THIS WEEK'S AGENDA
Conf -- The Digital Broadband Migration: Toward A Regulatory Regime For
The Internet Age
Oral Arguments: Prometheus Radio Project v. FCC [re: Media Ownership Rules]
Hearing: Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2004
Hearing: Protecting Children from Violent and Indecent Programming
Speech: Making the Right Choices About the Future of Communications
Thorny Issues Await F.C.C. as It Takes Up Internet Phones
FCC Open Meeting Thursday, February 12
INTERNET
Safety, Blogs and Protocols
BROADCASTING
PBS #1 in Public Trust, Respect According to New Roper Poll
Localism Task Force Public Hearing Online
PRIVACY
TiVo and Privacy
Online Search Engines Help Lift Cover of Privacy
Communications-related Headlines is a free online news summary service
provided by the Benton Foundation (www.benton.org). Posted Monday through
Friday, this service provides updates on important industry developments,
policy issues, and other related news events. Headlines are compiled by
Kevin Taglang (ktaglang( at )etpost.net) -- we welcome your comments.
THIS WEEK'S AGENDA
THE DIGITAL BROADBAND MIGRATION: TOWARD A REGULATORY REGIME FOR THE INTERNET
The transformation of telecommunications from an analog, narrowband network
optimized for voice to a digital, broadband network optimized for data
traffic has created a slew of challenges for businesses, policymakers, and
academics alike. In the fall of 2000, as he prepared to take the helm at
the FCC, Michael Powell analogized this transition to one of people having
to "migrate" across continents. Like the migrations taken by ancient
peoples, the transition to a digital, broadband environment is painful and
will not happen overnight. Consequently, as increasing numbers of users are
adopting digital products and services that are networked through broadband
connections, it is now an opportune time to evaluate the issues that
policymakers, academics, and businesses will confront over the course of
this transition. This conference will examine three central areas of
regulatory policy associated with the Internet age: broadband policy,
digital rights management, and privacy and security policy. Principal
speakers will be Chairman Powell, who has spearheaded a set of regulatory
responses to these issues; Lawrence Lessig, the foremost academic in the
study of Internet regulation; and Craig Mundie, the Chief Technology
Officer for Microsoft. With a thoughtful array of leaders from academic,
industry, and governmental circles, this conference will continue the
Silicon Flatirons' tradition of encouraging "bolder thinking" in Boulder.
Like its predecessors, the proceedings from this conference will be
published in the Journal on Telecommunications and High Technology Law.
February 8-9, 2004
[SOURCE: Silicon Flatirons Telecom Program, University of Colorado School
of Law]
http://www.silicon-flatirons.org/conferences/DBM_feb_2004.html
PROMETHEUS RADIO PROJECT V. FCC
Case No. 03-3388, United States Court of Appeals Third Circuit
The Court will hear oral argument on Wednesday on the FCC's media ownership
rules.
In June 2003, the FCC announced its changes to media ownership rules. On
August 13, 2003, the Media Access Project's attorneys asked the U.S. Court
of Appeals for the Third Circuit to throw out the FCC's media ownership
rules on behalf of its client, the Philadelphia-based Prometheus Radio
Project. As part of a careful strategy, MAP and its allies filed in three
separate federal courts on the same day in order to move the case out of an
unfriendly forum. MAP is working in close coordination with attorneys at
the Georgetown Law Center's Institute for Public Representation in the
suit. After MAP's President and CEO represented the public interest
organizations at oral argument, the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
stayed the FCC's order on September 3rd, 2003 thus preventing the rules
from being enforced until court review is complete. Subsequently, there
have been several procedural battles, including several industry requests
that the Third Circuit in Philadelphia transfer the case to a federal court
in Washington DC, and some changes to the briefing schedule. All briefs
will be filed by January 6, 2004, and oral argument will be held February
11, 2004 in Philadelphia.
For more on the case, visit the Media Access Project
http://www.mediaaccess.org/programs/diversity/courts.html#mo
HEARING: BROADCAST DECENCY ENFORCEMENT ACT OF 2004
H.R. 3717 "To increase the penalties for violations by television and radio
broadcasters of the prohibitions against transmission of obscene, indecent,
and profane language." The bill would increase fines to $275,000 per
station for each violation and cap a multiple station group's liability at
$3 million per violation. The bill also would codify the FCC's new policy
stipulating that each indecent utterance during a program constitutes a
separate violation liable for a new fine.
Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet
2123 Rayburn House Office Building Wednesday, February 11, 2004 9:30 AM
This hearing is expected to include a long discussion on the Super Bowl
halftime show. The FCC has received more than 200,000 complaints on
this subject. Complaints and inquiries can be filed via the FCC's toll-free
consumer line at 1-888-225-5322 or via e-mail at fccinfo( at )fcc.gov
The Subcommittee may vote on H.R. 3717 on Thursday, same time, same place.
Subcommittee Chairman Upton wants to send the bill to President Bush by the
end of March.
Get more information on the bill from Thomas
http://thomas.loc.gov/
[SOURCE: House of Representatives]
A link to a live Web stream is available at the URL below.
http://energycommerce.house.gov/108/Hearings/02112004hearing1200/hearing...
HEARING: PROTECTING CHILDREN FROM VIOLENT AND INDECENT PROGRAMMING
Members of the Senate Commerce Committee will examine whether the current
protections afforded parents and children concerning violent and indecent
content in broadcast programming are adequate.
[SOURCE: US Senate]
A link to a live Web stream is available at the URL below.
http://commerce.senate.gov/hearings/index.cfm
SPEECH: MAKING THE RIGHT CHOICES ABOUT THE FUTURE OF COMMUNICATIONS
Wednesday, 11 February 2004 12:00 pm SHARP - 1:00 pm
New America Foundation
1630 Connecticut Avenue NW, 7th Floor
Washington, D.C.
January 2004 marked the 20th Anniversary of the Divestiture Order in
January 1984 that broke up AT&T into many competing companies. The
question today is what the future of communications will look like -- and
whether the nation which was well served by breaking up a huge monopoly
twenty years ago is still facing serious competition problems in the
telecommunications/IT policy arena. The New America Foundation has asked
AT&T's CEO, David W. Dorman, to reflect on this anniversary; to comment on
the state of competition in telecom today; to give insight into the VoIP
debate; and to share his view on why policy choices being made today will
have an enormous impact on the next two decades of communications
innovations and customer service.
RSVP to Jennifer Buntman at buntman( at )newamerica.net or (202) 986-4901
Boxed Lunches will be served to all registered attendees
www.newamerica.net
THORNY ISSUES AWAIT F.C.C. AS IT TAKES UP INTERNET PHONES
Some technology optimists as well as companies like AT&T and Verizon think
Internet-based telephony could revolutionize the telecommunications
industry. About a million customers are expected to use Internet phone
service (often called VoIP) by the end of the year. But first the
government must decide how the new service should be regulated and that
process is expected this Thursday with the FCC opening a rulemaking on VoIP
(see below). The issue is a tough one for regulators because the technology
highlights the convergence of communications and computers and the
different ways the FCC has regulated the two. Industry watchers will be
interested to see what the FCC's rulemaking looks like: a list of questions
or a detailed statement of the Commission's position. To be decided is 1)
how VoIP should be classified -- as an information service or a
telecommunications service; 2) whether or not VoIP should be subject to
access fees paid between carriers to complete calls; and 3) will VoIP
providers be required to pay into the Universal Service Fund used to keep
rural and underserved areas' phone bills down and other fees to support
emergency 911 funds. And since VoIP is computer-based, should there be
worries about viruses and hackers? Tune in Thursday at www.fcc.gov
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Stephen Labaton]
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/09/technology/09rules.html
(requires registration)
FCC OPEN MEETING THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12
The FCC release an agenda for its open meeting on Thursday; items include:
1) Pulver.com's Free World Dialup (see story above)
2) VoIP Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
3) Broadband over Power Line Systems Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
4) Access Charges/Universal Service Reform Report and Order
5) Service Disruption Reporting Requirements Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
[SOURCE: FCC]
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-243614A1.pdf
INTERNET
SAFETY, BLOGS AND PROTOCOLS
Will security problems, ever more intrusive advertising and efforts to tax
online activities result in technical and commercial ruin for the Internet?
Will innovation be stifled by battles over intellectual property? When will
vast repositories of human knowledge in the form of books and other media
go online in a serious way? How will technology help users navigate all
that information? What will today's leading Internet companies look like
tomorrow? These are a few of the questions asked and addressed in this
Journal Report. Concerning regulation, market-research firm Forrester
Research estimates that local and state governments are losing $11 billion
in potential Internet access tax revenue this year because of the Internet
tax ban passed by Congress in 1998. And the Federal legislation on spam
that went into effect January 1 is considered more lenient than state laws
that the federal act superceded. As to content, the nonprofit Internet
Archive in San Francisco is working to bring more creative and intellectual
material online. The organization is building a digital library that
provides free computer storage and Internet access for any historical
collections now available in digital format.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Nick Wingfield at
nick.wingfield( at )wsj.com, Mylene Mangalindan at mylene.mangalindan( at )wsj.com,
Kara Swisher at kara.swisher( at )wsj.com, David Bank at david.bank( at )wsj.com,
David P. Hamilton at david.hamilton( at )wsj.com and Don Clark at
don.clark( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB107582325268319257,00.html?mod=e%2Dco...
(requires subscription)
BROADCASTING
PBS #1 IN PUBLIC TRUST, RESPECT ACCORDING TO NEW ROPER POLL
The Public Broadcasting System and RoperASW released results of a poll on
Thursday finding that the American public called PBS the most trusted
institution on a list of nationally known organizations in the country and
the best use of tax dollars, second only to military defense. Americans are
more satisfied with programming on PBS compared with commercial
broadcasting or cable networks and consider PBS news and public affairs
series the most trustworthy. The majority of people surveyed believe that
public broadcasting receives "too little" funding from the federal
government and that money given to PBS stations from the government,
corporations and individuals is "money well spent."
For more information, contact Lea Sloan 703/739-5021 lsloan( at )pbs.org or Jan
McNamara 703/739-5028 jmcnamara( at )pbs.org
[SOURCE: Public Broadcasting System Press Release]
http://www.pbs.org/aboutpbs/news/20040205_RoperPollRelease.html
LOCALISM TASK FORCE PUBLIC HEARING ONLINE
The FCC's Localism Task Force has scheduled six public hearings on the
subject of localism. The purpose of this public hearing is to gather
information from consumers, industry, civic organizations, and others on
broadcasters' service to their local communities. The second of these
hearings was held in San Antonio, Texas on January 28. You may now read
statements from panelists or see a Web cast of the event. Yes, yes, I know,
I'm pointing you towards a 5.5 hr long video for your computer. But if
broadcasting isn't local, why have it?
[SOURCE: FCC]
http://www.fcc.gov/localism/hearing-sanantonio012804.html
PRIVACY
TIVO AND PRIVACY
Did it bother anyone that TiVo was able to report last week that the Janet
Jackson incident was the most replayed event in the devices history? TiVo
records the habits of its users and is ready to sell data on specific users
to the TV industry through a partnership with Nielsen Media Research. The
company says it protects the identity of users unless users expressly
permit otherwise. "What they're saying is, 'You have to trust us,' " says
Richard Smith, a privacy and security consultant, who has examined TiVo's
technology. " 'We're going to snoop on you, but we will disconnect all that
information we have about you from your actual identity.' "
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Nick Wingfield at
nick.wingfield( at )wsj.com and Jennifer Saranow at jennifer.saranow( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB107627909024923840,00.html?mod=techno...
(requires subscription)
ONLINE SEARCH ENGINES HELP LIFT COVER OF PRIVACY
The Post explores "Google hacking," a completely legal use of the Internet
search to find sensitive information about people and organizations tucked
away in online crannies. For Web Masters, there are measures to take for
protection, but misconfiguration can mean Google gains access to
information that may not be meant for sharing.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Yuki Noguchi]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A24053-2004Feb8.html
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