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The Internet, time, and media regulation

26-Apr-09

I gave this talk at Cardozo Law School’s conference on the Internet and Openness, held last week. It was lots of fun and I learned a great deal from the other speakers.

Thank you for this opportunity to speak at this event. I should start out by saying that I do not speak for arstechnica.com here, or anywhere else for that matter. I’m just one voice there, working in the status of contributor for the site.

I’m also not going to stand here in the company of these very informed speakers and represent myself as an expert on the Internet. I’m not. What am I then? Well, occasionally I write something on Ars that somebody finds so unacceptable that they devote an entire blog entry to my inadequacies. Last year one of them angrily   denounced me as a “self-appointed FCC watcher,” among other allegedly bad things.

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Kevin Martin: Net neutrality hero?

12-Jul-08

The ‘Net is abuzz with news that Federal Communications Commission Chair Kevin Martin favors sanctions (if not fines) against Comcast for blocking P2P traffic, as well as rules to prevent the practice in the future. Who could have predicted this turn of events? In December Martin was Dr. Evil for his rush to relax the FCC’s newspaper/TV station cross-ownership rules. But this week he’s something close to Dudley Do-Right for his stance on Comcast. Why the sudden change of perception? Has the Chair changed? Fickleness of the mob? Well, Martin is doing the right thing in this instance. So maybe it’s a combination of both.

Here are some relevant press releases:


OIC Praises Chairman Martin’s Comments on Comcast Issue; Urges FCC to Take Strong Action to Preserve an Open Internet

Last night, the Associated Press reported that Comcast’s blocking of certain types of Internet traffic was a violation of the FCC’s broadband principles policy statement, and it was reported that he will recommend enforcement action against the company.

In response to this story, Markham Erickson, Executive Director of Open Internet Coalition, issued the following statement:

Dudley“Comcast’s blocking of Internet traffic violated the rights of consumers to access the applications and services of their choice – a key part of the FCC’s Broadband Policy Principles. The FCC has received hundreds of pages of comment and conducted two in-depth field hearings on this matter. Based on what we’ve learned, we applaud both the Chairman’s conclusion that Comcast’s actions undermined the FCC’s policy and his desire to shed greater light on these activities. The FCC must take steps to make sure future network management decisions are proper and legitimate.

“We hope the rest of the Commission backs the Chairman’s order. It is critical for the FCC to send a strong signal to other telephone and cable companies that this kind of blocking is unacceptable, and that this behavior will be taken to task when discovered.”

About the Open Internet Coalition: The Open Internet Coalition (www.openinternetcoalition.com) represents consumers, grassroots organizations, and businesses working in pursuit of a shared goal: keeping the Internet fast, open and accessible to all Americans.


And from Free Press:

Consumers Poised for Victory Against Comcast at FCC

WASHINGTON — According to the Associated Press, the Federal Communications Commission is expected to conclude its investigation on Friday into complaints from Free Press and others that Comcast, the nation’s largest cable company, is blocking consumer access to Internet content.

Late last year, the Associated Press caught Comcast secretly blocking the Web sites and services of its competitors. In response, Free Press and members of the SavetheInternet.com Coalition filed a complaint urging the FCC to stop Comcast’s harmful blocking and sought fines to deter future violations. Since the FCC launched its investigation in January, tens of thousands of people filed comments with the agency, and hundreds attended public hearings at Harvard and Stanford universities.

Marvin Ammori, general counsel of Free Press and author of the complaint, issued the following statement:

“Nine months ago, Comcast was exposed for blocking free choice on the Internet. At every turn, Comcast has denied blocking, lied to the public and tried to avoid being held accountable. We have presented an open and shut case that Comcast broke the law.

“The FCC now appears ready to take action on behalf of consumers. This is an historic test for whether the law will protect the open Internet. If the commission decisively rules against Comcast, it will be a remarkable victory for organized people over organized money.”

The Berkeley Daily Planet’s war on KPFA

25-May-08

It is late May. KPFA in Berkeley, America’s first listener supported radio station, is running its Spring listener marathon. So, of course, it is time for the Berkeley Daily Planet to run an op-ed piece denouncing the signal.

“If there was more excitement on the air, live or current speeches, and the news wasn’t straight off the AP wire,” writes former KPFA board member Richard Phelps, ” . . . and the listeners felt that their concerns mattered, I know I would donate much more and I believe lots of others would also. KPFA could be so much better with progressive management that puts the mission first!”

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How NBC changed “the facts” to block Dennis Kucinich from the Nevada debate

15-Jan-08

Nevada’s Supreme Court today upheld NBC’s exclusion of presidential contender Dennis Kucinich from tonight’s MSNBC Democrats’ debate. But the TV network’s own appeal to the court reveals that its managers changed the program’s qualification rules—a move that threw Kucinich off the program.

An NBC Emergency Petition’s “statement of facts” filed today admits that Kucinich may have qualified for the debate under the rules outlined by Democratic party consultant Jenny Backus. Those guidelines said that a candidate had to finish in at least fourth place in the New Hampshire primary or Iowa Caucus to participate in the January 15th debate.

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FTC: Spam bad, getting worse

01-Jan-08

Spam has gone beyond just irritating, the Federal Trade Commission warns. It has become downright dangerous.

“This new generation of spam is no longer a mere annoyance to email recipients and a burden to ISPs; often it is a vector for criminal activity,” the FTC’s Spam Summit report, released on December 28th, concludes. The document summarizes the findings of the Commission’s Division of Marketing Practices on spam and “phishing.”

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The Good FCC

21-Dec-07

On Tuesday, the Federal Communications Commission, by a bare majority, voted to lift its over three decade old prohibition against an entity owning a newspaper and a television station in the same market. Most FCC watchers will now shift their visors to Congress and the circuit courts, where media reform activists will doubtless turn in a bid to reverse this ruling.

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Big media to FCC: Martin plan is not enough

16-Dec-07

While members of Congress are protesting the Federal Communications Commission’s likely approval of a newspaper/television station cross-ownership rule this Tuesday, December 18, five big media companies say the proposal does not go far enough.

At a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on Thursday, FCC Chair Kevin Martin defended his plan to allow entities to own both newspapers and television stations in the top 20 Nielsen defined markets in the United States. Martin cited shrinking advertising revenue for newspapers, leading to less local news reporting, as the reason for the consolidation move.

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Are fake and mass FCC filings legitimate?

16-Dec-07

Last week I published a playful piece: “Faux Celebrity FCC filings on the rise.” Overnight it became the blog’s most popular story, logging more hits in less time than anything else on the site. It also generated several interpretations with which I disagree.

The “Faux” article disclosed something that I’ve noticed over the last year or so. Every now and then some wag files comments with the FCC using the name of a famous person: Donald Trump, Paris Hilton, even Leon Trotsky, Joseph Stalin, George W. Bush, and Jesus Christ. The filings often mangle some auto-comment available on the Web site of a public interest or lobbying group.

They can be pretty funny, too.

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Faux celebrity FCC filings on the rise

10-Dec-07

“Don’t prevent states from fixing my cell phone problems,” someone who signed their name “Donald Trump” wrote to the Federal Communications Commission in June of 2005.

“Here, hold my hairpiece for a minute while I take this call from California—” the filing continues. “what? You think cell phones should be regulated somehow? Disclosure? Costs? You crazy? Hell, I’ll NEVER allow California to do any such thing! . . . YOU’RE FIRED!”


Did Paris Hilton file with the FCC?
Only her hairdresser . . .

As someone who searches for and reads FCC proceeding statements a lot, I run into many FCC filings signed by people who comment as celebrities, noted historical figures, or even as dirty words. Most, but not all, are creatively mangled Web form comments provided by public interest groups on specific issues.

“I’m a dead Communist, but I don’t want to pay more for my telephone service!” declared “Leon Trotsky” in an FCC statement submitted in March of 2005.

“I urge you to reject a flat fee proposal that would change how contributions are made to the Universal Service Fund,” Mr. Trotsky’s comment concludes. “I am concerned that this proposal could make my current service unaffordable.”

“Leon Trotsky / 6 feet under / Mexico City,” the letter is signed.

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Are San Francisco Bay Area TV retailers ready for the DTV transition?

03-Dec-07

One month before the government starts issuing discount coupons for set top boxes that can convert your old analog TV set into a digital ready receiver, some San Francisco Bay Area stores may be ready to handle the traffic. But most are not.

I spent the morning doing a quickie readiness survey of the San Francisco region. I called a bunch of Target, Best Buy, and Circuit City stores and asked them two questions: “Will you be selling those digital converter set top boxes for analog TV sets soon?” and “Will you be taking those discount coupons that the Department of Commerce plans to give out for the boxes?”

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