1.13.2015
Good to Know: In case you haven’t heard, the Golden Globes happened over the weekend. Of course, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler slayed (check out their zings and cringe-worthy jokes), but online services had a pretty big night. Kevin Spacey of Netflix’s House of Cards took home the Globe for Best Actor in a TV Series while Jeffrey Tambor nabbed one under the Best TV Comedy category for his role in Amazon’s Transparent. Amazon’s hit show also went onto win overall Best Comedy Series. Uh … HUGE much?
THE SKINNY.
Mr. President’s In The Buildin’ …
Yesterday, President Obama stopped by the Federal Trade Commission to talk privacy and cybersecurity for the nation. It marked the first time in 80 years since a sitting President had visited the agency.
A Different Type of Tour …
Just don’t call it a comeback! On Monday, January, Obama began making the rounds on his plan, which include proposals on student data protections, a new consumer privacy baseline, and a federal standards to take the place of the current 50 state by state laws on how companies should handle data breaches. Then the following day, he took his tour to another agency — the Department of Homeland Security – to talk cybersecurity and information sharing. Cybersecurity is an increasingly important issue in the wake of the Sony hack’s.
The Big Finale …
This week’s tour makes for an interesting move, as it’s a sneak peak into the President’s upcoming State of the Union address scheduled for next Tuesday night, January 20. We’ll keep you posted on how that goes. Meanwhile, Congress is moving full steam ahead on date breach and cybersecurity legislation.
Did Your Annoying Friend Just Mess with Your Facebook, Again?
Well, no not really. But, news recently broke that sympathizers of the Islamic State of Iraq AKA ISIS “hacked” into the U.S. military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) Twitter and YouTube accounts. With a few tweets posted and some documents leaked (already publicly available), CENTCOM confirmed that their account had been “compromised” and are looking into it. CENTCOM’s social accounts have since been taken offline. Consider it sort of handled. Where’s Olivia Pope when you need her? #TGIT #Withdrawals
Whatchu Talkin’ Bout Cameron?
British Prime Minister David Cameron also gave a speech of his own earlier this week where he alluded to potentially banning services like WhatsApp and SnapChat if they do not provide increased access to the UK government. More specifically, Cameron wants the UK government to put in a place a framework to intercept all content of Internet-based communications. This conversation differs drastically from the dialogue in the U.S. where companies, civil society groups, and others are calling for a reform of the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act to require law enforcement to have a search warrant before being able to access users’ information stored online. As users, we’d rather our information receive increased protection rather than less. #ByeFelicia (Looking at you, PM.)
Using Your Powers for Good …
Unfortunately, when we log onto our Facebook accounts from time to time, a missing child post pops up on our newsfeed. Now, Facebook is making things official by recently annoucing its partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children Amber Alerts by region to people on the social network.
The Streets Are Talkin’
Grocery-Delivery start-up, Instacart has raised $220 million in its latest round of raising funds. The company is now valued at $2 billion. #Swag Spotify is racking up on its subscribers. This week, the online music service announced that it’s reached upwards of 15 million paying users out of 60 monthly active users. #LovesIt Oh and by the way, Amazon just got Woody Allen to direct for and write one of its new series, which will be available via the company’s Prime Instant Video service.
In Other News …
Jimmy Kimmel continues his “Mean Tweets” series and is back with a College Football edition. By the way, The Ohio State Buckeyes bested Oregon (42-20).