VERIZON TO PAY $ 1.4M IN 'SUPERCOOKIE' FCC SETTLEMENT

Verizon will pay a $1.35 million fine over its “supercookie” that the government said followed phone customers on the Internet without their permission. Verizon will also have to get an explicit “yes” from customers for some kinds of tracking. The supercookies landed their name because they were hard, or near-impossible, to block. Verizon uses them to deliver targeted ads to cellphone customers. The company wants to expand its advertising and media business and bought AOL for its digital ad technology in 2015. The Federal Communications Commission said Monday that it found that Verizon began using the supercookies with consumers in December 2012, but didn’t disclose the program until October 2014. Verizon updated its privacy policy to disclose the trackers in March 2015 and gave people an option then to opt out. The FCC settlement says consumers now must opt in to letting Verizon share data with a third party. But for data-collection and sharing within Verizon itself, the company can choose to have customers either opt in or automatically do it and give consumers the option to stop it, a less stringent requirement.

The New York company has already changed some practices that critics considered most invasive. In an emailed statement, the company said that the FCC  settlement recognizes that it had already made adjustments to its ad programs that give consumers more choices. Nate Cardozo, a staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a privacy watchdog that had been critical of the supercookies, said the settlement was an “unqualified win” for consumers. “Today’s order will mean that other companies contemplating similar involuntary tracking will think twice before proceeding without explicit consumer consent,” he wrote in an email.

RUBICON PROJECT CARVES OUT PROFITABLE NICHE IN DIGITAL ADS

You may not be familiar with the Rubicon Project, but chances are its technology helped pick some of the ads you might have seen on your phone or personal computer. Rubicon serves as a matchmaker between digital publishers trying to sell ads and marketers looking for the best place to promote their products and services. The Los Angeles company, though small, has been increasing its influence in the $170 billion digital advertising market. More than 1,500 publishers and tens of thousands of advertisers rely on Rubicon to figure out which marketing messages are best suited to the different audiences that gravitate toward certain websites and apps. The company says it processes 7 trillion requests per month using about 60,000 different algorithms. Last year, Rubicon managed more than $1 billion in ad spending. That’s a paltry amount compared to market leaders Google and Facebook, which last year sold a combined $87 billion in advertising. But its exchange for mobile ads ranks as the third largest behind those of Google and Twitter. The 8-year-old company recently posted its rst full-year pro t, helping to lift its stock back above its April 2014 initial public offering price of $15. The shares ended recently were trading between $17 and $18. Gregory Raifman, Rubicon’s president, recently discussed the state of the digital ad market with The Associated Press. The interview has been edited for clarity and length. Q: Rubicon Project’s revenue nearly doubled last year to $248.5 million. What is driving that? A: We provide a comprehensive solution for buyers and sellers. Google and Facebook operate in their own walled gardens. We are the only one that operates in an open Web environment. We are now reaching well over 1 billion users. So if you are an advertiser that wants to reach an audience at scale across mobile, desktop and video, then you have to be working with Rubicon Project. 

Q:How are you able to figure out which ads are most likely to appeal to specific audiences?

A: The biggest brands in the world have data about what their consumers want. Publishers have other data on why users come to their site. Our job is to match the data of the buyer with the data of the seller in a way that creates the best environment at the best price.

Q: We are seeing more ways to block digital ads from appearing on screens. How does that a ect Rubicon?

A: From our perspective, ad blocking is an opportunity. Good advertising follows good content. If you are working with really good content providers, you are typically going to find better and better advertising. Consumers will typically react well to quality advertising. They will react poorly to low-end advertising.

Q: Any thoughts on where the industry is heading?

A: There are not that many that can say their industry is growing as quickly as ours. We feel like Rubicon Project is playing a central role. I often joke that this industry changes so rapidly that in three years you could build a whole new company out of your existing company. 

CHINA LOOKS TO RUMP UP INTERNET GROWTH, AND ITS CONTROLS

China's government has highlighted big data, encryption technology and “core technologies” such as semiconductors as the key elements of its push to grow into a tech powerhouse, according to a new five-year plan released Saturday that envisages the Internet as a major source of growth as well as a potential risk. Even as it highlighted the need to improve Internet infrastructure to rural areas and unlock the digital economy’s potential, Chinese economic planners called for a more secure and better managed Web, with enhanced Internet control systems, Internet security laws and real- name registration policies. Chinese officials including Internet czar Lu Wei have played down concerns over what critics have described as China’s expanding Web censorship, saying that it is the Chinese government’s sovereign prerogative and a necessary measure to maintain domestic order. China’s development plan calls for a better cybersecurity approval system and more “precise” Web management to “clean up illegal and bad information.” The plan also calls for a multilateral, democratic, transparent and international governance system and active participation in international Internet governance efforts. Premier Li Keqiang highlighted the promise of the Internet, saying Saturday that various traditional sectors, ranging from manufacturing to government to health care, need to connect to the Web and raise their e ciency as part of an overarching national strategy called “Internet Plus.” He vowed to raise research and technology spending to account for 2.5 percent of gross domestic product in the five years through 2020, which he said would mark a “remarkable achievement.” The five-year plan calls for all families in large cities to have access to 100 megabyte- per-second Internet service and broadband coverage reaching 98 percent of the population in incorporated villages. At the same time, Chinese leaders, wary of over- relying on foreign technology, will seek to boost China’s homegrown industry and cut down on imports - a strategy that has drawn complaints from trade partners like the United States.  Similar to previous years, when Chinese leaders highlighted industries such as e-commerce as a growth focus, the new draft of China’s development plan specifically elevated big data and cloud computing, relatively new and promising fields that Chinese industry experts view as not yet cornered by U.S. companies that dominate other parts of the technology market. The plan also calls for China to catch up on “core” technologies such as semiconductors and basic computer parts and software, as well as encryption technology. China’s campaign to beef up its chip technology has encountered political resistance from the United States. China’s national chip champion, Tsinghua Unigroup, said last month that it would abandon its attempt to acquire a stake in California data storage rm Western Digital, the second deal it has scrapped because of opposition from U.S. regulators who do not want sensitive technology to fall into Chinese hands. 

FUN HOMES CAST: NEW MUSICAL TAKES DURING SPOTIFY VISIT

The Broadway musical “Fun Home” had fun at a di erent home when cast members went to Spotify’s New York headquarters and knocked out new takes on their Tony Award-winning songs. The result, available online last Friday, marks the rst time a Broadway show has participated in Spotify Sessions, the music service’s streaming program of intimate in-studio performances and conversations.

During the six-song session, Gabriella Pizzolo sang an a capella version of “Ring of Keys” accompanied by a seven-member choir; Beth Malone sang “Telephone Wire” with the show’s composer, Jeanine Tesori, on piano; Judy Kuhn performed “Days and Days” with a harpist; and Pizzolo, Malone and Emily Skeggs joined for the show’s nale, “Flying Away,” with harp and piano. The session also included the song “Pony Girl,” a soft lullaby in the show that Tony-winning actor Michael Cerveris and his band, Loose Cattle, transformed into a violin-and-guitar foot stomper. And listeners will get a real treat with the seriously goofy “Changing My Raincoat,” in which Joel Perez raps and Roberta Colindrez beatboxes a hysterically funky take on the song “Changing My Major,” which was sung backstage to keep things loose. “It’s really fun because I love arrangements and when we were told about this and invited to revisit the songs, I thought, ‘Let’s really revisit them. Let’s let it be an opportunity,’”Tesori said afterward. 

The musical is based on Alison Bechdel’s graphic novel memoir about growing up with a closeted dad in the family’s funeral home business. It won the 2015 best musical Tony. The Spotify session was recorded Jan. 19 in front of several dozen Spotify employees. A panel that included Tesori, book writer and lyricist Lisa Kron and Bechdel discussed the making of the musical. Online: http://funhomebroadway.com 

FACEBOOK SET TO PAY MORE BRITISH TAX AFTER CRITICISM

Social media giant Facebook, which has been under re in Britain for its tax arrangements, said Friday it will stop routing its British sales through Ireland - a practice that had kept its U.K. tax bill extremely low. Facebook, Amazon and other multinationals have been criticized for using complex tax arrangements in Europe to drastically reduce their bills. Facebook said in a statement that from April, “U.K. sales made directly by our U.K. team will be booked in the U.K., not Ireland. Facebook U.K. will then record the revenue from these sales.” It said the change would “provide transparency to Facebook’s operations in the U.K.” 

Facebook paid just 4,327 pounds ($6,116) in corporation tax in 2014 in Britain, where it recorded 105 million pounds in revenue. The U.K. is one of its biggest markets outside the United States. The company did not say how much more tax it would pay under the new arrangements in Britain, where the corporation tax rate is 20 percent of taxable income. Facebook’s announcement follows Britain’s introduction of a “diverted profits tax” of 25 percent to deter companies from using complex international arrangements to cut their tax bills. 

HOW TO USE AIRPLAY TO STREAM IOS TO WINDOWS?

Airplay is an iOS feature that allows you to stream your iPhone or iPad’s display and audio onto a larger screen. This is great for looking at photos or watching videos you’ve recorded, without having to export them from your phone. By default, only Apple devices like an Apple TV support Airplay, but with a little workaround, you can get Airplay working on any Windows computer. We’ll be using an app called Lonelyscreen. You can download this app from the following URL: www.lonelyscreen.com/download

1. Once you’ve installed the app, open it and you’ll see a window with a screen icon and a receiver name underneath. You can rename the receiver to anything you like. Make sure the computer you’ve installed Lonelyscreen onto is on the same wireless network as your iPhone or iPad.

2. Swipe up from the bottom of your iPhone or iPad to access the Control Center and press the AirPlay button. You’ll see an option to connect to the Lonelyscreen receiver you’ve just set up.

3. Connect to it and your iPhone or iPad display will start mirroring to the Lonelyscreen window on your desktop.

If you ever lose the Lonelyscreen window or close it by accident, you can re-open it by clicking its icon in your taskbar tray.

4. You can even record what’s being streamed on Lonelyscreen. Press the arrow-up button on the lower-right saved to your username’s My Videos folder. 

UBER SOFTWARE TRACKS DRIVERS FOR HIGH SPEED SUDDEN STOPS

Using smartphone sensors to peek over its drivers’ shoulders, Uber is promising to keep a closer eye on their behavior - while discouraging speeding or slamming on the brakes. The global ride-hailing company on Wednesday announced an extensive test of new software that aims to increase safety by analyzing data from individual drivers and sending them daily reports about things like sudden acceleration, braking and whether they’re holding their phones when they drive. Trucking companies and eet operators collect similar information, while some auto insurers o er a discount to motorists who install a data- collection device in their cars. Uber, which is requiring drivers in several cities to participate, is eager to show that it’s making safety a priority at a time when some jurisdictions are mulling whether to impose stricter oversight on ride- hailing businesses. At the same time, Uber is also trying to ease some strains in its relationship with drivers, who work as independent contractors and in some cases have sued Uber over pay and working conditions. Earlier this month, Uber modified its app to give drivers more discretion to reject rides at certain times and to charge passengers who keep them waiting. For now, Uber says it isn’t using the new safety program to penalize drivers - or even to reward good driving habits - although the software measures some of the same behaviors that the company says are often cited by passengers when they give drivers a low rating. Repeated low ratings can lead to drivers being suspended from the service. One part of the new program uses data from the same gyroscope and motion sensors that let smartphone users play games on their devices. Uber drivers already use a smartphone app to book rides and track their progress via GPS. By adding additional software to the app, Uber says it can measure a car’s movement and gauge how fast the driver accelerates or brakes. The software sends a daily summary to each driver, including a count of how often the driver has sped up or hit the brakes too abruptly. But it’s an automated process: Uber says the software’s not intended to trigger human intervention in the case of a driver who’s dangerously erratic. Instead, the company says passengers should use the “help” button on its app. San Francisco-based Uber will also use sensors to measure “phone movement,” which may indicate the driver is clutching the phone while steering. 

Since that can be a distraction, Uber says it will notify drivers if it detects excessive phone movement through the day, with a reminder that it’s safer to leave the phone in a mounting device. As it tests this program, Uber may also send passengers an email or text, asking if their driver was holding the phone. A third feature will send drivers a notice immediately if they’re traveling at excessive speed, although for now, the notice will only be triggered if a car is moving more than 15 miles per hour above the posted limit on highways. A fourth program will send generic reminders to drivers about the benefits of taking a rest break. Uber says it’s testing the new features in a handful of large cities. About half of its drivers in each test city will get the new software, so the company can compare their behavior with the half that don’t receive the notifications. After two months, the company says it will evaluate the results and decide whether to expand the programs.