A secure Web portal (http://bit.ly/1uDYhS0) was activated Wednesday by the FCC Wireline Bureau for the electronic filing of special access information and certifications, a bureau public notice said (http://bit.ly/1xFY8ik). The information is due Dec. 15.
Facebook’s new research framework will heighten its research screening process and delineate stricter guidelines on what information is appropriate for use, said Chief Technology Officer Mike Schroepfer in a Thursday blog post (http://bit.ly/1xH7OsV). Facebook was criticized after its publication of research that manipulated individuals’ news feeds to determine how certain posts affected users’ moods (WID July 1 p9). Privacy groups alleged Facebook’s use of user data violated a prior FTC consent order, arguing the company had not obtained proper consent (WID July 9 p5). “It is clear now that there are things we should have done differently,” Schroepfer said. “For example, we should have considered other non-experimental ways to do this research. The research would also have benefited from more extensive review by a wider and more senior group of people.” Facebook also poorly explained its methodology and intent after release of the research, he said. Changes revealed Thursday intend to address these issues, Schroepfer said. Moving forward, Facebook’s research will also be posted in a single location (http://bit.ly/1pJeVIc).
Pioneer said its lineup of 2014 CarPlay-compatible in-dash multimedia receivers will have access to Apple’s CarPlay platform via a free firmware update. Consumers with the iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c and iPhone 5 can use the Siri “personal assistant” to make and receive calls, compose and respond to text messages, use Apple Maps for navigation, and listen to their music libraries and iTunes Radio, Pioneer said Thursday. Ted Cardenas, vice president-marketing for Pioneer’s car electronics division, said CarPlay improves the iPhone experience while driving by “by providing a safer way to access the iPhone features.” In another announcement, Pioneer said its gen-four AppRadio touchscreen receiver will begin shipping Thursday to Pioneer dealers including Best Buy, Car Toys and Crutchfield. The CarPlay-compatible AppRadio 4 SPH-DA120 ($600) lets consumers use cloud and device-sourced content from the iPhone 5 and later Apple smartphones, Android smartphones and MirrorLink-enabled smartphones, Pioneer said. AppRadio 4 adds “feature-enhanced” smartphone control, voice control for Siri Eyes Free and Google Voice Recognition, Bluetooth hands-free calling and audio streaming, and a new graphical user interface, Pioneer said. AppRadio 4’s design uses minimal physical buttons on the left side of the screen for quick access by drivers, Pioneer said. Most functions -- including the app interface, music control/playback, AM/FM radio and Bluetooth connection -- are operated through the 6.2-inch WVGA capacitive touch screen, the company said.
Several groups warned the FCC that the agency seems to be losing objectivity in recent proceedings, citing the net neutrality rulemaking, but the FCC defended its actions. The groups, including American Commitment, the Center for Boundless Innovation in Technology, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance and TechFreedom, sent a letter to the FCC Thursday (http://bit.ly/1vBp9jM). “Increasingly, however, FCC staff appear to be disregarding arguments that do not fit a preconceived agenda; and worse, they may be actively manipulating media coverage around controversial issues,” the groups said in the letter. They point to recent media reports that some FCC staffers may have “helped spin media coverage in favor of those pushing the FCC to invoke Title II.” The FCC said its involvement was to make sure all parties could comment in the proceeding. The agency’s information technology “team worked with multiple parties to ensure everyone was able to successfully submit comments to the agency on the Open Internet proceeding,” an FCC spokeswoman said. “After receiving a surge of comments leading up to the reply comment deadline, the IT team created a third option for filing bulk comments. This option was made available to all interested parties at the same time via a blog post on our website.”
Facebook Chief Product Officer Chris Cox apologized to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community after pushback over the company’s real-name policy (http://on.fb.me/1oELNCB). Facebook has a policy that says names on its profiles “should be your authentic identity ... as our acceptable identification forms would show” (http://on.fb.me/1sPc6gx). In the past few weeks, Facebook deleted a slate of accounts reported to it as fake, some of which were the accounts for drag queens, drag kings and transgender individuals, Cox said on Facebook’s blog. “We've had the chance to hear from many of you in these communities and understand the policy more clearly as you experience it,” he said. “We owe you a better service and a better experience using Facebook, and we're going to fix the way this policy gets handled so everyone affected here can go back to using Facebook as you were.” Cox said Facebook’s policy is not intended to require people to use their legal name, just the “authentic name they use in real life.” Individuals like Sister Roma and Lil Miss Hot Mess -- both affected in the last two weeks -- should be able to use those names on their accounts, Cox said. Facebook will consider better ways to assess the veracity of names on accounts, but will continue to stick to its policy. “First, it’s part of what made Facebook special in the first place, by differentiating the service from the rest of the internet where pseudonymity, anonymity, or often random names were the social norm,” said Cox. “Second, it’s the primary mechanism we have to protect millions of people every day, all around the world, from real harm."
The NFC Forum launched the “Tap Into NFC” developer program Thursday, designed to leverage the capability of near field communication for new applications and services. The program will support application developers through events, networking opportunities and a dedicated website (http://bit.ly/1ufRexz) with developer kits, technical specs, news and product information, it said. To commemorate the launch, the NFC Forum will host a Twitter contest Oct. 16-23 using #Tapin2NFC, in which developers can share what they like most about the program and site, including favorite products from the product showcase, the forum said. A winning tweet will be selected at random and the winner will receive an NFC-enabled wearable device. Details will be available at the NFC Blog (http://bit.ly/1r1b2yC) the second week of October, the forum said.
The FCC’s latest technical difficulty that forced it to extend the deadline to file Form 477 submissions (WID Oct 1 p11) is unrelated to the large number of net neutrality comments that continue to slow the Electronic Comment Filing System, an agency spokeswoman told us. The agency created a new online interface, separate from ECFS, for broadband and voice providers to submit broadband deployment data as part of the commission’s new effort to collect the data as part of its twice-annual census of providers, she said. While monitoring the data to make sure the new system was working, staff noticed “an anomaly,” and “in an abundance of caution,” halted submissions until the problem is fixed, said a commission spokesman. In a public notice, the Wireline Bureau gave no timeline for the repairs (http://bit.ly/1ovVALd), saying it’s trying to resolve the problem “as quickly as possible.” Meanwhile, ECFS is running more slowly than normal, the spokeswoman acknowledged, attributing it to “several very large searches that download a large number of comments sequentially.” That “tends to tie up the system and slow down query response times,” she said. The large influx of comments in some dockets, including the net neutrality proceeding, is also adding to the delays, she said: “Our [information technology] team is doing what it can to find workarounds to the issues.”
The FCC should remember the “problems of undue regulation” when it takes on net neutrality, NCTA CEO Michael Powell wrote in an op-ed in The Hill Thursday (http://bit.ly/10msw3k). Based on “history and experience,” Powell wrote, “competition goals will be thwarted if the commission buckles to those who are baying to blanket the Internet industry with the dirty quilt of common carrier regulation.” Powell referred to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s Sept. 7 speech on the need for more broadband competition (WID Sept 5 p3). “Can anyone honestly argue that new heavy regulation will attract new broadband competitors and bring more choices to consumers?” Powell wrote. “Or rather, will it only entrench the power of incumbents and frustrate innovators and entrepreneurs? Will it help broadband build out into rural areas or rather impede it?"
Windstream said Lincoln, Nebraska, will be the first place it will deploy its new Kinetic next-generation TV service. The company said it will make the Kinetic service available to more than 50,000 homes in Lincoln beginning in the first half of 2015 and will deploy to “select Windstream communities” beginning in the second half of the year. The Kinetic service includes whole-home DVR and wireless set-top boxes, along with multiscreen viewing and on-demand programming, Windstream said Thursday. The company has a “strong” 15-year relationship with Lincoln that, “coupled with the local residents’ appreciation and desire for innovative technology, makes Lincoln the obvious choice for Kinetic’s inauguration,” said David Redmond, Windstream president-consumer services, in a news release (http://bit.ly/1r3Bd7S).
Metronet said it’s launching gigabit Internet service in 19 communities in central Indiana. The service is now available to Metronet’s residential customers within the city limits of all 19 communities: Connersville, Crawfordsville, Franklin, Greencastle, Huntington, Lafontaine, Lebanon, Madison, New Castle, North Manchester, North Vernon, Seymour, Vincennes, Wabash, Whiteland/New Whiteland, West Lafayette/Lafayette and Ulen. Indiana Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann (R) praised Metronet in a news release for launching gigabit service, saying “broadband connectivity is a critical issue facing many small towns and rural communities in our state.” Metronet said Thursday it also quadrupled Internet speeds for residential customers who subscribe to triple-play bundles (http://mwne.ws/1rATCz6).