TELEPHONY
FCC Weighs Unusual Limit on SBC Deal (WSJ)
Joint Phone Venture Wins an Approval (NYT)
BROADBAND
AT&T Access Woes Multiply (B&C)
INTERNET
Coalition Sets Plan to Block Internet Music Piracy (NYT)
Capital Dispatch: Wanted: More Online Government (CyberTimes)
Webcast Audiences Aren't Just Sitting There, Survey Finds (CyberTimes)
Man Given 2 Year Term In E-Mail Case (NYT)
U.S. Aims to Help E-Buyers Beware (WP)
MEDIA & SOCIETY
Parents Not Tuned to V-Chip (WP)
Dole Proposal Tackles Internet Pornography (WP)
Court Gives Ear To Bunny (B&C)
TELEPHONY
FCC WEIGHS UNUSUAL LIMIT ON SBC DEAL
Issue: Mergers
The Federal Communication Commission is holding talks with SBC and Ameritech
about the one-year-old proposed merger. They are not discussing specifics with
the public but sources say there may be some conditions on the merger, which
would address monopolistic concerns. The proposed terms seem to be less
stringent than some that were considered earlier. One may be requiring the
deployment of high speed Internet service and opening their markets to
competition or face stiff fines. The FCC is expected to seek public comment on
the proposed items.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B1), AUTHOR: Miriam Jordan]
(http://wsj.com/)
JOINT PHONE VENTURE WINS AN APPROVAL
Issue: Alliance
The Justice Department has approved plans for a $3 billion joint venture
between AT&T and British Telecom. The alliance is intended to allow the two
companies to combine their voice data and Internet services for multinational
corporations. In March, after AT&T agreed to sell its British assets, European
regulators gave their OK to the plan. The Federal Communications Commission
still must approve the deal.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C27), AUTHOR: Bloomberg News]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/06/biztech/articles/29att.html)
BROADBAND
AT&T ACCESS WOES MULTIPLY
Issue: Broadband
AT&T is heading into more trouble in the cable business. In Los Angeles, three
out of five members of the city's technology advisory committee resigned
because of the open-access issue. The third recently resigned after a report
opposing open-access to cable lines was brought into negotiations. AT&T faces
many upset local committees in San Francisco, Atlanta, suburban Boston and
south Florida as Internet companies and local telephone companies lobby their
city councils for open-access to cable lines. These companies feel AT&T will
monopolizing cable lines, only offering consumers their own high speed Internet
services. A federal court decision in Portland, Oregon this May brought the
issue of open-access to all of AT&T's markets. The court decision gave Portland
the power to force AT&T to allow competitors access to the cable lines in that
market. AT&T claims if the markets are open, it signals the government choking
off development of new business because AT&T has invested money into the
technological development and the government is giving their investment away.
Internet providers and telephone companies believe that cable services should
be regulated similar to long-distance where consumers can choose among dozens
of carriers for high speed Internet services.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting &Cable (p11.), AUTHOR: John M. Higgins]
(http://www.broadcastingcable.com/)
INTERNET
COALITION SETS PLAN TO BLOCK INTERNET MUSIC PIRACY
Issue: Intellectual Property
Music and technology companies have agreed to work together to develop a
technology that would block the playing of pirated songs on digital music
players. They have formed a coalition called the Secure Digital Music
Initiative to prevent future unauthorized copying of music over the Internet.
Last year's launch of the portable Rio player, which lets users listen to songs
downloaded from a computer using MP3 technology, cause great fear in the record
industry. The coalition has developed a two phase plan that will initially
allow portable devises to play all music, but subsequent versions of the
players will be required to block all unauthorized music.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Neil Strauss and Matt Richtel]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/06/biztech/articles/29music.html)
CAPITAL DISPATCH: WANTED: MORE ONLINE GOVERNMENT
Issue: Access to Information
Two technology advocacy groups, the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT)
and OMB Watch, have begun a campaign to identify "the 10 most wanted
government documents, reports or data sets that should be on the Web -- but are
missing in action due to the failure of the government to use the Internet
fully." The groups are asking citizens to participate by filling out the form
at the CDT's Web site, (http://www.cdt.org/righttoknow/10mostwanted/) or
at the
OMB Watch Web site, (http://www.ombwatch.org). "We're deputizing the Net
community, journalists and researchers," said Ari Schwartz, CDT policy analyst.
"If your document is chosen as one of the top 10, you will be rewarded with a
full force effort to get the documents they are seeking up on the Web."
[SOURCE: CyberTimes, AUTHOR: Jeri Clausing]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/06/cyber/capital/29capital.html)
WEBCAST AUDIENCE AREN'T JUST SITTING THERE
Issue: Internet
Good news for companies that are focusing on Web sites that offer audio and
video. A survey to be released today by Arbitron NewMedia indicates that 49
percent of the respondents said they buy products they see advertised during
Webcasts or on related sites. Northstar Interactive, a research firm owned by
Arbitron NewMedia, conducted the survey online this month. Northstar
interviewed 1,527 Internet users who were picked randomly on the sites of two
major online broadcasters, Broadcast.com and Vtuner.com. Sixty-three percent of
those surveyed access Webcasts at home, while 47 percent access them at work. A
third of the respondents said they tune in daily, while three-quarters said
they tune in once a week. Gregory Verdino, vice president and general manager
for Internet information services at Arbitron NewMedia, said the study found
that the Internet audience would like to see a portable device that would allow
them to listen to and watch Webcasts anywhere.
[SOURCE: New York Times (CyberTimes), AUTHOR: Lisa Napoli]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/06/cyber/articles/29radio.html)
MAN GIVEN 2 YEAR TERM IN E-MAIL CASE
Issue: Internet
A 23-year-old man was sentenced to two years in prison for sending threatening
e-mail to nearly 100 Hispanic people around the country. Kingman Quon was
convicted on seven counts of civil right violations after admitting to the
crime. He also apologized to his victims, who included many faculty members at
California State University at Los Angeles, students at MIT, and employees of
Xerox and NASA. "When I read, 'I hate your race. I want you all to die,' how
could I protect myself?" said of the recipients, Assemblywoman Gloria Romero of
California. "This, your honor, was about me. It was about having a name like
Romero. . . . The morning I read that e-mail, I felt defenseless." Some
observers, however, question whether jail time is an appropriate punishment for
sending email. "What this is really about is the feeling on the part of Federal
authorities that they need to prove they're on the job in cyberspace," said
Mike Godwin, a lawyer and author of _Cyber Rights: Defending Free Speech in the
Digital Age_.
[SOURCE: CyberTimes, AUTHOR: Rebeca Fairley Raney]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/06/cyber/articles/29hate.html)
U.S. AIMS TO HELP E-BUYERS BEWARE
Issue: Internet/Health
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is cracking down on fraudulent advertising
for health products on the Internet. According to a market research survey,
health concerns are the sixth most common reason for using the Internet (and
growing by 70% a year). But amid the helpful information that can be found on
reliable Web sites, the number of unreliable and potentially dangerous Web
sites are growing. Since 1994 the agency has brought charges for fraudulent
advertising against the operators of 91 Internet sites, including eight that
sold health-related products. Most recently, it put up 12 "teaser sites" on the
World Wide Web to educate people about questionable marketing tactics. As part
of its campaign called Project Cure.All, the FTC created homepages for
nonexistent products called ArthritiCure (for arthritis relief), NordiCaLite
(for weight loss) and Virility Plus (for impotence treatment) to help raise
consumer awareness of deceitful adds and to educate them on how to better read
ads. Another safe way to obtain health information is by going to the following
government web sites which provide links to reliable sources and advice on how
to evaluate health-related products: www.healthfinder.gov and www.ftc.gov.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (Z7), AUTHOR: Susan Okie]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-06/29/007l-062999-idx.html)
MEDIA & SOCIETY
PARENTS NOT TUNED TO V-CHIP
Issue: Television/Technology
The long-awaited V-chip, which allows parents to screen out violence (hence the
V), offensive language and sexual situations, has been installed in new TV sets
and is now out on the market. There is doubt, however, that parents will ever
be chip-hip. People today have difficulty programming their VCRs, much less a
new chip inside their TV sets. And, most importantly, few people are aware of
the TV ratings that appear before television shows (D=suggestive dialogue,
V=violence, FV=fantasy or cartoon violence) that are necessary to "block" these
shows using the V-chip. Also, there is concern that the V-chip could increase
the amount of questionable material on TV because networks might ague that
families now have a means to block any material they chose. On the other hand,
violent TV shows could lose advertisers if the V-chip blocks them out.
According to federal law, every new set bigger than 13 inches has to have the
V-chip installed by January 1. It is estimated that roughly half the households
in the country could have a V-chip TV in five years, but lack of education on
its use and on the rating system could limit widespread use.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (A1), AUTHOR: Paul Farhi]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-06/29/059l-062999-idx.html)
DOLE PROPOSAL TACKLES INTERNET PORNOGRAPHY
Issue: Internet
Republican presidential candidate Elizabeth Dole tackled the issue of Internet
content by stating, "Libraries shouldn't use federal tax money to put
pornography on their shelves and they shouldn't put it on their desktops or
laptops." She said she wants to end federal funding for libraries that allow
access to pornography. Republican pollster Michael Baselice said Dole, like
other republican candidates, is searching for ways to siphon attention and
money from Texas Governor George W. Bush.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (A3), AUTHOR: Ceci Connolly]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-06/29/074l-062999-idx.html)
COURT GIVES EAR TO BUNNY
Issue: Cable/ First Amendment
Last week, the Supreme Court agreed to review a law that requires cable
operators to block the sound and video of all adult channels from
non-subscribers and confine adult programming to the hours of 10 p.m. to 6a.m.
The Playboy Entertainment Group is fighting the law on constitutional grounds.
They also claim that the law would result in $25 million in lost revenues over
the next ten years. The government, however, has asked the Supreme Court to
uphold the law, arguing that it "imposes a very limited restriction on speech
and is a very effective approach to the substantial evil it addresses."
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable (p.13), AUTHOR: Paige Albiniak]
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