Deep Links. Your Weekly Dose of Data News.

In an op-ed, FCC Chair Ajit Pai and FTC Acting Chair Maureen Ohlhausen defend the rollback of the FCC's broadband privacy rules. With the heightened discussion in this area, would it be ironic if politicians are disregarding their own privacy promises to protect personal information? It is interesting that smaller ISPs oppose Congress’ rollback. My guess is that smaller ISPs, unlike their larger brothers, do not have easy ways to monetize their customer’s browsing habits. Are larger ISPs selling granular personal data? They say no because of the hugely negative PR and legal issues that come along with it. For example, Comcast said in a blog post: "We do not sell our broadband customers' individual web browsing history . . . We did not do it before the FCC's rules were adopted and we have no plans to do so." (And, of course, I have a bridge to sell you.) Still, not many people are discussing the criminal ramifications, i.e., does the rollback give the FBI more power to seek browsing information more easily under the Stored Communications Act? We will have to see how and whether the FTC steps in to regulate ISP data habits. If the federal government generates no new consumer privacy legislation or limits the ability of regulatory bodies to protect consumer privacy, we will see state legislatures and attorneys general step in even more than they are doing so. For example, California has proposed a new law regulating a minimum level of security for internet-connected devices. New York has begun considering a Right to be Forgotten Act (even if the bill may not consider first amendment rights adequately enough to get passed). The Illinois House Cybersecurity, Data Analytics & IT Committee voted to advance its Geolocation Privacy Protection Act and the Right to Know Act. And Minnesota debated this week whether it should require ISPs to get state residents' consent prior to sharing their data. But that does not leave the feds with nothing to do. Recent data breaches involving children’s Internet-connected toys pushed U.S. Senator Bill Nelson to write a letter to the FTC asking about the steps it has taken to protect the personal data of the children using such toys. He is asking for a response by April 19.

How does the SAT and PSAT collect personal data on students — and does what the College Board do with it? See discussion at link: https://goo.gl/s3VV8j

Great interview with UC-Davis student and future policy wonk, Ben Gurewitz, on what EdTech can learn from students with learning differences like himself. Love this quote: “when the big business barons, you know, we have Carnegie, or Vanderbilt, or Rockefeller... When they created the education system to fill jobs, they wanted a significant level of subordination, where [people] wouldn't question what they were doing. They'd go into their factory jobs, and they'd do it, and that's what would happen. Guess what? The education system has not changed, and it's 2017. . . . I used to think it's broken, but I don't anymore because it's created to target a specific audience, and that audience continues to be targeted in the exact same way it did when it was created.”

A Reuters-Ipsos poll found a majority of U.S. citizens are unwilling to share their electronic communications and online activity with counterterrorism agencies. 75% said they would not allow law enforcement agencies to access their internet activity to aid in terrorism investigations, up from 67% in 2013. Opinions on surveillance were mixed, with 32% saying agencies such as the FBI and NSA are conducting "as much surveillance as is necessary," while 37% said those agencies are "conducting too much surveillance on American citizens."

Cognitive IT systems, like IBM's Watson, can learn from “experience and instruction.” Deloitte Global predicts that by 2020, about 95% of the 100 largest enterprise software companies will have incorporated one or more cognitive technologies into their products. It further projects the cognitive computing market to expand to $50 billion in the U.S. alone. An Accenture report states that “AI could double annual economic growth rates in 2035 by changing the nature of work and creating a new relationship between man and machine. The impact of AI technologies on business is projected to increase labor productivity by up to 40% and enable people to make more efficient use of their time.” See https://goo.gl/V34Bef 

Why are digital advertisers experimenting with blockchain? Well … https://goo.gl/D2Dd5X

Cool . . . Scientists have developed new silicon-based devices that could speed up data transfer using light. Methods involve punching micro- and nano-sized holes in silicon. Global internet traffic has grown due to widespread adoption of mobile devices, video content, cloud computing, and new users. That is causing companies to invest in new ways to transfer data, including with light. Light can be pulsed at higher frequencies than electric currents, so companies can transfer more information per second and can also send multiple signals down a single optical fiber at the same time using different colors of light. While long distance communications already use optical fiber cables, integrating light within smaller networks or individual computer chips is still a challenge. One problem is that silicon, the material most computer processors are made of, if fairly transparanet to most frequencies of light, which means that the crucial step of converting a photonic signal to an electronic signal is inefficient.

Careful clicking those ads. Users on Reddit found certain ads coming through Skype are serving downloads triggering ransomware. When users were going on Skype’s home screen, an ad would appear posing as a critical update for the Flash web plug-in. The ad starts a download of an HTML application designed to look legitimate, and when the app is opened, the ransomware attack would commence and a user’s files is locked and encrypted.

The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority signed a Memorandum of Understanding with GE Additive. The collaboration between the two companies focuses on developing technologies for an "Industrial Internet of Things" (IIoT), and accelerating the UAE’s status as a hub for 3-D printing by 2030. GE is also collaborating with the foundation to launch 3-D printing micro-factories in the region, that focus on small-batch production for industrial and commercial use.

Due to its millions of "unbanked citizens," several countries in the Middle East are racing to become fintech hubs. Bahrain is the latest one, following Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Jordan. Compare the dedicated fintech hubs, incubator/accelerator platforms and VC funding for startups in that region, with the U.S.’s arguably old-school efforts to regulate fintech through special OCC charters.

U.S. Senators want a federal pilot program created to test for vulnerabilities in the energy sector, as concerns rise about cyber threats to the U.S. electric grid. As the electric industry has increased its reliance on digital technologies to better serve consumers, the grid has grown more vulnerable to cyber-attack. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) has introduced legislation with bipartisan support that would set up a two-year pilot program to identify security vulnerabilities in parts of the energy sector.

In 2016, the record industry had its best year in nearly two decades. Total U.S. retail sales from recorded music rose 11.4% last year, to $7.7 billion, the biggest gain since 1998. The bulk of that growth came from streaming services, which have overtaken sales of compact discs and other physical products. For the first time, streaming provided more than 50% of the industry's annual revenues.

Also cool . . . By capping liquids with graphene, an ultrathin sheet of pure carbon, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and their colleagues have revitalized and extended a powerful technique to image surfaces. The graphene lids enable researchers for the first time to easily and inexpensively image and analyze liquid interfaces and the surface of nanometer-scale objects immersed in liquids. The new capability has the potential to advance the development of batteries, highly charged capacitors for power-grid technology, and new catalysts such as those used in the chemical industry.