WebProNews » Ed Markey

Bill Would Require Captions For Online Video

Mike Sachoff — Tue, 13 May 2008 17:32:33 +0000

U.S. Representative Ed Markey (D-MA) is supporting a bill that would require major producers of Internet video to add captions and video description soundtracks to communicate to the blind what is happening on-screen.

The bill would require changes in the design of television and telephone equipment to make the devices easier for the disabled to operate. The purpose is, "To ensure that people with disabilities are not left behind as technology changes," Markey told the Boston Globe.

The measure would require TV networks to provide captioning and video description tracks when they stream their shows online. Video description tracks would be mandatory for regular TV broadcasts.

"So many people are watching TV on their computers, it’s basically TV," said Larry Goldberg, director of the Media Access Group at the Boston public television station WGBH. "Why shouldn’t it be captioned, too?"

Goldberg said the captions embedded in TV shows generally need to be tuned to work specifically on the Internet, because the shows have fewer commercial when they are viewed online.

Captions and video descriptions must also work on different media player programs found on Windows, Macintosh, and Linux computers. "There’s no single common file format or way for all media players to handle captions," Goldberg said.

Goldberg is working with the Internet Captioning Forum, a group of technology companies that includes AOL, Microsoft, Google and Yahoo. "The content providers want to do this," he said. "They really do."

Markey: Behavioral Ad Protections Needed For Kids

WebProNews Staff — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 01:33:02 +0000

Online advertisers using behavioral targeting to find their audience attracted the attention of the Federal Trade Commission, who have called for principles of self-regulation for that type of marketing.

Protecting consumers, especially younger ones, from potentially over-aggressive advertisers means following that audience from media outlet to media outlet. Ads in magazines and on television used to reach the audiences that the Internet touches today.

Make no mistake about it: marketers love younger consumers. They have discretionary income not tied up in the debts of 30-something and up adults. Websites catering to kids, or having them as a potential part of their audience, must seek parental permission for youngsters under 13, per the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA.)

Major online industry events like Google’s DoubleClick acquisition, and Microsoft’s overtures toward purchasing Yahoo, prompted a renewed FTC interest in online privacy. Technology for marketing to people based on behaviors advanced greatly over the past few years, and some consider its growth and adoption something to watch.

FTC asked for input from the big online advertising firms, to which Microsoft responded with a proposal for a five-tiered framework of privacy protection.

On Capitol Hill, the matter drew the attention of House member Ed Markey (D-MA), who released a statement in support of the FTC’s move toward supporting self-regulation principles for advertisers:

The FTC has appropriately recognized the pressing need for updated online privacy protections for children that reflect the sophisticated data collection and behavioral targeting practices now used widely across the Internet.

Without stronger protections, including a prohibition on collecting data on children

Google Endorses Markey’s Net Neutrality Bill

WebProNews Staff — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 22:45:20 +0000

A bipartisan bill to make net neutrality a core tenet of US broadband policy received an introduction to the House of Representatives today.

Google likes the cut of Ed Markey’s and Chip Pickering’s jib. The legislation they brought to the House today provides for freedom for lawful Internet use “without unreasonable interference from or discrimination by network operators.”

Their bill also directs the Federal Communications Commission to “assess competition, consumer protection, and consumer choice issues” regarding broadband services.

FCC chairman Kevin Martin may not welcome the extra assistance from the Markey bill. CNN Money said Martin believe the four principles of net neutrality the FCC already has will allow them to stop abusive network operator behavior.

Whether or not that claim will withstand the issue of Comcast filtering peer to peer traffic will demonstrate whether the FCC’s principles back the lawful interests of paying customers who use technologies like BitTorrent, or the interests of Comcast and other big broadband ISPs.

“Net neutrality and broadband policy are – and should be – about what’s ultimately best for people,” Google policy analyst Derek Slater said on the company’s Public Policy blog.

FCC Pressured To Admit It Sucks

WebProNews Staff — Fri, 18 May 2007 17:27:00 +0000

Representative Ed Markey (D-MA) opened up a can of Congressional hearings on the Federal Communication Commission over the regulatory agency’s understanding of what, exactly, constitutes broadband and how many people in the US actually have access to it.

200Kbps is not broadband, asserts Markey, and he’s going to keep FCC chairman Kevin Martin in a headlock until he admits it.

Well, Markey’s actually drafting a bill, called the Broadband Census of America Act, that would define "broadband" as speeds exceeding 2Mbps – quite a bit higher than the 768Kbps available via most DSL lines.

The bill also requires the FCC to reform its broadband reporting. Under current measurements, based on ZIP codes, artificially inflates the reach of American broadband access.

As he gave Martin a righteous noogie, Markey reminded him that broadband access in the US is dismally sub-par compared to the rest of the world, especially compared to Japan, where 50Mbps fiber connections are available for about $30 per month.

And that stinks, especially since the telecommunications and cable industries were given $200 billion to build out that broadband infrastructure over 10 years ago. The current speeds they’re calling broadband were defined nine years ago, according to Free Press’ Ben Scott.

"We have always been limited by the FCC’s inadequate and flawed data," Scott said, as quoted by ArsTechnica.

Some other things the FCC sucks at:

Ensuring a neutral Net.

Standing up to the telecoms.

Understanding that sometimes people say bad words (and it’s a violation of free speech to try and make them stop).

Standing up to the Parents Television Council.

Not allowing cable companies and telecoms to gouge their customers (something they’re sure to continue without Net Neutrality assurances).

Supporting a la carte television programming so the consumer doesn’t have to put up with 200 channels he doesn’t want.

AOL Renews Privacy Concerns In Congress

WebProNews Staff — Fri, 11 Aug 2006 16:03:26 +0000

AOL’s shocking searcher log release has reignited the debate in Congress over whether to restrict Internet companies’ use and storage of user data. Though a bill aimed at protecting user privacy has been effectively tabled since February, the fallout from AOL’s data dump may bring it back into light.

CNet’s Declan McCullagh reports that the debacle has spurred the author the Eliminate Warehousing of Consumer Internet Data Act (EWOCID), Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) to use AOL as a cautionary tale. Markey is best known for his aggressive support of Network Neutrality legislation.

Markey introduced the bill after the Department of Justice strong-armed the search engine giants into releasing data similar to what was publicly released by AOL this month. He calls storing “the building blocks” of citizens’ private lives “unnecessary.”

McCullagh reports that the bill has met strong opposition from both Republicans, who recently changed their views on big government, and from major technology lobbying groups who accuse Markey of trying to “micromanage technology firms.”

But even as lobbyists still appear to appose measures to limit what type of data search engines and other companies may store long term, even Google chief Eric Schmidt admits that, in light of recent events, the company has debated self-regulation.

For now, Google’s conclusion is that they are “reasonably satisfied” that the company will not make the same mistake AOL did.

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