A14 EZ RE THE WASHINGTON POST.MONDAY, MARCH 7 , 2022
COMPANIES
Blue Water Thinking of the
District appointed Elizabeth
Mahan chief growth officer.
Globalization Partners of the
District appointed Simone
Nardi chief financial officer.ASSOCIATIONS
AND NONPROFITS
Families USA of the District
appointed Jude McCartin chief
of staff.LAW AND LOBBYING
Butzel of the Districtappointed Jude Nwaokobia
associate.
Cohen & Gresser of the
District appointed John Roberti
partner.
Gibson Dunn & Crutcher of
the District appointed Sophia
Vandergrift partner.
K&L Gates of the District
appointed Tariq Fedda,
Alexander Kaplan and Jeffrey
Orenstein partners, and Sean
McGlynn government affairs
adviser.
Latham of the District
appointed Marissa Boynton,Nikki Buffa, Joseph Hudzik,
and Kyle Jefcoat partners.
McGlinchey of the District
appointed Amy Greenwood
Field partner.
McGuireWoods of the
District appointed Benjamin
O’Neil partner.
Morgan Lewis of the District
appointed Barron Avery
partner.Send information about promotions,
appointments and personnel moves
in the Washington region to
[email protected].APPOINTMENTSCompany Insider Title Date Action Shares Price Now holds
Capital One Timothy Golden Controller Feb. 28 Sold 3,812 148.98 11,
Cogent Communications James Bubeck Vice president March 1Sold 1,920 62.94 40,
Sheryl Kennedy Board member March 1Sold 1,100 62.27 3,
Corporate Office Properties Trust Taylor Pickett Board member Feb. 24 Bought 20,000 24.97 86,
Gladstone Commercial Robert Cutlip President Feb. 25 Bought 1,000 20.92 59,
Gladstone Investment David Dullum President Feb. 24 Bought 5,500 14.46 to 14.69 136,
Rachael Easton Treasurer Feb. 23 Bought 200 14.93 200
Lockheed Martin Brian Colan Controller Feb. 28 Sold 1,937 426.45 569
Maryanne Lavan General counsel Feb. 28 Sold 5,832 425.83 to 428.66 24
Gregory Ulmer Vice president Feb. 25 Sold 1,204 411.82 6,
Northrop Grumman Michael Hardesty Controller Feb. 22 to Feb. 28 Sold 1,431 392.40 to 414.31 3,
Thomas Jones Vice president Feb. 28 Sold 494 414.31 3,
David Perry Vice president Feb. 24 Sold 3,065 393.77 9,
Mary Petryszyn Vice president Feb. 28 Sold 626 414.31 7,
Strategic Education Robert Silberman Chairman Feb. 28 Bought 13,001 59.97 to 61.14 238,
Thomson FinancialTrading as reported by company directors, presidents, chief financial officers, general counsel, chief executive
officers, chairmen and other officers, or by beneficial owners with more than 10 percent of the company stock.TRANSACTIONScapital businessOn Tuesday, a prominent trade
group that represents thousands
of television and radio stations
made a rare plea to broadcasters
across the country to stop
carrying Russian state media.
The call to action by the
National Association of
Broadcasters was “somewhat
surprising,” wrote Alex Weprin
of the Hollywood Reporter, given
its “vocal support of freedom of
speech and the First
Amendment.”
But just days prior, lawyers for
the NAB called on the courts to
reject a federal order that would
require broadcasters to identify
and disclose when programs
they have leased are sponsored
or provided by a foreign
government.
The legal dispute highlights
how television and radio
networks are grappling with
some of the same thorny
questions about foreign
influence and free speech as the
social media giants, who have
faced intense pressure over the
past week to clamp down on
Russian state media.
The standoff between the
NAB and regulators at the
Federal Communications
Commission predates the
Russian invasion of Ukraine, but
it has gained fresh significance
in the wake of the war in
Europe.
“In light of recent events this
effort, which is all about
transparency, has taken on new
importance. It’s time for these
rules to go into effect,” FCC
Chairwoman Jessica
Rosenworcel told The
Technology 202.
In April, the FCC voted
unanimously to adopt an order
that would mandate
broadcasters to disclose that
programs they have leased are
sponsored or provided by a
foreign government at the time
of the broadcast or
independently verify they are
not.
In August, the NAB and other
industry groups filed a petition
objecting to the order, arguing
that the agency overstepped its
authority and that the new rules
would be “unnecessary and
overly burdensome.” The issue of
undisclosed foreign entities
driving programs, broadcast
groups argued at the time, was
“above all” associated with
“social media and the Internet.”
Just because a program runs
on a broadcast network doesn’t
mean the two sides struck a deal.
Programs can be brokered
through a complex web of
arrangements with third parties
that lease out time on networks,
which may not fully know what
they are airing.
The case is heating up at a
prescient moment, as companies
are thrust into the middle of the
conflict between Russia and
Ukraine.
The two sides filed final briefs
in the federal district court in
D.C. last week and are slated tohead into oral arguments next
month. The case will decide the
fate of the more stringent FCC
disclosure rules.
The NAB said Wednesday that
it “unequivocally supports”
disclosures for programs
sponsored by foreign
governments, such as broadcasts
of the television network RT or
radio outlet Sputnik, just not the
proposed FCC rules for vetting
those arrangements.
“Unfortunately, the FCC
adopted an unlawful and
unwieldy mechanism to
determine when such
disclosures might be necessary,
and one that has a
disproportionately negative
impact on small and minority
broadcasters,” NAB
spokesperson Ann Marie
Cumming said.
But FCC leaders argue that it’s
a sensible solution to address
concerns about American
consumers unknowingly being
exposed to messaging from
foreign governments, an issue
that has gained massive
attention over the past week.
“The wisdom of that targeted
disclosure requirement is even
more clear today, in light of the
Russian government’s
propaganda machine, which has
gone into overdrive with their
invasion of Ukraine,” FCC
member Brendan Carr told The
Technology 202.
While there are few known
examples of programs with ties
to Russia on American airwaves,
the FCC warned in its news
release announcing the order in
April that “foreign governmental
entities are increasingly
purchasing time on domestic
broadcast stations.”
The debate mirrors the one
unfolding informally in Silicon
Valley.
Social media companies,
including Facebook and Twitter,
have taken a slew of steps in
recent days to make it more
evident when consumers are
engaging with content from
Russian state media, including
by labeling their accounts and
posts. Amid mounting scrutiny
from European officials,
technology companies have
blocked access to the outlets in
certain countries.
The pressure campaign has
recently spilled over into the
television and streaming space,
with DirectTV, Roku and others
dropping Russian state media
outlets such as RT from their
services. But concerns remain
about how far companies should
go to make sure they are not
unwittingly serving as
mouthpieces for Russian
propaganda.
In the statement Tuesday,
NAB president Curtis LeGeyt
cast decisions not to broadcast
Russian state media as a moral
choice.
While the First Amendment
“protects freedom of speech,” it
“does not prevent private actors
from exercising sound moral
judgment,” LeGeyt said. As the
war unfolds overseas, it’s an
issue American businesses are
increasingly being forced to
confront at home.Russia’s invasion raisesstakes in the battle overstate media broadcastsThe Technology 202CRISTIANO LIMABY DANIELLE ABRILHow we work is rapidly evolv-
ing as more companies adopt hy-
brid and remote work. Google, for
instance, said this month that it is
bringing back its employees in a
hybrid fashion in April, while
Twitter said it will open offices in
March but employees can choose
to work from home “forever.”
The evolution of work has left
many people wondering about a
buzzword making the rounds in
the technology sphere: How will
the metaverse play into the future
of work? With the help of some
experts in the field, we’re answer-
ing your questions about the
metaverse, its workplace applica-
tions and some of the issues that
surround the virtual office.
Before we dive in, I’d like to re-
mind readers that we’re here to
tackle your toughest questions
about technology, how it may af-
fect your life and the implications
on the workplace. So don’t be shy.
Shoot us your questions at
[email protected].
Q: What is the metaverse?
A: G enerally speaking, the meta-
verse is a network of digital
worlds that could include any
combination of technologies from
virtual reality to augmented reali-
ty to blockchain. But the defini-
tion widely varies.
Research firm Forrester de-
fines the metaverse as a 3D layer
of the Internet that is interopera-
ble. That means no one company
owns the metaverse. “We don’t
believe the metaverse is here yet,”
Forrester analyst J.P. G ownder
said. “There will be a long time
frame here, like a decade or lon-
ger, to create the full metaverse.”
But companies playing in the
space say they are actively en-
gaged in the metaverse or, at
least, in its related technologies.
Last year, Microsoft rolled out
Mesh for its workplace communi-
cations service called Teams. T he
feature combines mixed-reality
capabilities and allows workers to
collaborate via 3D avatars with
access to Microsoft productivity
tools. Similarly, Facebook un-
veiled its Horizon Workrooms
app for the Oculus Quest 2 head-
sets. The app gives users digital
avatars and allows them to host
meetings and collaborate in a vir-
tual world.
A number of smaller start-ups
are also working on metaverse
technologies. Spatial.io, based in
New York, created a 3D collabora-
tion platform that allows people
to create avatars and meet in ex-
isting virtual rooms or build their
own spaces. Magic Leap, based in
Florida, is working on augmented
reality headsets and applications
for enterprises. And Strivr, based
in Silicon Valley, is helping com-
panies such as Bank of America
and Walmart train employees in
virtual reality.Q: How do workers use it?
A: Metaverse technologies are be-
ing used in a few ways to train
workers on technical skills, to
help them develop better commu-
nication skills and for collabora-
tion purposes. But experts have
noted that, ultimately, the tech-
nologies are still immature and
somewhat limited.
“It’s very early innings,” said
Anthony Georgiades, a founder of
Pastel, a platform that provides
blockchain infrastructure, which
includes metaverse applications.
“I wouldn’t say anything is hyped
as much as it might be exuber-
ance or an over-expectation of
how we can apply this technology
today.”
Accenture employees havegathered and onboarded at their
virtual office during the pandem-
ic. And PwC workers who speak to
advisers in Hong Kong may soon
interact in a virtual world called
Sandbox, where PwC purchased
virtual real estate.
Walmart employees have used
virtual reality to train for tasks
like using its kiosks that allow for
online order pickup. They also
learn how to handle active shoot-
ings, which chief executive Doug
McMillan previously said helped
during the 2019 shooting at an El
Paso store. Verizon associates
have used virtual reality to pre-
pare for complicated c ustomer
service calls. And as part of a Boe-
ing training program, astronauts
have started using virtual reality
for spaceflight preparations.
Jeremy Bailenson, the director
of the Stanford University Virtual
Human Interaction L ab and a
founder of Strivr, said the fact
that companies such as Walmart
and Verizon have picked up its
technology is proof of the de-
mand for enterprise applications.
Training is more memorable and
time efficient in virtual reality,
Bailenson said. “When it sticks in
the workplace, it’s going to be be-
cause of training,” he said.
But beyond companies doing
virtual reality training, the num-
ber of firms adopting metaverse
technologies is relatively small,
according to experts. If the meta-
verse is going to provide “an im-mersive meeting and office, it
seems to make sense on paper,”
said Jason Schloetzer, associate
professor at the Georgetown Uni-
versity McDonough School of
Business. “But the practicality be-
hind it is a heavy lift.”Q: What are the key issues?
A: T here are some problems
standing in the way of mass adop-
tion, including the bulkiness and
price of virtual reality headsets, as
well as privacy, accessibility, data
security and health issues such as
motion sickness for some work-
ers.
Products from emerging start-
ups may not have high-grade se-
curity built in, Gownder said.
Even the most secure software
has the potential to increase
worker surveillance, he added.
“Head-mounted displays have
eye-tracking capabilities,” he said.
“They could track your attention
and what you’re looking at.”
Bailenson said that beyond the
employer, the technology compa-
ny may also have access to worker
data. Some companies who make
headsets, for instance, state that
they have the right to access what
cameras see in the real-life envi-
ronment of users.
When all that data combines
with the data technology compa-
nies may already have on users,
the result may be particularly
concerning, Schloetzer said.
“How do we feel about the merg-
ing of social media activity with
our in-work behavior?” he said.
“Someone may be able to con-
struct a very complete midnight
to midnight profile of everything
we do.”
While technology has gotten
lighter, faster and cheaper, it still
could be a major expense for com-
panies and take a physical toll on
some workers. In some cases,
workers could experience head-
aches and nausea, a phenomenon
that often happens more in wom-
en, said Bailenson, who imple-
mented a time limit on headsets
in his virtual reality classes.
Just as concerning, some appli-
cations require people to be able
to wear a headset and use their
hands for motion control, which
excludes many people who have
disabilities, Bailenson said. “We
need to think more about this as
an industry,” he said. “It’s not only
the right thing to do but also the
smart thing to do.”Q: What about the future?
A: For some, the metaverse repre-
sents new job opportunities as
major companies and start-ups
alike try to get a piece of this
emerging virtual world. For oth-
ers, it may mean new training op-
portunities or more immersive
meetings. Workplaces that use
services from some of the large
technology companies may auto-
matically have access to new fea-
tures sooner than they expect,
and they may not need virtual re-
ality to access them.
But working entirely in the
metaverse is unlikely when it
comes to the near term, at least
based on the available technol-
ogies and challenges, according
to experts. Georgiades doesn’t ex-
pect wide adoption of virtual real-
ity for several years. “It’s impor-
tant for enterprises not to go from
zero to 100 and dive straight in,”
he said. “This might not be suit-
able for everyone.”ASK HELP DESK
What is the future of working inside the metaverse?
ISTOCK/WASHINGTON POST ILLUSTRATION
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