January 2012

Google has traded blows with a group of rivals including Facebook and Twitter as each side tries to seize the moral high ground in the increasingly bitter online social networking wars.

The search company won plaudits from human rights groups as it announced a policy change on its Google+ network that will make it easier for users to appear under pseudonyms. The more lenient approach contrasts with Facebook’s insistence on the use of “real names”, which activists claim exposes political dissidents to reprisals in some countries. Earlier in the day, however, Google came under fresh attack over controversial changes made to its search engine earlier this month that critics claim were designed mainly to divert traffic to its new social network, at the cost of devaluing its search results.

Comcast customers watching the New York Giants eventually defeat the San Francisco 49ers had their viewing pleasure rudely interrupted with a couple of accidental commercials for the cable operator’s Xfinity service. The sudden random appearance of the commercials or fragments of the commercials as plays were being run angered viewers who lit up social networks after the glitch. A Comcast executive told POLITICO that the problem occurred when equipment at WTTG, the FOX station airing the game in Washington, malfunctioned, sending the commercial out at the wrong time. Knowledgeable sources, however, said the problem occurred when a device designed to send commercials only to Xfinity viewers was somehow triggered. The equipment is operated by WTTG but owned by Comcast. No similar glitches were reported on other pay-TV platforms or on the over-the-air signal.

Federal Communications Commission officials said it is unlikely that the commission has any authority over the issue, as it doesn’t regulate content except in the area of broadcast indecency.

T-Mobile USA and AT&T filed a request with the Federal Communications Commission for approval of the transfer of $1 billion in wireless airwaves AT&T promised as a result of the failure of its $39 billion bid to take over its smaller rival. AT&T said it would turn over the airwaves, or spectrum, along with $3 billion in cash to T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom AG after pulling out of the deal as opposition mounted from the FCC, Justice Department, state attorneys general and rival carriers.

“This additional spectrum will help meet the growing demand for wireless broadband services,” said Tom Sugrue, T-Mobile’s senior vice president for government affairs. “We hope the FCC will move swiftly to approve the license assignments.”

Senate Judiciary chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) blamed Republicans for scuttling his Protect IP Act (PIPA) and said he hopes to revive the bill after a brief delay.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) canceled a cloture vote on PIPA after Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and a number of Republican co-sponsors withdrew their support for the controversial bill. "I thank the majority leader for seeking to schedule that debate on this serious economic threat. I understand that when the Republican leader recently objected, and Republican senators who had cosponsored and long supported this effort jumped ship, he was faced with a difficult decision," Sen Leahy said in a floor speech. "My hope is that after a brief delay, we will, together, confront this problem."