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September 2007
  • "Senators Probe Google Acquisition," The Washington Post, September 28, 2007
    "'The evidence is that the use of personal information by online advertisers produces substantial consumer benefits,' Thomas Lenard, a senior fellow at the Progress and Freedom Foundation, said at the hearing."
  • "'Lawmakers To Review Google-DoubleClick Merger,'" CNN Money, September 26, 2007
    "'There's no real evidence of consumer harm,' [PFF Senior Fellow and acting PresidentThomas] Lenard said. Allowing the two firms to merge would benefit consumers and advertisers by increasing their ability to specifically tailor online advertisements.
    "Lenard, whose foundation is funded by a variety of technology companies including Google and Microsoft, said the battle over the DoubleClick deal is tied to Google's position as a market leader.
    "'Google's in the crosshairs. Success has its price,' Lenard said."
  • "FCC Members Call for National Broadband Policy," IT World, September 26, 2007
    "Not everyone at the hearing [before the U.S. Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee.] complained about the state of broadband in the U.S. There's little evidence of a broadband problem in the U.S., said Scott Wallsten, director of communications policy studies at the Progress and Freedom Foundation, a conservative think tank.
    "'Telephone, cable and wireless companies are investing billions in new high-speed infrastructure, and consumers and businesses are adopting broadband at remarkable rates,' Wallsten said. Verizon Communications Inc. alone is planning to spend US$23 billion on its fiber-optic network by 2010, he said.
    "People calling for government solutions 'fail to provide solid analysis showing that their proposals would actually benefit consumers or small businesses,' Wallsten added."
    "A Washington Bank Shot -- How A Telephone Company Lobbyist Works To Weaken Google," Huffington Post, September 25, 2007
    "A Senate Subcommittee will hold a hearing Thursday on Google's proposed $3.1 billion acquisition of DoubleClick, and what the deal would mean for the online advertising industry."
    "Thomas Lenard of the Progress and Freedom Foundation, a 'free market' think tank, will testify. He has been interested in DoubleClick and related issues since publishing a book, 'Privacy and the Commercial Use of Personal Information' in July, 2001."
  • "The Holy War Over Wireless Spectrum," Conde Nast Portfolio.com, September 19, 2007
    "F.C.C. Chairman Kevin Martin's 'split decision' on the four rules had the effect of angering both sides, said Adam D. Thierer, a senior fellow at the Progress and Freedom Foundation who runs the organization's Center for Digital Media Freedom.
    "'Martin split the baby between two large constituencies: The telecom incumbents and emerging tech companies,' Theirer told conference attendees. 'And he succeeded in doing nothing other than [ticking] off both sides.'"
  • "Convergence 2.0: The 700 Mhz Auction: 'The Last Big Event,'" PaidContent.org, September 17, 2007
    "On the other side of the spectrum (no pun intended), Adam Thierer of the Progress and Freedom Foundation warned that these regulations would commoditize and devalue wireless networks, while opening them up to unnecessary (as he sees it) net neutrality regulations."
  • "Study: TV Family Hour a Relic," Yahoo! Tech, September 10, 2007
    "Ars Technica points to this opinion piece by Adam Thierer, senior fellow at the Progress & Freedom Foundation, who notes that what the networks decide to put on TV at any hour has little power over what families watch. He writes:
    "'Today, the consumer-empowerment revolution has kicked into high gear, now that viewers have access to a stunning variety of information and entertainment options, along with countless devices to help them manage media consumption for themselves and their families.'
    "As Thierer says, 'I happen to agree with the PTC that not all of the programming shown on broadcast TV at 8 p.m. is appropriate for my children. But like millions of other parents, I can now take matters into my own hands.'"
  • "Seeking Consensus On Net Neutrality," Tech Daily, September 10, 2007
    "During his keynote speech at the Progress and Freedom Foundation summit in Aspen, Colo., last month, Google CEO Eric Schmidt appealed for common ground amid a roomful of telecom and cable executives and others. Schmidt said he hoped everyone could at least agree on this point: 'No entity that controls the last mile, [telecom companies] cable or, by the way, local government ... should be able to control the content that flows over it.'"
  • "CAGW Publishes Report on Property Rights," PNN Online, September 12, 2007
    "Authors [include] Solveig Singleton of the Progress and Freedom Foundation. The paper examines the impact of government policies in the U.S. and around the world on taxpayers and consumers, as individuals and industry look to protect their personal and intellectual property."
    "Ms. Singleton brings the intellectual property debate back home and describes the strengths and weaknesses of the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). She also discusses five intellectual property myths and realities, four underlying problems with the PTO, and three options to help the PTO be more responsive."
  • "Patent Expert Heads To PFF," Tech Daily, September 4, 2007
    "Thomas Sydnor starts his new job at PFF this month as a senior fellow directing the group's digital property center. Sydnor brings more than a decade of expertise in intellectual property law and policy, most recently serving as a copyright adviser in the international relations at the Patent and Trademark Office.
    "Before joining PTO, Sydnor worked on Capitol Hill. He was counsel for intellectual property and technology for the Senate Judiciary Committee.
    "'I'm very excited about joining PFF,' Sydnor said. 'IP issues are so important to the health and growth of the digital economy, and PFF provides a unique platform for participating in the current debates and influencing policy.'"
  • "Carriage-Deals Draft May Help Martin Revisit A La Carte," Communications Daily, September 4, 2007
    "'The chairman seems to have a monomaniacal obsession with regulating the cable industry,' said the Progress & Freedom Foundation's Adam Thierer, a frequent critic of media regulation. 'It would not surprise me at all if he uses this latest rulemaking to once again advance his a la carte crusade.'"
  • "Lawmakers Seek New Curbs on TV Content," Info Tech & Telecom News, September 1, 2007
    "At the House hearings, Adam Thierer, senior fellow and director of the Center for Digital Media Freedom at the Progress & Freedom Foundation, reported on his extensive research on parental controls, including two years of work on a 119-page special report, Parental Controls and Online Child Protection: A Survey of Tools and Methods."
    "'Public officials should not act in loco parentis when parents have the power to make media decisions on their own,' Thierer continued. 'Raising children, and determining what type of media they consume, is a quintessential parental responsibility.'"


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