FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has circulated a proposed decision that would green light the merger of AT&T and BellSouth with no conditions, according to this AP report.. The move by the nation’s communications regulatory agency appears to be coming even prior to approval of the combination by the Department of Justice, which has to weigh in as the nation’s antitrust authority.
Martin’s recommendation apparently contains no requirements that AT&T has to meet in order to get the deal through. If the Commission’s review of the merger has reached this stage, it’s likely that the item will be put on the FCC’s meeting agenda for October 14. The AP report also states that the Commission is readying a “notice of inquiry” on the issue of network neutrality, which will be released at the same meeting.
News of the approval has prompted a coalition of consumer and regulatory groups, which includes American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Consumers Union, Consumer Federation of America, National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates (NASUCA), Media Access Project, to schedule a press call for Monday, presumably to protest the rumored approval.
Update: As the Wall Street Journal’s Amy Schatz reports, it’s unlikely that the no-condition part of the approval will last for very long. With the newest commissioner, Republican Robert McDowell, recused from the vote due to conflicts related to past lobbying jobs, Martin will have to negotiate with the two Democrats on the five-member commission in order to get the item through.
Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 3:03 PM | Print | Comments (0)
I’m too much of a cynic to get into the swing of things, but today is One Web Day, a day for celebrating and helping to improve, well, the Internet.
Here’s the idea of One Web Day
OneWebDay is one day a year when we all - everyone around the physical globe - can celebrate the Web and what it means to us as individuals, organizations, and communities.
The sardonic crank in me would mock this sunny effort to celebrate something that I already spend way too much time on, but a group of good people, including Susan Crawford, David Isenberg and David Weinberger, are behind the event so I’ll repress my worst instincts. And I may be too jaded anyway…the BBC reports that there are One Web Day celebrations going on around the globe. (And here’s the list of the events.)
Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 12:09 PM | Print | Comments (0)
Courtesy of IP Law Daily I came across this hard-to-pigeonhole video from a copyright attorney in DC named “Ron.” Ron offers a run-down of copyright law, including what seem like solid interpretations of the Napster and Grokster court decisions.
According to Ron’s analysis, YouTube will likely win any infringement lawsuits filed against it because it’s clear that YouTube is not “inducing infringement,” the standard set by the Supreme Court in Grokster. He also advocates that YouTube viewers make videos that serve as amicus curae or friend of the court briefs in the Robert Tur lawsuit against YouTube.
Ignore Ron’s outfit, intended, I assume, to look “Hollywood” (dark sunglasses, suit without a tie). He’s a legit lawyer and this ten-minute video is actually informative. (For feed readers, here’s the link to the video.)
Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 9:40 AM | Print | Comments (0)
The New York Times’ Stuart Elliott has this piece today about a test campaign by Google and ad agency Goodby, Silverstein & Partners which highlights the quantum leap that video advertising can make on the web. The campaign not only uses clickable video but also incorporates several Google products, including Google Earth and geo-locating of computers.
Here’s the description of the innovative campaign:
Visitors to a variety of Web sites in six cities around the country that are home to 22 Saturn dealerships will see what look like typical banner ads for Aura, a new Saturn midsize sedan. Clicking on an ad will produce a view of the earth that zooms in on the dealership nearest to the computer user.
The doors to the virtual dealership fly open, revealing the general manager, who introduces a brief commercial about Aura. After the spot ends, the general manager returns, standing next to an Aura and offering choices that include spinning the car 360 degrees, inspecting its engine, printing a map with directions to the dealership and visiting the Web sites of Saturn (saturn.com) or the dealer.
How cool is that? While traditional TV video ad spots are arguably highly effective on the Internet as it is, for the web to truly come into its own as an advertising medium that is different from, and better than, TV, companies have to take full advantage of the interactive capabilities that are the fundamental distinguishing characteristic of the Internet. Tying together Google Earth and geo-locating and video in an interesting bundle is just one example of the kind of boundary-pushing available to web advertisers.
Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 8:30 AM | Print | Comments (0)
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