Here is your recap of cable and Internet service industry news from around the US and the world the week of August 9, 2017:
Google to Release Ad Blocker in Chrome Next Year
Google, the biggest advertising company in the world, will be offering an ad blocker extension in its Chrome browser soon. The blocker is geared to block “intrusive ads.” Probably not the ads served up by Google. What ads are deemed “intrusive” would be determined by an industry group called Coalition for Better Ads of which Google is a member. The ad blocker will be released in the official stable Chrome release sometime next year, but users can check it out in the Canary release of Google Chrome now.
Breach in HBO's Throne Room?
Cyber hackers have breached HBO vaults and absconded with more than 1.5 terabytes of data. Taken in the breach are episodes of Ballers and Room 104 which have already been leaked online. There may also be a script or treatment for HBO’s crown jewel, Game of Thrones, taken in the theft. An anonymous email was sent out to reporters over the weekend boasting about the attack calling it “the greatest leak of cyber space era.” The extent of the leak has not been verified, but it may number into the thousands of documents and files taken. The hackers have promised more will be released. HBO has hired a firm to scour the Internet and find leaked files and request their removal. Google has already received requests to remove some materials from search results.
Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg Argue the Dangers of Artificial Intelligence
Tesla Motors and SpaceX founder Elon Musk warned at an MIT talk that AIs are mankind’s "biggest existential threat." Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg feels "AI is going to make our lives better." Zuckerberg also said anyone who is negative about AI is “pretty irresponsible.” Musk countered that Zuckerberg’s “understanding of the subject is limited." A recent Facebook AI test found that AIs could develop their own language to communicate with each other rather quickly. Many other tech titans have spoken out on the subject with views ranging from the optimism of Zuckerberg to the concern of theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking and Microsoft‘s Bill Gates. Hawking is one of the scientists who signed a letter with Musk and others warning of the AI's potential and Gates has said he agrees with Musk and doesn’t understand why people are not more concerned about AIs.
Apple Pulls Virtual Private Networks From App Store in China
Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) are popular in China as users try to circumvent what is known as the Great Firewall of China which prevents access to sites banned by the Chinese government. Dangerous websites like Facebook, the New York Times, Twitter and others. China is requiring Apple to remove all VPN apps from the App store in China. Starting next year China’s major phone providers will block access to VPNs. Any developers offering VPNs in China must get a government license which probably means the government would have access. Much of Google’s web presence is blocked in China already so you won’t be able to download an Android VPN over there anyway. You can download a VPN app before you go there but you may have trouble using it.
China Practices Censoring “Harmful” Websites
China's Ministry of Public Security organized a drill last week to “tackle the problem of smaller websites illegally disseminating harmful information." The cyber police unit in Guangzhou held the drill to be able to work with Internet Service Providers and website hosting companies to quickly shut down target websites and report contact details of the website owners as well as the location of the server. The move is in anticipation of an upcoming power restructure in China’s Communist Party ahead of a party congress to be held later this year.
Russia Bans Virtual Private Networks Too
In a move that has international businesses concerned, Russia has also banned the use of VPNs in that country. Many business travelers use VPNs to protect sensitive data from hackers and trade secrets from competitors while abroad. These travelers will need to be extra vigilant in Russia and while traveling abroad anywhere that limits online security. Co-founder of the cyber security consultancy Cognitio, Bob Gourley, put it this way: “Your VPN or any proxy technology will likely not work, and if it does work it is because it is being broken and read."
As Attention Span Decreases, So Does Commercial Length
Following on the popularity of the shorter advertising spots on YouTube, Fox is launching its new six-second advertising spots on August 13th. The ads will debut on the Teen Choice Awards. Mars Candy and Duracell will be among the first mini-ads to air. Facebook is also developing six-second ads. They have been working with their advertisers recently to roll out the shorter ad format. Shorter ad spots and ad breaks are becoming more popular as viewers get bored and bail quicker. If these seem to work shorter ads will probably pop up in other advertising media.
AT&T Announces Executive Line-up For After Merger With Time Warner
AT&T seems confident its $85 billion dollar acquisition of Time Warner will get final approval from the powers that be in Washington as they have already figured out who be in charge. In the pre-election hoopla, President Trump said he was against the merger and would block it, but not much has been said since. If approved, which seems likely, the new company would be the nation’s largest entertainment company, surpassing both the Walt Disney Company and the Comcast Corporation which includes NBC/Universal.
Major AT&T Mobile Disruption Hits South East
Western North Carolina seemed to be the center of an AT&T Mobile outage on Friday. AT&T customers. Mobile service was out for several hours before coming back online in the early afternoon. Customer service said it might be out until Saturday morning but many customers reported that service was restored by early afternoon on Friday.
Verizon to Purchase $225 Million of Fiber Optic Cable From WideOpenWest
Verizon has announced that it will be buying WideOpenWest’s Chicago fiber network for $225 million. They expect the deal to close in the early part of 2018. In two other purchases, Verizon has separately committed to buying over 22 million miles of fiber optic cable from Corning and Prysmian for about $1.4 billion. Verizon also gained over a million miles of fiber when it purchased XO Communications. Among many other things, fiber optic cables are used for land lines, business networking, Internet, video and even mobile communications.
Verizon’s Rolls Out New “Pay With Your Privacy” Rewards Program
Verizon just launched “Verizon Up,” a rewards program where you can earn points for spending money with Verizon. Part of the deal is that Verizon gets to track your app usage, web browsing, location, street address, and other personal data and share it with Oath, the new advertising platform made up of AOL, Yahoo and other business Verizon has swallowed up. Unfortunately, much of what you get for “free” these days, you pay for with your privacy.
Top Tech Companies Reluctant to Talk to Congress About Net Neutrality
Congress invited CEOs of the top tech companies in America to come to Washington to answer some questions at a hearing about Net Neutrality. The companies invited are Internet companies Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, and Google, as well as Internet Service Providers Comcast, AT&T, Verizon, and Charter. The deadline to accept the invitation has come and gone and not one of these companies have accepted or rejected the invitation. The deadline to RSVP has been extended and the hearing is scheduled for September 7th.
Privacy Group Complains About Google Tracking to Federal Trade Commission
The Electronic Privacy Information Center complained to the FTC that the new “Store Sales Measurement” program by Google violates consumer's privacy although its secret algorithms supposedly keep consumer information private. Google collects billions of debit and credit card transactions every day and correlates them to analytics it learns through its massive web presence. Google uses this data along with deep learning to ascertain how well an overall advertising strategy works to lead consumers toward actually making purchases.
Consumers Strike Back Against “Hidden” Cable Fees
U.S. District Court Judge Vince Chhabria has ruled that a class-action suit against Comcast can proceed, denying Comcast’s motion to have it dismissed. The lawsuit claims that Comcast failed to disclose additional fees resulting in higher prices than advertised. The hidden fees are called things like “Broadcast TV Fee” and “Regional Sports Fee.” The hidden fees already add up to more than $130.00 a year and Comcast is planning to raise them to almost $150.00 a year. Earlier this year AT&T agreed to issue credits for DirecTV customers that were over charged. Last year a Charter/Time Warner customer accused the number two cable company of doing the same thing. Fees with names like “PEG Capital Fee,” “Regulatory Recovery Fee,” “Universal Service Fund,” “PUC Recovery Fee,”
and “State Cost Recovery Fee” were added to Time Warner Cable bills.
Two Empty Seats On Federal Communications Commission Filled
The FCC is back in full force again after the Senate confirmed the nominations of former commissioner, Democrat Jessica Rosenworcel and general counsel to the FCC, Republican Brendan Carr. They do not need to be confirmed by the US House of Representatives. The Senate did not take up FCC Chairman Ajit Pai’s renomination. His term actually expired last year but he can stay on until the end of the year. Commissioner Mignon Clyburn’s term recently expired also but she can stay on until the end of next year if she is not reappointed or someone else is not appointed.