The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit temporarily blocked a federal judge's order that would have required online classified advertiser Backpage.com to produce some documents Monday to the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. PSI has been engaged in an 18-month inquiry into online sex trafficking. The three-judge panel said Friday it issued the administrative stay of U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., Judge Rosemary Collyer's Sept. 16 ruling because it needs more time to review the dispute. The D.C. Circuit's order "should not be construed in any way as a ruling on the merits" of Collyer's decision, it said. The order comes a day after CEO Carl Ferrer was arrested on felony charges of sex trafficking in Texas.
During Hurricane Matthew, broadcasters should keep some things in mind, an industry lawyer blogged. Pillsbury Winthrop's Scott Flick reminded broadcasters that FCC rules require them to make emergency information delivered audibly available as text, and vice-versa. "In past disasters, the FCC has proposed fines of up to $24,000 ($8,000 per ‘incident’) to TV stations that effectively said 'run for shelter' but didn’t air a crawl or other graphic at that time conveying the same information,” he wrote: Rules also require TV stations to “aurally present on a secondary audio stream (SAS) any emergency information that is provided visually in non-newscast programming.” Getting emergency information to the hearing impaired is “a worthy goal,” Flick said. “But it isn’t hard to understand the frustration of a station employee that hasn’t slept in 24 hours trying to get emergency information out to viewers as quickly as possible, but needing to pause to ensure the appropriate graphics and SAS information is prepared and aired in order to avoid an FCC fine.” Also Wednesday, the agency said it will stay open during the hurricane (see 1610050062). State telecom commissions also are preparing (see 1610060029).
NCTA President Michael Powell pushed back Tuesday against the trio of Capitol Hill Democrats who pressed the FCC to sign off at commissioners' Thursday meeting on Chairman Tom Wheeler's set-top box proposal. The Hill Democrats spoke during a news media call Tuesday alongside other backers of the draft order. One Senate Democrat already expects industry pushback following the order’s approval and warned of the need for strong FCC enforcement, but Powell questioned how the lawmakers know enough to endorse the draft order circulating. He backs a Further NPRM on the issue, as did scores of House Democrats last week (see 1609230058).
NCTA President Michael Powell pushed back Tuesday against the trio of Capitol Hill Democrats who pressed the FCC to sign off at commissioners' Thursday meeting on Chairman Tom Wheeler's set-top box proposal. The Hill Democrats spoke during a news media call Tuesday alongside other backers of the draft order. One Senate Democrat already expects industry pushback following the order’s approval and warned of the need for strong FCC enforcement, but Powell questioned how the lawmakers know enough to endorse the draft order circulating. He backs a Further NPRM on the issue, as did scores of House Democrats last week (see 1609230058).
Moderators of the presidential and vice presidential debates should ask the candidates what they would do to promote increased access to affordable high-speed broadband, several groups urged the moderators Monday. The groups said they want the moderators to pose this question: “Home broadband internet access has become an essential tool for education, employment, civic engagement, and even healthcare. Yet 34 million people still lack access to affordable high-speed internet. What will you do as president to help expand access to affordable high-speed internet for everyone in America?” The groups include Common Cause, the Communications Workers of America, Demand Progress, Engine and Public Knowledge. Voters must understand the candidates’ plans for low-cost broadband access, they said in a letter to the five moderators. "Both candidates have promised major investments in infrastructure development, and broadband internet should be a part of these plans,” they said. Lawmakers told us Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's broadband infrastructure plan has bipartisan potential but raises questions about the funding source (see 1609230040). Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump hasn't mentioned broadband when discussing infrastructure investment. The three topics for Monday's debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, were to be: America's Direction; Achieving Prosperity; and Securing America. CTA President Gary Shapiro also detailed what he would like to see from the debate. "Unfortunately, some of her proposals, such as 'free' Wi-Fi, carry staggering price tags that go unmentioned in her tech agenda," Shapiro said of Clinton's plans in a Monday blog post. "Trump promises to push 'pause' on all new rules and review all previous rules -- a tall order, though it certainly sounds attractive. Unfortunately, Trump remains as vague as ever, saying only that excessive regulation costs our country upwards of $2 trillion a year." Shapiro hopes for attention on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the sharing economy, the deficit and immigration, he said. The candidates should talk about how to overhaul agencies, including the FCC, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance said in a blog post. The FCC “continues to assert more power (even after being rebuked by the courts) on net neutrality, expansion of government broadband, and privacy,” the group said. “TPA wants to hear from both candidates how they would fix our agencies and how they would reduce the rules and regulations being promulgated at a rate that is costing the economy more than a trillion dollars in economic activity each year.”
Moderators of the presidential and vice presidential debates should ask the candidates what they would do to promote increased access to affordable high-speed broadband, several groups urged the moderators Monday. The groups said they want the moderators to pose this question: “Home broadband internet access has become an essential tool for education, employment, civic engagement, and even healthcare. Yet 34 million people still lack access to affordable high-speed internet. What will you do as president to help expand access to affordable high-speed internet for everyone in America?” The groups include Common Cause, the Communications Workers of America, Demand Progress, Engine and Public Knowledge. Voters must understand the candidates’ plans for low-cost broadband access, they said in a letter to the five moderators. "Both candidates have promised major investments in infrastructure development, and broadband internet should be a part of these plans,” they said. Lawmakers told us Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's broadband infrastructure plan has bipartisan potential but raises questions about the funding source (see 1609230040). Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump hasn't mentioned broadband when discussing infrastructure investment. The three topics for Monday's debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, were to be: America's Direction; Achieving Prosperity; and Securing America. CTA President Gary Shapiro also detailed what he would like to see from the debate. "Unfortunately, some of her proposals, such as 'free' Wi-Fi, carry staggering price tags that go unmentioned in her tech agenda," Shapiro said of Clinton's plans in a Monday blog post. "Trump promises to push 'pause' on all new rules and review all previous rules -- a tall order, though it certainly sounds attractive. Unfortunately, Trump remains as vague as ever, saying only that excessive regulation costs our country upwards of $2 trillion a year." Shapiro hopes for attention on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the sharing economy, the deficit and immigration, he said. The candidates should talk about how to overhaul agencies, including the FCC, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance said in a blog post. The FCC “continues to assert more power (even after being rebuked by the courts) on net neutrality, expansion of government broadband, and privacy,” the group said. “TPA wants to hear from both candidates how they would fix our agencies and how they would reduce the rules and regulations being promulgated at a rate that is costing the economy more than a trillion dollars in economic activity each year.”
Moderators of the presidential and vice presidential debates should ask the candidates what they would do to promote increased access to affordable high-speed broadband, several groups urged the moderators Monday. The groups said they want the moderators to pose this question: “Home broadband internet access has become an essential tool for education, employment, civic engagement, and even healthcare. Yet 34 million people still lack access to affordable high-speed internet. What will you do as president to help expand access to affordable high-speed internet for everyone in America?” The groups include Common Cause, the Communications Workers of America, Demand Progress, Engine and Public Knowledge. Voters must understand the candidates’ plans for low-cost broadband access, they said in a letter to the five moderators. "Both candidates have promised major investments in infrastructure development, and broadband internet should be a part of these plans,” they said. Lawmakers told us Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's broadband infrastructure plan has bipartisan potential but raises questions about the funding source (see 1609230040). Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump hasn't mentioned broadband when discussing infrastructure investment. The three topics for Monday's debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, were to be: America's Direction; Achieving Prosperity; and Securing America. CTA President Gary Shapiro also detailed what he would like to see from the debate. "Unfortunately, some of her proposals, such as 'free' Wi-Fi, carry staggering price tags that go unmentioned in her tech agenda," Shapiro said of Clinton's plans in a Monday blog post. "Trump promises to push 'pause' on all new rules and review all previous rules -- a tall order, though it certainly sounds attractive. Unfortunately, Trump remains as vague as ever, saying only that excessive regulation costs our country upwards of $2 trillion a year." Shapiro hopes for attention on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the sharing economy, the deficit and immigration, he said. The candidates should talk about how to overhaul agencies, including the FCC, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance said in a blog post. The FCC “continues to assert more power (even after being rebuked by the courts) on net neutrality, expansion of government broadband, and privacy,” the group said. “TPA wants to hear from both candidates how they would fix our agencies and how they would reduce the rules and regulations being promulgated at a rate that is costing the economy more than a trillion dollars in economic activity each year.”
Nielsen pressed the FCC to pause implementation of a mobile safe harbor for broadband provider compliance with net neutrality transparency rules. Nielsen said the commission should seek comment on the standards for safe harbor designations before allowing mobile providers to disclose Measuring Broadband America (MBA) network performance results as a safe harbor under the rules. "While safe harbors provide certainty and clarity to providers, the mobile [MBA] program may not be capable of providing the robust disclosures that the 2015 Open Internet Order requires and that consumers and edge providers deserve," said a Nielsen filing Wednesday in docket 14-28 on a meeting with Wireless Bureau Chief Jon Wilkins and others. Mobile broadband internet access providers can "disclose their results from the mobile MBA program as a sufficient disclosure of actual download and upload speeds, actual latency, and actual packet loss of a service" if the results satisfy sample size criteria and if the MBA program has provided certain network performance metrics, said May 19 guidance from the FCC's chief technologist, Office of General Counsel and Enforcement Bureau. Nielsen said: "Carriers may feel compelled to use the mobile MBA program as the basis of their required disclosures -- despite the flaws the record reflects -- to avoid the risk of severe enforcement action." CTIA and the Competitive Carriers Association criticized the quality of the mobile MBA data (see 1606210022).
Nielsen pressed the FCC to pause implementation of a mobile safe harbor for broadband provider compliance with net neutrality transparency rules. Nielsen said the commission should seek comment on the standards for safe harbor designations before allowing mobile providers to disclose Measuring Broadband America (MBA) network performance results as a safe harbor under the rules. "While safe harbors provide certainty and clarity to providers, the mobile [MBA] program may not be capable of providing the robust disclosures that the 2015 Open Internet Order requires and that consumers and edge providers deserve," said a Nielsen filing Wednesday in docket 14-28 on a meeting with Wireless Bureau Chief Jon Wilkins and others. Mobile broadband internet access providers can "disclose their results from the mobile MBA program as a sufficient disclosure of actual download and upload speeds, actual latency, and actual packet loss of a service" if the results satisfy sample size criteria and if the MBA program has provided certain network performance metrics, said May 19 guidance from the FCC's chief technologist, Office of General Counsel and Enforcement Bureau. Nielsen said: "Carriers may feel compelled to use the mobile MBA program as the basis of their required disclosures -- despite the flaws the record reflects -- to avoid the risk of severe enforcement action." CTIA and the Competitive Carriers Association criticized the quality of the mobile MBA data (see 1606210022).
A new speaker system from Logitech allows users to stream audio from a Bluetooth-enabled computer, tablet or smartphone and to switch among them, said the company in a Thursday announcement. The Z337 Bold Sound comes with a control pod that can be placed for easy access to speaker functions including power, volume and Bluetooth pairing, said the company. To switch from one source to another, users press pause on one source and then play on another. The pod also has a headphone jack and a knob to adjust the bass level from the subwoofer. A 3.5mm input allows connection to a monitor, computer or video game console, it said. The 80-watt system ships this month at a $99 list price, it said.