Another part of the ongoing fallout from the Ashley Madison data breach concerns media companies, ethicists said in interviews Monday. They have been grappling with how media should report on a data breach, particularly when it involves salacious details such as the identities of those who signed up for the cheating website. Some journalists argue that none of the information exposed in the breach should be used at all, as it's illegally obtained. Others argue that if they don’t report on the data another news outlet will, and it’s the public’s right to know.
Another part of the ongoing fallout from the Ashley Madison data breach concerns media companies, ethicists said in interviews Monday. They have been grappling with how media should report on a data breach, particularly when it involves salacious details such as the identities of those who signed up for the cheating website. Some journalists argue that none of the information exposed in the breach should be used at all, as it's illegally obtained. Others argue that if they don’t report on the data another news outlet will, and it’s the public’s right to know.
Staffers on Capitol Hill foresee a tall order in the 911 legislative recommendations that FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler laid out last week at APCO’s conference (see 1508190056), which aren't yet manifested in any package or set for the fall agenda to anyone’s knowledge. Several Hill staffers weren't familiar with outreach from the FCC on the legislative package that Wheeler described, which he said would be critical for the implementation of Next-Generation 911 and should factor into the congressional calendar in future months. Former FCC officials agreed the issues deserve serious and expedient Hill attention.
The FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs and Public Safety bureaus' joint workshop Aug. 27 on promoting wider accessibility and increased use of the emergency alert system (EAS) (see 1508040030) will have three sessions, hear from Commissioner Mignon Clyburn and Public Safety Bureau Chief David Simpson, and include state and local officials, the FCC said in a public notice. The workshop will include a panel on ways to improve alert accessibility, such as synchronizing EAS audio and visual crawls, with Christian Vogler, director of Gallaudet University's Technology Access Program; Lillian McDonald, managing director of Twin Cities Public Television/Echo Minnesota Partnership; Charles McCobb, a program manager of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS); and Zainab Alkebsi, policy counsel at the National Association of the Deaf. A panel on promoting EAS use will be Jay English, APCO director-Comm Center & 9-1-1 services; Wade Witmer, IPAWS deputy director; Steve Souder, director of Fairfax County, Virginia's Department of Public Safety Communications; and Suzanne Goucher, Maine Association of Broadcasters CEO. The 1 to 4:30 p.m. workshop will be in the commission meeting room and streamed live at the FCC website. To register: John Evanoff, Public Safety Bureau attorney, at john.evanoff@fcc.gov or 202-418-0848.
With phone applications able to pinpoint a person’s location and send information based on that, it should be easy to find someone who calls 911 from a mobile device, but that’s not the case yet, said experts at APCO 2015 Wednesday. The difference between apps and 911 is that people have given an app permission to find them, whereas that permission hasn’t been given to 911, they said. To improve 911 indoor location accuracy, industry innovators have had to get creative with existing and new technology using, for example, Bluetooth low energy (BLE) like Intrado is experimenting with.
With phone applications able to pinpoint a person’s location and send information based on that, it should be easy to find someone who calls 911 from a mobile device, but that’s not the case yet, said experts at APCO 2015 Wednesday. The difference between apps and 911 is that people have given an app permission to find them, whereas that permission hasn’t been given to 911, they said. To improve 911 indoor location accuracy, industry innovators have had to get creative with existing and new technology using, for example, Bluetooth low energy (BLE) like Intrado is experimenting with.
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler asked for help from Congress as public safety embraces next-generation 911. Wheeler spoke Wednesday to APCO at its annual meeting, and emphasized that the FCC is doing what it can but Congress also has a role to play, especially on funding and in establishing a national maps database for use by public safety answering points. Wheeler emphasized the importance of the FCC Task Force on Optimal Public Safety Answering Point Architecture, which is preparing a number of reports on PSAPs and the move to NG-911 (see 1507270064).
Verizon emerged as the wireless carrier with the top network across the U.S., RootMetrics said in a report Tuesday on tests it did in the first half of 2015. AT&T finished second. Verizon finished first for overall performance, network reliability, network speed, data performance and call performance -- AT&T for text performance. “Don't overlook AT&T,” RootMetrics said. “Although Verizon led the way in the majority of categories at the national level, AT&T wasn’t far behind.” Sprint finished third in overall performance. “In most categories, Sprint’s scores showed progress in terms of closing the gap with the leaders from prior testing,” RootMetrics said. T-Mobile was fourth overall. “But the network finished a strong third for network speed and data performance,” RootMetrics said. “We’ve noted before that T-Mobile typically performs much better in metro areas than it does at state or national levels, and this was indeed the case in the first half of 2015.”
Verizon emerged as the wireless carrier with the top network across the U.S., RootMetrics said in a report Tuesday on tests it did in the first half of 2015. AT&T finished second. Verizon finished first for overall performance, network reliability, network speed, data performance and call performance -- AT&T for text performance. “Don't overlook AT&T,” RootMetrics said. “Although Verizon led the way in the majority of categories at the national level, AT&T wasn’t far behind.” Sprint finished third in overall performance. “In most categories, Sprint’s scores showed progress in terms of closing the gap with the leaders from prior testing,” RootMetrics said. T-Mobile was fourth overall. “But the network finished a strong third for network speed and data performance,” RootMetrics said. “We’ve noted before that T-Mobile typically performs much better in metro areas than it does at state or national levels, and this was indeed the case in the first half of 2015.”
Verizon emerged as the wireless carrier with the top network across the U.S., RootMetrics said in a report Tuesday on tests it did in the first half of 2015. AT&T finished second. Verizon finished first for overall performance, network reliability, network speed, data performance and call performance -- AT&T for text performance. “Don't overlook AT&T,” RootMetrics said. “Although Verizon led the way in the majority of categories at the national level, AT&T wasn’t far behind.” Sprint finished third in overall performance. “In most categories, Sprint’s scores showed progress in terms of closing the gap with the leaders from prior testing,” RootMetrics said. T-Mobile was fourth overall. “But the network finished a strong third for network speed and data performance,” RootMetrics said. “We’ve noted before that T-Mobile typically performs much better in metro areas than it does at state or national levels, and this was indeed the case in the first half of 2015.”