FCC Orders Probe of Williams-Bush Deal
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The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission ordered an investigation Friday into whether conservative commentator Armstrong Williams broke the law by failing to disclose he was paid by the Bush administration to plug the president's education agenda.
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A member of the Federal Communications Commission said Thursday the agency should investigate whether conservative commentator Armstrong Williams broke the law by failing to disclose that the Bush administration paid him &#36;240,000 to plug its education policies.
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Sirius Satellite Radio's plan to buy  rival XM Satellite Radio will test the limits of how much  industry consolidation the business-friendly Bush  administration is willing to permit, some antitrust lawyers  say.
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Cable-modem service provider Comcast said Wednesday that it would welcome a U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC)&#160;investigation into its broadband traffic management practices.FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, speaking at the&#160;Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas&#160;on Tuesday, said the commission would investigate&#160;complaints that Comcast was blocking some peer-to-peer (P-to-P) traffic. An Associated Press investigation published in October found that Comcast was slowing traffic connected through the popular BitTorrent file-sharing program.A Comcast spokeswoman said Wednesday that the company had not yet received information requests from the FCC. Comcast, in a statement, also defended its practice of sometimes slowing P-to-P traffic during peak traffic times.&quot;We look forward to responding to any FCC inquiries regarding our broadband network management,&quot; David Cohen, Comcast&#39;s executive vice president, said in the statement. &quot;We believe our practices are in accordance with the FCC&#39;s policy statement on the Internet where the commission clearly recognized that reasonable network management is necessary for the good of all customers.&quot;Comcast will work with the FCC to better inform customers about broadband network management, the statement said. &quot;Comcast does not, has not, and will not block any Web sites or online applications, including peer-to-peer services,&quot; Cohen said.Martin also said the FCC would look into complaints that Verizon Wireless and other wireless carriers were blocking access to text-messaging on their networks. In September,&#160;Verizon Wireless denied Naral Pro-Choice America, an abortion rights group, access&#160;when the group asked to allow Verizon customers to sign up for its text-messaging alerts.&#160;Verizon reversed the decision a day later.A Verizon Wireless spokeswoman didn&#39;t immediately respond to a request for comments on Martin&#39;s CES speech.In December, eight consumer and public-interest groups -- including Public Knowledge, the Consumer Federation of America and Consumers Union -- filed a complaint with the FCC, saying mobile phone providers should not be able to block text messages from political groups and advertisers.Public Knowledge and Free Press, both critical of provider traffic blocking, praised Martin&#39;s CES statements. Public Knowledge is pleased that the FCC is &quot;willing to stand by their principles to protect American consumers,&quot; the group said in a statement. &quot;We look forward to FCC proceedings that will determine what are legitimate uses of power by telecom companies, and which are not.&quot;
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Competition authorities in Asia, the European Union and the United States have launched an investigation into manufacturers of flat-screen televisions and computer monitors, who are suspected of having reached an illegal pricing agreement, officials said.
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Comcast said it has received letters of inquiry from the F.C.C. regarding complaints that the company actively interferes with its subscribersâ Internet traffic.
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Microsoft and Time Warner ran into fresh trouble in Europe today as antitrust regulators ordered an in-depth probe of their deal to collaborate in making anti-piracy software.
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U.S. Federal Communications  Commission Chairman Kevin Martin has asked the agency's  inspector general to investigate why two draft reports on  television and radio ownership never saw the light of day until  now.
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WASHINGTON - The US Federal Communications Commission is reviewing whether the steamy locker-room opening to ABC&#39;s Monday Night Football this week warrants a full-blown investigation.
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U.S. Federal Communications  Commission Chairman Kevin Martin has asked for a legal ruling  on whether a recused commissioner could cast a tie-breaking  vote on AT&T Inc.'s  proposed acquisition of BellSouth  Corp. , an FCC official told Reuters on Friday.
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Germany's competition watchdog, the federal cartel office, said it was investigating telecoms giant Deutsche Telekom and cable operator Kabel Deutschland on suspicion they sought to distort competition in the area of high-speed Internet access.
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WR Grace &amp; Co., a Columbia-based supplier of silica products, alerted shareholders Friday it received a letter saying it is the subject of a federal grand jury investigation.
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The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating WorldCom Inc.'s official creditors committee, requesting reams of documents related to members' dealings as well as information they reviewed about WorldCom's health and prospects.
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Congress and the Interior Department investigate whether the Bush administration undermined federal protections.
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U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin has asked for a legal ruling on whether a recused commissioner could cast a tie-breaking vote on AT&T Inc.'s  proposed acquisition of BellSouth Corp. , an FCC official told Reuters on Friday.
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When Verizon Wireless filed an almost perfunctorily brief lawsuit against the FCC in a federal appeals court on Monday, analysts and wireless industry observers were baffled. With the FCC having written up the 700 MHz spectrum auction order in late July, didn't the company have enough time to complain then? Surprisingly, a clue to its motives comes not from itself or its lawsuit but from the FCC.
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Two Senators on Friday called for a congressional hearing to investigate reports that phone and cable companies are unfairly stifling communications over the Internet and on cell phones.