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Anne Broache
Congress may OK 'compromise' bill to derail spying lawsuits
Submitted by Benton Foundation on June 1, 2008 - 5:27pmCongress may soon vote on a new "compromise" spy law that would still likely derail pending suits against AT&T and other companies accused of opening their networks to the government in violation of wiretap law.
Senators weigh new laws over China online censorship
Submitted by Benton Foundation on May 20, 2008 - 8:54pmSenators on Tuesday pressed executives from Yahoo, Google, and Cisco Systems to justify their business practices in China and other Internet-censoring countries, with Cisco in the hot seat over new allegations of cozier-than-confessed ties with the Chinese police.
Can the Feds enforce Network Neutrality? Maybe not
Submitted by Benton Foundation on May 16, 2008 - 7:08amFederal regulators may be probing Comcast's throttling of BitTorrent filesharing traffic, but can they actually take action, if they choose, against the company or any other broadband provider on Net neutrality grounds? The answer may not be simple.
Amazon.com sues N.Y. over new online sales tax
Submitted by Benton Foundation on May 5, 2008 - 7:21amAs expected, Amazon.com is hitting back at New York over a new law requiring online retailers to collect sales taxes from customers residing in that state. In a complaint filed on April 25, Amazon asked the New York State Supreme Court to declare the recently passed law "invalid, illegal, and unconstitutional."
Democrat wants to require disability-friendly Internet phones, video
Submitted by Benton Foundation on May 2, 2008 - 7:07amMost TVs and telephones must be outfitted with special features for people with hearing, vision, and speech impairments under U.S. law. But House Telecommunications Subcommittee Chairman Ed Markey (D-MA) wants to expand those requirements to their Internet counterparts.
Piracy Bill Advances in House
Submitted by Benton Foundation on April 30, 2008 - 8:02pmThe House Judiciary Committee approved a copyright holder-backed enforcement proposal known as the Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property, or Pro-IP, Act.
Hospital techies urge limits on 'white space' Wi-Fi
Submitted by Benton Foundation on April 29, 2008 - 7:51amHospital administrators and medical device manufacturers fear unlicensed use of "white spaces" spectrum between television channels could interfere with medical devices. "If a new white space application that's operating thousands of times more powerfully came online, either in the hospital or outside the hospital, it could very well directly interfere with the telemetry system and prevent patient monitoring," Tim Kottak, engineering general manager for GE Healthcare's systems and wireless division, said in a telephone interview with CNET News.com this week.
FCC dealt setback in broadband-over-power-lines push
Submitted by Benton Foundation on April 29, 2008 - 7:46amIn a potential setback for fans of broadband over power lines, a federal appeals court has sided in part with amateur radio operators who challenged rules designed to speed the nascent Internet service's rollout.
AT&T: We don't throttle P2P traffic
Submitted by Benton Foundation on April 26, 2008 - 3:54pmAT&T on Friday denied using forged reset packets to interfere with network connections of Vuze file-sharing platform users, as Comcast has been accused of doing with BitTorrent traffic. The statement came in response to a report released earlier this week by Vuze, which offers a BitTorrent-based client primarily used for distributing video.
McSlarrow: We're only trying to help our Internet subscribers
Submitted by Benton Foundation on March 21, 2008 - 7:44amLast updated: April 23, 2008 - 2:26pm
With discontent still festering over Comcast's admitted slowing of file-sharing uploads, the cable industry's chief on Thursday set out to do a little damage control.
