OVERNIGHT TECH: FCC to demo political ad database as lawsuit continues

By Brendan Sasso and Jennifer Martinez - 07/16/12 07:13 PM ET

The Lede: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will demonstrate the interface of its new database for political advertisements on Tuesday morning.

The FCC's rule to require television broadcasters to post information about political advertisements online is set to go into effect on Aug. 2.

TV stations were already required to compile data on how much political campaigns paid for ads, but previously, anyone who wanted access to the information would have to go to the station in person. The rule, adopted by the FCC in April, will require the broadcasters to load the information onto the FCC's website.

The commission said Tuesday's demonstration "will inform broadcasters and others of the design and content of the online file, how stations will upload information to the file, how file sharing tools like Dropbox and Box can be used for uploading, and other ways in which the FCC is working to facilitate access to its public databases."

The demonstration will take place at the FCC's headquarters and will be streamed live on its website.

But the broadcasters have sued the FCC in federal court, arguing that the commission stepped beyond its authority with the rule. The broadcasters have filed for a stay, which would suspend the rules until the court makes a final ruling on the group's suit.

ACLU files brief on warrantless GPS searches: The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a brief in federal court arguing that police should have to get a warrant to track a suspect with a GPS device.

The Supreme Court ruled earlier this year in United States v. Jones that GPS tracking qualifies as a "search" under the Fourth Amendment, but the court stopped short of concluding that all GPS tracking requires a warrant. In its filing, the ACLU argued that GPS tracking should be considered an unconstitutional "unreasonable search" unless the police first obtain a warrant.

"Although the government attempts to argue that GPS trackers should be exempted from the standard warrant requirements, the Court in Jones made clear that warrantless GPS tracking does very much violate society’s expectation of privacy," the ACLU's Andrew Crocker wrote in a blog post.

Coons on importance of cyber: Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) emphasized the importance of passing cybersecurity legislation on Monday.

"I think this is in some ways the most important issue we could be working on and one that has to transcend the temporary passions of the campaign or partisan concerns," he said.

Coons is involved in a compromise effort led by Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) that is aimed at finding a middle ground on provisions dealing with critical infrastructure. Coons said he is "passionate" about ensuring cybersecurity legislation protects people's privacy but also believes that it has to respond to "a very credible, very persistent threat."

"It's important that we legislate responsibly but in a balanced way that preserves privacy protections yet strengthens the defense of the country and our critical infrastructure," he said.

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) said the Senate is going to begin consideration of his cybersecurity bill "by the end of next week."

Lieberman said the bill will be similar to the version introduced in February but there "will be some changes" made to the information-sharing and critical infrastructure sections. He added he's "inclined" to include elements from the compromise framework by Sens. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.).

Whitehouse said the group is making progress on the framework.

"I wouldn't say it's finalized but I think it's taking shape and we just need to make sure we don't leave anybody out who has an important voice to be added," Whitehouse said.

FDA reviews computer spying program: The Food and Drug Administration is reviewing whether its program to spy on its employees' computer activities adequately protected whistleblowers, Reuters reported.

The New York Times reported over the weekend that the spying program was larger than previously believed and extended to outside critics of the agency. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has demanded more answers and said the extent of the spying is "shocking."

Nickelodeon ratings tumble as dispute with DirecTV continues: Ratings for the children's channel Nickelodeon have fallen about 33 percent since the channel was dropped from DirecTV, according to The Los Angeles Times.

A total of 17 Viacom channels, including MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon, went off the air for DirecTV customers last week because the companies were unable to agree to a new contract.

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