Benton RSS Feed
Apple, Google, Intel, Pixar and other high-tech companies will face an antitrust lawsuit that alleges they illegally conspired not to poach each other’s staffers.
San Jose U.S. District Court Judge Lucy Koh rejected a motion to dismiss the claims. In a 29-page opinion, she ruled that the “Do Not Cold Call” agreements among the defendants probably resulted “from collusion, and not from coincidence.” Other defendants include Adobe, Intuit, and Lucasfilm. Five software engineers have accused the companies of conspiring to limit pay and job movement. They are bringing the proposed class-action lawsuit. The claims are similar to those raised by the U.S. Department of Justice. It settled an antitrust probe in 2010 that alleged the companies colluded to keep a lid on wages by agreeing not to poach employees from one another. The companies agreed not to restrain competition in the labor market for high-tech talent. The litigation uncovered an email from 2007 from Apple’s Steve Jobs to Google’s Eric Schmidt over Google’s effort to recruit an Apple engineer. "I would be very pleased if your recruiting department would stop doing this," Jobs wrote Schmidt, then-CEO of Google who also sat on the Apple board.
Apple, Google, others to face antitrust suit over staff poaching Federal Judge Forces Apple, Google, Others to Face Antitrust Suit (WSJ)
The Electronic Privacy Information Center is demanding that the U.S. Federal Communications Commission release the complete report on its Google Street View investigation. The Washington advocacy group has filed a Freedom of Information Act request to see the full 25-page report. The version that the FCC released April 13 was heavily redacted.
EPIC demands full FCC report on Google Street View Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (FCC)
With the emergence of social media, more companies are replacing blogs with nimbler tools requiring less time and resources, such as Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter. A survey released earlier this year by the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth says the percentage of companies that maintain blogs fell to 37% in 2011 from 50% in 2010, based on its survey of 500 fast-growing companies listed by Inc. magazine. Only 23% of Fortune 500 companies maintained a blog in 2011, flat from a year ago after rising for several years.
The trend in business is consistent with the broader loss of interest in blogging among all consumers.
More companies quit blogging, go with Facebook instead
House and Senate campaign committees are worried that if they don’t stake out their television time now, they could be eclipsed in the fall by super-PACs and the pricey presidential race.
With more than six months until the election, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) has already reserved $25 million in airtime after Labor Day to target six races, while the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has announced plans to book $32 million in airtime in districts across the country.
Congressional campaign committees stake out TV time in busy election year
Republican senators are pressuring Sen. Chuck Grassely (R-Iowa) to release holds on two of President Obama’s nominees for the Federal Communications Commission.
The nominations of Republican Ajit Pai and Democrat Jessica Rosenworcel have been held up since last December, when both were approved by the Senate Commerce Committee. GOP aides said Republicans are growing impatient for Grassley to release his holds. They say Republicans were willing to back Grassley’s effort to win more information about a waiver the FCC provided to LightSquared, which sought to build a new mobile network. But they argue now it is time to lift the holds.
Sen. Grassley facing pressure from GOP to lift holds on Obama nominees
A White House petition site designed for the public has become a handy lobbying tool for interest groups in Washington. The “We the People” site was set up by the Obama administration more than six months ago to take petitions calling for changes in federal policy. The White House responds to any petition that receives more than 25,000 signatures within 30 days. Seeking to capitalize on grassroots energy, trade groups and watchdog organizations are using the site to try and force President Obama to take a position on their key issues.
‘We the People’ petition site the newest tool in K Street lobbying repertoire
The American Cable Association has told the Federal Communications Commission it needs to clarify that an analog-only cable system is not required to carry a broadcaster's HD signal in HD because, well, it can't.
In a filing with the FCC, ACA was responding to questions from Media Bureau staff about whether it is necessary to have an exemption for analog-only systems. ACA says no, and that the commission should make it clear that in its reauthorization of the HD carriage exemption for smaller cable systems that analog-only systems are permanently excluded.
ACA: It's Clear Analog-Only Systems Can't Retransmit TV Stations In HD
Accused of misleading consumers about the 4G capabilities of its latest iPad in Australia, Apple is taking the country’s regulators to the mat. And it’s going armed with a controversial argument. It’s not the iPad that’s been mislabeled. It’s Australia’s 3G networks.
In a brief filed with the Federal Court in Melbourne, Australia, this week, Apple — which last month agreed to notify consumers that its new iPad is not compatible with Australia’s 4G LTE network and to offer refunds to early purchasers who feel they were misled by its branding — refused to stop marketing the device as “iPad Wi-Fi + 4G.” Its argument for doing so? Many of Australia’s 3G networks can reasonably be described as 4G under international definitions.
Apple on Australian 4G: You’re Branding it Wrong
A Sony-led consortium won European Union clearance on Thursday for its $2.2 billion purchase of EMI’s music publishing business, giving unexpectedly early antitrust approval to one-half of a deal to split the independent British music group. To allay the European Commission’s competition concerns, Sony will sell EMI Music Publishing catalogues generating about €25 million in revenues annually from songwriters such as Ozzy Osbourne, Culture Club and Robbie Williams. While Sony was forced to sweeten the original offer it made to the Commission, winning early clearance is an important breakthrough for the consortium that will allow it to avoid a lengthy in-depth investigation.
Brussels approves $2.2 billion Sony-EMI deal
The Federal Communications Commission has decided to defer, rather than prohibit, converting emergency alerts from text to speech, a prohibition in its initial Emergency Alert System (EAS) order.
The FCC amended its Jan. 10 order on specifying how EAS participants, which include broadcasters and cable operators, must receive Common Alert Protocol (CAP) messages. The original order had not allowed text-to-speech conversions of those CAP messages because, for one reason, the accuracy and reliability had not been established, said the FCC. It also wasn't convinced the obligation should be on the receiver, rather than the transmitter of the message to do that conversion. But FEMA, for one, objected, saying that by prohibiting TTS it would limit its development.
FCC Will Allow Text-to-Speech Emergency Alerts Order on Reconsideration (FCC)