook Hires EU & US Lobbyists

Privacy appears to be #1 concern for Facebook when it comes to Policy. They are one of the first proactive social networking sites to dedicate resources to meet their concerns. Will Twitter be next?

Facebook has hired an ex-Liberal Democrat MP to lobby the European Union on the company’s behalf.

Facebook also announced a similar role in Washington for Timothy Sparapani, a former lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union.

“This sets off alarms with cultures concerned about privacy, as well as governmental agencies and task forces,” he added. “Expect privacy, and ownership over user data to be one of the top debated topics in the next few coming years.”

via Facebook hires EU lobbyist | IT PRO.

Does tech pay enough tax?

The tech industry’s lobbyists in Washington have gone into overdrive. This is not aimed solely at tech, but the high share of revenues these companies get from overseas (70 per cent in HP’s case) makes them a prime target. The simultaneous effort to throw tech a bone by making the R&D tax credit permanent is a clear attempt to soften the blow.

via FT.com | Tech Blog | Does tech pay enough tax?.