[Cybertel-Ann] 11.5 :: Put Up or Shut Up :: Are You Tracking Me? :: B'Bye Buster :: Sorry we Narc'ed :: EFFair Use ::

[Robert Cannon]

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      Federal Internet Law and Policy
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"We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the
way out." -- Decca Recording Co. rejecting the
Beatles, 1962.

Net advertiser self-regulation falling short, Globe
and Mail, 11/5/2007 
Advertisers not revealing they are gathering consumer
information, and should allow them to opt out and
protect data, U.S. regulator says
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheGlobeAndMail-Technology/~3/178805421/
More Info:
http://www.cybertelecom.org/ecom/advertising.htm

Say goodbye to Blockbuster, CNET, 11/5/2007 
With poor results, Blockbuster looks like a company on
life support. And according to Don Reisinger, it's
time to pull the plug.
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9809950-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/media/

Police Blotter: Is computer-generated pornography
illegal?, cnet, 11/5/2007 
Utah jury delivers guilty verdict after being told
"computer-generated images" of nude minors are
illegal--despite Supreme Court ruling.
http://www.news.com/Police-Blotter-Is-computer-generated-pornography-illegal/2100-1038_3-6216660.html?part=rss&tag=2547-1_3-0-20&subj=news
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/cda/cppa1.htm

Privacy Advocates Pressure FTC to Create 'Do Not
Track' List, Ecommerce Times, 11/5/2007 
As the Federal Trade Commission geared up for its Town
Hall meeting at the end of this week focusing on
electronic behavioral marketing techniques, privacy
advocates banded together to urge the agency to give
consumers a way to opt out. Specifically, nine privacy
organizations have requested that the FTC consider
implementing a "Do Not Track" list similar to the Do
Not Call lists used to limit telemarketing. Consumer
privacy is a hot topic at the moment, as Google's
proposed $3.1 billion acquisition of DoubleClick
undergoes government scrutiny.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/rsstory/60134.html
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/privacy/

AOL and CBS Put Online HD Video Efforts on Hold, NYT,
11/5/2007 
NewTeeVee reports that both AOL and CBS are giving up
on their respective attempts at delivering HD quality
video online.
http://www.nytimes.com/paidcontent/PCORG_316475.html?ex=1352005200&en=4efe72bd721beea7&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/media/

Wikipedia Cleared in French Defamation Case, NYT,
11/5/2007 
A French judge has dismissed a defamation and privacy
case against Wikipedia after ruling the free online
encyclopedia was not responsible for information
introduced onto its Web site.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/technology/tech-france-wikipedia-court.html?ex=1352005200&en=080b4c34d4f78a9e&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/media/

Yahoo Counsel Apologizes For Staying Quiet on China,
Wash Post, 11/5/2007 
A top executive at Yahoo has apologized for failing to
inform U.S. lawmakers about the circumstances under
which the Internet company gave the Chinese government
information on one of its users.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/02/AR2007110201974.html?nav=rss_technology
More Info:
http://www.cybertelecom.org/industry/yahoo.htm

Groups Press FCC on Comcast, Net Neutrality, Wash
Post, 11/5/2007 
Several consumer groups are challenging federal
regulators to stop Comcast from interfering with
Internet traffic on its network.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/02/AR2007110201973.html?nav=rss_technology
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/ci/neutral.htm

Senate Committee Approves Broadband Bill - Step
forward for municipal broadband, DSLreports, 11/5/2007

A few months ago we reported on The Community
Broadband Act of 2007, a federal bill designed to
overrule state-level bans on municipal broadband
deployment. This week the bill was approved by the
Senate Commerce Committee.
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Senate-Committee-Approves-Broadband-Bill-89083
More Info:
http://www.cybertelecom.org/broadband/muni.htm

Vonage Customer Service Problems - Now is not a good
time to stir up trouble, DSLreports, 11/5/2007 
Vonage isn t really in a position to be irritating its
customers. The company has been the subject of
numerous patent violation lawsuits (the most recent
being by AT&T). Prior to this, they irritated many
ex-SunRocket users when contacting them after being
sold a SunRocket customer list. The company was also
recently targeted by Sipera as a security risk. In the
past, they at least ranked high for their online
customer service skills (although their regular
customer service is said to be lacking.
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Vonage-Customer-Service-Problems-89085
More Info:
http://www.cybertelecom.org/industry/vonage.htm

Verizon Changes TOS to Define ‘Unlimited’ - Getting
busted does wonders to motivate change, DSLreports,
11/5/2007 
Verizon Wireless was finally caught recently for
falsely advertising unlimited broadband service when
the company really meant limited to 5GB / month . A
statement was issued announcing that the company was
committed to clear marketing and would be changing its
advertisements to reflect the facts. It appears that
they ve changed not only their advertisements but also
their Terms of Service agreement.
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Verizon-Changes-TOS-to-Define-Unlimited-89105
More Info:
http://www.cybertelecom.org/industry/verizon.htm

New Chairman of ICANN Elected Unanimously, ICANN,
11/5/2007 
No description
http://www.icann.org/announcements/announcement-3-02nov07.htm
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/dns/icann.htm

IP-Enabled Services; Implementation of Sections 255
and 251(a)(2) of The Communications Act of 1934, as
Enacted by The, Fed Reg, 11/5/2007 
In this document, the Commission grants in part and
denies in part petitions filed by the Voice on the Net
(VON) Coalition, United States Telecom Association
(USTelecom) and Hamilton Telephone Company (Hamilton)
seeking a stay or waiver of certain aspects of the
Commission's Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) Order (VoIP
TRS Order). The Commission recognizes that, i
http://thefederalregister.com/d.p/2007-11-01-E7-21525
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/voip/ada.htm

Auction of 700 MHz Band Licenses Scheduled for January
24, 2008; Notice and Filing Requirements, Minimum
Opening Bids,, Fed Reg, 11/5/2007 
This document announces the procedures and minimum
opening bids for the upcoming auction of certain 700
MHz Band Licenses (Auctions 73 and 76). This document
is intended to familiarize prospective bidders with
the procedures and minimum opening bids for these
auctions.
http://thefederalregister.com/d.p/2007-11-02-E7-21528
More Info:
http://www.cybertelecom.org/broadband/w700.htm

What Can the FCC Do When ISPs Block or Degrade Certain
Types of Traffic?, TeleFrieden, 11/5/2007 
No description
http://telefrieden.blogspot.com/2007/11/what-can-fcc-do-when-isps-block-or.html
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/ci/neutral.htm

FCC Releases Its Bogus Broadband Data Once Again,
Techdirt, 11/5/2007 
By this point, everyone knows that the FCC's data on
broadband penetration in the US is totally bogus.
Early in 2006, a GAO report slammed the FCC for using
such bogus data. It uses a very low hurdle for what
counts as "broadband" and then measures broadband
based on zipcodes only. So if one broadband provider
provides 200kbps service to a single house in that
zipcode, the FCC considers broadband to be available
to everyone in that zipcode. That, of course, is
ridiculous -- as even right here in the heart of
Silicon Valley it's difficult for some people to get
broadband. When the FCC did little to respond, the GAO
came out with a second report slamming the FCC again.
When the FCC still did nothing, Congress got into the
act, pushing forward a bill that would require the FCC
to more accurately count broadband penetration. How
did the FCC respond? By writing an editorial insisting
that there's competition... even if it doesn't have
any numbers to back it up.
http://techdirt.com/articles/20071102/033937.shtml
More Info:
http://www.cybertelecom.org/broadband/706.htm

Videos Demonstrate The Complexities Of Fair Use,
Techdirt, 11/5/2007 
On Thursday, Mike noted EFF's Fair Use Principles for
User Generated Video Content. I wanted to highlight
the "test suite" of fair-use videos they released in
concert with those principles. It's a a gallery of
videos that EFF thinks constitute fair use of
copyrighted works. It includes a number of golden
oldies that made the rounds in recent years, including
"Ten Things I Hate About Commandments", a video
featuring that ridiculous Nixon Peabody song, and a
video about fair use constructed by splicing together
short Disney Cartoon clips. It's worth noting that the
law is far from settled in this area, so it's far from
certain that the courts would find all of these videos
to be fair use under copyright law. But in a sense,
that's the point: deciding what constitutes fair use
requires the exercise of human judgment. The four
factors determining fair use include subjective
factors like "the effect of the use upon the potential
market" and "the purpose and character of the use"
that simply can't be determined by an automated
algorithm.
http://techdirt.com/articles/20071102/125418.shtml
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/ip/fair.htm

Sprint and WiMAX news, Telecom Industry and
Regulation, 11/5/2007 
This article reports that Sprint is considering a
merger with Clearwire. The two companies had
collaborated on the construction of a nation wide
wireless network. Are you surprised that we are seeing
consolidation already? Do you think that a merger like
this would act as a significant deterrent for
potential new entrants into WiMAX?
http://telcom2935.blogspot.com/2007/11/sprint-and-wimax-news.html
More Info:
http://www.cybertelecom.org/broadband/wimax.htm

Put Up Or Shut Up At the FCC on Net Neutrality
“Principles”, Tales from the Sausage Factory,
11/5/2007 
When the FCC deregulated broadband by declaring it an
“information service,” it also adopted four
principles that purported to give broadband
subscribers a right to “access lawful content of
their choice,” “run applic...
http://www.wetmachine.com/item/916
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/ci/neutral.htm

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