Thousands Sign Petition Protesting Net Neutrality Loopholes for Copyright Enforcement: Via EFF.org Updates.

San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) submitted a petition signed by more than 7000 people to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today demanding that the agency close a loophole for copyright enforcement in its proposed regulations for network neutrality.

The petition is part of EFF's reply comments in the FCC's net neutrality rulemaking. The FCC's proposed rules generally prohibit ISPs from discriminating or blocking lawful content, but include a loophole for 'reasonable network management' by ISPs. The proposed rules then define 'reasonable network management" to include measures taken by ISPs to block unlawful content or transmissions. This exception would effectively permit ISPs to violate net neutrality rules and block lawful activities in the name of copyright enforcement.

"We can't afford to let lawful speech become collateral damage in Hollywood's war on copyright infringement," said EFF Senior Staff Attorney Fred von Lohmann. "Net neutrality regulations should not excuse ISPs that interfere with lawful content just because they claim they were acting as copyright cops." [ Read more ... ]

Netflix to FCC: scary loophole in net neutrality rules: Via Law & Disorder Section - Ars Technica.

Netflix, the company that mails out DVDs and streams movies to millions of home theater potatoes, made the rounds to the Federal Communications Commission on Friday. The company's general counsel told staffers and Commissioners that the movie rental distributor supports the agency's proposed Internet nondiscrimination rules. But they also include a potentially nasty loophole, Netflix warned—the "managed services" category that the Commission created in its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking back in October.

Read Original Article:(Via Law & Disorder Section - Ars Technica.)

CDT Offers Recommendations For FCC “Open Internet” Rules: Via CDT - Center for Democracy & Technology.

1/25/2010

CDT Comments to the FCC on Net Neutrality

FCC's NPRM

Internet Openness & Standards

Internet Neutrality

1) CDT Offers Recommendations in FCC’s “Open Internet” Proceeding

2) Questioning the FCC’s Assertions of Jurisdiction over the Internet

3) Comments on the Proposed Rules

4) The Road Ahead and the Comcast Appeal

Read Original Article:(Via CDT - Center for Democracy & Technology.)

Skeptical judges ask FCC if Comcast P2P smackdown was legal: Via Law & Disorder Section - Ars Technica.

Comcast has had its day in court over the issue of "network management." News accounts suggest that the three-judge panel from the DC Court of Appeals was plenty skeptical that the FCC had the proper authority to sanction Comcast's BitTorrent blocking in 2008. [ Read more ... ]

Most Pirated Movie of 2009 ... Makes Heaps of Money: Via EFF.org Updates.

According to TorrentFreak, last summer's Star Trek movie was the "most pirated movie of 2009." So it seems that Paramount Pictures was prescient when it gave testimony before the FCC that used Star Trek as an illustrative example of how "Internet piracy" is poised to devastate Hollywood and (though the nexus here is less than clear) undermine residential broadband in America.

Funny thing is, Star Trek is on course to make more than $100 million in profits. [ Read more ... ]

Search Neutrality ≠ Net Neutrality: Via Freedom to Tinker.

Sunday’s New York Times featured a provocative op-ed arguing in addition to regulating “net neutrality” the FCC should also effectuate “search neutrality” - requiring search providers rank results without consideration of business entities. The author heaps particular scorn upon Google for promoting its own context-relevant services (i.e. maps and weather) at the fore of search results. Others have already reviewed the proposal, leveled implementation critiques, and criticized the author’s gripes with his own site. My aim here is to rebut the piece’s core argument: the analogy of search neutrality to net neutrality. Clearly both are debates about the promotion of innovation and competition through a level playing field. But beyond this commonality the parallel breaks down. [ Read more ... ]

Big wireless to FCC: be consistent—except when it benefits us: Via Law & Disorder Section - Ars Technica.

Lobbying is a fast and furious game, one where the lobbyists must make every attempt to present things that benefit their industry as if they are a triumph of dispassionate reason—even when their positions seem to contradict one another.

The wireless phone industry filed a document (PDF) Tuesday with the FCC that led us to ponder the mysteries of the lobbyists, [ Read more ... ]

Satellite TV to FCC: we're special, don't make us open up: Via Law & Disorder Section - Ars Technica.

If you've tried to pump your fully-paid-up cable connection into, say, a computer running Windows Media Center, you've probably come up against the closed nature of pay-TV and the severe limitations of CableCARD. And what about satellite TV? Don't even think about it.

The FCC wants to blow open the market for third-party video devices, scrapping some of the current (failed) CableCARD rules and adding satellite providers to the list. [ Read more ... ]

MPAA to FCC: critics of video blocking proposals are lying: Via Law & Disorder Section - Ars Technica.

The movie studios have a new Holy Grail, it seems: Federal Communications Commission permission to cable companies to shut down the analog streams on video-on-demand movie programming. As Ars readers know, we've been covering this issue for a while. But the Motion Picture Association of America's latest letter to the FCC pulls out all the stops, rhetoric-wise, calling criticisms of this scheme "complete and utter nonsense that only can be intended to stir up baseless fears among consumers that their equipment will suddenly go dark and be unusable for any purpose." [ Read more ... ]

FCC proposes network neutrality rules (and big exemptions): Via Law & Disorder Section - Ars Technica.

As expected, the FCC laid out its draft network neutrality rules at an open meeting today. Despite the partial dissent of the two Republican commissioners, the pro-neutrality faction has won a major rhetorical battle; even its toughest opponents sing the praises of a "free and open Internet."

The draft rules are short, taking up less than two pages of text. At their heart are the four existing "Internet freedoms" that the FCC approved back in 2005:

Read Original Article:(Via Law & Disorder Section - Ars Technica.)

Is Net Neutrality a FCC Trojan Horse?: Via EFF.org Updates.

On Thursday, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski is expected to unveil draft rules aimed at imposing network neutrality obligations on Internet Service Providers (ISPs). In the excitement surrounding the announcement, however, many have overlooked the fact that the this rulemaking is built on a shoddy and dangerous foundation – the idea that the FCC has unlimited authority to regulate the Internet.

Genachowski has announced that the draft regulations will require ISPs to abide by the "Four Freedoms" set forth in the FCC's 2005 Internet Policy Statement, as well as the additional principles of nondiscrimination and transparency. EFF strongly believes in these six principles. Our work speaks for itself: we are developing software tools to Test Your ISP in the wake of uncovering Comcast’s meddling with BitTorrent traffic, seeking a DMCA exemption to let you run applications of your choice on your mobile phone, and fighting Hollywood’s efforts to force DRM restrictions into your television. [ Read more ... ]

Hollywood Pressuring FCC on Selectable Output Control Again: Via EFF.org Updates.

Our friends at Public Knowledge have been doing a great job in Washington, D.C., fighting against the MPAA's efforts to selectively disable the high-definition analog (i.e., "component" video) outputs on your cable box. In essence, Hollywood is telling the FCC that it won't give Americans early access to blockbuster movies unless the FCC lets it kill your analog outputs.

Public Knowledge has an update today, letting us know that Hollywood is back at the FCC pushing for this anti-consumer, anti-innovation change in the FCC rules: [ Read more ... ]

The Markey Net Neutrality Bill: Least Restrictive Network Management?: Via Freedom to Tinker.

It's an exciting time in the net neutrality debate. FCC Chairman Jules Genachowski's speech on Monday promised a new FCC proceeding that will aim to create a formal rule to replace the Commission's existing policy statement.

Meanwhile, net neutrality advocates in Congress are pondering new legislation for two reasons: First, there is a debate about whether the FCC currently has enough authority to enforce a net neutrality rule. Second, regardless of whether the Commission has such authority today or doesn't, some would rather see net neutrality rules etched into statute than leave them to the uncertainties of the rulemaking process under this and future Commissions.

One legislative proposal comes from Rep. Ed Markey and colleagues. Called the Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2009, its current draft is available on the Free Press web site. [ Read more ... ]

FCC Chairman Hits the Right Notes in Neutrality Speech: Via CDT - PolicyBeta.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski this morning ushered in a new phase of the long-running Internet neutrality debate. Over the past few years, the FCC has established some basic principles in a “Policy Statement.” It has issued Notices of Inquiry on network practices and held public meetings on the topic. And it has accused Comcast of violating the Policy Statement, resulting in a pending lawsuit. But now, the FCC will seek to adopt actual rules.

Genachowski’s speech touched on many themes that CDT has been stressing for a long time. (CDT issued this statement shortly after the speech was publicly released.) It is great to see that the FCC’s Chairman shares our perspective to such a remarkable degree. For example: [ Read more ... ]

FCC Will Get Passing Votes for Net Neutrality: Via Post I.T. - A Technology Blog From The Washington Post - (washingtonpost.com).

The Federal Communications Commission's proposal of new rules to prevent companies such as AT&T, Verizon and Comcast from deliberately blocking or slowing certain Web traffic is expected to receive a passing three votes out of the five-member agency, according to sources.

The proposal, to be announced Monday by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, will include an additional guideline for carriers that they make public the way they manage traffic on their network, according to sources at the agency. The additional guideline would be a "sixth principle" to four existing guidelines adopted in 2005 on Internet network operations. A fifth principle is expected to be announced by Genachowski on Monday during a speech at the Brookings Institute that would prohibit the discrimination of applications and services on telecommunications, cable and wireless Internet networks. [ Read more ... ]

FTC Urges FCC To Consider Behavioral Targeting In Broadband Plan: Via MediaPost - news and directories for media, marketing and online advertising professionals.

The Federal Communications Commission should consider privacy issues raised by behavioral targeting when it crafts a national broadband plan. That's according to the Federal Trade Commission, which filed written comments about broadband with the FCC on Friday.

"A significant number of consumers appear to be particularly concerned about the tracking of their online activities for the purposes of, for example, delivering targeted advertisements. It appears consumers generally maintain these concerns even where the data collected is not personally identifiable," the FTC said in its 17-page comments. [ Read more ... ]

Movie studios again demand HDTV disabling powers from FCC: Via Law & Disorder Section - Ars Technica.

Hollywood's bid to force a yet-to-be-agreed-upon number of households to buy new home theater gear is back in business. The Motion Picture Association of America has once again asked the Federal Communications Commission for the right to selectively control output streams to the TV entertainment systems of consumers. "The pro-consumer purpose" (!) request "is to enable movie studios to offer millions of Americans in-home access to high-value, high definition video content," three MPAA biggies explained during a meeting they held with seven FCC Media Bureau staffers last Thursday. [ Read more ... ]

FCC enforcing imaginary laws in P2P ruling, says Comcast: Via Law & Disorder Section - Ars Technica.

Almost a year ago, Comcast pledged that it would sue the Federal Communications Commission over its Order sanctioning the cable ISP for peer-to-peer throttling. Now, the company has filed its case with the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Although Comcast's legal arguments are complex, the crux is simple: there were and still are no statutes or credible regulations that support the Commission's authority to act on this matter, the company says. [ Read more ... ]

ACLU Calls FCC Fine Paternalism at its Worst - Via American Civil Liberties Union:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: (202) 675-2312, media@dcaclu.org

Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union today criticized a Federal Communications Commission proposal of a $1.4 million fine against 52 ABC network affiliates that aired a 2003 episode of NYPD Blue during which a woman’s nude buttocks can be seen. The ACLU responded that the fine represents another egregious example of the government trying to decide what grown adults can and cannot watch. [ Read more ... ]

Free Speech: Not on Strike - Via ACLU Alerts:

The only thing worse than a FCC hungry for power over our airwaves is a Congress that is eager to give it to them. A bill coming up on the Senate floor would do just that and allow the FCC to ban anything it calls profane durring prime time.

[...]

The writers in Hollywood may be on strike, but the First Amendment isn’t. Right-wing advocates for TV censorship like the Parents Television Council have been writing thousands of letters to Congress for weeks in support of S. 1780, a bill that would shut down free speech on the public airwaves. To turn up the heat for the First Amendment, it’s time we put the heat on Congress. [ Read more ... ]

Howl For Free Speech: "‘I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness’ begins the epic poem Howl by Allen Ginsberg. Fifty years ago today, a San Francisco Municipal Court judge ruled that the Beat-era poem was not obscene. Today, in an ironic twist, a New York public broadcasting station (WBAI) has decided not to air the poem because of fears the Federal Communications Commission will find the poem indecent and cripple the station with fines. The chill against free speech is alive and well.

WBAI’s fear of crippling fines is not unfounded. Howl contains multiple profanities, and each profanity could earn a fine of $325,000. Multiply that by each Pacifica station that airs the poem and it could mean a fine of millions of dollars. With a budget of $18 million for its five stations, a multimillion dollar fine would be crippling. [ Read more ... ]

ACLU Rebukes Censorship of War Documentary: Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union today condemned the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for the effect of its vague and inconsistent treatment of "indecency." Because of the uncertainty, some broadcasters are wary of airing a documentary on World War II since the fourteen hour movie contains a total of four expletives. The film, "The War" by filmmaker Ken Burns, is scheduled to air on the Public Broadcasting Channel on September 23. The FCC has the ability to enforce indecency laws by fining broadcasters for instances of "indecency" between 6 a.m. and 10pm. [ Read more ... ]

FCC Must Protect Innovation, Privacy in e911 Rulemaking: "CDT, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Sun Microsystems this week urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to be cautious in considering an 'automatic' location requirement for VoIP providers for use during e911 emergency calls. In comments filed today with the FCC, the groups noted that while the e911 system is a vital part of our public safety net, VoIP services are unable to provide 'automatic' location information (without user input), and a requirement that they do so would harm innovation and competition. The comments also cautioned that some proposed solutions to address the VoIP location requirement would destroy users' privacy."

# e911 Comments [PDF] August 22, 2007

(Read Original Article - Via Center for Democracy and Technology.) [ Read more ... ]

'Child Safe Viewing Act' Raises Serious Questions: "The Senate Commerce Committee today passed the Child Safe Viewing Act of 2007 (S. 602), which requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to study the 'existence and availability' of filtering technologies for audio and video content transmitted over 'wired, wireless, and Internet' platforms, as well as other devices. CDT does not oppose a purely fact-finding study, but maintains that a neutral, non-regulatory body such as the National Academy of Sciences would be better suited to such a project. More importantly, CDT is concerned that this legislation may represent a step toward expanding the FCC's censorship authority to include Internet content."

(Read Original Article - Via Center for Democracy and Technology.)

Bill Would Expand FCC Authority to Regulate Speech: "The Senate Commerce Committee today passed legislation that would authorize the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to punish broadcasters for single 'fleeting' utterances of common expletives. The Protecting Children from Indecent Programming Act would effectively negate a recent ruling by a federal appeals court, which found the FCC's policy of punishing 'fleeting expletives' to be unlawful. [ Read more ... ]