Group files text-blocking complaint with FCC
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Eight consumer and public-interest groups filed a complaint with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, saying mobile phone providers should not be able to block text messages from political groups and advertisers.
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WASHINGTON  - FCC officials say they've  received complaints about Motley Crue rocker Vince Neil's use  of an expletive during the live New Year's Eve broadcast of  "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno," but NBC may get away with it.
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WASHINGTON - The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) plans to appeal a November decision by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) prohibiting states from regulating VOIP (voice over Internet Protocol) services, such as those offered by Vonage Holdings.
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The Federal Communications Commission will investigate complaints that Comcast actively interferes with Internet traffic as its subscribers try to share files online.
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Blog: Media conglomerate had asked federal regulators to require broadband providers to police their networks for copyright violations, but public-interest groups say the effort is "misguided."
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TV's over-zealous profanity police rebuked by court US television regulator the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) may not have the right to police American airwaves, a court has ruled. The ruling is a blow to a George W Bush-led clampdown on on-air swearing.â¦
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FCC officials say they've received complaints about Motley Crue rocker Vince Neil's use of an expletive during the live New Year's Eve broadcast of "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno," but NBC may get away with it.
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Challenge/response e-mails accidentally marked as spam by AOL and EarthLink.
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More than 11,000 people sound off, giving the FCC ample food for thought as it ponders possible new rules for internet access.
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In an Aug. 29 story about a permanent injunction against a Rhode Island man who sent unsolicited text messages to Verizon Wireless cell phone customers, The Associated Press erroneously reported the date of the federal court action. The injunction was granted Aug. 23, not Aug. 27.
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Two public-interest groups praised the U.S. Federal Communications Commission for opening three inquiries into network traffic management practices by broadband providers and mobile phone carriers.The FCC announced Monday it would launch inquires into the blocking of some text messages on mobile phone networks, into the slowing of p-to-p (peer-to-peer) traffic, and into what constitutes reasonable broadband traffic management. The three inquires were based on complaints by public interest groups such as Public Knowledge and Free Press and by Vuze, a company that uses the BitTorrent p-to-p protocol to distribute Web-based video.Public Knowledge, Free Press, Vuze, and other organizations filed complaints with the FCC after press reports last year that broadband provider&#160;Comcast slowed BitTorrent traffic. Several public-interest groups also filed a complaint after Verizon Wireless denied Naral Pro-Choice America, an abortion rights group, access when the group asked to the carrier to allow Verizon customers to sign up for text-messaging alerts.&#160;Verizon reversed the decision&#160;a day later.Comcast spokeswoman Sena Fitzmaurice confirmed Tuesday that Comcast has received a letter from the FCC asking the broadband provider to describe its traffic management practices. The FCC inquiry more broadly targets broadband traffic management by all broadband providers.Similarly, the text-messaging inquiry is looking at whether any mobile phone operators should be able to block text messages. And the traffic-management inquiry focuses on what are acceptable traffic management practices industrywide, not just at Comcast.Comcast repeated a&#160;statement it released last week, when FCC chairman Kevin Martin said he planned to look into the complaints. Comcast believes its actions constitute &quot;reasonable network management&quot; and are &quot;necessary for the good of all customers,&quot; the statement said. Comcast does not halt access to any Web site or services, including p-to-p services, the statement said.Public Knowledge, Free Press, and other groups have pushed the FCC and the U.S. Congress to adopt so-called net neutrality rules, which would prohibit broadband providers from blocking or slowing Web content from competitors. Comcast and other providers have argued that some network management is needed to protect customers against bandwidth hogs.Public Knowledge praised the FCC for its three new inquires, saying the investigations will help define consumer rights online. &quot;These inquiries will go a long way to setting out a road map for determining who will control the Internet, and whether texting will be seen in the same light as wireless voice services,&quot; Public Knowledge president Gigi Sohn said by e-mail. &quot;We anticipate that at the end of the day, consumers will have more control over their Internet and wireless experiences than they do now.&quot;Free Press also praised the FCC action. &quot;Free speech should be protected everywhere -- whether it&#39;s text messages, phone calls, e-mails, or the Internet,&quot; Ben Scott, policy director of Free Press, said in a statement. &quot;The FCC has started to respond to a growing public outcry, but they shouldn&#39;t drag their feet. Companies like Comcast and Verizon have showed repeatedly that they can&#39;t be trusted. Without quick and decisive action, they&#39;ll keep blocking, manipulating and interfering.&quot;
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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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Several companies have challenged spectrum auction rules recently set by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, with Frontline Wireless LLC protesting that the auction of the 700MHz band to be auctioned in January could shut out small bidders.
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Industry groups are looking for a way around controversial copyright proposal.
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The federal government on Friday asked the US Supreme Court to review a court ruling which found the FCC improperly classified cable-modem service, a subject of interest to Internet service providers seeking access to the broadband networks controlled by
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(InfoWorld) - Verizon WirelessÂ has reversed a decision to block text messages on its network from abortion rights group Naral Pro-Choice America after an outcry fromÂ net neutrality advocatesÂ and others. The controversy erupted Thursday, after a New York Times story said Verizon had rejected a request from Naral to send text messages to wireless customers who sign up for them. Verizon had said it has the right to block controversial or unsavory messages. Several other political groups, including the Republican National Committee and Amnesty International, have used text message campaigns. But Verizon backtracked on its position Thursday morning local time. "The decision to not allow text messaging on an important, though sensitive, public policy issue was incorrect, and we have fixed the process that led to this isolated incident," Verizon spokesman Jeffrey Nelson, said in a statement. "Upon learning about this situation, senior Verizon Wireless executives immediately reviewed the decision and determined it was an incorrect interpretation of a dusty internal policy." The old policy was developed before text messaging protections such as spam filters adequately protected customers from unwanted messages, Verizon said. Public Knowledge, a digital rights advocacy group, said Verizon's decision still shows the need for the U.S. Congress to pass aÂ net neutrality law, which would prohibit telecom carriers and broadband providers from blocking or slowing content from competitors or other groups. "Instant replay is not the way to guarantee the rights of Americans to communicate freely over telecommunications networks," Gigi Sohn, Public Knowledge's president, said in an e-mail. "You cannot have unfettered communications by having the telephone company review each decision whenever a controversial issue is raised. A text message like this one alerting Naral supporters to act quickly on a pending political issue is useless after hours of delay by the telephone company referees." Cynthia Brumfield, president of tech consultancy Emerging Media Dynamics, called the original Verizon action "unbelievable" in a post on her IP Democracy blog Thursday. "Verizon is seriously [messed] up if it thinks Naral is promoting an 'agenda' but the Republican National Committee is not," Brumfield wrote. "And clearly Verizon believes that a woman's right to choose is somehow 'unsavory.'" The issue goes beyond Verizon's apparent political leanings, Brumfield added. "What's truly disturbing is that Verizon is imposing its own political views on its wireless customers without their consent, something that the carrier could not do in the landline voice world," she wrote. Naral on Thursday morning was encouraging visitors to its Web site to contact Verizon about its original decision. "What kind of company would deny its customers the ability to use their cell phones to participate in our democracy?" Naral said.
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A Beijing city regulation clamping down on people who send text messages that "spread rumors" or "endanger public security" is a threat to freedom of expression, a watchdog group said Monday.