[Cybertel-Ann] 1.16 :: Obama's Broadband Policy :: DO FiOS :: Online Threats to Children Overblown :: No Idea about Sec. 230 :: FCC Morale ::

Fri Jan 16 09:18:33 PST 2009

============================================
             CyberTelecom News  
      Federal Internet Law and Policy
============================================

...and Communications for All? A Telecommunications Policy Agenda for the Obama Administration, PK
Over the past year, the Future of American Communications (FACT) Working Group, composed of sixteen telecommunications scholars from eleven American universities, has been putting together a communications policy agenda for the next administration. The culmination of the group’s work, a volume titled …and communications for all: A Policy Agenda for a New Administration will be launched on
http://feeds.publicknowledge.org/~r/publicknowledge-main/~3/512153656/1941
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/broadband/

Obama's Official Broadband Policy, Telecom Policy
“Let us be the generation that reshapes our economy to compete in the digital age. Let's set high standards for our schools and give them the resources they need to succeed. Let's recruit a new army of teachers, and give them better pay and more support in exchange for more accountability. Let's make college more affordable, and let's invest in scientific research, and let's lay down broadband lines through the heart of
http://www.fastnetnews.com/policyblog/803-obama-official-broadband-policy
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/broadband/

Democrats sneak Net neutrality rules into 'stimulus' bill, CNET
House Democrats claim that enacting a $825 billion so-called stimulus plan is necessary to save the economy. What they didn't say is that it tries to impose highly controversial Net neutrality rules through the back door.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10144035-38.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/broadband/

Mayor Signs Off On Bringing FiOS To DC - Verizon promises to wire whole city in nine years..., dslreports
According to a Verizon press release, Washington DC mayor Adrian M. Fenty this week signed Verizon's DC franchise into law, meaning that city residents will finally see FiOS after years of watching Maryland and Northern Virginia suburbanites blissfully surf at speeds up to 50Mbps. Verizon says city residents will see the first service within the year, and that the franchise requires they deploy the FTTH service
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Mayor-Signs-Off-On-Bringing-FiOS-To-DC-100211
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/broadband/fiber.htm

Report Calls Online Threats to Children Overblown, nyt
A high-profile task force concluded that the sexual solicitation of children online is not a significant problem.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/14/technology/internet/14cyberweb.html
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/cda/child.htm

Julius Genachowski to Be Nominee for F.C.C. Chairman, NYT
Julius Genachowski was a major fund-raiser for the Obama campaign and played a leading role in the campaign’s highly successful online strategy.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/14/us/politics/14fcc.html
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/cda/child.htm

Internet Safety Technical Task Force Releases Final Report on Enhancing Child Safety and Online Technologies, Internet Safety TF
The Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University today released the final report of the Internet Safety Technical Task Force, a group of 29 leading Internet businesses, non-profit organizations, academics, and technology companies that joined together for a year-long investigation of tools and technologies to create a safer environment on the Internet for youth.
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/node/4987
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/cda/child.htm

Global Net Censorship in 2009: For The Children, for the Rightsholders, EFF
Across the world, politicians perennially declare their intention to purge or blacklist websites they fear are damaging to children or the public welfare. The call for censorship hasn't stopped, despite many years of evidence that pervasive Net censorship is invasive, infeasible, and economically damaging. Nor is it likely to be stopped by today's Internet Safety Technical Taskforce Report on protecting children from internet
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/01/global-net-censorship-2009
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/cda/firsta.htm

Shocker: No Easy Tech Fix To Keep Kids Safe Online, Techdirt
After spending a year (and who knows how much money) researching the topic, a study commissioned by 49 state attorneys general has determined that there's no simple technological way to protect kids online. They needed a year to figure out that there's no magic bullet, or piece of software, that could keep kids out of trouble? Other shocking conclusions from the report, according to the WSJ: the things kids have to deal
http://techdirt.com/articles/20090113/1619263394.shtml
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/cda/reports.htm

Anonymous Gripe Site Wins Legal Battle With Ohio Homebuilder Powermark Homes, Citizen's Media
Last month, an anonymous website dedicated to criticizing Ohio homebuilder Powermark Homes succeeded in maintaining its anonymity in the face of a lawsuit brought by the company and two of its principals, Mark and Lisa Powers, who had sued the anonymous operator of Powermark Homes Alert.  At the time of the suit, the homepage for the site included a picture of Mark and Lisa and the statements "The
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CitizenMediaLawProject/~3/512581548/anonymous-gripe-site-wins-legal-battle-ohio-homebuilder-powermark-homes
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/cda/samaritan.htm

Lawyer Who Sues Yelp Admits He Had No Idea About Section 230 Safe Harbors, Techdirt
Last week, we wrote about a defamation lawsuit over a review on Yelp, which seemed to backfire -- bringing a lot more attention to the negative review than if left alone. That case actually was settled soon after, but yet another defamation lawsuit has been filed by yet another person -- this time a dentist -- over a negative review. There are a few things worth commenting on about this lawsuit, but the big one that
http://techdirt.com/articles/20090113/2207453397.shtml
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/cda/samaritan.htm

Bush White House Ordered to Preserve E-mails, Internet News
The rush is on to scour systems for missing e-mails before Obama takes office.
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/InternetnewsRealtimeNewsForItManagers/~3/YvM4zbt3Gn0/3796386
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/egov/

Scientist slams newspaper for Google CO2 report, CNET
Harvard physicist says his study on the environmental impact of Internet searches did not single out or even name the search giant.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10141432-54.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/environment/

iTunes Songs Don't Have DRM, But They Contain Your Email Address, Techdirt
Apple got a lot of press last week when it announced that it was going to remove the DRM from songs it sold through the iTunes Music Store. That's a great thing in itself, since it removes the barriers legitimate customers faced in playing back music they purchased on the device of their choice. But details are coming out, and it's not all good news: the songs are watermarked (via Slashdot) with the email address of
http://techdirt.com/articles/20090113/0707133391.shtml
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/ip/copyright.htm

FCC Morale: A Review of New Data from OPM, PK
The Federal Human Capital Survey is an admirable Bush Administration initiative that OPM describes as,
http://feeds.publicknowledge.org/~r/publicknowledge-main/~3/513002082/1943
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/notes/fcc.htm

FCC leadership honest? Staffers say "no", Law & Disorder
Most of our FCC coverage is directed at the agency's policies and personalities—a focus on the top of the agency org chart. But how does the FCC fare as a place to work for the hundreds of engineers, lawyers, and secretaries who staff it? Does it offer life fulfillment? A chance for advancement? Work/life balance? Non-lying bosses?
http://feeds.arstechnica.com/~r/arstechnica/journals/law/~3/MX4b4Ttw3HQ/fcc-leadership-honest-staffers-say-no
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/notes/fcc.htm

Jules as Chairman: Louis XIV or Andrew Jackson?, Telecom Policy
A thousand lawyers and lobbyists, some paid in the millions, watch every whim of the FCC Chairman in a fashion that Versailles would understand. Because his decisions can change billions, the court is obsequious by nature. When Walt McCormick of USTA was seated in a far corner at the Chairman's Dinner, rumors floated he would lose his job because he was out of favor. A lawyer who can obtain a half
http://www.fastnetnews.com/policyblog/808-jules-as-chairman-louis-xiv-or-andrew-jackson-
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/notes/fcc.htm

FCC Boss Kevin Martin Leaves For Think Tank - Lauds self in resignation letter to Bush..., dslreports
On the heels of news that the new FCC boss will be Julius Genachowski, FCC Boss Kevin Martin has announced he'll be stepping down next Tuesday. While it was suggested that Martin might eye a Congressional political career in his home state of North Carolina, his first step after the FCC will be a gig as a senior fellow at the Aspen Institute, according to the think tank's website. In his letter of resignation to
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/FCC-Boss-Kevin-Martin-Leaves-For-Think-Tank-100252
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/notes/fcc.htm

Activist newspaper sues FBI over wrongful computer raid, Ars Technica
The EFF has filed a lawsuit against the FBI and Alameda County on behalf of a newspaper and a library, both of whose facilities were raided last year. The EFF contends that law enforcement agents wrongfully obtained a warrant and had no authority to seize computers and other records during the raid.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20090115-activist-newspaper-sues-fbi-over-wrongful-computer-raid.html
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/security/crime.htm

Secret FISA Court Approves Specific Application of Expired Law For Warrantless Wiretapping, EFF
The FISA Court of Review (FISCR) today released a public version of an opinion concerning warrantless wiretapping. An unnamed telecommunications carrier stood up for its customers' privacy by fighting the case through an initial decision by a FISA court and the appeal to the FISCR. The Court approved the specific application of the expired Protect America Act (PAA) and expressly rejected arguments that the
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/01/secret-fisa-court-approves-specific-application-ex
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/security/fisa.htm

AT&T Slammed For Text Message Spam - Telco says it's not spam, because it was free...FTC nods dumbly…, dslreports
The past week has seen a number of people complaining about receiving text message spam from AT&T about the premiere of the latest season of American Idol, which AT&T is a sponsor of. Whether users can opt-out of subsequent texts or not, customers thought spamming them was a miserable decision. But AT&T justifies the move to the New York Times, calling it just a "friendly reminder," and insisting it "makes perfect
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/ATT-Slammed-For-Text-Message-Spam-100235
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/spam/fcc.htm

AT&T Text Spams Customers Promoting American Idol; Insists It's Not Spam, techdirt
For the most part, mobile operators have been good about trying to prevent SMS text spam, but it appears that AT&T has gone in the other direction. It's actually spamming people. Apparently it sent a text message promoting the TV show American Idol to anyone who had voted in past American Idol contests or anyone that AT&T considered to be a "heavy texter." I can almost (but not quite) understand contacting former
http://techdirt.com/articles/20090114/0723413404.shtml
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/spam/fcc.htm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RSS Feeds : Fed Notices : Blog : Clips : 
http://www.cybertelecom.org/news.htm 

Now Extra Delicious!
http://del.icio.us/rcannon100/zxc 

To [un]subscribe to Cybertelecom-l send mail to
LISTSERV at LISTSERV.AOL.COM with the command
[un]SUBSCRIBE CYBERTELECOM-L. Announce only list
information available at  www.lawlists.net/mailman/listinfo  

AUP :: www.cybertelecom.org/cybert.htm#aup

Cybertelecom                Link to us!
www.cybertelecom.org 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~