The invasion of corporate news
The lines between journalism and PR are rapidly becoming blurred as business interests bypass traditional media to get their message across.
September 2014
Strengthening Our Cyber Community
Just as a neighborhood bands together to raise its collective safety, we can work as a community to strengthen our collective defenses to make it harder for those who wish to cause harm.
Netflix tells Canada regulator it shouldn't subsidize 'old media'
Netflix told Canada's broadcast regulator that it opposes paying to support "old media" and its own commercial interests and market dynamics were enough to ensure it distributed Canadian content.
The submissions from Netflix came on the last day of a two-week hearing on the future of Canadian television in which the company has been painted as a disruptive threat to the country's established cable and broadcast television interests.
Netflix and other online-only services have been exempted from Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) rules that enforce a minimum level of financial support and air time for Canadian programs on traditional TV. Some politicians have advocated that streaming services like Netflix be regulated like traditional Canadian broadcasters, though the federal Conservative government had said they are not interested in taking this route.
Where Are We In The Net Neutrality Debate?
[Commentary] Easily, network neutrality won the week in telecommunications wonkland. September 15 was the latest deadline for public comment at the Federal Communications Commission as it tries again to recraft what it calls Open Internet rules which, in the simplest terms, means treating all Internet traffic equally. The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing called Why Net Neutrality Matters: Protecting Consumers and Competition Through Meaningful Open Internet Rules, and the FCC held four forums on the topic.
Timothy Berners-Lee slams Internet fast lanes: ‘It’s bribery.’
A quarter-century ago, Timothy Berners-Lee designed the world's first Web browser and server, kicking off a thing that people started calling the World Wide Web. Now he says that system is in danger from Internet service providers (ISPs) who stand to amass too much power over what was intentionally built as a decentralized network -- one where no single actor could dictate outcomes to everyone else.
Berners-Lee pushed back against opponents of net neutrality regulation who argue that applying new rules on ISPs is tantamount to regulating the Internet. But there's a difference between regulating providers of broadband and the services that run on top of it, said Berners-Lee. Strong net neutrality rules would help preserve that line dividing the two and limit the incentive of ISPs to meddle in the market for services.
FCC Enforcement Bureau: Title II, Wireless Net Regulations Definitely On Table
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler that he is seeking dialog and thoughtful exchanges "so that we can search for the equities in [network neutrality]." He said the challenge in coming up with new Open Internet rules is to discover solutions that represent the multiplicity of interests and "legitimate positions" surrounding network neutrality.
FCC Enforcement Bureau Chief Travis LeBlanc said in no uncertain terms that Title II reclassification of Internet access service and applying new network neutrality rules are still definitely potential outcomes of any new Open Internet order and folks pondering rule enforcement scenarios need to figure them into the equation. Although he reminded the audience that the session was on enforcement issues, not the underlying policy, he still said he wanted to remind the panelists and "and those who are listening near and far" about what he called two central issues before the FCC in the Open Internet rulemaking. "The first of those is whether to reclassify broadband Internet access services as telecommunications services under Title II of the Communications Act, or whether to rely on other sources of legal authority, such as Sec. 706 of the Communications Act."
Net neutrality stakeholders did not appear to be drawing new territorial boundaries around their positions on new open internet. Those boiled down to: Title II is a must vs. Title II is a bust.
Protecting What’s Best About the Internet
[Commentary] The New America Foundation is part of a broad coalition of public interest groups, tech companies, and consumer advocates that have called for the Federal Communications Commission to implement strong network neutrality protections grounded in the soundest possible legal framework -- which we believe means reclassifying broadband under Title II of the 1996 Telecommunications Act and applying fundamental common carriage principles to Internet access.
We have consistently argued in favor of this approach in our filings to the FCC, including in reply comments submitted Sept 15. As we explain in our latest comments, relying on Title II as the legal foundation for net neutrality rules is neither radical nor heavy-handed. It is actually a narrowly-tailored approach grounded in sound legal principles and historic precedence.
[Kehl is a policy analyst in the Open Technology Institute at New America where she works on technology policy.]
National Minority Organizations Want an Open Internet with Everyone Online
In response to the Federal Communications Commission’s ongoing solicitation for feedback on how to preserve an open Internet, 45 leading civil rights organizations came together to file Reply Comments in the Open Internet proceeding. In the debate over how the FCC should regulate the Internet, the organizations respond that open Internet rules, crafted under the Commission’s Section 706 authority in combination with a consumer-focused enforcement scheme modeled after Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, is the best way to protect an open Internet while advancing necessary initiatives to close the digital divide.
Former AT&T partners petition FCC to block DirecTV bid
More than ninety former business partners of AT&T are demanding the Federal Communications Commission block the wireless carrier's $48.5 billion bid for DirecTV, saying the company engaged in anti-competitive behavior and violated fiduciary duty.
AT&T’s friends: Meet the companies and politicians “enthusiastic” about DirecTV buy
Customers, consumer advocacy groups, and small cable companies are speaking out against AT&T’s proposed purchase of DirecTV. But just as Comcast was able to claim broad support for its Time Warner Cable merger, AT&T has plenty of moneyed interests and politicians on its side.
Gov Mike Beebe (R-AR), Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, and Utah State Senators Kevin Van Tassell, David Hinkins, and Ralph Okerlund have asked the Federal Communications Commission to approval the deal.