The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies Media and Technology Institute will hold a Technology Policy Forum entitled Navigating a Framework for Consumer Privacy in a Digital Age on Thursday, March 15, 2012 from 2 to 3:30 PM at the United States Capitol Visitors Center in Washington, DC.

Privacy, and the data and information that we consider personal in the digital age, is evolving. Last month, the White House released a white paper suggesting a privacy framework for a “Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights.” Applauded as a step towards making positive consumer protections, the privacy debate, especially for communities of color, does not end there. At last year’s technology policy forum, the Media and Technology Institute addressed privacy concerns of new users, specifically low-income, seniors, and youth. Building off of that event, the Institute is bringing together thought leaders, industry representatives, and policymakers to focus on the recommendations from the White House’s privacy white paper, and how these recommendations impact vulnerable populations.

Guests will include:

Keynote Remarks
The Honorable John F. Kerry (D-MA)
United States Senator

Danny Weitzner, Esq.
Deputy Chief Technology Officer for Internet Policy
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy

John B. Morris, Jr., Esq.
Director of Internet Policy and Acting Head of the Office of Policy Analysis and Development
National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)

Opening Remarks:
Ralph B. Everett, Esq., President and CEO
Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies

Moderator:
Nicol Turner-Lee, Ph.D., Vice President and Director, Media and Technology Institute
Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies

Panelists:
Lillie Coney, Associate Director, Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC)
Robert Quinn, Esq., Senior Vice President-Federal Regulatory, AT&T
Ioana Rusu, Esq., Regulatory Counsel, Consumers Union
Frank Torres, Esq., Senior Director of Consumer Affairs and Policy Counsel, Microsoft
Karen Zacharia, Esq., Chief Privacy Officer, Verizon
Mike Zaneis, Esq., Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB)

Please RSVP to privacy@jointcenter.org by March 14, 2012.

The Inter-County Broadband Network will hold a Community Anchor Symposium on Monday, March 26, 2012 at the Johns Hopkins University Kossiakoff Center in Columbia, Maryland. This event will promote and discuss the new broadband infrastructure being developed for Maryland by ICBN and the One Maryland Broadband Network. Dr. Nicol Turner-Lee of the Joint Center's Media and Technology Institute will be a speaker at the symposium.

For more information, please visit the Inter-County Broadband Network.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies released the following statement after Congress passed and sent President Obama legislation to extend the payroll tax cut and long-term unemployment benefits and authorize wireless spectrum auctions that will help pay for them. The President has said he will sign it:

The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies applauds President Obama and Congress for enacting legislation that will simultaneously restructure the nation’s wireless spectrum and extend the payroll tax cut and long-term unemployment benefits.

The African American and Latino communities experience joblessness at disproportionately high rates. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in January 2012, 13.6 percent of African Americans and 10.5 percent of Hispanics were unemployed, as compared to 8.3 percent overall unemployment and 7.4 percent unemployment for whites. While this is partially an indicator of the need to ensure that all Americans have the skills that will allow them to compete in an intensely competitive job market, unemployment benefits provide Americans with the support they need while they are learning new skills or looking for work.

The extension of the payroll tax cut also helps to address significant earning disparities between the races. Last year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that “Hispanics and African Americans have considerably lower earnings than Asians and whites.” In 2010, median weekly full-time earnings were $611 for blacks and $535 for Hispanics compared to $765 for whites and $855 for Asians. The payroll tax cut will allow weekly earnings to be slightly more than they would be without the tax cut. This extra money can be used to purchase basic necessities which will help stimulate the economy and potentially create more jobs that pay more.

We further commend President Obama and Congress for authorizing the Federal Communications Commission to conduct spectrum auctions to help pay for these benefits and help solve the nation’s spectrum shortage. The wireless broadband services and applications markets have grown exponentially in recent years. People of color are leading the way in that growth. According to Nielsen, 45 percent of Hispanics, 45 percent of Asian Americans and 33 percent of African Americans own smartphones, compared to 27 percent of whites According to a 2010 Joint Center broadband adoption report, African Americans are ahead of all other racial and ethnic groups in mobile access, with 11 percent of African Americans reporting that their cell phone was their preferred device for accessing the Internet. Forty-seven percent of African Americans and 41 percent of Hispanics both reported higher usage rates of wireless broadband service as compared to their white counterparts (38 percent).

Clearly, this legislation addresses the key areas that affect the ability of African Americans to be full participants in our economy. Its support for the unemployed and tax benefits to working people will help further stimulate the economy and create jobs, while spectrum policy reform will help ensure that people of color continue to have access to the technology that can enable them to get ahead in life.

The Syracuse University College of Law will hold its 2012 Communications Law and Policy Symposium, entitled We the People: Broadband Access, Influencing the Vote, and Preserving Localism in a Changed Media Landscape, on Saturday, March 31 at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. Dr. Nicol Turner-Lee of the Joint Center's Media and Technology Institute will be a panelist during a session on localism and the needs of communities.

For more information on this event, please visit the Syracuse University College of Law.

This week, a Washington Post study published a portrait of today’s African American women, offering the adjectives strong, independent, religious, and highly educated to illuminate our experiences. Yet, juxtaposed against these adjectives were words that included unmarried, non-romantic, and financially over-extended.  Meant to paint a portrait of women whose self-esteem is finally creating dividends in their professional circles, the article appeared to chronicle the sequel to the sequel of Black women’s experiences – lives that often pair career success with personal deprivation.

As I read the article, I was inspired by the achievements of Black women, yet hardened by the continuing sacrifices of success.  Why can’t a Black woman have it all – the career, the man, the one and a half children, and the healthy self-esteem that makes all of these benefits possible?  How is it that, in the Black woman’s universe, strong cannot co-exist with romantic or independence with relationships?

These questions are part of the ongoing conversation that not only exists in the minds of Black women, but also in Black men and others that witness and or contribute to the double bind of our sisters.

Read more at politic365.com.

It’s time to recognize the talent pool we have right here in America, putting an end to minority statistics that may soon be more fairytale than truth. Especially in Florida where the Hispanic population is outperforming other states in college degree attainment levels.

Florida’s business schools, particularly Miami-Dade College, are being recognized nationally for their cutting-edge programs and for graduating among the highest numbers of Hispanics. Not only are these Hispanics brushing up on their business skills, but, according to recent studies by Florida State University’s Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication, they are proving to be digital innovators and significantly expanding their online presence. Compared to other groups, Hispanics were the most likely to own and manage their own online businesses, blogs and websites.

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Broadband-enabled technologies have changed how businesses operate and thrive. It’s the innovators and skilled users of these technologies that bring opportunity for innovation and job creation across a range of industries. Though some statistics show that Hispanics are behind in education and technology adoption, many others are proving that they are in fact poised to become prominent figures in America’s digital business future, including the wireless industry.

While minorities are undoubtedly making big gains in broadband adoption, there are still many without online connections. According to a study by The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, there are many barriers at play, including financial, educational, and linguistic hurdles. Yet when socioeconomic factors are similar, studies show that Hispanics and non- Hispanic whites end up having similar usage patterns for broadband-enabled technologies.


Read more at the Miami Herald.

The Minority Media and Telecommunications Council will be holding its 2012 Broadband and Social Justice Policy Summit on January 26 and 27 at the Westin Georgetown Hotel in Washington, DC. The Summit will highlight three priorities in broadband policy today: achieving universal broadband access, adoption and informed use, meeting the nation¹s spectrum needs, and using broadband for civic engagement and social justice. Senior policymakers from the White House, Congress, the FCC and industry will engage with civil rights leaders on the direction the nation must take to achieve digital equality and justice online.

MTI's Dr. Nicol Turner-Lee will be a panelist during a session on Thursday, January 26.

For more information on the Summit, please visit the MMTC website.

The National Organization of Black Elected Legislative Women will hold its annual Women's Congressional Broadband Technology and Media Forum on January 25 and 26, 2012, at the Westin Georgetown Hotel in Washington, DC. Dr. Nicol Turner-Lee of the Joint Center's Media and Technology Institute is scheduled to be a panel moderator during a session on Wednesday, January 25, while Joseph Miller will be a panelist during a session entitled Taxes on Wireless Broadband: Good or Bad for Consumers?, also on January 25.

The Forum is being held in conjunction with the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council's Broadband and Social Justice Policy Summit. For more information on the event, please visit the MMTC website.

WASHINGTON, DC – Dr. Nicol Turner Lee, Vice President of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies and Director of the Media and Technology Institute, has been selected by Time Warner Cable as a Digital Research Program stipend recipient.

The Digital Research Program funds studies designed to understand digital technology and its future impact on the industry. Dr. Turner-Lee’s research, “Evaluating Minority Attitudes Toward Digital Privacy and Security,” will focus on minority communities and understanding their digital privacy and security needs and concerns, as well as policy recommendations to address these issues.

Dr. Turner-Lee is one of four research program stipend recipients recently announced by the program. Each researcher will receive $20,000 to complete their study.  More information about Time Warner Cable’s Digital Research Program can be found on its website: www.twcresearchprogram.com.

Dr. Turner-Lee is the first director of the Joint Center’s Media and Technology Institute, which conducts research on technology and trends in media, with a focus on how they affect policy and regulation from a social justice perspective, as well as how emerging communications technologies can become avenues of advancement for the disadvantaged.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is under fire for his office's denial of Freedom of Information Act requests, with critics in the local and national press and blogs taking the mayor to task for shielding public records from public view. Underscoring this lapse in transparency is Emanuel's vow to foster "the most open, accountable and transparent government that the City of Chicago has ever seen." Cities like Boston, Phoenix, and Seattle all routinely release such information, according to reporting by the Chicago Tribune's David Kidwell, implying that they do transparency better.

This is not to suggest there has been no progress on transparency under Mayor Emanuel. Indeed, he has backed the release of large amounts of government data, including the June release of salary information for all city employees. The city's September release of city-wide crime statistics for the past decade not only helps crime-fighting agencies, but also journalists, advocates and businesses create more targeted programs to address local concerns.

Chicago, like its big city peers, just needs to decide if government transparency is a core attribute of its government. For the Emanuel Administration, releasing some data and not others does little to shed the old paradigms of closed door politics where waste, government fraud and abuse were the norm.

Read more at Huffington Post.