Benton RSS Feed

Not surprisingly, the cable and telecom companies that Tom Wheeler springs from are ecstatic about the nomination to be Federal Communications chair.

AT&T called Wheeler an "inspired pick to lead the FCC." In congratulating Wheeler, AT&T said it hopes the new FCC chairman will help get rid of "outdated laws" and "antiquated rules." "Mr. Wheeler will face daunting challenges at the FCC," AT&T Senior Executive VP Jim Cicconi said. "Already the pace of technological change is clashing with outdated laws, antiquated rules, and approaches more rooted in the past than the present. The dedicated career staff at the FCC are grappling with these challenges now. If the pace of change is to continue, along with the investment and job creation that fuel it, the mission of the FCC in the 21st Century must be re-examined, and its rules and methods modernized. In this situation, I can think of no nominee more talented or whose leadership skills are more needed. Moreover, Mr. Wheeler will be joining a complement of fellow commissioners who are equally formidable and well suited for this important moment in the FCC’s history."

A similarly positive statement came from Comcast. "We congratulate Tom Wheeler on his nomination as Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission," Comcast said. His vast knowledge of the communications industry, as well as his proven leadership, will be invaluable as the Commission sets its course for our nation’s digital future. We applaud President Obama's nomination and we look forward to working with the Commission under Tom's leadership."

The NCTA called Wheeler "an exceptional choice to lead the Commission" and the CTIA said it looks forward to working with Wheeler "on the breadth of spectrum and other wireless telecom matters which are pending at the Commission."

Wheeler led the NCTA from 1979 to 1984 and the CTIA from 1992 to 2004.

President Barack Obama loves to watch sports – and the people who want to catch his eye know it. Companies and trade associations are doing something a little strange: they’re buying up airtime on ESPN.

Media strategists tell POLITICO they offer up the all-sports network as an option to clients who want to get their issues in front of Obama and top White House officials, known as big sports fans and rabid ESPN watchers. A strategist said the ads can’t be so obvious that Obama knows he’s the intended audience. “It’s not just targeting Obama, but doing it in a way that is both interesting and will get the attention of the audience, but not so unusual that it will put the client in a bad position.”

[Commentary] A federal district court in California refused to toss craigslist's claims that it owns its users' postings.

More and more, we're seeing fine print in terms of use ("TOU") agreements and end user license agreements ("EULAs") that try to make copyright claims. Why? Because copyright law is so overpowered that sneaking a smidge of copyright into what should be an ordinary affair can give a business a huge amount of leverage to bully others into doing what it wants. Practically speaking, this means that craigslist can sue anyone who reposts its users' listings—even if the users themselves want them reposted. If I'm trying to sell (or give away) an ancient laserjet printer (it can connect with either serial or parallel cables), I'd want it posted on as many different sites as possible. To the extent that there's anything creative in what I'm writing, I should decide what happens to my post, right? But no.

craigslist isn't so much concerned with the value of the creativity in the post itself; it's interested in maintaining its position as the biggest online hub for classified ads. Building copyright restrictions into its fine print, in this case, is just the easiest way to bring some legal guns to bear on restrictions of what other people have written.

As the Digital Public Library of America grows, the founders intend for it to cover a much wider world of material, including works that are still protected by copyright.

One founder, Harvard’s University Librarian, Robert Darnton, has said that they’re working to build “a non-commercial library that would make the cultural heritage of America available to all Americans and to everyone in the world with access to the Internet.” And to do that, the library’s founders, board members, and staff will have to figure how the library will handle works still under copyright. They’ve been thinking about it for two and a half years already, ever since work began on this project. The library opened with only public domain works in its collection. There are plenty of other issues to tackle without getting tangled into copyright quite yet. The DPLA itself doesn’t hold copies of the works it provides access to; it’s a collection of standardized metadata that helps users find what they’re looking for and then directs them to the site where those books, documents, movies, and photos live. Last month’s launch started working out how the DPLA would partner with other institutions and start making its larger ambitions real.