Internet access subscribers could have their service cut off if they ignore repeated “alerts” that copyright infringement has been detected on their accounts, though ISPs participating in a new “Copyright Alert System” unveiled Thursday emphasized they were unlikely to do that. But measures short of cutoff, such as throttling down to 256 kbps or “restriction” of access for some period, are explicitly laid out in a memorandum of understanding between ISPs and content providers dated July 6 and marked “final,” provided to us by the RIAA. (What appears to be an identical copy is circulating online.) Some digital rights groups gave a cautious nod to the new system while voicing concern that the ambiguity in the agreement could lead to termination or suspension of service without judicial review.

Internet access subscribers could have their service cut off if they ignore repeated “alerts” that copyright infringement has been detected on their accounts, though ISPs participating in a new “Copyright Alert System” unveiled Thursday emphasized they were unlikely to do that. But measures short of cutoff, such as throttling down to 256 kbps or “restriction” of access for some period, are explicitly laid out in a memorandum of understanding between ISPs and content providers dated July 6 and marked “final,” provided to us by the RIAA. (What appears to be an identical copy is circulating online.) Some digital rights groups gave a cautious nod to the new system while voicing concern that the ambiguity in the agreement could lead to termination or suspension of service without judicial review.

Calling the consumer electronics industry a “bright spot in a very cloudy economy,” CEA CEO Gary Shapiro welcomed attendees Thursday to “CE Week” during a keynote in which he promoted passage of S-911. The bill was approved by the Senate Commerce Committee earlier this month. Wireless broadband is one of the primary drivers of the CE industry, Shapiro said. Many of the new products and services coming to market require wireless broadband, he said, making the “spectrum crunch one of the most critical technology policy issues we face today.” Much of the most attractive spectrum now is being used “as it has been for the last 40 or 50 years” by broadcasters, Shapiro said. Despite their “important service to the public,” the demand for wireless broadband services has exhausted all of the available spectrum, creating a “crisis” that can only be served by allocating additional frequencies for broadband, he said.

Calling the CE industry a “bright spot in a very cloudy economy,” CEA CEO Gary Shapiro welcomed attendees Thursday to “CE Week” festivities in New York in a keynote in which he urged senate passage of the Spectrum Act (S-911), which would promote incentive spectrum auctions. The bill cleared the Senate Commerce Committee June 7.

California rules about smart-meter data -- the first set in the country -- should largely track privacy and security recommendations by public interest groups based on the Fair Information Practices (FIP) for notice, consent and accountability, said a proposed decision by the Public Utilities Commission. The rules should cover online service providers and others beyond electric companies and should require the power companies to give customers extensive pricing information, said a document filed late Friday(http://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/efile/PD/134875.pdf) by PUC President Michael Peevey, the commissioner assigned to the rulemaking.

The FTC should broaden the scope of its Google privacy agreement to other Google services and Internet companies, privacy groups said in FTC filings. In March, Google agreed to create and maintain a “comprehensive” privacy program and submit to independent third-party privacy audits for the next 20 years following the ill-fated launch of the Google Buzz social networking service in 2010 (WID March 31 p1). The Center for Digital Democracy and the Electronic Privacy Information Center made their suggestions before the FTC’s deadline for public comment Monday.

Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and John McCain, R-Ariz., introduced privacy legislation aimed at giving citizens control of the data that’s collected by companies online. The Commercial Privacy Bill of Rights Act would put citizens back in control of how their personal information is collected and used, Communications Subcommittee Chairman Kerry said Tuesday at a press conference. The bill allows companies to design their own safe harbor terms and does not propose a Do Not Track mechanism. Many consumers enjoy receiving targeted ads online and visiting sites that are free because they're ad-supported, “but consumers must have control of how their data is used and is transferred to an unknown third party,” McCain said.

The FTC and Google agreed to implement tougher privacy restrictions and independent audits following the company’s ill-fated launch of the Buzz social networking service in 2010. Google settled with the commission Wednesday on claims that the company used deceptive tactics in violation of the FTC Act and betrayed its own privacy promises to consumers. But Commissioner Thomas Rosch said the FTC’s “opt-in” requirement was problematic and he couldn’t understand why Google agreed to it. Lawmakers hailed the decision but consumer groups said the FTC’s penalties are insufficient.

The fear that President Barack Obama could unilaterally shut down the Internet in an emergency is driving the debate over cybersecurity bills in Congress, regardless of how feasible such a shutdown would be, cybersecurity experts told us. But that’s not stopping cybersecurity vendors, policy analysts and the larger business community from pushing forward with the less juicy but long-advocated emphasis on an improved public-private “partnership."

Municipal wireless in the U.S. “is not dead,” said Ben Lennett of the New America Foundation’s Open Technology Initiative during a panel discussion sponsored by the group Tuesday.