The FCC should develop a record of feasibility of zoned broadcast coverage (see 2005040044) before approving it, said a joint filing from large radio groups Beasley, Cumulus, Entercom and iHeart. “The Commission must be fully confident, based on extensive real-world testing, that the benefits outweigh potential harms,” said the filing in RM-11854: “Automatically authorizing such an unproven technology, as would be the case under the Petitioner’s rulemaking proposal, is particularly premature.” NAB said it supports the use of zoned broadcast coverage, with reservations. The technology works only with analog radio, and so “could undermine the continued expansion of digital audio broadcasting,” the group said. It “remains concerned about potential interference that, although apparently limited geographically and confined to within a station’s booster cluster, could spur listeners to change channels, or worse, audio sources,” NAB said. “On balance, however, NAB submits that granting” GeoBroadcast Solutions’ petition “is justified.”
Tech online spending in the week ended April 25 jumped 20% over the same 2019 week, reported NPD Tuesday. It's "the first week since the COVID-19 crisis began that total retail purchasing traffic showed improvement from the prior week, driven by both online and at physical store locations still open for business.”
Antitrust authorities cleared the way for Providence Equity Partners to acquire Outfront Media entities. An FTC early termination notice dated Monday and released Tuesday ended the Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period. Providence “will lead the purchase of $400 million in newly issued convertible preferred stock together with funds managed by Ares Management Corporation,” said the original announcement. The FTC issued a separate notice for Ares.
The Trump administration should set clear guidelines for how technology will be used to combat COVID-19, more than a dozen advocacy groups wrote Tuesday to Vice President Mike Pence, who chairs the White House Coronavirus Task Force. The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, Center for Democracy & Technology, Center for Digital Democracy, Electronic Privacy Information Center, Media Alliance, Public Citizen and Public Knowledge signed. The groups outlined 11 principles, including science-based, public health objectives; protections against tech bias; guidelines for voluntary use; limitations on data collection and sharing; and data security and transparency recommendations. The White House didn't comment.
Videoconferencing services should store only the data needed to “deliver the service,” Consumer Reports recommended Friday (see 2004090019). This would mean limiting how data is shared with third parties and restricting data storage to what's used for improving products, the organization said. CR recommended companies turn on by default the “most secure settings” for users. It said Zoom isn't the only such service with privacy issues. CR also examined privacy policies of Cisco’s Webex, Microsoft’s Skype and Teams and Google’s Meet, Duo and Hangouts.
DOJ should “carefully review” Alphabet’s proposed buy of Fitbit due to concerns about harm to competition (see 1911130026), Public Knowledge and the Consumer Federation of America wrote Attorney General William Barr Thursday. “When head-to-head horizontal competition is scarce, nascent and potential competition, like that provided by Fitbit or a potential alternative buyer of Fitbit, may be the only source of real competitive pressure on dominant digital platforms,” PK said. DOJ didn’t comment.
Arlo CEO Matt McRae announced plans to extend the SmartCloud platform to partners “beyond our own camera ecosystem,” as the company looks to boost revenue. It also announced Wednesday evening management changes from within the company to “streamline operations” (see personals section). The change “effectively flattens the organization,” it said, citing efforts to cut operating expenses. Shares closed 6.5% lower Thursday at $2.74.
An ICANN rejection of the .org deal wouldn't mean "the end of the road," Electronic Frontier Foundation Staff Attorney Cara Gagliano said at a briefing on the proposed sale of Public Interest Registry (PIR) to private equity firm Ethos Capital. Later Thursday, ICANN's board held a special meeting to discuss the transaction. If it nixes it, it's “effectively dead,” Gagliano said at a news conference. If it lets the decision deadline slide, the deal can proceed. Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D) of California, where ICANN is headquartered, recommended that ICANN reject the plan (see 2004160062). Under state law, the AG can seek a court order limiting what can be done with the .org registry contract with ICANN, effectively ending the sale, said EFF Senior Staff Attorney Mitch Stoltz. The AG in Pennsylvania, where PIR is incorporated, has broad power to investigate transactions involving nonprofits and can file objections in the court that must approve the sale, Gagliano said. Asked whether any private groups intend to try to block the sale, Stoltz said: “We're looking into all the options.” Transaction opponents have heard from congressional members and several foreign governments concerned about the matter, Access Now General Counsel Peter Micek told reporters. Most civil society organizations agree they would prefer not to get the U.S. government involved but say it's wholly appropriate for it to scrutinize the proposal under its duty to safeguard the public interest. Human Rights Watch Executive Director Kenneth Roth said China routinely uses economic clout to censor critics, increasingly since COVID-19 emerged. Concerns include fears of “censorship for profit” if the registry suspends domain names at the behest of companies, Stoltz said: If PIR becomes a for-profit corporation with millions of dollars to pay off, there will be an incentive to use censorship to help defray those costs. That could mean shutting down apps and email addresses, he said. The pandemic showed how private equity firms degraded infrastructures people depend on, such as hospitals, by extracting resources, said Access Now Global Campaign Strategist Carolyn Tackett.
Internet use during the COVID-19 is “at a scale that the world has never experienced,” said Akamai CEO Tom Leighton on a Q1 investor call Tuesday. Traffic on the Akamai platform increased by about 30% over a four-week period at the end of Q1, he said. It peaked at 167 terabits per second during the quarter, more than double the peak of Q1 2019, he said. Q1 revenue in Akamai’s media division jumped 8% to $358 million, said Chief Financial Officer Ed McGowan. The “outperformance” in media was mainly due to the “surge” in traffic from over-the-top video, gaming, social media and news and information sites, “as more and more people around the world began to shelter in place,” he said.
Antitrust authorities cleared the way for Verizon to buy BlueJeans Network, a videoconferencing platform (see 2004160004). An FTC early termination notice dated Monday and released Tuesday ended the Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period.