[Cybertel-Ann] 11.24 :: VRS Scam :: Fed Cloud Commission :: Not Pleased :: Wrong Tool ::

Tue Nov 24 07:15:36 PST 2009

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             CyberTelecom News  
      Federal Internet Law and Policy
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Arrests made in massive, $390/hour Video Relay Service scam, Ars Technica
Dealing with some technology is challenging enough for the hearing-impaired without scammers taking advantage of federal dollars meant to help them. That's exactly what has happened with the Federal Communications Commission's Video Relay Service (VRS), however, and 26 people were arrested Thursday for scheming to steal "tens of millions of dollars" from the program.
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/11/arrests-made-in-massive-390hour-video-relay-service-scam.ars?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/ada/fcc.htm

Is the FCC Becoming the Federal Cloud Commission?, PFF
Hmmm... What am I missing? I cannot lay my finger on a single line in the Communications Act of 1934, the Telecommunications Act of 1996, or any statute in between that gives the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) the authority to regulate cloud computing. And yet, like any good stickler for jurisdictional authority, my PFF
http://blog.pff.org/archives/2009/11/is_the_fcc_becoming_the_federal_cloud_commission.html
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/broadband/

FCC Hints At Return To Open Access - Companies are of course, annoyed..., dslreports
According to the Wall Street Journal, the FCC is seriously considering re-establishing some kind of open access rules, which would give new entrants access to incumbent infrastructure at reduced price. Open access was the central idea behind the 1996 telecom act, which required incumbent operators to share network access with smaller competitors in order to bolster competition as those upstarts grew into legitimate carriers. A combination of inconsistent regulation and incumbent
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/FCC-Hints-At-Return-To-Open-Access-105589
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/broadband/openaccess.htm

The broadband gap: Is FCC grabbing for the wrong tool?, CW
Columnist Scott Bradner tries to make sense of what the FCC is up to in addressing the broadband service gap in the United States.
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9141364/The_broadband_gap_Is_FCC_grabbing_for_the_wrong_tool_?source=rss_news
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/broadband/plan.htm

Broadband Over Powerline's Poster Child Pulling The Plug, MAP
Early in the decade, there were those who thought that it might prove feasible to deliver Internet service via the electrical grid. Former Chairman Powell was particularly high on this technology. As this article demonstrates, “broadband over power lines” has not proven to be commercially viable. What the article does not discuss is that similar technology may prove to be very useful in developing “smart grids” to promote conservation and reduce utility costs.
http://www.mediaaccess.orghttp//www.mediaaccess.org/roadmap/broadband-over-powerlines-poster-child-pulling-the-plug
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/broadband/power.htm

Prosecutors Drop Plans to Appeal Lori Drew Cyberbullying Case, Wired
Prosecutors have dropped any plans to appeal the Lori Drew cyberbullying case, thus ending the controversial and lengthy criminal case.
http://feeds.wired.com/~r/wired/politics/~3/F07iadQIxjw/lori-drew-appeal
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/cda/child.htm

Bob Barr Denounces Cyberbullying Criminalization, Tech Lib Front
Bob Barr, the four term Republican Georgia congressman turned ACLU activist and 2008 Libertarian Presidential candidate, has denounced Rep. Linda Sánchez’s (D-CA) “Megan Meier Cyber Bullying Prevention Act” (H.R. 1966) in particularly harsh terms:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techliberation/~3/_7cF-X5iFQo/
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/cda/child.htm

Empowering Parents and Protecting Children in an Evolving Media Landscape, Fed Reg
This document seeks comment on how to empower parents to help their children take advantage of the opportunities offered by evolving electronic media technologies while at the same time protecting children from the risks inherent in use of these technologies. It asks for comment about the extent to which children are using electronic media today, the benefits and risks this presents, and the ways in which parents, teachers, and children can help reap the benefits while minimizing the
http://thefederalregister.com/d.p/2009-11-24-E9-27664
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/cda/fcc.htm

WoW: The guild effect for teachers, Net Family News
There are lots of good reasons why an assistant superintendent of schools would start a guild in World of Warcraft (WoW) – all laid out in a fascinating profile of the Cognitive Dissonance Guild and its educator members in The Journal this month. But the reason why Catherine Parsons, assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction, and pupil personnel services for Pine Plains Central School District, N.Y., started the guild was "to uncover education's brass ring: student engagement." A
http://www.netfamilynews.org/2009/11/wow-guild-effect-for-teachers.html
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/cda/literacy.htm

President Announces Educate to Innovate Initiative Today at White House, OSTP
Today at the White House, President Obama is launching an “Educate to Innovate” campaign to improve the participation and performance of America’s students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
http://blog.ostp.gov/2009/11/23/president-announces-educate-to-innovate-initiative-today-at-white-house/
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/cda/literacy.htm

Google's IPv6 Team Says YouTube Number One Priority, Circle ID
Google plans to upgrade its YouTube video streaming Web site to provide support for IPv6, a long-anticipated upgrade to the Internet's main communications protocol. Google already supports IPv6 with its Search, Alerts, Docs, Finance, Gmail, Health, iGoogle, News, Reader, Picasa, Maps and Wave products. Google's Chrome operating system—whose source code was released this week—supports IPv6, as does its Android platform for mobile devices.
http://www.circleid.com/posts/google_ipv6_team_youtube_number_one_priority/
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/dns/ipv6.htm

eBay Inc. Completes Sale Of Skype, About Skype
eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) announced today that it has successfully completed the previously announced sale of its Skype communications unit in a deal valuing the business at $2.75 billion. The buyer, who will control an approximately 70 percent stake, is an investor group led by Silver Lake and includes Joltid Limited and certain affiliated parties, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Andreessen Horowitz.
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AboutSkype/~3/H7Aw4Mua79w/sale_completed.html
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/industry/skype.htm

Spain mandates affordable broadband for all, CNET
The country's government is following the lead of Finland and making affordable broadband a legal right.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-30686_3-10402643-266.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=News-PoliticsandLaw
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/intl/europe.htm

Citizen Media Law Project Launches Legal Assistance Network for Online Journalists, Berkman Center
The Berkman Center’s Citizen Media Law Project (CMLP) announced today the public launch of its Online Media Legal Network (OMLN), a new pro bono initiative that connects lawyers and law school clinics from across the country with online journalists and digital media creators who need legal help.
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/newsroom/Online_Media_Legal_Network
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/media/

'Data Driven' FCC Still Using Ancient Data? - Science is hard., dslreports
The FCC has long been an agency that has played fast and loose when it comes to using science and data to fuel its policy decisions. The agency for most of broadband's life cycle has been using outdated data, or inadequate data provided by industry lobbyists designed to make things look pretty and keep government out of their hair. With a new FCC and new boss Julius Genachowski, the agency has promised to be data driven. Yet Bruce Kushnick over at Harvard's Neiman
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Data-Driven-FCC-Still-Using-Ancient-Data-105572
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/notes/fcc.htm

Once Again, If The Gov't Has Data, It Will Be Abused, Techdirt
We've pointed this out over and over and over and over and over again, but whenever a government puts together a big database of info on people -- the data gets abused. The latest example, found via Michael Scott is the news that a police chief in Iowa has been suspended after he supposedly revealed data that he never should have had in the first place, supposedly handing out information on someone's driving record and criminal history, despite having no legal reason to even have
http://techdirt.com/articles/20091124/0131587064.shtml
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/privacy/

Facebook Hit With New CSRF Worm, Internet News
Latest exploit replicates itself through bogus wall postings; security researchers wonder what else is out there.
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/InternetnewsRealtimeNewsForItManagers/~3/wWlFNaoHePc/3849616
More Info: http://www.cybertelecom.org/privacy/socialnetworks.htm

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