BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: California is merely the largest of the large number of states that have attempted to take a "federalist" approach to the "interstate commerce" of network neutrality. This sets up the first of many political flashpoints over the issue. Feds launch lawyers at California net neutrality law, on high political alert, from Steve… Keep Reading
Telecom attorney Jonathan Lee takes down the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division's specious case against the AT&T/Time Warner merger in this detailed blog post, excerpted below. (Click on the link at the bottom for the whole argument.) Here's the money quote: "This alleged harm is simply too general to merit analysis." Assumptions On Assumptions:… Keep Reading
BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: Impossible task, meet unfortunate federal agency. | Federal Agency Drafts New Rules For Transparency In Political Social Media Ads, from NPR: The Federal Election Commission is moving to improve disclosure of the money behind Internet and digital ads, as the shadow of Russian-funded social media ads in last year's presidential race hangs… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, July 28, 2014 - City leaders in Wilson, North Carolina, and Chattanooga, Tennessee, want the Federal Communications Commission to pre-empt state laws that would prevent them from expanding their municipal networks, Broadcasting & Cable reported. With an existing ban in place in North Carolina, Wilson can only serve its municipal network, Greenlight, to residents… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, July 14, 2014 - In an effort to combat ongoing complaints of inefficiency within the Federal Communications Commission's Universal Service Fund, Chairman Tom Wheeler on Monday announced a strike force dedicated to "rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse." To be led by Loyaan Egal, a former public corruption attorney with the U.S. Attorney's Office… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, July 8, 2014 - Federal Communications Commissioner Michael O'Rielly supports modernizing the E-Rate program, but not if it means increasing the "ever growing strain on [the average American's] pocketbook," he wrote in a blog post Monday. The solution to increasing the program size, O'Rielly said, is to cut spending to outdated technologies, like long… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, May 23, 2013 -- Wireless provider MetroPCS moved last Friday to dismiss its claims in the lawsuit challenging the Federal Communication Commission’s net neutrality laws. In the motion, MetroPCS, which recently merged with T-Mobile, noted that the FCC and the Department of Justice had already consented to the dismissal. Additionally, Verizon Communications, which is… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, August 31, 2011 - With the Justice Department's announcement on Wednesday that it will contest AT&T's proposed acquisition of T-Mobile, the attention should now turn to what some consider the deal's key driver: getting more wireless spectrum into the hands of broadband providers. Keep Reading
The Chinese government on Tuesday unveiled a sweeping intellectual property enforcement initiative that appears designed to reverse the culture of piracy that has so far been the norm in the country. The initiative was unveiled by China's Deputy Commerce Minister Jiang Zengwei at a Tuesday news conference, where he pledged closer co-operation with the United States, Japan and Europe. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, November 11, 2010 - The Justice Department revealed Wednesday that it has reached a $16.25 million civil settlement with Hewlett-Packard for alleged E-rate fraud, following an investigation with the Federal Communications Commission. The program funds internet connections in schools and libraries. HP's payment will flow back into the fund. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, October 12, 2010 - The Intellectual Property Breakfast Club on Tuesday, focusing on "Finding Solutions to the Problems of Copyright Infringement," may well focus on S. 3804, the “Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act” (COICA), introduced late last month by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy and Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, August 3, 2010 – Federal agencies have not provided top-level leadership for the United States on cybersecurity issues, according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office. Additionally, the United States possesses no “clear vision” of how cybersecurity impacts national goals. Rather, the nation has engaged in an ad hoc selection of cybersecurity measures. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, August 3, 2010 –The Obama administration has made the expansion of telecommunications services to disabled people a top priority. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, April 1, 2010 - Section Four of the plan focuses on broadband competition and innovation policy. It’s one of the most far-reaching sections in the entire 360-page document. It starts by addressing various mobile and fixed networks and moves on to discuss specific devices, privacy and identity theft. It concludes with discussion about the need for innovating and changing the current network. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, December 16, 2009 - The U.S. is committed to an inter-agency process for combating piracy of American intellectual property, Vice President Joseph Biden said Tuesday during a press availability with top law enforcement officials. Appearing at the White House complex with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, the directors of the FBI, Customs and Border Protection, and the United States Secret Service, as well as the chief executives of the nation's largest entertainment companies. The meeting was followed by a closed-door, roundtable discussion on international intellectual property theft. Keep Reading
SAN FRANCISCO, December 2, 2009 - The phenomenal growth of online social networks is finally moving the decades-long debate over the nature of privacy in the digital world forward, said legal experts at an annual conference on innovation in San Francisco on Tuesday. Congress has threatened to enact and revamp consumer privacy laws for decades, but the complexity of the task has generally stumped the body, except for the areas of finance and health. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, November 10, 2009 - The United States and European Union antitrust regulatory bodies are at odds over whether Oracle Corporation should be allowed to go through with its proposed acquisition of Sun Microsystems. While the U.S. has not found any issues with the proposed merger, the EU has been putting on the breaks. On Monday, the European Commission issued a statement of objections concerning the acquisition of Sun by Oracle and the deal’s potentially negative effects on competition in the database products market. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, February 17, 2009 – The new administration of President Barack Obama has a limited window to fulfill its promise of transparency in government, said Center for Democracy & Technology officials. Keep Reading