|
|
 |
| July 2006 |
- "Old Rules, New Alliances," Congress Daily, July 31, 2006
"Supporters of the cross-ownership ban call it the best of both worlds. 'You don't need to own the TV and radio station' to exploit synergies, says Andrew Jay Schwartzman, President of the Media Access Project. The Bonneville-Post collaboration means 'you have the diversity advantages of different viewpoints.'
"Critics call that hairsplitting. 'Do we continue to need unique rules for old media sectors, instead of a general competition policy standard for the entire media industry?' questions Adam Thierer, senior fellow at the Progress and Freedom Foundation.
"Indeed, the biggest irony of the media ownership debate is the old media's embrace of the new. 'They know they cannot make investments in the old sector and are turning their attention to the Internet as a way to diversify their media operations,' said Thierer."
"Crimping the Flow," Rocky Mountain News, July 31, 2006
"Ray Gifford, president of the Progress & Freedom Foundation (a Washington, D.C., market-based think tank) and a former Colorado Public Utilities Commission chairman, has written that the Net neutrality debate is a crisis in theory rather than a crisis in fact.
"Gifford said in an interview last week that regulators certainly need to stop harmful conduct to open access such as that by Madison River Communications toward Vonage.
"But Gifford said he believes the Federal Trade Commission would be a good agency to regulate and police such anti-competitive behavior. And he said rules could be written that would make such procedures speedy.
"He said he takes Google at its word that it views itself as the proxy for protecting small Web inventors.
"'But my rejoinder is that you're only protecting a specific type of innovation,' Gifford said, and that Net neutrality may result in a ‘dumb pipe’ that can't offer special pathways and services for high- speed gaming, video and voice, and the like.
"'And why they want regulation at the FCC is beyond me,’ Gifford added."
- "Industry Notes," Washington Internet Daily, July 28, 2006
"The latest changes [to the version 3 of the General Public License] addresses Linux creator Linus Torvalds' comment that in adhering to the original version someone might have to provide keys used to encrypt personal data, Jim Delong, dir. of the Progress & Freedom Foundation's (PFF) Center for Digital Property, said: "But there is no change in the goal of preventing GPLed software from being used for DRM that protects content, such as music and movies... It indicates to me that they aren't changing it much.' FSF Founder Richard Stallman wants to avoid 'TiVoization - you can get the content but you can't do much with it,' DeLong said. The GPL, last modified in 1991, governs the Linux kernel, the Samaba file server software, the MySQL database and other high-profile freeware. It is used extensively by freeware developers working. Since GPLv3's release of the first discussion draft in Jan., members have submitted nearly 1,000 suggestions for improvement (WID Jan 18 p2).'"
- "WiFi Eyes the Empty Air Waves," Business Week, July 24, 2006
"A recent paper by a researcher at the Progress and Freedom Foundation, a libertarian-leaning think tank that has often sided with the big telcos, argues that if the white space is to be opened up, it can simply be auctioned off. That would certainly be better than nothing. But the incredibly rapid growth of WiFi over the past years proves auctioning spectrum off to the highest bidder isn't the only way to make the most of the airwaves."
- "Rethinking Philly," The Deal, July 21, 2006
"Adam Thierer, director of the Progress and Freedom Foundation's Center for Digital Media Freedom in Washington, thinks Martin can make a much stronger case today [for media deregulation] than his predecessor was able to. The number of little voices having a meaningful impact on their local communities has increased sufficiently to justify repeal of FCC media merger restraints for the biggest media companies, he says. Community blogs, listservs and other Web sites such as Craigslist, Wikipedia and Yahoo! are providing new competition to old media outlets and newspapers, and they have changed forever the way people get their local information, Thierer says."
- "Net Neutrality Debate about First Amendment, Says Foe of Legislation," Washington Internet Daily, July 19, 2006
"Calling most net neutrality backers 'neoconspiratorial,' [PFF Senior Fellow Adam] Thierer said 'if we're going to see [discrimination], we should see it right now because with each passing day there will be more options' for broadband. He said Cox offered him $100 a month off the monthly triple-play bill for his McLean, Va., home to keep him from jumping to Verizon's FiOS. That a network's value depends on the number of people on it is 'the first rule' of running one, he said, which by itself should put to rest all 'conspiratorial talk.'"
- "E-briefs: Telecom," Tech Daily, July 18, 2006
"The Progress and Freedom Foundation, a markett-oriented think tank, on Tuesday formally announced the publication of 'Net Neutrality Or Net Neutering: Should Broadband And Internet Services Be Regulated?' The 228-page collection of essays was edited by PFF Senior Fellow Tom Lenard and Randolph May, previously a PFF senior fellow and now president of the Free State Foundation, another market-based think tank. Some of the essays originally were presented at a 2003 PFF conference. Five of them reflect the foundation's position that the government should not restrict the ability of high-speed Internet operators to control the content transmitted across their wires. A sixth essay by Mark Cooper, research director at the Consumer Federation of America, is the only one recommending network neutrality regulations to safeguard the Internet's openness. Other contributors include professors Joseph Farrell of the University of California at Berkley and Christopher Yooof the Vanderbilt University law school."
- "Entertainment, Social, Justice, International, Software," CBS News.com July 18, 2006
"With heightened concerns over sexual predators lurking at so-called social-networking sites, state attorneys general have called for such communities, particularly MySpace, to improve age and identity checks. If only it were so easy, experts say."
"Minors 'do not possess as many unique identifiers as adults do,’ said Adam Thierer, a senior fellow with the Progress and Freedom Foundation, a technology think tank that shuns government regulation. ‘They are not voters yet. They don't have home mortgages or car loans. Most don't have drivers licenses until they are 16.’''
- "Net Ignorance of the Christian Coalition," CNET, July 14, 2006
"It is no surprise that every other conservative or free market group that has spoken out on telecommunications policy has come to the same conclusion: increasing federal regulation of the Internet will reduce choice, growth, and innovation. Among those standing opposite the national Christian Coalition on this issue are the Heritage Foundation, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the Progress & Freedom Foundation, and my own organization, FreedomWorks."
- "Communications Daily Notebook," Communications Daily, July 11, 2006
"Pending telecom reform legislation lacks a 'framework' for handling universal service, 911 service, disability access and other social issues, Kyle Dixon of the Progress & Freedom Foundation said. This occurs when legislation looks at 'a narrow subset’ of reform issues, Dixon said Mon. in a paper for PFF's ‘Progress on Point' series. Policymakers should be wary of social regulation, whose 'unintended consequences' can include discouraging investment or slowing innovation, Dixon said. He urged careful monitoring by regulators and lawmakers using 5 principles: (1) Review social goals every 2 years at the regulatory level. (2) Identify and balance competing regulatory goals. (3) Weigh mandates against efforts to spur industry to act voluntarily. (4) Avoid actions that undermine competing goals. (5) Don't automatically pick the FCC for regulatory duties because other agencies can handle some tasks more efficiently."
- "Cell Phones Causing School Mayhem; So Say Allentown Principals Who Want Board to Consider a Ban," The Morning Call, July 3, 2006
"Adam Thierer, a senior analyst with The Progress & Freedom Foundation, a Washington, D.C., think tank studying the digital revolution for public policy issues, said it isn't just schools searching for an appropriate balance on cell phones.
"Restaurants, movie theaters and the like are looking to limit the use of the devices too, he said.
"But, he said, schools are a different matter.
"'Schools should be able to govern the use of electronic communication devices. It should be done at the local level, even by the school. Definitely not by the state and certainly not by the federal government,' he said."
Previous Months:
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January
Previous Years:
2005
2004
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
