Tag Archives: FCC

A longer message was sent to the Reddit blog: “Earlier today, the FCC voted to protect a free and open internet — the kind of internet that allows entrepreneurs to thrive and debates over duck-sized horses and horse-sized ducks to persist. This would not have happened without the activism and engagement of millions of Americans like you. And that was …

Via TechCrunch: As expected, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) passed new net neutrality regulations today on a vote of 3-2, with the Commission’s two Democratic appointees joining Chairman Tom Wheeler in voting yes. The Commission’s two Republican-appointed members both voted no. Notably, the FCC’s plan is now known to have undergone a last-minute revision to remove a potential weakness in …

Via the Wall Street Journal: An industry group that includes Marriott International Inc. has petitioned the Federal Communications Commission for guidance on whether hotels are acting within the law when they disable unauthorized WiFi access points set up on their properties. The hotels say they are trying to make sure their own wireless networks don’t get bogged down and to …

“Today, the Vatican’s colloquium on the complementarity of man and woman in marriage moved from laying a theoretical groundwork to take on the tone of a half-time locker room pep talk for those advancing the cause of natural marriage. In message after message today, from Sikh, Muslim, Mormon, and others (including American evangelicals Rick Warren and Russell Moore), there was …

Via Reuters: Barack Obama took a strong stance on Monday on new ‘net neutrality’ regulations being drafted by the Federal Communications Commission, saying the agency should reclassify broadband to regulate it more like a public utility. The FCC has received nearly 4 million comments after Chairman Tom Wheeler proposed new rules that prohibited Internet service providers from blocking any content, …

“The FCC now has announced they plan to immediately allow the broadcast of explicit acts of sodomy, perversion and the use of curse words to FURTHER destroy our culture. The FCC proposes they become a Federal Porn Agency and that all TV stations be ‘allowed’ (i.e. forced) to broadcast language supporting porn, homosexual acts and other perversions all hours of …

As your can see by his tweet below, FCC chairman Julius Genachowski immediately gave the network a pass on the language violation. (I bet OMM won’t bitch about THIS.) Buzzfeed adds that Neil Diamond flew himself to Boston this morning and phoned the stadium to see if he could perform the Fenway Park standard Sweet Caroline in person.

Via New York Times: Now the United States government is telling the United States government to allow devices on airplanes during takeoff and landing. Julius Genachowski, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, sent a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration Thursday, urging the agency to allow more electronics on airplanes. Mr. Genachowski said the F.A.A. should “enable greater use of …

The Human Rights Campaign has filed a complaint with the FCC over anti-gay text messages being sent to voters in states where marriage is on the ballot. Chris Geidner reports at Buzzfeed: Following a series of anti-Obama text messages received on Tuesday night — some of which addressed the president’s record on LGBT issues — HRC, the nation’s largest LGBT …

If you’ve been hooking up your internet modem to rip off basic cable, those days are over. Federal regulators are letting cable companies scramble all their TV signals, closing a loophole that lets many households watch basic cable channels for free. The Federal Communications Commission voted Friday to lift a ban on encryption of basic cable signals, saying it will …

Citing News Corp’s ongoing involvement in a hacking scandal, a public policy watchdog group has filed an FCC challenge against the renewing of broadcasting licenses for three Fox stations in the Washington DC area. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a petition to deny Fox’s applications to renew licenses for three of its TV stations – WTTG-TV and …

Verizon has been fined $1.25M for charging customers who used a third-party app to evade their tethering fee. The company had asked Google to remove “tethering” apps from its Android Market. Tethering allows users to plug a smartphone into a computer and use the phone’s cellular connection to power the computer’s Internet access. The apps circumvented Verizon’s own tethering service, …

The Supreme Court today unanimously ruled in favor of broadcasters who say they are unfairly punished for “isolated moments” of obscenity and profanity that slip onto the airwaves. In an 8-0 vote, justices concluded the Federal Communications Commission cannot enforce its current policies against “fleeting” expletives and nudity on over-the-air programs, both live and scripted. The agency had levied hefty …

The FCC has leaned on North American cell carriers and forced them to agree to permanently disable any phone that has been reported stolen. The proposed system is already in use across Europe. U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer said in a statement late Monday that major cellphone carriers and the Federal Communications Commission have agreed to set up a database of …

A last-ditch GOP attempt to block the FCC’s coming rules on net neutrality has failed in the U.S. Senate, where Democrats narrowly defeated the measure by a vote of 52-46. Politico notes that the president had promised to veto the bill. It is unclear whether Senate Republicans intend to attempt a related resolution in the future. A similar measure by …

“For years, the FCC has granted churches and small faith-based organizations an exemption from closed captioning requirements, because the additional financial burden would cripple their ability to produce these programs. Now the FCC is rescinding all exemptions and allowing only 90 days for programmers to meet these costly requirements. [snip] The FCC’s iron fist suggests a darker motive. Why such …

In a joint move with the National Hispanic Coalition, GLAAD announced today that it is filing an FCC complaint against the Spanish-language show, Jose Luis sin Censura, which routinely features anti-LGBT hate speech and has encouraged audience members to attack gay guests on the program. In over twenty episodes that aired between June 18 and December 7, 2010, the program …

CNN is reporting today that the FCC has approved the merger between cable giant Comcast and NBC-Universal. CNET explains: The $37 billion merger between the companies has been a long time coming. The deal, which was first announced in 2009, provides Comcast with a 51 percent controlling stake in NBC Universal. General Electric will retain the remaining 49 percent. When …

“It seems to us that this panel of three judges walked into the courtroom with their minds already made up and with kind of a chip on their shoulder about the whole enforcement regime of the Federal Communications Commission and that they did not look at the facts of the case objectively. “The judges basically overturned the will of the …