Bans in 17 states and the District of Columbia on teenagers’ use of cellphones while driving may not have any significant effect on their habits, a new traffic safety study suggests. The study looked at North Carolina teen drivers’ cellphone usage habits before and after that state’s teen driver cellphone use ban took effect late in 2006. It found 11 percent of teen drivers used cellphones while on the road before the ban, and 12 percent were doing so five months after the ban took effect.
American Internet experts and analysts disagree on a Canadian privacy group’s complaint against Facebook, filed May 30 before the Canadian Privacy Commissioner (WID June 2 p2). Some want the U.S. to pass its own privacy protection law. Others say the Canadian privacy commissioner’s response to the complaint could lead to international gridlock, should a patchwork of contradictory national privacy laws emerge.
Telecom acquisitions and mobile expansion will be major trends in Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC), among the world’s largest telecom markets, speakers said Thursday at a BRIC Opportunities forum. For U.S. investors and telecom companies, speakers see uncertainties in policy changes in those countries, but also opportunities. The conference, part of the Emerging Telecom Market Forums series, was sponsored by Information Gatekeepers (IGI) and the Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker law firm.
Rural wireless carriers made clear in reply comments on three Universal Service Fund rulemaking notices that the FCC could face legal challenge if it kills the identical-support rule. VoIP carriers and American Indian tribes, meanwhile, entered the debate over a USF overhaul, urging a broadband- specific fund. They had sat out an earlier comment round.
The European Commission started a Web site with information on the EU-wide emergency number 112. The site, ec.europa.eu/112, tells Europeans how to use the system and what to expect from it, particularly when they travel in Europe. It compares the performance of national authorities, based on their survey responses, on how fast emergency calls are handled, what languages are available, and what governments are doing to raise awareness about the system, the EC said. Viviane Reding, the EU’s information society and media commissioner, has been pushing several years for a coordinated emergency response number, nudging countries into compliance by citing them for violating Community law. Data on the Web site show shortcomings, she said at a news conference. 112 isn’t available in Bulgaria, six countries don’t show caller location for mobile 112 calls, and several countries failed to answer questions about their call response times and the ability of their emergency centers to answer in more than the national language, the EC said. Other problems include a lack of integrated emergency call centers and a high number of hoax calls, it said. Reding wants the system in full operation by summer. Her telecommunications reform legislative package proposes some changes to 112, including improved access for disabled people. She asked the European Parliament and Council to “be courageous” in adopting the proposals.
Conferees on a VoIP E-911 bill (HR-3403) are hoping to get the Senate to approve a bill reflecting an agreement struck two weeks ago by members of both parties and chambers (CD May 22 p2), Hill and industry sources said Tuesday. The bill drops language opposed by telecom carriers that would have barred them from using customer information in FCC competition proceedings. Earlier drafts of the bill would have limited use of the information to emergency network needs.
Westinghouse Digital Electronics will ship ultra- wideband -equipped 42W and 47W LCD monitors for commercial applications in Q3 and will deliver consumer versions in 2009, Rey Roque, vice president of marketing, told us at a New York product briefing Tuesday.
The Food and Drug Administration, in collaboration with the University of Arkansas, is announcing a public workshop entitled "Food Labeling Workshop," which is intended to provide information about FDA food labeling regulations and other related subjects to the regulated industry, particularly small businesses and startups. The workshop will be held on August 12-13, 2008 in Fayetteville, AR. (FR Pub 06/03/08, available at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdf/E8-12301.pdf)
France won’t force ISPs to filter for copyright piracy, Culture Minister Christine Albanel said Monday in Paris. She spoke at a U.S.-French conference on copyright and counterfeiting in the digital economy. Under the Olivennes Commission agreement between ISPs and the music industry, service providers experimented with filtering, while record labels were to promote interoperability (WID Nov 26 p2). Albanel, seeking to blunt attacks on government-proposed changes to French copyright law, clarified that the measure won’t require Internet filtering and parties involved must resolve conflicts, said media and communications attorney Winston Maxwell, a conference participant. Albanel said government intervention might be appropriate if, two years after the Olivennes accord, there’s no solution, a position similar to the U.K.’s, he said. Albanel defended France’s stance, noting the severity of copyright law in regard to infringers, who risk jail and stiff fines, Maxwell said. The minister said the proposed measure -- as yet not published and still undergoing review by the Conseil d'Etat, France’s highest administrative court -- urges a graduated response to piracy with much less repressive measures like warning notices and temporary Internet access suspension, Maxwell said. Albanel’s comments did not reflect a change in government thinking, he said. What really changed the debate was a non-binding April 10 European Parliament vote urging EU nations to condemn mandatory filtering and access termination (WID April 8 p1), he said. An EU lawmaker told the audience that the resolution, introduced late in the debate, does not necessarily reflect the result of an open, informed debate, Maxwell said. The Business Software Alliance praised Albanel for making it clear that mandatory filtering won’t occur under the coming law. BSA urged the government to seek protection of copyrighted content online via voluntary agreements that respect French citizens’ privacy. The group lauded the European Parliament’s anti-filtering vote, saying mandates “can create insurmountable technical challenges for industry and hinder innovation in Europe.” The graduated response concept seemed late Tuesday to take another hit when, according to French press reports, information on a May 30 opinion by data protection watchdog CNI emerged. In it, the privacy agency is quoted as saying graduated response poses an intolerable conflict between privacy rights and respect for copyright by creating a monstrous database of personal data such as Internet Protocol addresses, yet cutting off Internet access. CNI’s opinion, not available at our deadline, follows an earlier condemnation by France’s telecom regulator, the press reported.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said Friday it will serve as the unified aggregator and message gateway when wireless carriers send subscribers emergency alert system warnings. The move clears up a major question on the alert program (CD Feb 22 p1). FEMA will verify that alerts are from authorized senders, then transmit them to carriers.