MERGERS
FTC Nears Approval of AOL Merger (WP)
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
As AT&T Stock Slips, Takeover Rumors Swirl (USA)
INTERNET
A Fast-Changing Genie Alters the World (NYT)
Web ( at ) Work / U.S. Postal Service (WSJ)
Security adviser warns of cyberterrorism (USA)
COPYRIGHT
Copyright Office Directs Radio Stations To Pay For Music Broadcasts Via Web
(WSJ)
MERGERS
FTC NEARS APPROVAL OF AOL MERGER
Issue: Mergers
According to sources, a majority on the Federal Trade Commission is now
prepared to approve the takeover of Time Warner by America Online. The
formal vote is expected on Thursday of this week. The deal still has strong
opponents among competitors and consumer groups. Some opponents have
meetings scheduled with FTC commissioners this week in hopes of persuading
them to block the deal in court.
An FTC spokesman warned against trying to predict the FTC's vote, however.
Spokesman Eric London said, "Speculation over how the commission is going to
vote is a ridiculous parlor game. Until the commission votes, the tea-leaf
reading is just that." AOL and Time Warner officials have also declined to
comment.
[SOURCE: The Washington Post (A01), AUTHOR: Alec Klein]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52758-2000Dec10.html)
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
AS AT&T'S STOCK SLIPS, TAKEOVER RUMORS SWIRL
Issue: Telecommunications
Is an AT&T takeover in sight? Could the buyer be one of the baby bells? With
AT&T's stock at an eight-year low and the company awash with uncertainty
that could drive it lower, some industry observers and investors are
wondering if Ma Bell's bargain-basement price will prompt a takeover.
Offspring from the 1984 breakup of the Bell System, which include SBC
Communications, Verizon Communications and BellSouth Corp., have higher
market capitalizations than AT&T, and each has some spending money to buy
its parent. SBC, San Antonio, boasts the strongest currency, with a market
value of about $180 billion. It is followed by New York-based Verizon's
about $150 billion market cap and Atlanta-based BellSouth's $80 billion
valuation. AT&T has lost nearly $100 billion in market valuation since
January, and now is valued at around $75 billion. It has a crushing $62
billion debt load. AT&T has declined to comment on the possibility of any
takeover.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (Interactive), AUTHOR: Deborah Solomon]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB976483701280382049.htm)
(subscription required)
INTERNET
A FAST-CHANGING GENIE ALTERS THE WORLD
Issue: Internet and Society
[Essay] This essay leads off a collection of articles in today's NYT on the
first seven years of the World Wide Web. Markoff, in "Genie" explores the
nature of the new medium, the business and technical environment that
contributed to its adoption and metamorphoses and the software and hardware
technologies that will push the Web into new incarnations. Other articles in
the series touch on news media, online communities, entertainment, and
business and the economy.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: John Markoff]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/11/technology/11WEB.html)
(registration required)
WEB ( at ) WORK / U.S. POSTAL SERVICE
Issue: Internet
In its 225-year history, the U.S. Postal Service has successfully fended off
rain, snow, heat and even gloom of night to complete its rounds. But the
Internet could be a different story. Under one scenario outlined in the
Postal Service's five-year fiscal plan, about half of the bills and payments
currently sent through the mail would eventually be replaced by electronic
versions. Partly to head off that apocalyptic forecast, the Postal Service
formed eBillPay, its own online bill-paying system that lets anyone with a
checking account view bills from companies like mortgage lenders and utility
providers, set up payment schedules, and authorize money transfers. When a
company or individual can't receive an electronic payment, the Postal
Service will print and mail a paper check instead. EBillPay has its critics,
who say the Postal Service has overstepped its charter. The U.S. Internet
Industry Association, a trade organization and lobbying group, has been
pushing legislators and a congressional oversight committee to examine
eBillPay. The Postal Service also risks a backlash from banks, which have
invested in online bill-payment systems. For now, the Postal Service is
shaking off opposition. "We've been in the bill-presentment and payment
service since the beginning," Mr. Frey says. "It seems very logical to us to
continue to do what we've always done."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (Interactive), AUTHOR: Case Study]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB976484343598964089.htm)
(subscription required)
SECURITY ADVISER WARNS OF CYBERTERRORISM
Issue: Internet
A digital 'Pearl Harbor' is imminent, and the nation's next president should
shore up the government's computer security to prevent it, according to a
warning issued Friday by the nation's top cyberspace official. ''It may be
improbable that cyberspace can be seriously disrupted, it may be improbable
that a war in cyberspace can occur, but it could happen,'' Richard Clarke of
the National Security Council said at a Microsoft-organized conference. He
warned the next president that on coming to office, he would find that
several nations have created information-warfare units, enough to bring down
computer networks. "Some are doing reconnaissance today on our networks,
mapping them,'' he said. He recommended that the next president should
appoint a government-wide chief information officer, with authority to
oversee all the government's computer security, and whose appointment would
need confirmation from Congress. Another way to improve security throughout
the Internet is to create secure lines of communication between the
technology industry and the government, Clarke said. That way, they could
share information about hackers and viruses without worrying about the
public learning about it.
[SOURCE: USA Today (Interactive), AUTHOR: Associated Press]
(http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/cti892.htm)
COPYRIGHT
COPYRIGHT OFFICE DIRECTS RADIO STATIONS TO PAY FOR MUSIC BROADCASTS VIA WEB
Issue: Copyright
Federal regulators said radio stations putting their programming online
should pay royalties to record labels, a decision that helps even the
competition between traditional broadcasters and Web-only outfits. The
ruling by the U.S. Copyright Office means that radio stations will pay the
same royalty rates to the labels as companies that only stream their music
over the Internet. The radio concerns currently don't pay record labels for
their broadcasts over the airwaves, and had argued that they also shouldn't
pay when they put the same programs out on the Web. The Copyright Office
ruling is a step toward creating a regulatory structure for the nascent
Web-music business, which is tangled in legal and regulatory disputes over
how intellectual-property rights should work online.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B12), AUTHOR: Anna Wilde Mathews]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB976485726492649216.htm)
(subscription required)
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