December 2012

New net rules would hit digital economy: diplomat

Inter-governmental regulation of the Internet could deter investment, raise costs for consumers and hinder online access, said U.S. Ambassador Terry Kramer.

"We are concerned some of the proposals could create an investment environment that is very tenuous," he said. "We need to be very mindful that we are not creating new, much greater problems than we are solving." The United States wants to restrict the debate in Dubai to conventional telecoms, and two of its three core recommendations have been approved, Ambassador Kramer said. Member states have agreed the definition of 'telecommunications' should remain unchanged, while the treaty's introductory passages, relating to its scope, will also be unaltered. The third recommendation, still being debated behind closed doors, is a technical, but important distinction that the treaty should relate only to "recognized operating agencies" - conventional telecom operators - and not "operating agencies."

House approves resolution to keep Internet control out of UN hands

The House unanimously passed a Senate resolution introduced by Sens. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) that calls on the U.S. government to oppose United Nations control of the Internet. The 397-0 vote is meant to send a signal to countries meeting at a U.N. conference on telecommunications this week.

Participants are meeting to update an international telecom treaty, but critics warn that many countries’ proposals could allow U.N. regulation of the Internet. "The 193 member countries of the United Nations are gathered to consider whether to apply to the Internet a regulatory regime that the International Telecommunications Union created in the 1980s for old-fashioned telephone service," Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) said on the House floor. He said countries will also consider whether to "swallow the Internet's non-governmental organizational structure whole and make it part of the United Nations." "Neither of these are acceptable outcomes and must be strongly opposed by our delegation," Rep Walden added. Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) said both the White House and lawmakers were united against U.N. control of the Internet.

Rep Walden: Obama hypocritical on Internet freedom

Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) accused the Obama Administration of hypocrisy for advocating for Internet freedom on a global level but supporting Internet regulation domestically.

U.S. delegates are currently attending a conference in Dubai to update a global telecommunications treaty. The Obama Administration and lawmakers in both parties oppose efforts that would expand the treaty to allow for international regulation of the Internet. But Rep Walden, the chairman of the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, pointed to the Federal Communications Commission's network neutrality rules as an example of invasive government Internet regulation supported by the Obama Administration. The rules bar Internet service providers from slowing down or blocking websites that compete with their services. Supporters say the rules are critical for ensuring an open and vibrant Internet, but critics say they unnecessarily stifle businesses. Chairman Walden, who was speaking at a Washington event hosted by the Villanova School of Business, said a pending executive order on cybersecurity will also hamper the ability of the United States to criticize other countries that try to control the Internet.

FCC relax of media ownership ban draws fire

A battle over media ownership rules is heating up. So much so that the Federal Communications Commission has tossed the hot potato issue until next year. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski last month circulated a proposal that would relax a ban that prevents the owner of a television broadcast station from also owning a newspaper in the same town or city.

On Dec 4, amid criticism from a public interest group and the Hill, the FCC said it would take more comments on the issue, which would push a vote on Genachowski’s proposal to January at the earliest. Changes in the 1975 media cross-ownership ban has sparked criticism by some public interest groups who fear the move would lead to greater concentration among the nation’s biggest media conglomerates. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) said in a letter to Chairman Genachowski that she opposed the proposal and criticized the agency for considering new rules in a private vote. “These rules were put in place and have remained in place because they support diversity, competition, and localism in the public interest,” Sen Cantwell said in her letter late last month. She said even with the current rules, diversity among media owners has declined. To relax the rules would quicken that decline, she said.

Rep Schakowsky Asks FCC Chair to Rethink Ownership Draft

Rep. Janice Schakowsky (D-IL) is the latest Member of Congress to ask Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski to back off a vote on his media ownership item.

In a letter dated Dec. 4, Rep Schakowsky, who tried to block then-FCC chairman Kevin Martin's vote on a similar proposal in 2007, asked the chairman to rethink his draft proposal, which has been circulated to the other commissioners for a vote. Rep Schakowsky said she is concerned that the FCC has not sufficiently taken the Third Circuit's instruction to consider the impact of new rules on women and minorities. "I do not believe the draft order will improve the quality of American media," she wrote, "and I am concerned that it will threaten the diversity of news." But if he does decide to hold the vote, she said, it should be in a public meeting after the public had more time to weigh in.

Leadership Conference Says 323 Comment Extension Is Insufficient

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, which represents groups that have been critical of the Federal Communications Commission's media ownership proposal, has told the FCC that its proposed 30-day extension of the comment period on its associated 323 state of ownership survey is not sufficient. They also don't want the FCC to vote the ownership item in early January after the comment period closes.

In a letter to the FCC commissioners, the group said that its more than 200 member organizations had concluded that extra period -- until Jan. 4 on a report released Nov. 14 – does not permit a full opportunity to understand, analyze and offer comment on the ownership data, especially since the data was only released two weeks ago. They add that the brief window could leave the FCC wide open for a court challenge because it is "self-evidently insufficient."

Left uses Rupert Murdoch to combat media consolidation

Long the scourge of liberals, Rupert Murdoch is emerging as the boogeyman in a fight over federal regulators’ attempts to rewrite the rules on who can own TV and radio stations and newspapers — and where.

While Murdoch hasn’t announced his plans, reports that the media mogul is eyeing The Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune are giving leverage to traditionally liberal groups that want to ensure the Federal Communications Commission doesn’t ease regulations preventing too much media consolidation in major markets. “It’s been widely reported that he’s shown interest in these two papers,” said Free Press Legislative Director Joel Kelsey. “I don’t know if he does buy them or not. I just know the ban in place now would prevent him from doing it, and the one the FCC is considering putting in place would allow him to.”

FCC May Give Murdoch a Very Merry Christmas

[Commentary] Until now, this hasn't been the best year for media mogul Rupert Murdoch. But Murdoch's luck may be changing.

Despite Fox News' moonlighting as the propaganda ministry of the Republican Party, President Obama's team may be making it possible for Sir Rupert to increase his power, perversely rewarding the man who did his best to make sure Barack Obama didn't have a second term. The Federal Communications Commission could be preparing him one big Christmas present, the kind of gift that keeps on giving -- unless we all get together and do something about it. All indications are that Murdoch has his eye on two of the last remaining big newspapers in America -- the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times, each owned by the now bankrupt Tribune Company. He could add one or both to his impressive portfolio, but even though the media mogul is splitting News Corp into two separately traded companies -- one for its print entities, the other for TV and film -- he would still come under current rules restricting media companies from owning newspapers and TV and radio stations in the same town. However, the FCC may be planning to suspend those rules, paving the way for Murdoch's takeover of either of the two papers.

Verizon, MetroPCS Ask Court for Time to Amend Network Neutrality Briefs

Verizon and MetroPCS have asked for more time and space from a federal court to make their case against the Federal Communications Commission's network neutrality rules.

That was prompted by the decision of that same court Dec 3 in Verizon's challenge to the FCC's data roaming rules (Cellco Partnership [Verizon] v. FCC). In a motion filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Verizon and MetroPCS asked for two more weeks from the current Dec. 6 deadline to file the latest briefs in their network neutrality challenge so they can incorporate this week's roaming decision into their filings, and for 1,000 additional words (the limit is 6,000) for their joint brief and 350 additional words for MetroPCS' separate filing (the limit is 2,000 words). They point out that the roaming case, in which the court upheld the FCC's application of voice roaming obligations to data, deals with similar issues and was released only two days before the Dec. 6 deadline.

Department of Justice meets with firms seeking Google antitrust probe

The Justice Department has begun meeting with companies that long have accused Google of illegally skewing its search results and are losing faith that the Federal Trade Commission will act forcefully on their complaints, said people familiar with the matter.

Senior officials from the Justice Department, which shares responsibilities with the FTC for policing allegations of monopolistic behavior, have met with at least two companies in recent weeks, said these people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe private conversations. This has come amid reports that the FTC may resolve its nearly 2-year-old investigation of Google without dealing directly with complaints that the company uses its power over the search market to gain an edge over rivals. Those familiar with the meetings with Justice officials say they were of a preliminary nature and it was not clear if they would lead to any action. Justice considered launching an antitrust investigation before the FTC claimed the case.

Benton

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