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The Federal Communications Commission has again delayed the deadline for filing waiver extensions or seeking permanent waivers of the newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership rule.
They had been due Sept. 27. Back in January, the FCC granted Cox, Calvary Inc., Bonneville, The Scranton Times L.P. and Morris Communications an extension of the requirement to file waiver requests until 90 days after all court challenges to the FCC rule had been resolved. The Supreme Court denied broadcaster appeals June 28, which made Sept. 27 the filing date, which the FCC clarified last August. But companies sought an extension of that deadline until 60 days after the FCC votes on its proposed revisions to the rule, since that could affect the applicable standard for review of those petitions. The FCC agreed.
FCC Extends Broadcast/Newspaper Cross-Ownership Waiver Deadline
Almost two dozen members of the New York congressional delegation have written the Federal Communications Commission asking it to make sure it seeks input from stakeholders on the broadcast spectrum repacking plan it will propose in a spectrum auction Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) scheduled for a Sept. 28 commission vote. In a letter to FCC chairman Julius Genachowski, the legislators said that plan must not adversely affect their constituents' access to free over-the-air TV, which they said was equally important to freeing up spectrum for broadband. They also said it was "incredibly important" to allow the stakeholders to review and comment on any proposal before it is finalized.
New York Legislators to FCC: Protecting Free Over-the-Air TV Is Vital
The Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice have dropped their pursuit of Fox over nonpayment of 2003 indecency fine for Fox's Married by America, DOJ said in a notice of voluntary dismissal filed with the D.C. District court.
"In the wake of the Supreme Court's decision in Fox v. FCC, the Commission is reviewing its indecency enforcement policy to ensure the agency carries out Congress's directive in a manner consistent with vital First Amendment principles," said FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. "In the interim, I have directed the Enforcement Bureau to focus its resources on the strongest cases that involve egregious indecency violations. We also will continue to reduce the backlog of pending indecency complaints."
DOJ, FCC Drop Pursuit of Fox 'Married by America' Indecency Fine
Apple has asked for a court order for a permanent U.S. sales ban on Samsung Electronics products alleged to have violated its patents along with additional damages of $707 million on top of the billion-dollar verdict won by the iPhone maker last month. Samsung has responded by asking for a new trial.
Apple seeks U.S. Samsung sales ban, $707 million more in damages
For mobile service providers like AT&T, it's not enough that consumers came out in droves to buy the newest iPhone from Apple. They need people to dig more deeply into their wallets each month to pay for data services, such as mobile video, to cushion the impact of the iPhone's steep price tag on the carriers' bottom lines. Mobile operators' profit margins usually suffer in the months after an iPhone launch, when sales volumes are highest.
Wireless carriers hope to temper iPhone 5 margin pain
Apple lost a court ruling against Samsung Electronics in Germany regarding claims the South Korean company’s Galaxy devices infringed patents on the iPhone maker’s touch-screen technology.
The Mannheim Regional Court ruled that Samsung didn’t violate Apple’s patents on features related to touch-screen technology, Jason Kim, a Seoul-based spokesman for the Suwon, South Korea-based company said. Joachim Bock, a court spokesman, confirmed the ruling. Samsung and Apple, the world’s two biggest smartphone makers, have traded victories in their patent disputes fought over four continents since Apple last year accused Asia’s biggest electronics maker of “slavishly copying” its devices. The companies, competing for dominance of the global smartphone market estimated by Bloomberg Industries at $219 billion last year, are fighting patent battles even as Apple remains Samsung’s biggest customer.
Apple Loses German Court Ruling Against Samsung in Patent Suit
Lawmakers and the Federal Trade Commission are being lobbied to intervene to help settle differences between some advertising industry representatives and privacy advocates over how to implement a “do-not-track” option giving consumers the choice of whether they want to be tracked online.
Many companies now track consumers by placing text files called "cookies" on their computers when they visit certain websites in order to tailor ads to them based on their preferences. In response to the growing use of online tracking for advertising and market research, many privacy advocates have called for giving consumers a do-not-track option. The idea gained momentum after the FTC first endorsed the idea in a draft privacy report in December 2010. Some of the browser providers including Mozilla’s Firefox, Apple’s Safari and Microsoft’s Internet Explorer have begun including a do-not-track choice in their browsers. But it is unclear how websites will respond to these do-not-track requests. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), an international organization that sets technical standards for the Web, has been convening talks involving advertising and tech industry representatives and privacy advocates on developing a standard for what it means to abide by a consumer’s do-not-track preference. Those talks, which have been going on for months, however, appear to have reached a stalemate and some of the parties involved are now looking outside the group for help.
Ad Industry, privacy Advocates Spar Over ‘Do Not Track’
[Commentary] Microsoft claims that its do-not-track (DNT) decision is designed to further educate consumers about the value exchange that comes with online advertising. We shouldn’t debate turning DNT on or off, van der Kooi says, but instead “redouble our efforts as an industry and educate consumers about how advertising pays for the free Web experience we all now enjoy[.]” But how can that be? Advertisers want smart ads, and the Internet helps deliver that; a default DNT would seem to shut that possibility down at the start. Furthermore, the education effort should be aimed at calming fears about privacy while delivering value to brands and consumers, not fanning the flames of the debate. The sites consumers rely on—those that deliver weather, news, and social experiences—all rely on data to fuel their ad revenue. A Do-Not-Track signal, established in the express settings of a browser, effectively eliminates available data. In turn, this puts at risk a significant amount of ad revenue available to such free or ad-supported sites.
[Lou Mastria, managing director, Digital Advertising Alliance]
DAA Responds to Microsoft Column on ‘Do Not Track’ Plans
The Federal Trade Commission has closed its nonpublic investigation of the proposed acquisition by Vivendi, parent company of Universal Music Group, of EMI Recorded Music without taking any action, and Bureau of Competition Director Richard Feinstein has issued a related statement. The Commission vote to close the investigation was 5-0.
FTC Closes Its Investigation Into Vivendi, S.A.'s Proposed Acquisition of EMI Recorded Music FTC (Feinstein’s statement)
Although the health-care system may not be structured in a way that makes most people care about their health — since they don’t usually have to bear the full costs of illness — there is a growing movement of consumers who want to try and take an active role in maintaining their health, and that can be a profitable market for apps and services, according to Rock Health founder and CEO Halle Tecco. The startup-accelerator founder told GigaOM’s Mobilize conference in San Francisco that apps like Runkeeper have shown there is a big enough market to make such services worthwhile, and it is increasingly mainstream.
The Future of Health Care: Apps that make people Care about Health