INTERNET
Judge Rules Against Filters at Library (CyberTimes)
'Decency' Revisited (WP)
Holiday Shopping Season Puts E-Commerce to the Test (CyberTimes)
New Internet Board Responds to Government Requests (CyberTimes)
MINORITIES
New EEO Rules (FCC)
3 Women in TV Form Cable Channel for Women (WP)
TELEPHONE
MCI Files Plans With FCC to Clarify Its 'Casual' Rates (WSJ)
MERGERS
SOL-Sun Talks Complicate Deal With Netscape (WP)
AOL Could Win Clout in Battle Over Internet (WSJ)
Conquering the Internet (NYT)
Takeover Fever Hits Online Industry (WP)
For Other Internet Players, A Scramble for Shelter (WSJ)
Book Deal Gets U.S. Approval (WSJ)
ANTITRUST
AOL Bid Plays Key Role at Trial Of Microsoft (WP)
Talks Muddy U.S. Bid to Curb Microsoft Power (WSJ)
Microsoft Says Proposed Netscape Deal Supports Its Case (NYT)
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INTERNET
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JUDGE RULES AGAINST FILTERS AT LIBRARY
Issue: Libraries
Judge Leonie M. Brinkema, of the United States district court for the
Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria, struck down the policy of the
Loudoun County, Va., library system to use filtering software on all
computer terminals: "Such a policy offends the guarantee of free speech in
the First Amendment and is, therefore, unconstitutional," Judge Brinkema
wrote. She also ruled that filters constitute a form of prior restraint on
distribution of speech. A survey by the American Library Association found
that 15% of all libraries have filters installed on at least some of their
computers. Lawrence S. Ottinger, senior staff lawyer for the People for the
American Way Foundation http://www.pfaw.org/, which helped bring the suit
on behalf of the Loudoun patrons, hailed the decision: "I think it's a
landmark victory for public libraries and the right of the public to read
what they want in public libraries."
[SOURCE: New York Times (CyberTimes), AUTHOR: Pamela Mendels
mendels( at )nytimes.com]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/11/cyber/articles/24library.html
JUDGE BARS LIBRARY SYSTEM'S INTERNET FILTER
[SOURCE: Washington Post (A1), AUTHOR: Brooke A. Masters & David Nakamura]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/washtech/daily/nov98/library24.htm
'DECENCY' REVISITED
Issue: Censorship
[Editorial] "The job of shielding kids from Net pornography in a
free-speech system can be accomplished constitutionally only by parents."
Last week a Philadelphia district judge put the Child Online Protection Act
(COPA) under a restraining order while a legal challenge to it goes forward.
After the Communications Decency Act was struck down by the Supreme Court
for being overbroad, Congress passed the COPA. The COPA still reflects "a
lack of understanding of how the Internet actually works. The first problem
is that 'harmful to minors' is a community standard.The second is that
many, perhaps most, publications that maintain Web sites (including this
newspaper) operate without requiring credit cards for access." Use of
credit cards as proof that the visitor was over 18 would not prevent them
from access to grown-up material like the Starr report.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (A18), AUTHOR: WP Editorial Staff]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-11/24/000l-112498-idx.html
HOLIDAY SHOPPING SEASON PUTS E-COMMERCE TO THE TEST
Issue: Electronic Commerce
The two heavy-hype champions of the world -- Christmas shopping and the
Internet -- will be joining forces this month -- probably in your prime time
living room. The message from Internet retailers is that it is easier, more
economical and just as safe to shop on the Internet as at the local mall.
Last year at this time, about $1.1 billion was spent online -- that figure
is expected to climb to $2.8 billion this holiday season. OK, so that's
nothing compared to the $173 billion that Deloitte & Touche predicts
Americans will spend overall this holiday season. That's mainly because
about two-thirds of American are still not online and many that are still
are a bit fearful of sending their credit card numbers over the Internet.
"The hardest part is getting people to make that first purchase," said Wendy
Brown, vice president for electronic commerce at America Online. "So
everything we're doing right now is geared toward making that first purchase
easy." And how are online retailers competing? Service. Service. Service.
Check out these sites: 911Gifts.com http://www.911gift.com/, Clinique
http://www.clinique.com/, and eGift.com http://www.egift.com/.
[SOURCE: New York Times (CyberTimes), AUTHOR: Bob Tedeschi
tedeschi( at )nytimes.com]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/11/cyber/commerce/24commerce.html
NEW INTERNET BOARD RESPONDS TO GOVERNMENT REQUESTS
Issue: Internet
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has
submitted a new proposal to the US Government that addresses the public's
concerns about the openness of the group. ICANN new bylaws include
requirements that public meetings be held before any policy decisions are
made, that all of the board's votes be roll-call votes, that extensive
minutes be published within 21 days of each meeting and that a committee be
formed to establish "a mechanism for the reconsideration of decisions by
independent third parties in cases where it is thought that ICANN or its
staff has not followed its own bylaws or rules of procedure." "Basically
it's everything anybody wanted; basically its anything conceivable except
for open meetings," said Ester Dyson, Chairman of the ICANN board. "There's
been a change in tone. I think that really is more important than anything.
The tone is that we understand that this is a public organization. We
understand that the people affected have a right to take an interest in what
we are doing."
[SOURCE: New York Times (CyberTimes), AUTHOR: Jeri Clausing jeri( at )nytimes.com]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/11/cyber/articles/24domain.html
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MINORITIES
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New EEO Rules
NEW EEO RULES
Issue: Jobs/Minorities
From the news release: The FCC today proposed new Equal Employment
Opportunity (EEO) rules that would require broadcast licensees to inform
women and members of minority groups of job vacancies....The FCC's proposed
EEO rule revision would require outreach efforts designed to ensure that
minority and female applicants are informed of, and have an opportunity to
apply for, openings at broadcast stations. The proposal would not contain
requirements for employers to assess how the composition of their employment
profiles compares with the composition of the local labor force nor would
the Commission use such a comparison (sometimes referred to as "processing
guidelines") when assessing an entity's EEO program. The Commission also
asked for comment on its proposal to reinstate the statistical employment
data collection contained in the Annual Employment Report, but made clear
that these data would only be used to monitor industry trends.
[SOURCE: FCC]
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Mass_Media/News_Releases/1998/nrmm8038.html
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Mass_Media/Notices/1998/fcc98305.txt
3 WOMEN IN TV FORM CABLE CHANNEL FOR WOMEN
Issue: Gender/Cable
Some important names in television have joined together to create a new
cable channel aimed at women. Oprah Winfrey, Carsey-Werner-Mandabach and
Geraldine Laybourne, the former president of Nickelodeon, are expected to
announce plans today for the Oxygen Channel, which has a start date set for
Jan 1, 2000. The partners say that most of programming will be original.
They do, however, note that this channel might be the "perfect place" to
release the huge library of Ms. Winfey's daily talk show.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: ]
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/tv-womens-network.html
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TELEPHONE
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MCI FILES PLANS WITH FCC TO CLARIFY ITS 'CASUAL' RATES
Issue: Telephone
MCI WorldCom amended its tariffs with the FCC on "casual calling" rates for
some subscribers making long distance calls. The FCC had expressed concern
that some MCI subscribers were being charged the higher, non-subscriber
rates. MCI contends that most people being charged the higher rate were
people who were more than 90 days behind in payments. Hereafter their long
distance service will be blocked. An AT&T spokesman said that they also
have "casual calling" rates but it is impossible to apply them to AT&T
subscribers.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B6), AUTHOR: Rebecca Blumenstein]
http://www.wsj.com/
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MERGERS
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SOL-SUN TALKS COMPLICATE DEAL WITH NETSCAPE (WP)
AOL COULD WIN CLOUT IN BATTLE OVER INTERNET (WSJ)
CONQUERING THE INTERNET (NYT)
Issue: Mergers
America Online, the world's largest Internet service, is negotiating a deal
to dominate the World Wide Web. AOL has proposed to buy Netscape Corp.'s
Internet browser and form an alliance with Sun Microsystems. If completed,
these deals would not just make AOL the most seen company on the Internet,
Netscape's browser would also help ready AOL for the media convergence
expected with the transition to digital broadcasting. In the meantime, AOL
could take advantage of the increased advertiser dollars they will attract
if they acquire the world's number one portal.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (D1), AUTHOR: Elizabeth Corcoran & Leslie Walker]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-11/24/053l-112498-idx.html
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B1), AUTHOR: Thomas E. Weber]
http://www.wsj.com/
[SOURCE: New York Times (A1), AUTHOR: Steve Lohr and John Marko
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/11/biztech/articles/24netscape.html
TAKEOVER FEVER HITS ONLINE INDUSTRY
Issue: Merger/Internet
Consumers are buying the stock of many Internet companies now because they are
hoping some of them will become the target of the next takeover
bid. This year $195 billion worth of Internet-related mergers have been
announced in the US. This explosion in deals indicates the Internet has
become an industry unto itself and is now in its second life cycle phase,
having moved from creation to consolidation. Young companies are racing to
grab market share. Internet acquisitions tend to be aimed at getting either
customers or content. Thousands of companies are fighting for the same
online revenue pool, and only a few of them will be able to survive.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (D1), AUTHOR: Leslie Walker]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-11/24/067l-112498-idx.html
FOR OTHER INTERNET PLAYERS, A SCRAMBLE FOR SHELTER
Issue: Merger/Internet
George Bell of Excite says the proposed AOL and Netscape deal "accelerates
the notion that there is a Microsoft Web and a non-Microsoft Web dominated
by AOL." Excite (partly owned by AOL) and other Internet companies are
looking for the right partners to be a part of one of the powerhouses.
Yahoo, the most popular single site on the Web, seems to have a credible
claim to remaining in the Top Three. Jeff Mallett of Yahoo says a few major
brands can be good for a market, pointing to the big three television
networks. Lycos and other portals are building audiences by adding an array
of services, such as free e-mail and chat, and by buying up smaller online
communities. "Fewer, bigger players can really hurt smaller ones," said
Paul Noglows, a financial analyst. "Now it could really get ugly."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B1), AUTHOR: Kara Swisher]
http://www.wsj.com/
BOOK DEAL GETS U.S. APPROVAL
Issue: Merger
London-based Pearson PLC has been cleared to become the world's largest
educational publisher. Federal antitrust officials agreed to allow
Pearson's $4.6 billion purchase of Simon & Schuster's educational and
reference book division. Department of Justice officials only required the
selloff of 55 titles. Pearson also announced that a second deal with Hicks,
Muse, which had been previously announced, would not go forward since they
could not agree on final terms.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (D3), AUTHOR: WP Staff Writer]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-11/24/066l-112498-idx.html
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ANTITRUST
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TALKS MUDDY U.S. BID TO CURB MICROSOFT POWER (WSJ)
MICROSOFT SAYS PROPOSED NETSCAPE DEAL SUPPORTS ITS CASE (NYT)
AOL BID PLAYS KEY ROLE AT TRIAL OF MICROSOFT (WP)
Issue: Antitrust
The proposed merger of AOL and Netscape was a key point of contention
yesterday at the government's antitrust trial against Microsoft. William
Neukom, Microsoft attorney, said the proposed deal "proves indisputably that
no company can control the supply of technology. We are part of an industry
that is remarkably dynamic and ever-changing." David Boies, the
government's lead attorney, said, "The merger is not going to remove any of
the obstacles Microsoft has placed in the path of competition." On the
witness stand Frederick Warren-Boulton, a former government economist,
argued that Microsoft's exclusive contracts with computer makers and
Internet service providers may have forced the firms to consider merging.
An observing lawyer suggested that the proposed deal "will remind Judge
Jackson that any relief ordered today or tomorrow will be out of date the
day after." Observers also suggest the timing of the AOL and Netscape deal
is good because they are unlikely to face tough antitrust scrutiny by the
Justice Department themselves.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B1), AUTHOR: Bryan Gruley & David Bank]
http://www.wsj.com/
[SOURCE: New York Times (C4), AUTHOR: Joel Brinkley]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/yr/mo/biztech/articles/24microsoft.html
[SOURCE: Washington Post (D1), AUTHOR: David Segal & Rajiv Chandrasekaran]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-11/24/063l-112498-idx.html
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We'll be back tomorrow, but there will be no Headlines on Thursday and Friday.