March 2006

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NEWS FROM CONGRESS
Full-Court Press on Franchising
Senate Telecom Bill To Be Broader Than House Draft Counterpart
Congress Contemplates Convergence
Buyer: Curb City Telecom Entry
Senate Panel Backs Phone Record Privacy Bill

COMPETITION
Comcast's Burke: No real Telco Competition Until '07 or Beyond
AT&T Going after Comcast's Cable Market
More U.S. Households Are Ditching Landline Phones for Wireless

OWNERSHIP
How to Free the Press
Chernin shakes up media titan

DIGITAL DIVIDE
Blacks Turn to Internet Highway, and Digital Divide Starts to Close

CONTENT
Political free e-speech
ACLU Rep Calls Smut Actions "Ridiculous"
Smithsonian-Showtime TV Deal Raises Concerns

JOURNALISM
The Twilight Of Objectivity
NASA Sets New Rules On Media
The Sound of A Newspaper: Post Radio Hits the Air

QUICKLY -- China Telecoms Are Wary Of=20
Beijing-Backed System; Fewer "mature" video games sold to minors: FTC

NEWS FROM CONGRESS

FULL-COURT PRESS ON FRANCHISING
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Legislators and witnesses generally agreed that=20
some video-franchise reform was needed to spur=20
new video services and the rollout out of=20
high-speed Internet service. But that was where=20
the meeting of the minds ended Wednesday at a=20
marathon House Commerce Committee Hearing on=20
national video franchising legislation=20
spearheaded by House Commerce Committee Chairman=20
Joe Barton (R-TX). The bill is meant as an update=20
to the 1996 Telecommunications Act, which allowed=20
the telcos to enter the video market. The bill,=20
in its fourth draft, would grant both new=20
entrants, like telcos, and incumbent cable=20
operators, a 10-year, automatically renewing=20
national franchise to deliver video and bundled=20
services, subject to conditions, like franchise=20
fees and public access channel requirements. The=20
goal is to make it easier for new video=20
competitors to launch service than it is under=20
the locality-by-locality franchise process under=20
which cable was required to build its systems. A=20
good deal of debate on Thursday was over Net=20
Neutrality. Without it, critics of the proposed=20
legislation argued, the "garage entrepreneurs"=20
who build companies like Google and Netscape=20
might never make it out of the garage.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6320531?display=3DBreaking+News
* Barton: Give Consumers More Options For Pay TV Services
http://energycommerce.house.gov/108/News/03302006_1832.htm
* Dems Blast Video Bell Bill Backed by GOP
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=3D100...
5067
* Democrats attack new bill over Net neutrality
http://news.com.com/Democrats+attack+new+bill+over+Net+neutrality/2100-1...
_3-6056156.html?tag=3Dhtml.alert
* Markey Attacks, Barton Defends Telecom Legislation
http://www.ipdemocracy.com/archives/001358markey_attacks_barton_defends_...
ecom_legislation.php
* 'Clear And Present Danger' For Telecom Reform Bill
http://www.internetnews.com/article.php/3595576
* Armey: Pass a Market Oriented Telecom Bill
http://www.freedomworks.org/informed/issues_template.php?issue_id=3D2544
* House Bill Promising Cable Relief, Fails to Deliver
http://www.hearusnow.org/other/newsroom/tvradiocable/housebillpromisingc...
erelieffailstodeliver/

SENATE TELECOM BILL TO BE BROADER THAN HOUSE DRAFT COUNTERPART
[SOURCE: Technology Daily, AUTHOR: David Hatch]
Senate Commerce Chairman Ted Stevens, R-Alaska,=20
is crafting telecommunications legislation that=20
is much broader in scope than a House counterpart=20
floated this week. He is targeting the week of=20
April 24 for a committee vote on the upcoming=20
measure. The House bill focuses on=20
video-franchising relief for the Bell=20
telecommunications firms and "network neutrality"=20
safeguards intended to prevent telecom and cable=20
companies from rigidly controlling content on=20
their high-speed Internet pipes. In addition to=20
those issues, the Senate version would tackle=20
reform of the universal service program that=20
subsidizes telecom rates in rural and=20
underprivileged areas. The bill also would let=20
municipalities offer wireless broadband and tap=20
unused broadcast television spectrum to provide=20
broadband service. "Indecency" over the airwaves=20
and media ownership are not expected to be=20
included but could emerge as amendments.
http://www.njtelecomupdate.com/lenya/telco/live/tb-RHWT1143756614125.html

CONGRESS CONTEMPLATES CONVERGENCE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing=20
Thursday on the impact of technological=20
convergence on competition. Among the issues that=20
were raised by witnesses included discrimination=20
in Internet service, spectrum set-asides for=20
unlicensed wireless devices, phone=20
interconnection for cable voice services, and=20
video franchising. Committee Chairman Ted Stevens=20
(R-Alaska) said that despite the proliferation of=20
alternate platforms, cable and phone companies=20
continue to dominate broadband, representing over=20
98% of the market and "in too many parts of the=20
country, Americans still lack a real choice in=20
competitive broadband alternatives." He also made=20
it clear where he was headed: "It is our hope=20
that as we level the playing field we will seek=20
the most deregulatory course possible consistent with the public interest."
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6320778?display=3DBreaking+News

BUYER: CURB CITY TELECOM ENTRY
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
Rep. Steve Buyer (R-Ind.) raised concerns=20
Thursday about a bill that would allow local=20
governments to provide broadband Internet access=20
regardless of the state of competition in the=20
relevant market. He supports adding a provision=20
to legislation drafted by House Commerce=20
Committee Chairman Joe Barton (R-TX) that would=20
require local governments to allow private=20
companies to fill a communications void before=20
taxpayer dollars could be put at risk.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6320487.html?display=3DBreaking+News

SENATE PANEL BACKS PHONE RECORD PRIVACY BILL
[SOURCE: Reuters]
The Senate Commerce Committee on Thursday=20
approved legislation to protect consumers'=20
telephone records by making it illegal to sell=20
such information without consent. The measure=20
would boost penalties to as much as $30,000 per=20
incident and up to $3 million for continuing=20
violations by telephone companies that fail to=20
properly safeguard consumer information. The bill=20
would also require carriers to inform consumers=20
if their information was accessed without=20
permission and let companies and individuals sue=20
when their records are illegally obtained.=20
Similar legislation in the U.S. House of=20
Representatives would increase fines to as much=20
as $300,000 per violation and a maximum of $3 million for continuing incide=
nts.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=3DdomesticNews&storyID=
=3D2006-03-30T225543Z_01_N30388925_RTRUKOC_0_US-TELECOMS-PRIVACY-SENATE.xml=
&archived=3DFalse
* Commerce Committee Approves Protecting Consumer Phone Records Act
http://commerce.senate.gov/newsroom/printable.cfm?id=3D253343
* Senate Committee Address Phone Records Privacy,=20
But Falls Short Of Protecting Consumers
http://www.hearusnow.org/other/newsroom/wirelessservices/senatecommittee...
ressphonerecordsprivacybutfallsshortofprotectingconsumers/

COMPETITION

COMCAST'S BURKE: NO REAL TELCO COMPETITION UNTIL '07 OR BEYOND
[SOURCE: IP Democracy, AUTHOR: Cynthia Brumfield ]
Comcast Cable President Steve Burke made a number=20
of surprisingly specific industry-wide=20
predictions during a talk he gave today at Bank=20
of America=92s Media, Telecommunications and=20
Entertainment Conference. The straightforward=20
Burke addressed Wall Street=92s disenchantment with=20
the cable business, saying that investors have=20
the misperception that cable is suddenly subject=20
to competition for the first time, and that phone=20
company entry into the video business is=20
ratcheting up the competitive tension. =93You have=20
this history in the cable business of investors=20
assuming that cable is a monopoly and therefore a=20
good business to invest in. The reality is that=20
cable hasn't been a monopoly for a long time,=94=20
Burke said, pointing to ten years of DBS rivalry=20
and, more recently, cut-rate pricing competition=20
for high-speed customers instigated by the=20
telcos. Phone company competition in the video=20
business is, however, pretty thin, Burke=20
maintained. =93The reality on the ground is that we=20
don't have realistic competition from Verizon or AT&T until 07 or beyond.=
=94
http://www.ipdemocracy.com/archives/001359comcasts_burke_no_real_telco_c...
etition_until_07_or_beyond.php

AT&T GOING AFTER COMCAST'S CABLE MARKET
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Jessie Seyfer]
What happens when a phone company tries to offer=20
television service where cable TV already=20
operates? A turf war. And in California, there's=20
a battle under way between AT&T, which is trying=20
to install a new TV service that runs over the=20
Internet, and Comcast, one of the dominant cable=20
providers in the state. AT&T has been negotiating=20
with several cities over the past year --=20
including San Jose -- to install its fledgling TV=20
service, Project Lightspeed. At a press=20
conference Wednesday in Sacramento, company=20
officials said progress has been hampered by=20
decades-old laws that require TV providers to=20
strike franchise agreements with each community=20
where the service will be offered. AT&T is=20
pushing for a new law that would require only=20
statewide franchises. But Comcast and other state=20
cable providers say AT&T is trying to get around=20
perfectly good laws, and that the company's=20
Lightspeed service won't provide high-quality TV=20
service to poor communities. The conflict is=20
emblematic of the rapidly changing world of=20
telecommunications, where phone, cable and even=20
Web companies like Google and Yahoo are=20
scrambling to offer consumers phone, Internet and=20
video services. Federal, state and local=20
lawmakers, meanwhile, are scrambling to figure=20
out the best way to regulate these services.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/technology/14230847.htm

MORE US HOUSEHOLDS ARE DITCHING LANDLINE PHONES FOR WIRELESS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Li Yuan li.yuan( at )wsj.com]
Last year, about 8% of U.S. households that=20
subscribe to cellphone service had given up their=20
land-line phones, up from 5% in 2004 and 4% in=20
2003, according to a survey to be released today=20
by Forrester Research. Households are ditching=20
home wired phones faster because cellphone=20
service is getting cheaper, wireless coverage is=20
improving and fewer people need their land lines=20
for access to the Internet, according to the=20
survey of about 4,500 households with cellphones=20
in the fourth quarter. More than six million=20
households and nearly 6% of the total U.S.=20
population rely exclusively on wireless phones,=20
according to Forrester. The shift away from=20
land-line phones has been particularly painful=20
for phone companies like AT&T and Verizon=20
Communications, which have lost millions of their=20
wired customers. These losses have only partially=20
been mitigated by the large interests that both=20
companies hold in wireless companies. At the same=20
time, the cord-cutting trend doesn't bode well=20
for telephone companies' high-speed Internet=20
businesses. Households that disconnect their=20
wired phone service are four times more likely to=20
buy broadband service from cable operators than=20
from phone companies, according to the Forrester=20
study. Among those who said they were keeping=20
their land-line phones, 34% cited dial-up=20
Internet access as a reason, down from 43% in 2004 and 47% in 2003.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114377382543813195.html?mod=3Dtodays_us_...
ketplace
(requires subscription)

OWNERSHIP

HOW TO FREE THE PRESS
[SOURCE: The Nation, AUTHOR: John Nichols]
[Commentary] What's needed is a new model for=20
old-media ownership, and it's just possible that=20
one could come out of the Knight Ridder newspaper=20
sale. A union-friendly private-equity firm,=20
Yucaipa Companies, is bidding against several of=20
the country's more unsavory chains for the twelve=20
papers, most of which are unionized. If it=20
succeeds, newspaper employees could over time buy=20
ownership of a new corporation set up to run the=20
papers. "It will start off 100 percent owned by=20
Yucaipa and then more and more by employees,"=20
explains Newspaper Guild president Linda Foley.=20
"We would like it to be majority-owned by=20
employees, eventually 100 percent." McClatchy has=20
erected barriers to the bid from Yucaipa, a firm=20
run by billionaire Ronald Burkle. And even if=20
Yucaipa overcomes those obstacles and buys all or=20
most of the dailies, the papers will still have=20
to struggle with the shifting realities of a=20
newspaper business where circulation rates and=20
advertising revenues are generally in decline,=20
and where the costs of paying reporters,=20
maintaining news bureaus and pursuing=20
investigations keep going up. Even a model that=20
frees newspapers from the pressures imposed by=20
the greediest investors will not necessarily=20
usher in an era of journalistic freedom and=20
excellence. But the Yucaipa bid offers some hope=20
that, while the Project for Excellence in=20
Journalism is right that "the news industry is=20
beginning to move into the next era," newspaper=20
journalists may still be able to earn a fair wage=20
for asking tough questions of those in power.
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060417/nichols

CHERNIN SHAKES UP TITAN
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Aline van Duyn]
The growth of high-speed Internet connections=20
around the world means video can be easily viewed=20
on the web. Mobile phone users can readily view=20
video and other content. In addition, the rapid=20
take-up of portable devices, such as the iPod and=20
portable games consoles, is fueling consumer=20
appetite for information and entertainment while=20
they are on the move. How will this affect "old=20
media" business models? Who better to ask than=20
News Corp's Peter Chernin? His boss, Rupert=20
Murdoch, pronounced that the Internet would=20
provide the future growth of News Corp. Cgernin=20
is in charge all parts of the company get the=20
message: =93They are being asked and forced to=20
rethink how they organize so that they can begin=20
to transition their businesses to new delivery=20
mechanisms =96 whether that is our newspapers=20
building websites, whether it=92s our studios=20
selling content on video-on-demand or on mobile=20
devices, or whether it=92s our networks looking at=20
additional delivery mechanisms.=94
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/f94199b4-c020-11da-939f-0000779e2340.html
(requires subscription)

DIGITAL DIVIDE

BLACKS TURN TO INTERNET HIGHWAY, AND DIGITAL DIVIDE STARTS TO CLOSE
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Michel Marriott]
Civil rights leaders, educators and national=20
policy makers warned for years that the Internet=20
was bypassing blacks and some Hispanics as whites=20
and Asian-Americans were rapidly increasing their=20
use of it. Studies and mounting anecdotal=20
evidence now suggest that blacks, even some of=20
those at the lower end of the economic scale, are=20
making significant gains. As a result,=20
organizations that serve African-Americans, as=20
well as companies seeking their business, are=20
increasingly turning to the Internet to reach out=20
to them. According to a Pew national survey of=20
people 18 and older, completed in February, 74=20
percent of whites go online, 61 percent of=20
African-Americans do and 80 percent of=20
English-speaking Hispanic-Americans report using=20
the Internet. The survey did not look at=20
non-English-speaking Hispanics, who some experts=20
believe are not gaining access to the Internet in=20
large numbers. In a similar Pew survey in 1998,=20
just 42 percent of white American adults said=20
they used the Internet while only 23 percent of=20
African-American adults did so. Forty percent of=20
English-speaking Hispanic-Americans said they=20
used the Internet. Despite the dissolving gap,=20
some groups like the Intel Computer Clubhouse=20
Network, which introduces digital technologies to=20
young people, say the digital divide is still=20
vast in more subtle ways. Instant messaging and=20
downloading music is one thing, said Marlon=20
Orozco, program manager at the network's Boston=20
clubhouse, but he would like to see black and=20
Hispanic teenagers use the Internet in more=20
challenging ways, like building virtual=20
communities or promoting their businesses.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/31/us/31divide.html
(requires registration)

CONTENT

POLITICAL FREE E- SPEECH
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Editorial Staff]
[Commentary] The Federal Election Commission=20
voted to regulate bloggers this week. Oddly=20
enough, bloggers at both ends of the political=20
spectrum welcomed the FEC's move. That's because=20
the effect of its new rules will mainly be on=20
campaign committees, not on people who post their=20
political musings online. The seeds for the rules=20
were planted when Congress passed the=20
McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform law in=20
2002. Named after its Senate sponsors, John=20
McCain (R-Ariz.) and Russell D. Feingold=20
(D-Wis.), the measure was designed to prevent=20
unlimited, undisclosed donations from influencing=20
federal campaigns and to regulate groups that air=20
political commercials late in a campaign. The FEC=20
decided to regulate only paid political=20
advertising online. Anyone who buys political ads=20
on someone else's website will have to report the=20
expenditures to the FEC, and the ads will have to=20
name their sponsors. Online it's virtually=20
impossible to advertise to a significant number=20
of Web users in any community. The best a=20
candidate can do is to buy ads on the most=20
popular websites and hope that people in the=20
district will stumble over them. More important,=20
anyone who wants to publish his or her views=20
online can do so. Unlike television and=20
newspapers, there are no barriers to entry=20
online. So if candidate Smith's backers say=20
candidate Jones is a Bible-burning,=20
soft-on-terrorism wacko, candidate Jones' allies=20
can easily respond in kind on their own sites.=20
Combine that with the blogosphere's penchant for=20
ferreting out hidden agendas, and you have a far=20
more effective regulatory force than the FEC could ever hope to apply.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-ed-bloggers31mar31,1...
75224.story?coll=3Dla-news-comment
(requires registration)

ACLU REP CALLS SMUT ACTIONS "RIDICULOUS"
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The American Civil Liberties Union lobbyists have=20
been talking to Senators, trying to dissuade them=20
from moving forward with a bill that would boost=20
FCC indecency fines dramatically. While the ACLU=20
has not commented publicly on the FCC's recent=20
indecency enforcement actions proposing over $3=20
million in fines against CBS stations, among=20
others, ACLU legislative counsel Marv Johnson=20
calls them "ridiculous" and says that he thought=20
they made a broadcaster court challenge more=20
likely, particularly as the fine amounts mount.=20
He said the ACLU would likely join such a suit as=20
counsel, or at least file a supporting brief.=20
Johnson points out that while the FCC used to=20
count numerous complaints from one group--say,=20
members of the Parents Television Council--as one=20
complaint, it changed its methodology to count=20
them individually (in part because PTC complained=20
it was being undercounted). That means=20
yesterday's single complaint would today be a=20
hundred thousand. "What they are trying to do is=20
make the indecency problem as big an issue as possible," says Johnson.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6320491?display=3DBreaking+News

SMITHSONIAN-SHOWTIME TV DEAL RAISES CONCERNS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Edward Wyatt]
This month, Showtime and the Smithsonian=20
announced the formation of Smithsonian Networks,=20
a joint venture to create television programming,=20
including documentaries and short films, that=20
draws on the Smithsonian collections and staff to=20
explore scientific, cultural and historical=20
events. The first venture of Smithsonian Networks=20
will be an on-demand cable channel, scheduled to=20
begin in December. Under the agreement, the=20
Showtime-Smithsonian joint venture has the right=20
of first refusal to commercial documentaries that=20
rely heavily on Smithsonian collections or staff,=20
said Linda St. Thomas, a spokeswoman for the=20
Smithsonian. That means that a filmmaker who does=20
not agree to grant Smithsonian Networks the=20
rights to the film could be denied access to the=20
Smithsonian's public collections and experts, Ms. St. Thomas said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/31/washington/31smithsonian.html?pagewanted=
=3Dall
(requires registration)

JOURNALISM

THE TWILIGHT OF OBJECTIVITY
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Michael Kinsley]
[Commentray] According to the New York Times,=20
this demonstrates "that what works in cable=20
television news is not an objective analysis of=20
the day's events" but "a specific point of view=20
on a sizzling-hot topic." Nicholas Lemann made=20
the same point in a recent New Yorker profile of=20
Bill O'Reilly. Cable, he wrote "is increasingly a=20
medium of outsize, super-opinionated franchise=20
personalities." It might even be a healthy=20
development for American newspapers to abandon=20
the conceit of objectivity. This is not unknown=20
territory. Most of the world's newspapers, in=20
fact, already make no pretense of objectivity in=20
the American sense. Opinion journalism can be=20
more honest than objective-style journalism,=20
because it doesn't have to hide its point of=20
view. All observations are subjective. Writers=20
freed of artificial objectivity can try to=20
determine the whole truth about their subject and=20
then tell it whole to the world. Their=20
"objective" counterparts have to sort their=20
subjective observations into two arbitrary piles:=20
truths that are objective as well, and truths=20
that are just an opinion. That second pile of=20
truths cannot be published, except perhaps as a=20
quote from someone else. Without the pretense of=20
objectivity, the fundamental journalist's=20
obligation of factual accuracy would remain.=20
Opinion journalism brings new ethical obligations=20
as well. These can be summarized in two words:=20
intellectual honesty. Are you writing or saying=20
what you really think? Have you tested it against=20
the available counterarguments? Will you stand by=20
an expressed principle in different situations,=20
when it leads to an unpleasing conclusion? Are=20
you open to new evidence or an argument that=20
might change your mind? Do you retain at least a=20
tiny, healthy sliver of a doubt about the=20
argument you choose to make? Much of today's=20
opinion journalism, especially on TV, is not a=20
great advertisement for the notion that American=20
journalism could be improved by more opinion and=20
less effort at objectivity. But that's because=20
the conditions under which much opinion=20
journalism is practiced today make honesty=20
harder, and doubt practically impossible.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/30/AR200603...
1330.html
(requires registration)

NASA SETS NEW RULES ON MEDIA
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Rick Weiss]
NASA Administrator Michael D. Griffin unveiled=20
new rules yesterday that govern the release of=20
agency information to news media and the public,=20
his most detailed response yet to embarrassing=20
allegations that NASA's public affairs office had=20
sought to suppress the release of scientific=20
information not consistent with the views of the=20
Bush administration. The new eight-page policy,=20
written by an internal team of scientists,=20
lawyers, public affairs specialists and managers,=20
states that NASA scientists are free to talk to=20
members of the media about their scientific=20
findings and even express personal=20
interpretations of those findings -- the heart of=20
the controversy that has engulfed the agency=20
since January. It also makes clear that=20
scientists are not required to have a public=20
affairs officer with them when they speak with=20
members of the media, though Griffin emphasized=20
yesterday in comments broadcast to NASA employees=20
that he believes such behavior is unwise.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/30/AR200603...
1864.html
(requires registration)

THE SOUND OF A NEWSPAPER: POST RADIO HITS THE AIR
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Paul Farhi]
Throughout its inaugural day, WTWP -AM/FM=20
(Washington Post Radio), mixed weather, traffic=20
and news updates with longer discussions about=20
news and features, quickly settling into a niche=20
somewhere between the in-depth reporting of=20
National Public Radio and snappy news bites that=20
typify news radio. By design, the station -- a=20
joint venture of The Post and Bonneville=20
International Corp. (which also owns all-news=20
WTOP) -- relied heavily on interviews with Post=20
reporters, making WTWP both a news source and a=20
continuous promotional vehicle for The Washington Post Co.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/30/AR200603...
2129.html
(requires registration)

QUICKLY

CHINA TELECOMS ARE WARY OF BEIJING-BACKED SYSTEM
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Evan Ramstad evan.ramstad( at )wsj.com]
In China, the regulators and the regulated=20
usually keep their discussions, and their=20
differences, quiet. But a debate over the future=20
of the country's phone system -- the world's=20
largest, by subscribers -- is proving to be a=20
striking exception. Government officials would=20
like at least one of the country's four telephone=20
carriers to use homegrown technology when they=20
update their wireless systems in the next two=20
years. The carriers are skeptical about the=20
technology, and with time running short for them=20
to build the new systems by the start of the 2008=20
Olympics, they are becoming more vocal about it, too.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114367010614511539.html?mod=3Dtodays_us_...
e_one
(requires subscription)

FEWER "MATURE" VIDEO GAMES SOLD TO MINORS: FTC
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Lisa Baertlein]
The Federal Trade Commission said on Thursday a=20
nationwide undercover shopping survey last year=20
found that fewer Mature-rated video games were=20
being sold to unaccompanied children. The results=20
come as many state and federal lawmakers -- who=20
claim that the industry's self-rating system=20
lacks adequate retail enforcement -- are pushing=20
for laws that would ban the sale of violent or=20
sexually explicit video games to minors.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=3DtechnologyNews&sto...
D=3D2006-03-30T233655Z_01_N3U352723_RTRUKOC_0_US-MEDIA-FTC-VIDEOGAMES.xml&a=
rchived=3DFalse
--------------------------------------------------------------
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through Friday, this service provides updates on=20
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and other related news events. While the=20
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