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Headlines, Internet/Broadband
Today's Quote 06.25.08
Submitted by Benton Foundation on June 25, 2008 - 8:02am"Generally, I think the Universal Service Fund needs to be blown up like the Death Star."
-- Rep Mike Doyle (D-PA)
Election-year spying deal is flawed, overly broad
Submitted by Benton Foundation on June 25, 2008 - 7:46amThe skids are greased. President Bush and the candidates who want his job, Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain, are all on board. As early as today, the Senate will begin voting on new rules governing how spy agencies intercept phone calls and e-mails between suspected terrorists overseas and people in the USA.
Surveillance law won't do enough to protect privacy
Submitted by Benton Foundation on June 25, 2008 - 7:45amThe FISA update does not do nearly enough to protect innocent Americans from fishing expeditions in the name of homeland security.
Bloggers: Big Media Is Watching
Submitted by Benton Foundation on June 25, 2008 - 7:43amThe Associated Press unleashed a firestorm in the blogosphere earlier this month when it demanded that a political site take down AP content it said violated copyrights. Bloggers cried foul, saying the AP's move threatened the free flow of information over the Web.
One Man, One Long List, No More Web Ads
Submitted by Benton Foundation on June 25, 2008 - 7:41amA machinist and self-described "blue-collar guy" in his mid-50s from upstate New York, Rick752, as he's known online, spends most nights upstairs in his den assembling a list of Internet ad sites and related data.
Those DEMs and the FISA Update
Submitted by Benton Foundation on June 24, 2008 - 9:05pmLast updated: June 25, 2008 - 7:56am
On Friday, the House passed "the most significant revision of surveillance law in 30 years," and the Senate is expected to soon follow suit. House leaders insisted the bill was a "compromise" with conservatives, but as the New York Times noted, it was actually "a major victory for the White House after months of dispute." While progressives succeeded in forcing the White House to accept some important concessions, the deal fails to give the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court the authority to protect law-abiding Americans from being spied on by their government.
Universal Service, Broadband and the Death Star
Submitted by Benton Foundation on June 24, 2008 - 9:03pmLast updated: June 25, 2008 - 8:02am
Ed Markey (D-MA), the Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, held a hearing exploring the core principles of universal service, which historically has provided a baseline level of affordable voice telecommunications service to everyone in the United States, in light of the rise of Internet-based broadband communications technologies and the changing marketplace.
Coalition seeks federal nudge for universal broadband
Submitted by Benton Foundation on June 24, 2008 - 8:57pmLast updated: June 25, 2008 - 7:36am
Vint Cerf and Federal Communications Commission member Jonathan Adelstein joined forces Tuesday in renewing calls for the U.S. government to more actively expand broadband service. They and other members of a new coalition promised hearings across the country and set up a Web site at InternetForEveryone.org to outline principles such as universal broadband access and competition to ensure lower prices and faster Internet connection speeds.
Study Calls for 1G Broadband in US
Submitted by Benton Foundation on June 24, 2008 - 8:56pmThe U.S. should aim for 100M bps (bits per second) of broadband available to all U.S. residents by 2012 and 1G bps by 2015 in order to catch up to other countries that are moving forward with broadband rollouts, recommends a study released Monday.
Baller: McCain and Obama Should Issue Joint Statement on Broadband
Submitted by Benton Foundation on June 24, 2008 - 8:55pmPresidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama should issue a statement underscoring the consensus between Republicans and Democrats on the importance of broadband in the United States, says Jim Baller.
