Roy Mark

As one of its final acts in the wee hours of Saturday morning, the U.S. Congress approved legislation criminalizing the practice of pretexting for confidential telephone information. The Telephone Records and Privacy Protection Act of 2006 targets both those who do the pretexting and the Internet sites that sell the telephone records. Pretexting for financial […]

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) General Counsel Sam Feder cleared Commissioner Robert McDowell late Friday afternoon to participate in the AT&T-BellSouth merger vote. McDowell, a Republican commissioner, is expected to vote in favor of the merger, breaking the 2-2 tie between Chairman Kevin Martin and fellow Republican Deborah Taylor Tate and the two Democrats at the […]

U.S. Senators Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) want all registered sex offenders to submit their active e-mail addresses to law enforcement officials. Under legislation to be introduced in January when the new 110th Congress convenes, any sex offender who submits a fraudulent e-mail address to authorities could face jail time. The two senators […]

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Kevin Martin played his hole card the other day to break the FCC’s deadlock over approving the AT&T-BellSouth merger that would create the world’s largest telecommunications company. The newly emboldened Democrats say the Republican chairman is throwing his and the FCC’s ethics in the dumpster to do it. They may […]

A former South Texas telecom executive is facing nine counts of wire fraud for allegedly bilking the federal E-Rate program for schools and libraries out of more than $140,000. A McAllen, Tex., grand jury indicted Rafael G. Adame Wednesday for submitting fraudulent invoices to the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC), which administers the E-rate fund […]

Victims of the ChoicePoint identity theft scandal will soon be receiving claims forms to recover out-of-pocket expenses. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) mailed more than 1,400 of the forms Wednesday and made them available for download at the FTC ChoicePoint site. Restitution claims must be postmarked by Feb. 4. The victims will be paid out […]

FastMP3Search.com.ar is the latest alleged spyware operator to get caught in the crosshairs of consumer and advocacy groups. The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) and StopBadware.org are expected to file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Thursday claiming the site’s free plug-in installation contains adware and Trojan horse applications. In addition, the […]

Key Democratic lawmakers leveled sharp criticism Tuesday at Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Kevin Martin’s efforts to break the agency’s deadlock over approval of the AT&T-BellSouth merger. Last Friday, Martin informed Congress he is seeking the legal authority to allow Republican Commissioner Robert McDowell, who has recused himself from the vote, to participate in the […]

Is the $22 billion graphics card and chip industry next on the Department of Justice’s (DoJ) antitrust radar? The government has already taken on dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chipmakers and scored arrests, convictions, fines and prison terms based on price fixing convictions within the industry. The list of the guilty includes Korean-based Samsung and […]

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Kevin Martin has ordered agency lawyers to determine if FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell can “unrecuse” himself from the AT&T-BellSouth merger vote. If cleared to vote, McDowell, who holds one of the three Republican seats on the five-person panel, could possibly cast the tie-breaking vote to approve the merger that would […]

Microsoft and wireless electronics accessory maker Belkin settled their patent infringement dispute today with Belkin agreeing to license Microsoft’s U2 technology. The settlement comes more than two years after the companies began negotiations and four months after Microsoft filed an infringement complaint over the issue with the International Trade Commission. According to Tom Burt, Microsoft’s […]

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) needs a more accurate measurement for determining telecom competition in commercial markets, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO). While the report seems to indicate limited competition for dedicated access service, the GAO stressed the FCC should consider the inclusion of additional data and better define […]