AT&T just won an FCC proceeding against two smaller companies that were illegally charging them fees they should not have been. And while the telecom giant is poised to pick up a few million in refunds, that’s not the interesting part. This is: the section of law that worked out in AT&T’s big giant favor? That’d be exact same Title II that they claim will ruin internet business for everyone. [More]
hypocrisy
Budweiser Mocks Craft Beer Snobs, Sells Craft Beers
By 2.2.15
It’s fine if a company wants to mock the people who refuse to buy its products in an ad, including an ad aired during the Super Bowl. That was the point of a Budweiser commercial mocking the entire culture of beer snobbery…while Budweiser’s parent company, Anheuser-Busch InBev, owns brands that either are or imitate craft beer brands and trends, brewing some of them in the same facilities that make Budweiser. [More]
3 Of The Many Times The Big ISPs Have Tried To Have It Both Ways
By 1.15.15
With the prospect of new regulations staring them in the face, big ISPs have been taking every possible opportunity to wail about how doomed they will be if anything changes. But every cable and telecom company that has spent 2014 and 2015 vowing that regulation is the worst thing ever has also spent years benefiting from exactly those regulations. Here are just a few examples. [More]
Consumer Group Launches Anti-Google Ad In Times Square, Keeps Google Analytics On Its Own Website
By 9.6.10
The group Consumer Watchdog is pushing hard for Congress to establish a “do not track” list for online consumers, which I’m all for. I’m not sure whether releasing a ridiculously unpleasant cartoon in Times Square is the right strategy, though–especially when you use the very service you’re warning people about. [More]
If Only BP Would Follow The Advice On Its Own Signs
By 6.7.10
Tanja’s friend snapped this shot at a BP-owned gas station. It’s important to remember that if you cause huge, needless spills of petroleum products it’s only right to clean up after yourself. [More]
Aw, You Missed Your Earnings Target. Here's A Pity Bonus.
By 3.10.10
Some execs are getting a “pity bonus” in their stockings this year. With the recession on, many execs are finding it hard to meet earnings targets or suffer from pummeled stock prices. So boards are having heart and changing the rules so the execs can still get a bonus. [More]
Survey: Politicians Pretty Much Suck At Paying Taxes
By 2.11.09
Following up on the multiple Obama nominees who’ve had tax troubles, Politico asked the 99 members of the Senate whether they’ve ever had mistakes on their tax returns or filed back taxes. Yes and yes.
Procter & Gamble: Pringles Are Not Potato Chips
By 7.5.08
Seeking to evade a 17.5% sales tax, lawyers for Procter & Gamble successfully argued that Pringles aren’t actually potato chips. Even though all Pringles containers are clearly marked “Potato Crisps,” Procter & Gamble’s lawyers argued that “Pringles don’t look like a chip, don’t feel like a chip, and don’t taste like a chip.”
Walmart Executives Gone Wild
By 5.26.07
MPAA Pirates Documentary In The Name Of The Children
By 1.25.06
In a delicious turn of events that could only be matched by Microsoft discovering it was using warezed copies of Windows on its office computers, the MPAA has been busted for pirating a film submitted to them for rating—called, appropriately enough, ‘This Film Is Not Yet Rated.’ The film’s a documentary currently debuting at Sundance, investigating the unaccountability of the MPAA’s rating board, the inscrutability of its unpublished ratings guidelines and the hypocrisy of Hollywood’s preference for sadistic violence over soft-core sex. Apparently, the film was worrying enough for the MPAA to secretly distribute unauthorized copies to many of its employees. The problem? By the MPAA’s own definition, “ALL forms of piracy are illegal and carry serious legal consequences.”
