[Cybertel-Ann] 2.18 :: Jackass :: Underwhelming :: Day or Reckoning :: Hard to Find, Get and Cancel :: Time to Regulate Online Content :: Go Jump in a Lake ::

Wed Feb 18 18:28:25 PST 2009

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             CyberTelecom News  
      Federal Internet Law and Policy
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Things do come to those who wait, but only things left over from those that hustle.  - Abraham Lincoln

Connected Nation Takes Aim At Stimulus Broadband Mapping; Rural Areas Could Be Hurt, PK
The new stimulus package just signed by President Obama has $350 million in it for broadband mapping, yet even before the bill was signed, the danger warnings for this program are glaringly obvious: Who will control the information on broadband deployment? If the program is done correctly, then the program may bring some benefits
http://feeds.publicknowledge.org/~r/publicknowledge-main/~3/542045714/1998
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/broadband/

Court Tosses Challenge to "Opt-in" Requirement for CPNI Disclosure, CommLawBlog
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has issued a decision upholding the Commission’s 2007 Order relating to the necessary mechanism for obtaining customer approval for release of customer proprietary network information (“CPNI”). That mechanism imposes greater burdens on carriers than had been the case prior to 2007.
http://feeds.lexblog.com/~r/CommLawBlog/~3/541253542/
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/ci/cpni.htm

Frontier DSL Stands By Its Caps... Even As It Decreases Broadband Speeds, Techdirt
Frontier Communications last year was a big supporter of capping broadband usage at 5gigs (both up and down). The company is still hyping this up, claiming "It is important that customers that use less don't subsidize those that use the most." That sounds nice, and we'll be hearing that a lot from various broadband providers over the next few
http://techdirt.com/articles/20090216/1809543787.shtml
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/ci/tiers.htm

Active Home Internet Users by Country, November 2008, Clickz
Active home Internet users increased in all but one country tracked.
http://feeds.clickz.com/~r/clickzstats/~3/538942968/showPage.html
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/data/

WIPO: Jackass.com owner a real jackass, but can keep domain, Ars Technica
The World Intellectual Property Organization has the thankless job of overseeing Internet domain name disputes, but few can have been as surreal as the just-concluded case brought by US media giant Viacom. The company sought control of jackass.com from a "serial
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/02/wipo-jackasscom-an-owner-a-real-jackass-but-can-keep-site.ars
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/dns/

Advocates Blast FTC Guidelines on Web Privacy, Internet News
Agency refreshes self-regulatory best practices for behavioral targeting as privacy advocates call for tougher stance.
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/InternetnewsRealtimeNewsForItManagers/~3/Q4jyhk90e5Y/3802806
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/ecom/advertising.htm

FTC's behavioral ad regulations are underwhelming, CW
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently published a somewhat tweaked set of self-regulation guidelines for companies collecting information on the actions of Internet users for the purpose of providing advertising to those users. I expect the FTC does not feel it has the authority to make any binding rules without Congressional action.
http://feeds.computerworld.com/click.phdo?i=0e66ab51f82cba3c02e7734e1832b9aa
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/ecom/advertising.htm

Congressman, privacy groups challenge FTC Web-ad policy, CNET
A government regulatory agency said Thursday that it will continue to push for better self-regulation of online behavioral advertising, but privacy advocates--as well as a key congressman who plans to introduce data collection legislation soon--say self-regulation will not sufficiently protect consumers.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10163062-38.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=News-PoliticsandLaw
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/ecom/advertising.htm

Reaction to the FTC's advertising privacy principles, Google
For the last year or so, the Federal Trade Commission has been looking at privacy questions surrounding online behavioral advertising. We've been pleased to be a part of that process, including testifying at the FTC's 2007
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GooglePublicPolicyBlog/~3/KTXVq2QzPn4/reaction-to-ftcs-advertising-privacy.html
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/ecom/advertising.htm

FTC warns of "day of reckoning" for online advertisers, Ars Technica
Federal Trade Commissioner Jon Leibowitz doesn't look the part of the locust-eating prophet in goatskins, but today he waxed positively biblical in his words to online behavioral advertisers. "A day of reckoning may be fast approaching," he warned darkly. And he suggested that the FTC may
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/02/ftc-warns-of-day-of-reckoning-for-online-advertisers.ars
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/ecom/advertising.htm

FTC Issues Behavioral Advertising Guidelines, CDT
The Federal Trade Commission today issued a report outlining self-regulatory guidelines for the online advertising industry. CDT sees the release of the guidelines, which set a higher standard than existing industry principles, as a signal that companies are running out of time to step up their self-regulatory efforts. Although the FTC report raises
http://www.cdt.org/headlines/1193
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/ecom/advertising.htm

AT&T Dry Loop DSL Hard To Find, Get And Cancel - First it was hard to get. Now it's hard to get rid of., dslreports
As part of AT&T's merger conditions (pdf) when they acquired Bellsouth, they were forced to offer 768kbps DSL for $10. To (kind of) keep their promise, AT&T now offers the tier, but they don't tell anyone it's available. For a long time, the same could be said of dry loop (naked) DSL, also required as a merger condition, and equally hard to find
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/ATT-Dry-Loop-DSL-Hard-To-Find-Get-And-Cancel-100952
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/industry/att.htm

As Earnings Drop 32%, Comcast Raises Dividend, NYT
The cable company also took a $600 million write-down on Clearwire, the wireless technology provider.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/19/business/19comcast.html
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/industry/comcast.htm

Comcast Nixes Executive Raises For 2009 - Joins a slew of carriers in trying to manage recession..., dslreports
We previously reported that higher level executives at both Time Warner Cable and AT&T won't be seeing raises this year, as the company's try to manage the recession, slowing broadband subscriber additions, and the credit markets. According to filings with the Security and Exchange Commission, top executives at Comcast also won't
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Comcast-Nixes-Executive-Raises-For-2009-100919
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/industry/comcast.htm

Comcast Struggles With Subscriber Additions - Though met or exceeded most Wall Street estimates..., dslreports
Comcast issued their fourth quarter earnings this morning, showing that the cable giant took a slight hit from the stumbling economy. Comcast added 247,000 digital cable subscribers in Q4, down from the 530,000 added in the fourth quarter last year. It added 184,000 high-speed Internet customers, down from last year's 341,000, and it
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Comcast-Struggles-With-Subscriber-Additions-100949
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/industry/comcast.htm

Verizon To Finally Crack Down On Spam - After years on Spamhaus top ten list..., dslreports
Spamhaus has long kept a list of the top ten most spam-laden networks. Many of the list's ISPs are regular fixtures because they've decided to save money by ignoring the problem of infected botnets on their network. Verizon has traditionally been a frequent mainstay on the list (which changes daily), and according to Spamhaus, hosts the most
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Verizon-To-Finally-Crack-Down-On-Spam-100933
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/industry/verizon.htm

Time to regulate online content, cultural groups tell CRTC, Globe and Mail
Say it's time to make sure Canadian content doesn't get squeezed out by mountains of material from around the world
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheGlobeAndMail-Technology/~3/rtoVrTOsUUY/
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/intl/

South African Athorities Hate Digital Inclusion: Confiscate Equipment from Village Telco., Sascha
I just received word from my colleague, Vickram Crishna, over at the Village Telco project that South African athorities have confiscated their wireless equipment. Apparently, digital inclusion work is so threatening to their regulatory agency and telecom incumbent that they're more than willing to use police force to stop the spread of connectivity.
http://saschameinrath.com/2009/feb/18/south_african_athorities_hate_digital_inclusion_confiscate_equipment_village_telco
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/intl/

Facebook Withdraws Changes in Data Use, NYT
After a wave of protests, Facebook said it would withdraw changes to its terms of service concerning the data supplied by users.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/19/technology/internet/19facebook.html
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/ip/copyright.htm

Are Facebook's outraged users getting a wake-up call?, CW
After outraged users hammered Facebook for changing its terms of use to seemingly give the company vast control over users' content, analysts said the dust-up could serve as a lesson for people to think before they post.
http://feeds.computerworld.com/click.phdo?i=f9ec80d26c02b8d2acf984765d7c7018
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/ip/copyright.htm

Research Paper Shows How Useless It Is To Require ISPs To Be Copyright Cops, Techdirt
A bunch of folks have been sending in the link to Boing Boing's report about a new research paper highlighting just how useless, ineffective and damaging it will be if governments or the entertainment industry force ISPs to start trying to crack down on file sharing. The researchers make a pretty compelling case (though, certainly, I was inclined
http://techdirt.com/articles/20090218/0233063814.shtml
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/ip/copyright.htm

Shame on you, Facebook, for overreaching, Internet Cases
Facebook, I hereby grant to you an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to use the following content: “Go jump in a lake.”
http://blog.internetcases.com/2009/02/17/shame-on-you-facebook-for-overreaching/
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/ip/copyright.htm

Rodeo group to pay $25,000 for YouTube takedown requests, CNET
A rodeo association has agreed to pay $25,000 to an animal welfare group to settle a lawsuit over the improper removal of videos from YouTube that showed roped calves being dragged off to die and tasers being used on tame horses to get them to buck.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10163337-93.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=News-PoliticsandLaw
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/ip/dmca.htm

Stalled Switch to Digital TV A Classic Tale of Breakdown, Wash Post
The nation's switch to all-digital broadcasts has been more than a decade in the making. The federal government has spent nearly $2 billion to help people prepare. Broadcasters spent another $1.2 billion to run warning ads and millions more to upgrade equipment. Until last week, the United States...
http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/~r/wp-dyn/rss/technology/index_xml/~3/8sQbFGigbag/AR2009021303504.html
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/media/dtv.htm

40 percent of stations are now DTV only, Lost Remote
Today is the long-awaited, much-promoted, highly-debated DTV switchover date. Or it was until Congress moved the official date to June 12th to give Americans more time to prepare their TV sets. Regardless, about 40 percent of the nation’s TV stations — 681 of them — have made the switch to digital. Most of those are in small to mid-sized
http://www.lostremote.com/2009/02/17/40-percent-of-stations-are-now-dtv-only/
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/media/dtv.htm

Corrupt Judges Sent Kid Who Made Spoof MySpace Pages To Detention... For Profit, Techdirt
We've covered a few different cases involving students suspended from school for creating fake social networking profiles of teachers or school administrators. There was even one time we wrote about a principal taking a student to court over a fake MySpace profile (he lost). However, we hadn't heard of kids actually being sent to juvenile
http://techdirt.com/articles/20090218/0250553816.shtml
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/security/crime.htm

Fugitive hacker indicted for running VoIP scam, CW
A federal grand jury has indicted a Miami man for allegedly hacking into and stealing time on networks of VoIP services companies.
http://feeds.computerworld.com/click.phdo?i=c8f84b8141389d3e60289714a6b57126
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/voip/

EFF Re-Launches Legal Guide for Bloggers, EFF
It has been almost four years since EFF first published our Legal Guide for Bloggers to help bloggers understand their rights and, when necessary, defend their freedom of expression. In that time, blogging has become more widespread, and more and more people need a better understanding of the laws surrounding blogging. Not a day goes by in which we do not help someone with a reference to the Legal Guide.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/02/eff-re-launches-legal-guide-bloggers
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/

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