The Federal Communications Commission passed new net neutrality regulations yesterday that includes a measure that would classify broadband Internet as a utility, just like landline telephones. The regulations say that Internet service providers can’t prioritize one stream of traffic over another. They can’t provide “fast lanes” where a content provider pays the ISP for a […]
Federal Communications Commission
Posted inNews & Opinion
Obama pushes for aggressive net neutrality policies
President Barack Obama says that he wants broadband Internet service treated just like other utilities, such as land-line telephones and electricity. Yesterday, Obama called on the Federal Communications Commission to reclassify broadband under Title II of the federal Telecommunications Act. That would give broadband providers “common carrier” status, and would impose certain key regulations with […]
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Dialing it down: local media changes
Across the country, shared service agreements have come under scrutiny from media critics including journalists, public interest groups, and a few former members of the Federal Communications Commission.
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Fining our way to national decency
Until recently, broadcasters who breached the federal government’s indecency standards risked incurring not only the wrath of some viewers but also fines of up to $32,500. No longer. Now, any “obscene, profane, or indecent” content that the Federal Communications Commission finds “patently offensive” can earn the station’s owner fines of up to $325,000: 10 times […]
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Mega mediasaurus
To grasp bigness, sometimes you have to take out the magnifying glass. That’s what media observers are doing retrospectively with a story that came out of Minot, North Dakota, in January 2002. The small town was hit with a rail-car leak of anhydrous ammonia, an irritant that can cause serious injuries. The story […]
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Free speech at stake in FCC broadcast ruling
So what if the first and most far-reaching guarantee in the Bill of Rights is a prohibition against government curtailment of free speech? On the airwaves starting 40 years ago, the Republicans discovered how to evade it — even while they were aware, in addition to the Constitutional guarantee, that federal law holds that […]
