August 2005

• "Political Talk Fades on Radio," Cincinnati Enquirer, August 30, 2005.
  "While talk radio has reached a plateau, blogging has boomed. The nonprofit Progress and Freedom Foundation released a study this month saying that 10.5 million American adults now have a Web log or Web-based diary - 7 percent of all those who regularly go online. The report said that 37 million Americans read blogs in May, up 59 percent from February 2004."
• "PFF Paper Asserts Declining Stock Prices of Media Companies Belies Media Monopoly Arguments," Tech Law Journal, August 29, 2005.
  "Thierer and English write that 'the critics never seem able to arrive at any sort of a consensus about how many companies they are talking about." They argue that there is not problem with concentration. "We have moved from an age of scarcity to an age of abundance; a world of unprecedented media availability and diversity in which citizens can access and consume whatever media they want, wherever, whenever, and however they want.'"
• "Everyone on the Bus: Telecom Elite Boost Rural Broadband Morale," Telecom Policy Report, August 29, 2005.
  "Out west undoubtedly was one of the telecom policy community's hot spots last week. The 2005.Aspen Summit, an annual event organized by the Progress & Freedom Foundation (PFF), reportedly attracted scores of high-level federal/state government, telco, cableco, industry and academic gurus. Keynote presentations, roundtable discussions and working-group meetings focused on court decisions, the digital television transition, taxation matters, patents, property rights, spectrum management reform, media and regulatory convergence, perceived indecency issues and, of course, revamping telecom law."
• "Guidance from Feds Sought on Technology," The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, August 28, 2005.
  "At an annual gathering of technology and government policy executives here, Owens said it's imperative that the government do more to ensure the continued evolution and security of the Internet and telecommunications in the United States.
  "'This is a big deal,' he said during a break at the Progress and Freedom Foundation's Aspen Summit last week. 'This is more important than steel policies or textile policies or banana policies.'"
• "Nortel Wants Broadband for All - Even Bismark," Rocky Mountain News, August 27, 2005.
  "Ray Gifford, president of the Progress & Freedom Foundation and the former chairman of the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, said he thinks Owens is 'generally right that there is a failure other than just rhetorical to articulate and make (high-speed Internet) a priority.'
  "Gifford notes the 1996 act was written for a 'copper (telephone) wire' rather than Internet era, and 'at best it takes very creative lawyering to go where you want to go.'
  "But Gifford said his first reaction is that mandated universal high-speed service isn't a very good idea.
  "'We certainly don't want to create another farm-subsidy program,' Gifford said. 'That said, some universal services are important social goals. The key is doing it in a smart way and not providing welfare to companies, but incentives to invest in the best technology and platform.'"
• "HP Preps Pirate-Fighting Projector," CNET News.com, August 25, 2005.
  "Hewlett-Packard is developing a projection technology designed to foil camcorder-outfitted pirates in movie theaters, according to a board member.
  "Tom Perkins, a legendary venture capitalist and partner of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, alluded to the research at a dinner gathering here Tuesday, part of the Progress & Freedom Foundation's annual conference. "
• "Franchising Reform Can Open New Markets, Boost Competition," Communications Daily, August 24, 2005.
  "Lawmakers shouldn't necessarily legislate to speed transition to ubiquitous digital TV in the U.S., if industry addresses the issues thoughtfully, Rep. Blackburn (R-Tenn.) said Tues. "We all play a role in educating people about the impact of the transition," she told the Progress & Freedom Foundation policy summit here."
• "Warner Music Goes Digital," CNNMoney, August 24, 2005.
  "'At Warner, we believe that we can create a digital-only label, what we're calling our 'elabel' that will transform the process for artists young and old and possibly give the stories of artists struggling to be heard a new and happier ending,' Bronfman said during a speech at the Progress & Freedom Foundation's 2005. Aspen Summit. "
• "Warner Music to Launch Online Label," The Associated Press, August 24, 2005.
  "'At this new label, an artist can develop in a supportive, lower-risk environment," Warner chief executive Edgar Bronfman Jr. said at an Aspen, Colo., gathering of the Progress and Freedom Foundation, a Washington, D.C., think tank. "An artist is not required to have enough material for an album, only just enough to excite our ears.'"
• "Sun Starts Digital Rights Project," Forbes.com, August 23, 2003
  "Sun Microsystems said today that it wants to create an open and free digital rights management (DRM) technology.
  "The company's president and chief operating officer Jonathan Schwartz unveiled the new project called Dream (DRM everywhere available) at the Progress and Freedom Foundation Aspen Summit in Colorado."
• "Mississippi Governor Advises Telecom Sector to Defend Free Trade," TR Daily, August 23, 2005.
  "Government and politicians don't understand what telecom and technology companies do, so industry is going to have to invest some time in helping them learn what they need to know, especially when it comes to the importance of free trade, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R.) advised attendees of the Progress & Freedom Foundation conference here yesterday."
• "Life After Grokster : Music CEO Asks for Tech Help," PC World, August 23, 2005.
  "'An artist is not required to have enough material for an album, only just enough to excite our ears,' Bronfman said during a speech at the Progress and Freedom Foundation's Aspen Summit here. The conservative think-tank focuses on promoting free-market solutions for technology and other industries.
• "Cable Questions Net Neutrality; Verizon and Vonage Back It," Communications Daily, August 23, 2005.
  "Net neutrality is fundamental for the cable industry, but NCTA Pres. Kyle McSlarrow said he's leery of any doctrine that enshrines guidelines to help competitors enter video delivery. Without naming names at the Progress & Freedom Foundation's (PFF) annual policy summit here, he wagged a finger at 'industries that ought to know better and thrive in the regulatory environment [who] are the first to try to put rules of road down for other people.' The Bells had decided not to enter video but now some companies are 'playing catch-up and want to change all the rules,' he said."
• "Speaker at Aspen Urges 'Broadband Bill of Rights'," Rocky Mountain News, August 23, 2005.
  "Jeffrey Citron, chief executive officer of Vonage Holdings Corp., said such formal policies are needed to ensure consumers have access to a minimum level of service, have a lawful right to connect to any Internet site and will be able to attach any device as long as it doesn't harm a network. He was speaking on a panel at the Aspen Summit, a communications summit sponsored by the Progress & Freedom Foundation, a Washington, D.C., think tank."
• "Groups Offer Support, Ideas in Comment on FCC Strategic Plan," Communications Daily, August 22, 2005.
  "Kyle Dixon, Progress & Freedom Foundation senior fellow, said in a blog Fri. the comments were 'as unsurprising as they may be unhelpful in the long run.' Dixon said as would be expected 'parties did a good job of defending their regulatory interests... but they failed to shed much light on how the FCC can cope with, or, better yet, conquer the challenges of regulating in the digital age.' He said it might be more useful for commenters to take a page form management theory such as the field of 'organization development' by focusing on how the FCC could be more effective."
• "Networks Rebelling Against Mon, Dad: Parents Group has Lobbied for Wholesome TV; Now, Networks Strike Back," Dallas Morning News, August 21, 2005.
  "Critics say the parents' council represents the minority view. 'They have a heckler's veto over speech and content,' said Adam Thierer, a senior fellow at the Progress and Freedom Foundation, a think tank that studies the digital revolution and supports limited government and free markets."
• "Sun Micro Announces Open-Source DRM Project," Reuters, August 21, 2005.
  "Schwartz said he planned to call for a cross-industry collaboration in developing what he argued would be an open and business-friendly approach to the free creation, duplication and distribution of digital content.
  "On Sunday, he spoke to policymakers, media, telecommunications and technology executives in a speech at the Progress and Freedom Foundation Aspen Summit in Aspen, Colorado."
• "Take it slow on new identity-theft laws," San Jose Mercury News, August 19, 2005.
  Op-ed authored by Thomas Lenard and Paul Rubin - "While the market seems to be addressing the data-security problem, the proposed regulatory solutions are of dubious merit on cost-benefit grounds. A major part of virtually all the legislative proposals is a requirement that consumers be notified when a security breach occurs that might compromise their personal data. But our analysis, based on the FTC's data, shows that the expected benefits to consumers of a notification requirement are extremely small -- less than $10 per individual whose data have been compromised."
• "Alexandria tax and spend," The Examiner, August 18, 2005.
  "Bureaucrats, in their rush to plug budget holes, fail to comprehend that they are only miring their constituents in a worse situation. According to Jeffrey Eisenach, co-founder of the Progress & Freedom Foundation, a think tank that studies the digital revolution, telecommunications taxes are 'arguably the most destructive taxes being levied on the American economy,' in part because the taxes are inherently regressive and expose low- and middle-income Americans to a larger share of the tax burden."
• "Court Ruling May Shape Municipal Broadband Debate," Tech Daily, August 17, 2005.
  "Congress may well impose a municipal broadband pre-emption if it is clear about its interstate effect, experts said... But Kent Lassman, a research fellow with the Progress and Freedom Foundation, disagreed. If that bill were to pass, he said, 'an enterprising conservative governor from the Southeast would say, 'I may or may not like all this municipal broadband stuff, but I don't like Messrs. McCain and Lautenberg telling me how to the run the state.'"
• "Virginia City's Wi-Fi Effort Garners Praise," Technology Daily State Roundup, August 11, 2005.
  "Efforts in Alexandria, Va., to offer wireless access via Wi-Fi technology are to be commended, even if that means additional tax charges, according to a Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF) official.
  The city has "chosen a very intelligent approach to what is a very thorny issue," Patrick Ross, vice president for communications and external affairs, wrote at the organization's Web log.
• "Congress May Address Debate Over 'Net Neutrality'," Technology Daily, August 8, 2005.
  "The advocates of a mandate will not be satisfied by a policy statement from the commission," said Kyle Dixon, a senior fellow at the Progress and Freedom Foundation who continues to urge voluntary net freedoms by industry.
• "11th Hour Enforcement Measure Targets Global Spam Spyware," Washington Internet Daily, August 3, 2005.
  The Progress & Freedom Foundation (PFF) called the SAFE WEB Act a "step in the right direction" to handle fraud, especially on the Internet. "By granting the FTC authority to work with other nations, the global community will become better equipped to fight cross-border fraud, as well as domestic fraud, though improved communication, collaboration and enforcement efforts among nations," PFF researcher Michael Pickford said Tues. Legislation applicable only to the U.S. will be ineffective," Pickford said: "Rather than decreasing or stopping spam, it served to create a larger offshore spam market."
• "After 'Brand X,' New Challenges," MultiChannel News, August 1, 2005.
  "Nondiscrimination is a term of art from common carriage and what it has historically entailed is questions about what exactly is 'equal treatment,' which invariably takes you almost immediately into setting rates and doing other sorts of intrusive regulation that telephone companies have long been familiar with," said Kyle Dixon, a policy analyst at the Progress & Freedom Foundation, a right-of-center think tank here.
• "FCC Hot Seats In Play, And The Candidates Change Daily," Telecom Policy Report, August 1, 2005.
  Kent Lassman, a Progress and Freedom Foundation research fellow and director of the Institute for Regulatory Law and Economics, says Tate's nomination would signal the Administration's seriousness about staying the course regarding the difficult transition from intensive economic regulation toward a healthy digital-communications marketplace."
• "TPR Special: Telecom Thinkers Assess the Ensign Bill," Telecom Policy Report, August 1, 2005.
  There have been and will be plenty of third parties assessing Sen. John Ensign's BICCA legislation, but few were as prolific as the Progress and Freedom Foundation's Randolph J. May, a senior fellow and director of communications policy studies. His input on the proposed legislation included a widely distributed press statement, an essay calling the bill "a historic landmark" and a brief telephone interview with TPR.
  According to May, the "general rule" section of the proposed act eliminating rules with service provider distinctions "does represent the cleanest break with the existing framework in the sense that it really proposes starting from a clean slate and only imposing regulation when regulation is determined to be needed."