INTERNET CONTENT
Disney's Peer to Peer Pressure (Wired)
Filter Plan Leaks Like a Sieve (Wired)
FCC
FCC Press Conference: "Digital Broadband Migration" Part II (FCC)
FCC Chairman: NextWave Deal will be Difficult (WP)
PRIVACY
Groups Renew Call for FTC Action on Microsoft XP (EPIC)
EARNINGS
AT&T's Core Business Keeps Falling (WP)
INTERNET CONTENT
DISNEY'S PEER TO PEER PRESSURE
Issue: Content
Some media watchers are crying "foul" for Disney's use of a pre-teen
television cartoon to convey an anti-file-sharing message. A recent episode
of Disney's "The Proud Channel" used a plotline where Penny Proud is
introduced to file-sharing by a friend. Penny develops a liking to
downloading music from the Internet. The trouble starts when a musician
calls the police after receiving a smaller royalty check than expected. The
police - who surround Penny's house - threaten to arrest her causing her
parents to take away her computer. But if that's not enough, her downloading
music puts the local record store out of business as well. "Disney has been
merchandising childhood for decades, so this is no surprise," said Ben
Silverman, an independent journalist covering Internet companies. "Disney is
using its entertainment programming to distribute a corporate message aimed
at protecting its assets." The show's creator says he was using the
peer-to-peer storyline only as a backdrop. "Really, it was our way of
telling a love story, dealing with two 14-year-olds and the temptations that
might come up with the relationship." The larger context is Disney's
involvement in legislation being drafted by Sen. Fritz Hollings (D-South
Carolina). The legislation would make it illegal to sell or distribute any
digital device that doesn't "utilize certified security technologies"
approved by the U.S. Commerce Department.
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Brad King]
(http://wired.com/news/business/0,1367,47806,00.html)
FILTER PLAN LEAKS LIKE A SIEVE
Issue: Content
A Web-rating system touted by Microsoft, AOL Time Warner and Yahoo as a way
to protect children may be far less useful than its backers have claimed.
The companies predicted at a press conference Tuesday that parents will be
able to configure their child's Web browser to reject sites that either lack
ratings or are self-labeled as having unacceptable amounts of violence, sex
or nudity. But a closer look at the company's media properties illustrates
the perils of trying to glue the Internet Content Rating Association's
(ICRA) tags on all of the domains owned by a corporate organism as complex
as AOL Time Warner. Critics are especially concerned about the ICRA's
ability to deal with journalist content. "If there's no news site exemption,
then the whole system falls apart," says David Sobel of the Electronic
Privacy Information Center, which generally opposes rating and filtering
schemes. "If you don't come up with a tag that lets news through routinely,
then browsers are going to block news sites because they're unrated."
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Declan McCullagh]
(http://wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,47808,00.html)
FCC
FCC PRESS CONFERENCE: "DIGITAL BROADBAND MIGRATION" PART II
Issue: Broadband
At a press conference yesterday, Federal Communications Commission Chairman
Michael K. Powell said: "The widespread deployment of broadband
infrastructure has become the central communications policy objective
today." He outlined five specific areas that will guide the Commission's
agenda: (1) Broadband Deployment, (2) Competition Policy, (3) Spectrum
Allocation Policy, (4) Re-examination of the Foundations of Media
Regulation, and (5) Homeland Security. See FCC site for complete speech.
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Speeches/Powell/2001/spmkp109.html)
FCC CHAIRMAN: NEXTWAVE DEAL WILL BE DIFFICULT
Issue: Spectrum
Michael Powell, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, said
Tuesday it will be difficult for the government to settle its court fight
with bankrupt NextWave. Discussions between NextWave, the Bush
administration and some of the nation's largest mobile telecommunications
companies are continuing, Michael Powell told reporters. With so many varied
interests involved, Powell said an agreement remains "a still very open
question." "This thing has 450,000 moving parts," he said. "It's very
difficult to align them in a way where everyone is satisfied." Under a deal
being considered, NextWave would sell its spectrum rights to its spectrum,
gaining about $6 billion.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Jennifer Loven]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/regulation/13328-1.html)
PRIVACY
GROUPS RENEW CALL FOR FTC ACTION ON MICROSOFT XP
Issue: Privacy
EPIC and a coalition of consumer and privacy groups have renewed their calls
for FTC action to protect consumers from the privacy risks associated with
Windows XP and Passport. In a letter sent to the FTC, the groups criticized
the FTC for not upholding its statutory duty to protect consumers in light
of planned release of Windows XP. More information on the groups' previous
FTC complaints is stored on the EPIC Microsoft Passport Page.
[SOURCE: Electronic Privacy Information Center]
(http://www.epic.org/)
EARNINGS
AT&T's CORE BUSINESS KEEPS FALLING
Issue: Earnings
AT&T reported yesterday a $13.5 billion gain from the spinoff of its
wireless unit. However, its core long-distance telephone business declined
almost 18 percent during the past three months. Excluding the gain from
creating a new wireless company, AT&T's results continue the slide they have
been on for the previous three quarters. Without the gain, the company had a
loss of $2.2 billion (69 cents) for the three months. That compared with
earnings of 35 cents per share a year ago. Armstrong told analysts last
night that he did not expect the company to begin recovering before the end
of the year.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Christopher Stern]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/telecom/13325-1.html)
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