Blog Archives
Senate antitrust chair telegraphs probe of Google
By Kenneth Corbin | March 11, 2011The chairman of the Senate subcommittee on antitrust has put Google on notice that he plans to step up oversight of the search giant's market position and potentially anticompetitive behavior this Congress.
Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) has historically warned of anticompetitive concerns associated with controversial mergers, including some of Google's, such as the acquisition of DoubleClick, which was ultimately approved.
Kohl on Thursday announced his [agenda](http://kohl.senate.gov/newsroom/pressrelease.cfm?customel_dataPageID_1464=4332) for the Judiciary Committee's antitrust subcommittee, which ranges from freight railroad to health care and pharmaceuticals, but also singles out sectors of the tech industry, with one company -- Google -- at the top of the list.
"In recent years, the dominance over Internet search of the world's largest search engine, Google, has increased and Google has increasingly sought to acquire e-commerce sites in myriad businesses," Kohl said. "In this regard, we will closely examine allegations raised by e-commerce websites that compete with Google that they are being treated unfairly in search ranking, and in their ability to purchase search advertising. We also will continue to closely examine the impact of further acquisitions in this sector."
Additionally, the chairman said he plans to probe competition in the broadband access market, a subject of considerable disagreement among industry players and the advocacy organizations that press for conditions such as net neutrality, which Kohl said would factor into his examination.
Kohl also said he would keep an eye on the implementation of the Comcast-NBC Universal merger to ensure the combined entity adheres to the conditions regulators imposed on the transaction, with a particular focus on the continued availability of rival Web video services.
Facebook teams with White House to fight bullying
By Kenneth Corbin | March 10, 2011President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama today convened administration officials, parent, children advocates and others for a White House summit to discuss a coordinated effort to prevent bullying.
And the cyber dimension of the problem was no small part of the discussion, which naturally brought online social hub Facebook into the mix.
Facebook hosted one of the breakout sessions as a live chat, with two White House policy advisors, Facebook's chief security officer, and others taking questions from the online audience.
Additionally, the president and first lady posted a video speaking directly to the membership of the social network talking about the initiative, which comes with its own website, [StopBullying.gov](http://stopbullying.gov/).
And to go along with its participation in the White House campaign, Facebook announced a pair of forthcoming additions to its site that aim to promote a climate of respect and mitigate the effects of bullies.
Facebook is working on a new reporting mechanism that, "social by design," will enable users to report objectionable content to someone in their network. "It is our hope that features like this will help not only remove the offensive content but also help people get to the root of the problem," the company said.
The company is also adding new multimedia content to its Safety Center, expanding the resource hub to educational videos and other materials.
House Republicans blast FCC net neutrality analysis
By Kenneth Corbin | March 08, 2011GOP leaders of a House committee who have been highly critical of the net neutrality regulations the Federal Communications Commission approved in December came out swinging again on Tuesday, blasting the response Chairman Julius Genachowski submitted to their questionnaire asking for details about the new rules.
Fred Upton (Mich.), the chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, along with Greg Walden (Ore.), who chairs the Communications and Technology Subcommittee, and subpanel Vice Chairman Lee Terry (Neb.) had asked Genachowski to detail the economic analysis the agency conducted before moving ahead with the rules, and to explain why the agency is keeping open a separate proceeding involving the reclassification of broadband as a regulated service under communications law.
The lawmakers were not impressed with Genachowski's two-page response (available here in PDF format).
"The analysis the FCC points to in its order does little more than summarize the comments of parties and provide conclusory statements," they said in a statement. "The committee will continue to scour the referenced text for a glimmer of legitimate analysis, but frankly we expect more from an 'expert' agency."
Of course, with the GOP members unwavering in their opposition to net neutrality regulations in any form, it seems likely that the reaction would have been negative regardless of how Genachowski responded.
Indeed, the net neutrality proceedings in the House have hewed to a prescribed course, and it is difficult to overlook the air of inevitability about it all. Was anyone's mind changed at the oversight hearing Walden's subcommittee convened last month, when Genachowski and the four FCC commissioners each testified, and the lawmakers of both parties spent the proceeding talking past one another with scripted message points that read like the press releases churned out by the groups that lobby the issue on either side?
Or does anyone doubt that tomorrow, when the subcommittee plans to hold another hearing, this time inviting contrapuntal testimony from the likes of AT&T and Free Press, that the result will be the same? Or that the vote on a joint resolution of disapproval, scheduled to take place after the hearing, will see a partisan majority overcome a partisan minority and send the legislation on to Upton's full committee?
Political theatre is part of life in Washington, but it would be a relief if this particular production would end its run.
White House makes late push for patent reform
By Kenneth Corbin | March 07, 2011Ahead of a key vote to end debate on landmark patent legislation in the Senate, a top White House advisor has weighed in to endorse reform efforts.
Austan Goolsbee, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors, took to the White House blog with the latest video (embedded below) in his series of white board presentations, making the case for patent reform as a core plank of President Obama's economic agenda.
Though Goolsbee did not mention the pending legislation by name, the administration has endorsed the bill, authored by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), and many of the reforms Goolsbee touted in his presentation are also aims of the America Invents Act.
Specifically, Goolsbee focused on efforts to reduce the backlog of applications awaiting preliminary review at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. That backlog has swollen to more than 700,000 applications, pushing the average grant time to around three years.
"The thing is three years is far too long," Goolsbee said. "If you look at the failure rate of new businesses, in that kind of time frame more than one third of them have ceased to exist."
Goolsbee also endorsed efforts to keep the Patent Office is adequately funded by ensuring that application fees filers pay are not diverted to other government programs, something the Leahy bill, as amended, would accomplish. Goolsbee also talked up the administration proposal to establish an expedited review process.
After several days considering amendments last week, the Senate is scheduled to hold a cloture vote on the Leahy bill this evening to end debate.
Leahy, for his part, welcomed the tacit endorsement of the White House as he looks ahead to a final vote on legislation he has worked on in various iterations for six years.
"Chairman Goolsbee's white board presentation highlights the very things the America Invents Act will address, including patent quality, reducing patent backlogs, and spurring innovation to create jobs," he said in a statement.
FCC expands USF-to-broadband transition
By Kenneth Corbin | March 03, 2011The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday continued its work to transition the federally administered telephone subsidy to cover broadband access.
Last month, the FCC advanced reform of the Universal Service Fund by initiating a proceeding to revamp the so-called high-cost fund for rural service, the most expensive component of the $8 billion Universal Service Fund.
Today, the commission voted to begin the process of overhauling the Lifeline/Linkup program, which provides subsidies for telephone service for low-income Americans, to transition toward broadband.
"Broadband is at least as crucial to full participation in our society and economy in the 21st century as telephone service was in the 20th," FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said at today's meeting.
The reforms proposed today would not eliminate the telephone subsidies altogether, but rather impose new accountability requirements and stricter eligibility criteria in an effort to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse. The savings would then be shifted over to subsidize broadband service to prevent the overall fund from swelling.
The notice of proposed rulemaking adopted today also contemplates setting a temporary or permanent cap on the program, a measure Democratic Commissioners Michael Copps and Mignon Clyburn warned against implementing ahead of firm data on the extent to which low-income households would rely on the program for broadband and telephone service under the pending rules.
"How can we intelligently cap a program when we don't know how much meeting the challenge is going to cost in the first place?" Copps said.
Despite those reservations, Copps and Clyburn both supported the order, which passed by a unanimous vote.
GOP members defer, plan net neutrality repeal hearing
By Kenneth Corbin | March 03, 2011Granting the request of the minority committee leadership, House Republicans on the Energy and Commerce Committee have scheduled a hearing next Wednesday to discuss efforts to overturn the Federal Communications Commission's December net neutrality order.
House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology had originally scheduled a markup hearing to consider a resolution of disapproval of the order this week, but the ranking Democrats on the full panel and the subcommittee had objected.
GOP leaders first said they would reschedule the vote, then today announced a hearing to consider the matter, scheduled for next Wednesday, Feb. 9, at 10:30 a.m.
Republicans in both the House and Senate have introduced resolutions of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act, a procedural move to force the FCC to abandon its net neutrality rules.
House subcommittee postpones net neutrality vote
By Kenneth Corbin | March 02, 2011The House subcommittee that had planned to vote this morning to overturn the Federal Communications Commission's recent net neutrality order has postponed the proceeding.
The GOP leadership of the Energy and Commerce Committee had been planning to bring a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act, a procedural move to reverse rules they argue will impose burdensome regulations on the fast-growing Internet sector.
But yesterday, the ranking Democrats on the committee and subcommittee called on the Republican leadership to delay the vote and schedule a hearing to on the resolution of disapproval before moving ahead with a markup.
House Republicans said the vote would be rescheduled with the date to be determined.
With a solid Republican majority in the House unified against the FCC's order, the resolution of disapproval could sail through the chamber, but would face a tougher time clearing the Senate, where the Democrats maintain a majority and could block efforts to overturn a policy they largely favor.
Joint resolutions passed under the CRA would still be subject to a presidential veto. President Obama praised the FCC when it passed its net neutrality order in December.
White House IP chief: report to Congress coming soon
By Kenneth Corbin | March 01, 2011Victoria Espinel, the nation's first IP enforcement coordinator, today told a House panel that the administration is ramping up efforts to combat intellectual property crimes, both at home and abroad, online and off, and that her office is hoping to submit a white paper to Congress with legislative recommendations shortly, though she would not give a set time frame.
Appearing before an oversight hearing convened by the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition and the Internet, Espinel explained that her office was coordinating with numerous agencies across the government that deal with IP issues, but admitted that she was working with limited resources.
Her office, authorized by the 2008 PRO IP Act, has only one full-time staffer aside from Espinel, augmented by a rotating cast of detailees from other agencies.
She stressed that her office is working closely agencies such as Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), FBI and DoJ, among others, to coordinate the administration's efforts to get a hold of the myriad intellectual property issues that affect a broad array of industries, from high tech to pharmaceuticals and entertainment.
House panel to vote to strike down net neutrality rules
By Kenneth Corbin | March 01, 2011A House subcommittee on Wednesday plans to vote on a resolution of disapproval that would aim to overturn the net neutrality rules the Federal Communications Commission adopted in December.
The resolution (available here in PDF format) is set to come to a vote before the Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications and Technology Wednesday at 9:30 a.m., a proceeding that will be largely a formality. Passage is assured: all but one Republican member of the subcommittee joined in introducing the resolution.
House Republicans have been marching in lockstep on the net neutrality issue, and the resolution of disapproval is likely to have little difficulty sailing through the lower chamber. A companion measure is pending in the Senate, where passage over a Democratic majority is far less likely.
