The more the FCC actually tries to create or change regulations around communications companies, the more often chairman Tom Wheeler and the other four commissioners find themselves ordered to Capitol Hill for some kind of hearing. And so today in the continuing series, “The FCC And A Congressional Committee Argue With Each Other,” we learned more about privacy, set-top boxes, and zero-rating. [More]
politics
Former Presidential Candidate Must Pay $25,000 For Using “Eye Of The Tiger” Without Permission
By 6.28.16
A lot of musicians find out after the fact that one of their songs is being used, without permission, by a politician at rallies and other events, but many of those artists don’t go so far as to actually sue the candidate. However, recently released election records show that the campaign for former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee has agreed to pay $25,000 to settle a lawsuit over its use of Survivor’s 1982 fist-pumper “Eye of the Tiger.” [More]
FCC-Limiting, Net-Neutrality-Scuttling Bill Passes House
By 4.15.16
The House of Representatives passed a bill this morning that seeks to limit the FCC’s net neutrality authority and could limit the commission’s ability to investigate consumer complaints about unreasonable charges from and behavior by their ISPs. [More]
White House Promises To Veto Yet Another FCC-Limiting Bill If It Passes
By 4.13.16
It may seem like Congress never gets anything done, but sometimes they really do! Case in point: a bill, sponsored by lawmakers who are still angry about the FCC’s net neutrality ruling last year, has managed to come out of committee and is scheduled for a House vote. And should the House and Senate both vote on that bill, it will go to the White House… where the president’s top advisors recommend it promptly be vetoed. [More]
Report: New Bill Would Let Judges Order Tech Companies To Break Encryption; White House Not Thrilled
By 4.7.16
The public fight Apple and the FBI recently had over one particular phone may have resolved itself, but the national discussion over encryption is just warming up. Now there’s a bipartisan effort to make a decision wandering through Congress… but the politics of it say that this particular bill is going to go nowhere fast. [More]
Congressional Committee Grills FCC About The Way They Do The Things They Do
By 3.22.16
Agencies like the FCC operate under the auspices of Congress, which has oversight authority. And when an agency like the FCC touches a political third rail — in their case, regulation of powerful communications companies — they can expect to have to answer to Congress. Sometimes repeatedly. And so the FCC found itself on Capitol Hill today, being grilled by a panel of passionate Representatives. [More]
Apple, FBI Testify About Encryption And Privacy In Congressional Hearing
By 3.1.16
The angriest battle in tech right now is taking place between Apple and the FBI. Two weeks in to a very public fight, the argument is only heating up. Today, the debate went over to Capitol Hill. [More]
Senators Once Again Introduce Bill To Try To Stop FCC And Net Neutrality
By 3.1.16
Since June, 2015, net neutrality — or specifically, the FCC’s Open Internet Rule — has been the law of the land. While the rule is a win for consumers, plenty of businesses and politicians still don’t care for it, to say the least. So while the court challenge against it takes its own sweet time to mosey through the judicial system, opponents are taking another approach. What’s the best way to undo a law you hate? Get a new law. [More]
FCC Votes To Give Consumers The Right To Block Annoying Spam Robocalls And Texts
By 6.18.15
You hate getting robocalls. The FCC knows you hate getting robocalls. And so today the Commission voted to move forward with a proposal that would allow consumers to block all those annoying calls and texts. [More]
FCC Votes To Expand Lifeline To Broadband; Plans To Reduce Waste, Enhance Scrutiny
By 6.18.15
The FCC voted 3-2 today to expand the Lifeline program for low-income consumers to include an optional credit for broadband access. [More]
Privacy Advocates Sue Virginia Police Over Data From Automatic License Plate Scanners
By 5.6.15
By itself, your license plate doesn’t say much except in what state, month, and year you registered your car. But start tracking where and when that license plate goes, and you’ve suddenly got a whole huge pile of personal data about all the comings and goings in someone’s life. We’ve reported before that license plate scanning by public and private entities is both widespread and unregulated. Now, the ACLU is suing police in one state to get them to stop. [More]
Congress Has One Month Left To Change Or Renew Controversial Bulk Phone Data Surveillance Program
By 4.29.15
It’s been two years since we found out that the NSA has been quietly scooping up basically everyone’s phone records, willy-nilly, without warrants. The revelations of widespread surveillance freaked plenty of people out, but under existing law, the agency has acted legally. To get change, then, you’d need to change the law… and Congress has 33 days remaining in which to do exactly that. [More]
Lawmakers Receiving Anti-Net Neutrality Messages From People Who Never Sent Them
By 4.1.15
In the wake of the FCC’s vote to adopt the new net neutrality rule, Americans of every stripe have bombarded their lawmakers with feedback. Some applaud the rule; others condemn the action. And that is all well and good: it’s the American system of democracy at work, exactly as designed. [More]
Lawmakers Want To Know Who’s Tracking You Online, And Where The Info Goes
By 3.6.15
Everything you do online — on your phone, on your computer, with anything — leaves a digital wake. Put those trails together and you’ve got one massive big data industry that can (and does) track it all and sell it to the highest bidder. After decades of digital detritus building up, regulators and Congress both are contemplating some steps that would help protect consumers’ info. [More]
FCC Officially Votes To Protect Net Neutrality, Reclassify Broadband
By 2.26.15
In a landmark decision today, the FCC voted 3-2 to create enforceable, bright-line rules protecting the open internet using their Title II authority to reclassify broadband internet as a telecommunications service. [More]
FCC Votes To Allow Cities To Expand Broadband Networks
By 2.26.15
As expected, the FCC today has confirmed an order permitting two cities to expand their existing municipal fiber broadband networks despite state-level laws that block them from doing so. [More]
Why Big Companies Spend So Much Money On Washington: It Works Even Better Than You Think
By 11.21.14
That money talks in Washington is conventional wisdom for a reason. Corporations, industries, and a handful of extraordinarily wealthy individuals spend big bucks on campaigns and on lobbying not for fun, but because they expect to get something back in return. And while adding up all those expenditures is comparatively straightforward, finding out who gets how much back has been harder… until now. A new study finds that billions of dollars might go into D.C., but trillions are coming back out. [More]
Originator of “Net Neutrality” Running For Office In New York, Hopes To Prevent Comcast/TWC Merger
By 6.17.14
The academic who coined the term “net neutrality,” and who has been among its most vocal advocates, is now running for office in New York. Tim Wu hopes to become lieutenant governor after what he describes as a “start-up campaign,” and he’s running with a tech-focused message: that New York needs to act against the merger of Comcast and Time Warner Cable. [More]
