Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking companies no longer have to worry about a mandate that would have required them to share…
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One less symbol on your smartphone? Congress considers relaxing FCC labeling requirements
A new Senate bill proposes a way for companies to fulfill 40-year old FCC device labeling requirements by showing certifications digitally, on a device's screen.…
Read MoreThe 3 biggest challenges new FCC chairman Tom Wheeler will face
Wheeler not only has to manage an enormously complex spectrum auction next year, he faces two huge policy debates: the battle over net neutrality and the ramifications of the telecom industry's transition to IP.…
Read MoreSenate confirms Tom Wheeler as FCC chairman
Wheeler will take over an FCC about to oversee a huge transfer of airwaves from the broadcast to the mobile industry, as well as wrestle with issues such as net neutrality and carrier consolidation.…
Read MoreThe Senate’s media shield bill protects bloggers, and they should support it
Bloggers protesting the Senate's media shield bill are misinformed: The bill would protect them, and anyone committing journalism.…
Read MoreSenators trying to write shield law can’t agree on who is a “real” journalist
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/08/01/198338/senators-spar-over-definition.html Senators have been debating a so-called federal “shield law” that would protect journalists from government subpoenas and court orders related to…
Read MoreWhat controversy? Verizon, Time Warner begin cross-selling services
Verizon’s joint marketing pact with the cable providers may be facing some serious scrutiny, but Verizon and its partners don’t seem to have noticed. On Thursday, Time Warner Cable blithely announced they would launch bundled mobile and cable services together in five markets.…
Read MoreDoes a new crowdfunding bill for startups go too far?
Is new legislation that is aimed at allowing startups to raise money from individuals really going to help the economy -- or is it just going to increase the number of stock scams and help fuel a dangerous kind of bubble mentality around investing?…
Read MoreCould crowdsourcing be a better way to make legislation?
In an attempt to come up with better laws on copyright, Reddit is crowdsourcing the creation of a Free Internet Act, while Public Knowledge is trying to introduce its own alternatives. But will crowdsourcing work, or will it just add to the chaos and confusion?…
Read MoreGaiman: SOPA and PIPA are on the wrong side of history
Author Neil Gaiman said in an interview this week that the media industry is trying to "put genies back in bottles" with laws like SOPA and PIPA, and the Internet has fundamentally changed the landscape, just as Gutenberg's invention of the printing press did.…
Read MoreSOPA and PIPA for newbies
If you're just hearing about SOPA and PIPA, the complexity of these controversial bills can seem daunting. Here's your quick guide to the proposed pieces of legislation and a one-stop shop of resources that can help you learn much, much more.…
Read MoreWhy I’m fighting SOPA: It’s hypocritical, onerous and dumb
The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) may be shelved by the U.S. House of Representatives, but the Senate's PROTECT-IP Act (PIPA) still looms and Joyent CTO Jason Hoffman just can't believe the stupidity that got us all into this mess.…
Read MoreThe Internet isn’t just pipes; it’s a belief system
New laws such as the Stop Online Piracy Act threaten to give new powers to Congress and to content companies, and have serious implications for the web -- they make it clear that content companies are in many ways fundamentally opposed to the way the internet works.…
Read MoreSenate Shoots Down Attempt to Repeal Net Neutrality Rules
The US Senate this afternoon voted against a law to repeal new FCC rules that forbid internet service providers from favoring certain websit……
Read MoreLooks like Congress has declared war on the internet
A new copyright bill proposed in the House would give governments and private corporations unprecedented powers to remove websites from the internet completely, on the flimsiest of grounds, and would also force internet service providers to play the role of copyright police or face penalties.…
Read MoreCongress doesn’t get Google, and it doesn’t get Congress
Is Google evil? Members of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights tried to decide that today in a hearing on Google's market power. The end result was the Senators requested Google make voluntary changes to its search ranking.…
Read MoreWhy a Google antitrust investigation is a mistake
After years of finger-pointing by competitors, Google is finally coming under the scrutiny of federal antitrust regulators. But just like a similar investigation into Microsoft a decade ago, a federal inquiry into whether Google's behavior is illegal is likely to be a giant waste of time.…
Read MoreFighting AT&T-Mo Is Fighting the Wrong War
The AT&T and T-Mo merger will be decided by a DoJ and an FCC playing by the old rules that don’t take into account the future needs of the mobile industry, nor how the relationship between the players in that industry have changed. That's a problem.…
Read MoreApple and Google Execs to Testify Before Senate Hearing on Privacy
The U.S. Senate has posted a notice for an upcoming Judiciary Committee meeting on mobile privacy, to be held May 10 at 10:00 AM EST in Washington, D.C. Apple VP of Software Technology Bud Tribble will provide testimony at the session.…
Read MoreFacebook Takes Fire From Senators Over Privacy
In the latest salvo of privacy-related criticism to be directed at the social network, a group of four senators have sent a letter to Facebook asking the company to change some of its new information-sharing settings, and to stop enabling its sharing features by default.…
Read MoreUpdated: FCC’s Genachowski Pitches Broadband Plan To Senate In Wake Of Comcast Ruling
Usually I watch Congressional hearings on webcasts, an amazing gift for those of us who reported before live streaming. Today through a fluk……
Read MoreRumor Has It: Camera Still Bound for iPod Touch
At the Apple (s aapl) iPod event this past September, the iPod nano got a video upgrade, but despite rumors to the…
Read MoreSenate Climate Bill Wars Begin: What to Expect in the Next Round
For climate legislation, clearing the House last month by a slim seven-vote margin marked a major step toward passage of the first…
Read MoreJailbreak: The Lock Screen is a Barren Land (Part One)
Apple (s aapl) blessed the iPhone 3G with a gorgeous, large screen. There is plenty of screen real estate, so why waste…
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