“More than seven months ago, I started asking the FCC for information that would shed light on the agency’s apparent rush to approve the LightSquared project,” Grassley said in a news release after the committee vote. “The agency has provided none of the information and found excuses not to provide the information. Even the private companies involved, LightSquared and Harbinger Capital, have promised to be more forthcoming than the FCC as a public agency funded by the taxpayers. LightSquared and Harbinger Capital promised to provide me with requested documents on their dealings with the FCC this week. As a last resort to try to exhort more transparency and accountability from the FCC, I’ll place a hold on consideration of the agency nominees on the Senate floor. This agency controls a big part of the economy. It conducts the public’s business. And the public’s business ought to be public.”
{mosads}LightSquared plans to launch a wholesale wireless broadband service, but tests earlier this year revealed its network would interfere with Global Positioning System (GPS) devices. FCC officials have said they will not grant final approval to the company until it resolves the interference problems.
FCC responds to ‘spectrum screen’ criticism: Rick Kaplan, chief of the FCC’s wireless bureau, pushed back on Thursday against allegations that the agency changed its own rules to hurt AT&T’s chances of gaining approval for its proposed purchase of T-Mobile.
On Wednesday, Reps. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Greg Walden (R-Ore.), wrote to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski to ask why the agency changed its “spectrum screen,” a test to determine whether the transfer of wireless licenses could harm competition.
Kaplan denied that the change had anything to do with a prejudice against AT&T.
“In short, [our review] was by-the-books and performed by expert professional staff who conducted a dispassionate analysis of the proposed transactions,” Kaplan said in an email. “The proposed miniscule change in the FCC’s spectrum screen absolutely had no practical effect in the staff’s review of either AT&T’s proposed takeover of T-Mobile or its acquisition of spectrum from Qualcomm.”
Online piracy battle continues after OPEN Act is unveiled: House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) unveiled the text of their online piracy bill on Thursday, intended as an alternative to the controversial measure currently in front of the House Judiciary Committee.The Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade (OPEN) Act uses a “follow the money” approach and would target only sources of revenue for rogue sites.
The bill came on the same day that 204 tech industry executives wrote to Congress urging them to reject both the Stop Online Piracy Act and its Senate counterpart PROTECT IP, which have prompted a backlash over regulatory and free-speech concerns. But the supporters of both bills appear to be digging in their heels. Motion Picture Association of America senior executive vice president for global policy and external affairs Michael O’Leary credited the sponsors of the OPEN Act with trying to address the problems of online piracy, but said their draft legislation falls far short of what is needed.
“The bad news is that this draft legislation fails to provide an effective way to target foreign rogue websites and goes easy on online piracy and counterfeiting,” O’Leary said.
ON TAP FRIDAY:
Judge Ellen Huvelle will hold a status hearing in the Justice Department’s lawsuit to block AT&T’s purchase of T-Mobile. It will be the first hearing in the case since AT&T withdrew its application for FCC approval.
ICYMI:
House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) unveiled the text of their online piracy bill on Thursday, intended as an alternative to the controversial measure currently in front of the House Judiciary Committee.
The Motion Picture Association of America blasted the online piracy bill, claiming it “goes easy on Internet piracy.”
A bipartisan group of lawmakers wrote to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday asking for details on the site’s privacy practices following its recent settlement with the Federal Trade Commission.
Facebook refused an invitation from Reps. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and Joe Barton (R-Texas) to participate in a congressional briefing next week on children and teen privacy.
Reps. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) slammed Republicans on Thursday for including a controversial anti-net-neutrality provision in a popular spectrum bill.
Senators urged the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to move carefully with its plan to open the Internet up to hundreds of new domain endings at a hearing on Thursday.
The Obama administration released its long-awaited security standards for firms seeking to provide the government with cloud computing services on Thursday.