FCC Agrees to Take ‘Fairness Doctrine’ Off the Books [Next: Axe Net-Neutrality]
FoxNews.com
Published June 08, 2011
AP – FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski is interviewed at his office in Washington.
Under GOP pressure, the Federal Communications Commission has agreed to strike from its books an outdated yet still controversial regulation of political speech on the airwaves known as the Fairness Doctrine.
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said in a letter to a House Republican leader this week that the agency’s effort to identify and eliminate “antiquated and outmoded rules that unnecessarily burden business, stifle investment and innovation, or confuse consumers and licensees” will include a recommendation to delete the Fairness Doctrine.
Ok, Apply Net Neutrality to THIS
BigGovernment.com
Posted Mar 3rd 2011 at 5:04 pm
by Seton Motley
(Amazingly intricate and complicated photo/map courtesy of Peer1.)
Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this | 
Did an FCC official do work for PBS simultaneously?
HotAir.com
posted at 12:55 pm on February 18, 2011 by Ed Morrissey
There are two interesting stories centered on “FCC: Survivor” this morning, and we’ll roll them up into a single post. First, the House has followed through on its threat to restrain the commission from enforcing authority in a jurisdiction Congress never granted it. An amendment to the continuing resolution passed last night that bars funds from being used to enforce Julius Genachowski’s “Open Internet” rules:
The House passed an amendment Thursday that would bar the Federal Communications Commission from using any funding to implement the network-neutrality order it approved in December.
The amendment, approved on a 244-181 vote, was offered by Energy and Commerce Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., to legislation that would fund government agencies for the rest of fiscal year 2011.
A Christian Business in the Left’s Crosshairs
Townhall.com
Here’s a modest proposal for liberals who say they support job creation: Stop smearing successful, law-abiding private companies whose values don’t comport with yours. I’m looking at you, New York Times.Chick-fil-A is an American success story. Founded by Georgian entrepreneur Truett Cathy in 1946, the family-owned chicken-sandwich chain is one of the country’s largest fast-food businesses. It employs some 50,000 workers across the country at 1,500 outlets in nearly 40 states and the District of Columbia. The company generates more than $2 billion in revenue and serves millions of happy customers with trademark Southern hospitality.
So, what’s the problem? Well, Chick-fil-A is run by devout Christians who believe in strong marriages, devoted families and the highest standards of character for their workers. The restaurant chain’s official corporate mission is to “glorify God” and “enrich the lives of everyone we touch.” The company’s community service initiatives, funded through its WinShape Foundation, support foster care, scholarship, summer camp and marriage enrichment programs. On Sunday, all Chick-fil-A stores close so workers can spend the day at worship and rest.
Hey FCC: Approve the Comcast-NBC Merger, Already
BigGovernment.com
Posted Jan 14th 2011 at 9:45 am
by Seton Motley
Comcast and NBC-Universal (NBCU) have been waiting to merge for, well, ever. Or at least it seems that way.
Mergers of this sort are supposed to be approved within 180 days of applying to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Justice Department for permission. (As offensive as that may sound – two companies reaching mutually agreeable business terms having to then play Mother May I with the government – that is the way it currently goes.)
Those 180 days expired sometime around Thanksgiving. Yet here we are halfway through January – and Comcast and NBCU are still awaiting the FCC’s blessing. The delay is just another example of the incredible and incredibly damaging sway Media Marxist and Leftist grievance groups have with the current Commission.
The delay has dangled Comcast-NBCU like a piñata, allowing these PIGs (“Public Interest” Groups) to beat shakedown concessions out of them and feed at the trough into which they fall.
We previously pointed out that a racial grievance group – the National Coalition of African-Owned Media (NCAOM) – is demanding that Comcast set aside 50 channels (10% of its capacity) for exclusively African American owners.
In June 2010, California Democrat Representative Maxine Waters and others were obnoxiously voicing their disapproval of the merger. (Yes, the same Maxine Waters who said she wanted to nationalize the entire oil industry.) (more…)
Media Marxists No Different: They’re Not Letting the Arizona Crisis to Go to Waste
BigGovernment.com
Posted Jan 11th 2011 at 12:07 pm
by Seton Motley
There was a cavalcade of Leftist – and media, please pardon the redundancy – politically opportunistic idiocy in response to this weekend’s horrendous Tucson, Arizona murders. Which were committed unilaterally and without any assistance from anyone by the deranged Jared Loughner.
Never ones to let facts get in the way of a good beating, a great many Progressives grabbed onto the complete lack of any evidence to assign complicit blame for the homicides to Governor Sarah Palin, conservative talk radio, the TEA Party and anyone else right of center of whom they could think.
This is of course just another Left attempt to silence speech they find unhelpful to the advancement of Leftism. Those who claim that speech with which they disagree leads to violence – aren’t at all comfortable with truly free speech.
The Marxist Media “reformers” at Free Press likewise rushed to not let this crisis go to waste.
I would like to specifically highlight the Twitter work of Free Press’s Campaign Director Tim Karr. Who jumped on board the blame bandwagon – and the shark – with a series of Tweets aimed at taking advantage of the Arizona body count to advance Free Press’s media “reform” agenda.
Tweet linkAn agenda which includes amongst many other terrible ideas the exponential expansion of the government funding of journalism – so as to improve it. Which is always what happens when you increase the government’s role in something.
The gallant and classy Karr unleashed a flurry of Tweets that connected conservative “haters” to the murders committed by a man none of them had ever met. And as if that weren’t sufficiently untethered from Reality, Karr also blamed the conservatives’ “media enablers.” As if the endless reams of evidence of the Leftist media on this and all things just… didn’t exist.
Republicans Aim to Block FCC’s New Internet Rules Before They Go Into Effect
FoxNews.com
By Stephen Clark
Published December 22, 2010
Sens. John Ensign (l) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (r) are among the Republicans who are planning to stop the FCC’s new Internet rules pushed by Chairman Julius Genachowksi (c), before they go into effect. (AP)
The Federal Communications Commission this week adopted a plan to police the web, but it will take at least a couple of months to implement the new rules – a procedural delay that could benefit Republican critics in Congress who are determined to erect a blockade.
The Internet regulations — which aim to prevent service providers from discriminating against websites and companies using their networks — cannot go into effect until 60 days have passed after they have been posted in the Federal Register. But the rules won’t be released until the dissent by commissioners who voted against them are addressed.
A source with knowledge of the FCC’s workings told FoxNews.com that the rules are likely to be made public in January, putting them on track to be enacted sometime in March.
What Do the FCC’s Net Neutrality Rules Mean for You?
PC Magazine
By: Chloe Albanesius
December 22, 2010
Net neutrality is in the headlines again, but what does it mean for you? Is this just some wonky, inside-the-Beltway chatter that won’t have an impact on our daily lives or an issue that will affect how we access the Web in the future? The short answer is: both.
The basic news is that the Federal Communications Commission approved net neutrality rules yesterday and those rules give the commission the authority to step into disputes about how Internet service providers are managing their networks or initiate their own investigations if they think ISPs are violating its rules.
One important thing to note is that the FCC hasn’t actually released the full text of its net neutrality rules yet. The Republican commissioners voted against the plan yesterday, and according to FCC procedures, the commission must respond to any dissent before releasing its rules. So it could be another day or two before the commission adds that response and publishes the rules.
That being said, the FCC did provide an overview of what’s included in the order and it breaks down to three high-level rules: transparency; no blocking; and no unreasonable discrimination.
Transparency: Does your ISP slow down its network at peak times? Does it have a usage cap? What about roaming fees? The transparency requirement basically requires broadband providers – fixed and wireless – to be more transparent about their activities. They need to be upfront about how they manage their networks, how well (or poorly) their networks perform, as well as details about their plan options and pricing. Most ISPs would argue that they already do this, but if you disagree, you could conceivably take it up with the FCC.
No Blocking: Much of this net neutrality debate started in 2007 when Comcast was accused of blocking access to P2P networks like BitTorrent because people using BitTorrent on Comcast’s network were slowing down the experience for everyone else. Comcast denied cutting off access completely but said it did delay access to P2P sites during peak times. Under the FCC rules, an ISP would not be able to pick and choose apps or service to block in order to improve network performance. Your ISP would not be able to block access to Netflix’s streaming service, for example, or Xbox Live just because a select few people were clogging the system.
FCC Approves Plan to Regulate Internet (Progressives: “Control the media…”)
FoxNews.com | AP
Published December 21, 2010
AP – In this March 12 photo, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski is interviewed at his office in Washington.
WASHINGTON — The Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday approved a plan to regulate the Internet despite warnings that it could strangle industry investment and damage an economy that is still struggling to recover.
The 3-2 vote fell along partisan lines with Democrats capitalizing on their numerical advantage.
The rules would prohibit phone and cable companies from abusing their control over broadband connections to discriminate against rival content or services, such as Internet phone calls or online video, or play favorites with Web traffic.
Lawmakers in both parties have been arguing for months that Congress, not the Obama administration, should take the lead role in deciding whether and how much to police the web. But despite a brief backing-off earlier in the year, the FCC pushed ahead with its new regulatory plan.
FCC Chief to Outline ISP Regulation Framework
Seattle TimesOriginally published November 30, 2010 at 10:45 PM
Page modified December 1, 2010 at 6:36 AM
Thwarted by the courts, by lawmakers on Capitol Hill and by some of his fellow commissioners, the Federal Communications Commission chairman…
By EDWARD WYATT
The New York Times
WASHINGTON — Thwarted by the courts, by lawmakers on Capitol Hill and by some of his fellow commissioners, the Federal Communications Commission chairman will try again Wednesday to devise a new strategy for regulating broadband Internet service providers.
In a speech, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski will outline a framework for broadband Internet service that would forbid both wired and wireless Internet service providers from blocking lawful content. But the proposal would allow broadband providers to charge consumers according to levels of service.
Genachowski has decided not to use the commission’s telephone regulatory powers to govern broadband Internet service, a move that he proposed in May that potentially would have opened Internet service to heavier government regulation.
His plan also would allow broadband providers to manage networks to limit congestion or harmful traffic.
The framework will form the basis for a proposed order scheduled to be voted on during the FCC’s Dec. 21 meeting.
Genachowski says he believes he has the legal authority to act because he argues that his plan would help spread broadband service more widely across the country, a priority that Congress has established as one of the FCC’s mandates. While he has a fair chance of securing the votes of the two other Democrats on the five-person commission, he faces a potential fight with one of those commissioners, Michael Copps, who has been public in his support for stricter regulation of broadband Internet service.
Genachowski also will face significant opposition from Republicans in the House, who last month warned against attempts to regulate broadband service and the Internet.
The chairman intends to say he believes the proposal is necessary to guarantee the Internet continues to be an incubator for innovation by startup companies.
FCC Chair Sends Message to Moderate Dems
HotAir.com
posted at 2:38 pm on November 19, 2010 by Jazz Shaw
printer-friendly
Coming from the South as he does, Harold Ford jr. has, on occasion, been guilty of exhibiting a few blue dog tendencies and running with the moderate Democrats on a cold winter’s night. This week the Chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council penned a note to the Obama administration. In it, he suggested that now might be the time to see things from both sides and explore a couple of Republican friendly options.
As America’s head coach, President Obama needs to make some big and smart adjustments to jump-start economic growth and business investment, stimulate job creation, and get wages up for ordinary Americans. The most important thing our leader can do is to push the reset button with business and not raise taxes on companies in a time of economic hardship…
Second, the President should order his department heads and agency chiefs to declare a moratorium on new regulations until further notice. Whether true or not, business already believes that the Obama administration practices “If you can’t legislate, regulate.” The business community needs to be able to look over the hill to make investments that affect the workforce, shareholders, and profitability for the next 10 years, not the next 10 months.
New Bill Gives Obama ‘Kill Switch’ To Shut Down The Internet
PrisonPlanet.com
Government would have “absolute power” to seize control of the world wide web under Lieberman legislation…
(SAY NO! IT’S WRONG AND AGAINST THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES)
Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
The federal government would have “absolute power” to shut down the Internet under the terms of a new US Senate bill being pushed by Joe Lieberman, legislation which would hand President Obama a figurative “kill switch” to seize control of the world wide web in response to a Homeland Security directive.
Lieberman has been pushing for government regulation of the Internet for years under the guise of cybersecurity, but this new bill goes even further in handing emergency powers over to the feds which could be used to silence free speech under the pretext of a national emergency.
“The legislation says that companies such as broadband providers, search engines or software firms that the US Government selects “shall immediately comply with any emergency measure or action developed” by the Department of Homeland Security. Anyone failing to comply would be fined,” reports ZDNet’s Declan McCullagh.
CWNews Posted Comments