"Apparently this administration cares more about our nation's ability to update their Facebook status than fighting crime."
-- Sen Richard Shelby (R-AL) http://bit.ly/90nL96
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2010
Free State Foundation and NTIA/RUS host events today http://bit.ly/dyaslt and next week is busy, too http://bit.ly/d6IiKF
THE STIMULUS
Senate Broadband Stimulus Oversight Hearing
Bill looks to cut University of Maine Internet sales
NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN
Free Press Outlines Key Policy Components for National Broadband Plan Success
An Achievable Broadband Policy
NAB, MSTV Find Fault With CEA/CTIA Spectrum Plan
NCTA: One-Size Set-Tops Don't Fit All
Stuart Benjamin: FCC Isn't Forcing Broadcasters Off Spectrum
NETWORK NEUTRALITY
Rep Edwards Urges Peers to Sign Net Neutrality Petition
Why Are Some Civil Rights Groups & Leaders On the Wrong Side of Net Neutrality?
Netflix to FCC: scary loophole in net neutrality rules
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
FCC Team Sent to Haiti
CYBERSECURITY
Key infrastructure often cyberattack target: survey
Google, China, and the coming threat from cyberspace
House investigates website hackings
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Google wants help, casts censorship as trade barrier issue
The Chinese Internet Century
10 things you'll see on the Web in the next 10 years
JOURNALISM
Can You Crowdsource Journalism? Seed Is Trying
Twitter and YouTube Continue to Focus on Haiti while Blogs Move On
WIRELESS
What the iPad Tells Us About Mobile Broadband Pricing
How the iPad Helps Mobile Ad Firms -- and Hurts Traditional Online Advertisers
Nearly 1/2 Of Smartphone Users Never Buy An App
AT&T: We Really Do Suck in SF & NYC
MEDIA OWNERSHIP
Comcast/GE/NBCU Pitch Deal To FCC
Ticketmaster and Live Nation merger is a raw deal
Well-crafted FCC minority initiatives could survive courts
FCC Media Ownership Workshop in South Carolina
MEDIA AND ELECTIONS
Democrats prepare legislation to counter ruling on campaign spending
PRIVACY
All eyes on online privacy | Flash Of Criticism At FTC Privacy Roundtable | Facebook, Google, LinkedIn want FTC privacy safeguards
Customers Sue ISP For Installing NebuAd 'Spyware,' Offering Defective Opt-Outs
Google wants to see client addresses in DNS queries
Facebook Being Probed Over Privacy — Again
HEALTH
Hands-free cellphones are just as risky for drivers, study finds
NIST project to evaluate health IT ease-of-use
HHS takes Hippocratic oath on health IT stimulus
TELEVISION
Cablevision Asks Supreme Court To Review Constitutionality Of Must-Carry
CONTENT
Critics tell judge to reject Google books settlement
Maybe Information Really Doesn't Want to Be Free
MORE ONLINE
Intelligent Transportation Systems: U.S. Not Leading the Pack
Strong leadership needed for uncertain times
Nielsen: 48 Million Tune In for Obama's State of the Union
Spain Blurs the Line Between Programs and Ads With Extended Telepromotions
Managers reject applicants because of online info
THE STIMULUS
SENATE BROADBAND STIMULUS OVERSIGHT HEARING
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Kim Hart]
A Senate Appropriations subcommittee held an oversight hearing Thursday (Jan 28) of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's $4.7 broadband stimulus project funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. During the sparsely attended hourlong hearing, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and Assistant Secretary Larry Strickling defended the NTIA's management of the program. Ranking member Richard Shelby (R-AL) sharply criticized the Department of Commerce's management of the program, which he says is a "poster child" for wasteful spending under the Obama administration. He noted that the NTIA now has more funding than the three law enforcement agencies under the subcommittee's jurisdiction combined: the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Marshals Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. "Apparently this administration cares more about our nation's ability to update their Facebook status than fighting crime," he said.
benton.org/node/31702 | Hill, The
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BILL ATTACKS UNIV OF MAINE BROADBAND STIMULUS PROJECT
[SOURCE: Bangor Daily News, AUTHOR: Kevin Miller]
FairPoint Communications took its cyber turf war with the University of Maine System to the Maine State House on Wednesday, arguing for new restrictions on the institution's ability to sell high-speed Internet services. Relations between Maine's largest telecommunications company and the university system have been strained since last year when FairPoint officials accused the public system of unfairly competing with the private sector in offering broadband Internet. On Wednesday, lawmakers heard heated debate about whether UMS' efforts to expand the state's high-speed Internet infrastructure would undercut FairPoint's attempts to grow its broadband business, which the company believes is key to its long-term survival. Supporters of the university system, meanwhile, said it was FairPoint's legislative proposal that could keep Maine in the "dark ages." "This bill, if passed, serves only the interests of one bankrupt company at the expense of Maine people," said Sen. Elizabeth Schneider (D-Orono).
benton.org/node/31690 | Bangor Daily News
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NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN
FREE PRESS BROADBAND PLAN RECOMMENDATIONS
[SOURCE: Free Press, AUTHOR: Press release]
Free Press filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission outlining policies that are most critical to the success of the congressionally mandated national broadband plan to bring high-speed Internet to all Americans. In the comments, Free Press emphasizes the importance of both practical policy recommendations and benchmarks and aspirational goals in planning the country's Internet future.
Encourage broadband adoption through policies to increase competition: The plan should focus on competition in order to spur the deployment of high-capacity networks and drive down consumer costs to expand access for all Americans.
Enact Universal Service Fund reform: The "High Cost Fund" that currently supports basic telephone service must be reformed to support the construction of broadband networks to promote universal deployment. The fund should only provide ongoing subsidies for telephone service as truly needed, and the commission should aim to reduce the size of the fund dramatically over time.
Treat broadband as essential infrastructure: The plan must account for the critical information needs of people and communities. Libraries, schools and other essential institutions must have access to low-cost robust broadband.
Maximize the public utility of spectrum: Adopt "use it or lose it" spectrum rules to limit waste and open new portions of public spectrum to unleash innovation and improve the wireless broadband market.
Undertake set top box reform: The FCC must move decisively to prevent cable companies from acting as gatekeepers in the set top box market.
benton.org/node/31724 | Free Press | Free Press | CFA et al
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AN ACHIEVABLE BROADBAND POLICY
[SOURCE: Public Knowledge, AUTHOR: John Bergmayer]
The National Broadband Plan is a chance for the FCC to articulate a vision for improving the deployment and adoption of broadband in the United States. In two sets of comments filed this week with the FCC, we highlight recommendations that would encourage new entry into broadband markets, and encourage the FCC to put its treatment of broadband on a firmer legal ground. Additionally, along with many other public interest groups, we're a signatory to this statement encouraging the FCC to adopt a bold, yet pragmatic policy for promoting broadband. In order to provide a strong competitive check on wireline broadband, spectrum policy should focus on getting spectrum in the hands of new entrants. Additionally, spectrum policy should be pluralistic and pragmatic, recognizing that unlicensed spectrum uses like WiFi can do as much for broadband adoption as licensed services like 3G. Thus, we recommended to the Commission that it ensure that its spectrum policy promotes competitive entry of new licensed services, promotes unlicensed use, and promotes buildout of already-licensed spectrum.
benton.org/node/31723 | Public Knowledge | Public Knowledge | CFA et al
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NAB, MSTV FIND FAULT WITH CEA/CTIA PLAN
[SOURCE: TVNewsCheck, AUTHOR: ]
Broadcasters filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission promising "full and constructive participation" in the agency's National Broadband Plan. While offering support for several aspects of submissions filed by the Department of Justice and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the broadcast groups described a low-power proposal proffered by CTIA-The Wireless Association and the Consumer Electronics Association, while constructive, was impractical. The broadcasters' comments came as part of a joint filing submitted by the National Association of Broadcasters and the Association for Maximum Service Television (MSTV). NAB and MSTV expressed appreciation for CTIA and CEA's "constructive" efforts, but concluded that their proposal to transition over-the-air digital television to a low-power distributed transmission system (DTS) technology would result in coverage loss and interference. "Coverage gaps are the unavoidable consequence of trying to use a fill-in technology such as DTS as an across-the-board substitute" for the current deliver system of over-the-air DTV, the broadcast groups explained. Moreover, the CTIA/CEA proposal drastically underestimates the cost burden associated with such a transition, while overestimating the spectrum yield, NAB and MSTV said. The costs of implementing DTS "would be orders of magnitude higher than the estimates provided by CTIA/CEA," broadcasters concluded.
benton.org/node/31722 | TVNewsCheck
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NCTA: ONE-SIZE SET-TOPS DON'T FIT
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
In comments filed at the Federal Communications Commission on the National broadband Plan, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association argues that the cable industry is participating in at least 10 different projects to advance the FCC's goal of integrating video delivery systems via set-top devices to make it easier for consumers to access a range of content on-air and online over their TVs. The FCC is looking to spur broadband deployment by leveraging the 99% penetration of TV sets vs. about 75% for computers. NCTA says the FCC should not rush to adopt a "standardized gateway" to deliver all multichannel video programming to the home. "Proposed mandates on MVPDs to reinvent their platforms to use a one-size-fits-all, consensus technology would slow or stifle the development of diverse technologies and services that drive competition, innovation, and expanded choice for consumers," the group argues.
benton.org/node/31729 | Broadcasting&Cable
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FCC ISN'T FORCING BROADCASTERS OFF SPECTRUM
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Stuart Benjamin, the Federal Communications Commission's distinguished scholar in residence, is the guest on this week's episode of The Communicators on C-SPAN. His views have come under fire from broadcasters over past writings, particularly "Roasting the Pig to Burn Down the House," in which he suggested broadcast spectrum would be better off in other hands, and that regulating them out of business might be one way to do it. But while he says his job includes advising the chairman on what proceedings to launch, a larger part of his job is to raise both sides of issues and combat a kind of "groupthink" in Washington with the "clash of ideas" he says FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski wanted when he reached out to him. Benjamin said that what he "really meant" in his article was that "we are best off moving toward spectrum flexibility so that people can determine what services they want, and from the bottom up rather than the top down."
benton.org/node/31721 | Broadcasting&Cable
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NETWORK NEUTRALITY
EDWARDS NET NEUTRALITY PETITION
[SOURCE: BroadbandBreakfast.com, AUTHOR: ]
Rep Donna Edwards (D-MD) sent a letter to her colleagues on Wednesday urging them to sign a petition supporting the principles of network neutrality. In a petition addressed to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, Rep Edwards says "we cannot allow the Internet to become a commercial pay-for-play media system. An Internet without net neutrality will hamper economic growth and will serve as a barrier to the free flow of information." "The rulemaking process is an unprecedented opportunity to protect and promote consumer choice, competition, and innovation on the Internet," she wrote to her peers, adding that without the "open flow of information on the Internet much of the progress in the 20th and 21st centuries would never have taken place."
benton.org/node/31720 | BroadbandBreakfast.com
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OPPOSITION TO NET NEUTRALITY
[SOURCE: FireDogLake, AUTHOR: James Rucker]
[Commentary] I was troubled to learn that several Congressional Black Caucus members were among 72 Democrats to write the FCC last fall questioning the need for Net Neutrality rules. I was further troubled that a number of our nation's leading civil rights groups had also taken positions questioning or against Net Neutrality, using arguments that were in step with those of the big phone and cable companies like AT&T and Comcast, which are determined to water down any new FCC rules. Most unsettling about their position is the argument that maintaining Net Neutrality could widen the digital divide. First, let's be clear: the problem of the broadband digital divide is real. Already, getting a job, accessing services, managing one's medical care—just to mention a few examples—are all facilitated online. Those who aren't connected face a huge disadvantage in so many aspects of our society. Broadband access is a big problem — but that doesn't mean it has anything to do with Net Neutrality. Yet some in the civil rights community will tell you differently. In the coming weeks I plan to head back to DC to continue to fight for Net Neutrality. I'm hoping that on my next trip some of the anti-Net Neutrality civil rights groups or CBC members will heed my call and explain their position. I would like to believe that there is more to the "civil rights" opposition to Net Neutrality than money, politics, relationships, or just plain lack of understanding. For now, I'm doing my best to keep an open mind. But I don't think it will stay that way for much longer.
benton.org/node/31706 | FireDogLake
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NETFLIX AND NET NEUTRALITY
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Matthew Lasar]
Netflix, the company that mails out DVDs and streams movies to millions of home theater potatoes, made the rounds to the Federal Communications Commission on Friday. The company's general counsel told staffers and Commissioners that the movie rental distributor supports the agency's proposed Internet nondiscrimination rules. But they also include a potentially nasty loophole, Netflix warned—the "managed services" category that the Commission created in its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking back in October. "Netflix is concerned that network operators will use so-called managed services in a way that harms unaffiliated content or service providers that compete directly with services provided by the network operator," the company told the FCC earlier this month. "In short, if left unchecked, the 'managed services' category could engulf the Commission's open Internet policies altogether" and let ISPs end run any regulations. What are "managed services"? That remains to be worked out. It's a vague concept that appears to include IP voice and video. The FCC's NPRM suggests they could be good or bad for competition, depending on how they're deployed.
benton.org/node/31698 | Ars Technica
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EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
US TEAM ASSESSES HAITI'S COMMUNICATIONS NEEDS
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: ]
A US team is on-the-ground in Haiti evaluating the status of the country's communications infrastructure and services following the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12th. The team was deployed in response to a request from Director General Montàigne Marcelin of Conseil National des Télécommunications (Conatel), the communications agency in Haiti, in coordination with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The FCC team is led by International Bureau Chief Mindel De La Torre and includes Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) Chief Engineer William Lane and the three staff who initially deployed to Haiti days after the earthquake to support a FEMA Mobile Emergency Response Team, two additional FCC engineers, and two industry experts.
benton.org/node/31717 | Federal Communications Commission | FCC blog
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CYBERSECURITY
KEY INFRASTRUCTURE OFTEN CYBERATTACK TARGET
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Tarmo Virki]
The majority of information technology and security executives at energy, transportation and other companies with a role in critical infrastructure say their computer networks have been infiltrated, according to a new study from a public policy research group. Hackers frequently succeed in attacking businesses, security experts say, but companies rarely disclose the breaches because they are afraid of damaging their reputations and encouraging criminals. For the McAfee study the Center of Strategic and International Studies surveyed some 600 IT and security executives from the energy, transport, water and sewage, government, telecoms and financial sectors in 14 countries. "In most developed countries, critical infrastructure is connected to the Internet and can lack proper security functions, leaving these installations vulnerable," McAfee said. Some 37 percent of firms believed the threat to critical infrastructure is growing, and two-fifths expect a major cyber security incident within the next year, the survey showed, while one out of five has been a victim of financial extortion.
benton.org/node/31705 | Reuters | nextgov | NYTimes | FT
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GOOGLE, CHINA, AND THE COMING THREAT FROM CYBERSPACE
[SOURCE: The Christian Science Monitor, AUTHOR: Ron Deibert, Rafal Rohozinski]
[Commentary] Targeted cyber attacks such as the recent ones against Google will grow in frequency as cyberspace becomes more heavily contested. The question is what to do about them. Solutions won't be easy. Nor will they be solved by technical means alone. They will require widespread and comprehensive public policy changes, greater awareness of network security practices, and above all else a recognition by governments worldwide that an arms race in cyberspace serves no country's national strategic interest. For their part, companies should be encouraged to be more transparent and willing to share information about attacks on their infrastructure and less concerned about the liabilities of doing so. Google's actions are exemplary in this regard and may set a new standard of disclosure.
benton.org/node/31726 | Christian Science Monitor, The
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HOUSE INVESTIGATES CYBERATTACK
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Jordy Yager]
The House of Representatives is investigating the hacking of as many as 49 websites of Republican and Democratic lawmakers. The Office of the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) — the House's technological maintainer and adviser — informed affected members that the Information Systems Security Office is looking into the matter and they should have temporary websites up shortly. House officials are expected to hold a meeting late Thursday afternoon to look at what course of action the House should take toward the hackings. The sites were hacked Wednesday night after President Barack Obama's State of the Union address.
benton.org/node/31688 | Hill, The | CongressDaily | The Hill - leaders react | WashPost
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
GOOGLE SAYS CENSORSHIP IS A TRADE BARRIER
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Brooke Wylie]
Google wants the government to step up its support for Internet freedom in talks with China and other trading partners. The search engine's senior lobbyist on Wednesday said a free Internet is an American value the administration should seek to protect. "It's important to recognize that freedom of speech is not just a U.S. value, it's a value that lots of people around the world hold dear as well," said Alan Davidson, Google's director of U.S. policy and governmental affairs. "But in an Internet age, censorship for companies like Google is actually a trade barrier and we think that is a very important concept," he said. "Government should place a high priority on bilateral and multilateral conversations in trade negotiations on the level of Internet freedom that countries operate on." Davidson spoke on a panel on global Internet freedom at the Congressional Internet Caucus's State of the Net conference Wednesday. Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee Chairman Jerry Berman also weighed in on the debate, advocating the active role of the U.S. government while establishing the role of "netizens" in combating threats to Internet freedom.
benton.org/node/31701 | Hill, The
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THE CHINESE INTERNET CENTURY
[SOURCE: Foreign Policy, AUTHOR: Adam Segal]
[Commentary] Few minds in China are likely to change on account of Hillary Clinton's call for "a single Internet where all of humanity has equal access to knowledge and ideas." Last week, the U.S. secretary of state laid out two competing visions of the Internet: one open and global, the other highly controlled and often used for repression. Given that China is rapidly trending toward the latter, it's time to start asking: What might a permanently fractured Web look like? Technologically savvy Chinese "netizens" -- if that term even has meaning in a place like China -- find ways to fan qiang (scale the "Great Firewall"), but most users, like their counterparts elsewhere, are more interested in entertainment gossip, pirated MP3s, and updates from their friends than missives from Falun Gong or the latest report from Human Rights Watch. U.S. State Department spending on proxy servers or technologies that hide users' identities temporarily allow some Chinese greater access to information online, but won't substantially change the underlying dynamics. If a strategy built around better defense, multilateral cooperative mechanisms to limit cyberconflict, and efforts to promote American values on the Web fails, we may have to rethink both how we try to influence China and the others, as well as what type of Internet we want.
benton.org/node/31700 | Foreign Policy
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MEDIA OWNERSHIP
COMCAST-NBC FILE FCC PAPERWORK
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
With a lengthy pitch on the public interest value of creating a new content-focused joint venture that will boost quantity, quality, diversity and "local focus," Comcast, NBCU and GE jointly filed a merger application/public interest statement with the Federal Communications Commission Thursday (Jan 28), launching what will likely be an almost year-long review. That followed the filing earlier in the week with the Justice Department, which will look at competitive issues only. The FCC's review goes beyond competition to look at the public interest impact of the deal, hence the lengthy filing (136 pages) accompanying the request for transfer of various cable and broadcast licenses. The $30 billion deal will also get scrutiny on Capitol Hill in hearings beginning next week. The document lays out the public interest benefits in terms of the FCC's four key interests: localism, diversity, competition and innovation. It argues that the deal promotes the first by increasing the quality and variety of content more than either company could do alone. With its commitment to boost local news programming by 1,000 hours on the O&O stations, as well as increase children's and family programming and more, it argues that it is promoting localism. The deal will spur the competition to up its game, which takes care of number three, they argue, and the new company will experiment with new business models and distribution platforms that will spell innovation. The document also argues that the transaction violates no FCC rules and is not even the sort of media concentration the FCC is traditionally concerned about regulating through market or cross-ownership limits.
benton.org/node/31699 | Multichannel News | Bloomberg | Reuters | B&C - reaction | B&C - Conyers | WashPost | LATimes
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TICKETMASTER-LIVE NATION DEAL
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Steven Pearlstein]
[Commentary] At first blush, it looked like a slam-dunk antitrust case for the government. Ticketmaster, a company that came to dominate the live-music ticketing business by buying up seven of its rivals, was suddenly facing a challenge to its 83 percent market share. Its largest customer, Live Nation, a big venue manager and concert promoter, had decided to launch its own ticketing subsidiary and quickly grabbed 16 percent of the market. Ticketmaster responded in kind by purchasing Front Line Management, which manages tours for 200 of the country's top music artists. Earlier this week, the Justice Department reached a settlement with the companies. Ticketmaster will be required to 1) license its ticketing software and 2) sell to Comcast a subsidiary that provides software to smaller venues that want to run their own ticket operations. Even given those considerations, however, the better option would have been to block the deal. The gradual retreat from antitrust enforcement over the past 30 years has led corporate executives and their lawyers to believe that there is no merger that cannot win approval if you're willing to make some relatively minor fixes. The Ticketmaster settlement also sets a terrible precedent on so-called "vertical" combinations -- mergers between a company and its suppliers or its customers. Perhaps even more troublesome, however, is that in order to provide sufficient competition to a bigger and more vertically integrated Ticketmaster, the government has put itself in the position of playing midwife to two other vertical mergers making it even more difficult for small venues and independent promoters to survive.
benton.org/node/31731 | Washington Post
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WELL-CRAFTED FCC MINORITY INITIATIVES COULD SURVIVE COURTS
[SOURCE: Radio Business Report, AUTHOR: ]
A panel comprised of academics testifying at an FCC investigation of ownership diversity believe that there are ways the Commission can craft rules to increase minority and female ownership that would stand up to court scrutiny. It involves carefully defined objectives tied to a solid factual basis. It boils down to carefully identifying and defining a specific compelling governmental interest in diversity of ownership, narrowly crafting policy to address that interest and providing a thorough factual underpinning. Part of the reason that witnesses felt some justification for optimism is that fact that current legal precedent is very limited and leaves plenty of room for maneuvering. In their call for data, the professors came up with a number of policy recommendations that may well be music to the ears of Commissioner Michael Copps but will likely leave broadcasters cold, including spelled out public interest requirements, along with record keeping to demonstrate that they are being met; a return to three-year license renewals; it was even suggested that radio station formats be taken into account during renewal hearings. The academics said that there were plenty of studies out there indicating the importance of station ownership diversity when it comes to serving a diverse population. One noted that ownership for most business types does break down into percentages more in line with actual population makeup, with broadcasting being a notable exception to the rule.
benton.org/node/31707 | Radio Business Report
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PRIVACY
ALL EYES ON ONLINE PRIVACY
[SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle, AUTHOR: James Temple]
Flat screen displays in stores employ facial recognition technology to tailor ads to a customer's gender, age and ethnicity. Smart phone applications can track a user's identity, location and even friends. The personal information posted on social networks may be accessible by employers - or law enforcement. This brave new world demands a fundamental rethinking of the way that business, government and consumers deal with the huge amounts of data being generated and collected by emerging technologies, according to panelists at a roundtable sponsored by the Federal Trade Commission on Thursday. The event at the UC Berkeley School of Law was the commission's second in a series of three public discussions exploring privacy in the digital age. "If we are to stay ahead of the technology curve, we must address the question of privacy by design sooner than later," said FTC Commissioner Pamela Jones Harbour during introductory remarks. She took issue with Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg's recent comments that the "social norm" regarding privacy is changing as people become much more willing to share information online. Harbour said that surveys and behavior continually indicate that privacy is of utmost concern.
benton.org/node/31730 | San Francisco Chronicle
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TELEVISION
CABLEVISION CHALLENGES MUST-CARRY
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
As promised, Cablevision has asked the Supreme Court to review the constitutionality of the must-carry rules, which require cable operators to carry local broadcast stations. Cablevision pointed out in its filing that even more than a decade ago, the Supreme Court's decisions -- two of them -- upholding must-carry was razor thin. The cable operator said that in the intervening years "the factual underpinnings of those decisions have evaporated." What was once a cable monopoly, Cablevision conceded to the court, "has been replaced by vibrant competition." Rather than being an MVPD bottleneck, Cablevision suggested, the market has been reshaped into a wide-necked vase in which all flowers can bloom. The rationale for the Turner decisions has been gutted, according to the company, while the FCC continues to subsume cable's editorial judgment. The commission has even expanded the rules to cover conduct that would not even be covered by the Turner rationale even if it were still relevant, the company said.
benton.org/node/31719 | Multichannel News
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