Roy Mark

Federal officials scored their first arrest Wednesday under a newly enacted law prohibiting the recording of movies in theaters. The arrest is part of a wider Department of Justice (DoJ) campaign against major online distributors of illegal software, music, movies and games. Curtis Salisbury, 19, of St. Charles, Mo., was charged in a five-count indictment […]

Four years after its turbulent merger with America Online (AOL), Time Warner is finally getting the messed cleaned up. Appeasement is in the air. More importantly, settlement money is in the bank. Wednesday, the media giant announced it is setting aside $3 billion to settle class action suits with disgruntled shareholders. The huge settlement fund […]

The Sprint-Nextel merger got a regulatory double dip of good news Wednesday with thumbs up for the $35 billion deal from both the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Department of Justice (DoJ). The approval clears the way for the merged companies to become the number three wireless provider in the United States, with 45 […]

Boston’s Logan International Airport wants Continental Airlines to take down an antenna it uses to provide free Wi-Fi access in the airline’s frequent flier lounge. Safety, the airport claims, is the issue. Try rank greed, says Continental. The airline claims the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport), which runs Logan, told Continental it could install Wi-Fi access […]

Voice over IP service companies will have to pay into the Universal Service Fund (USF) in order to accelerate the rural rollout of broadband services, if a bill pending in the U.S. Senate becomes law. The USF currently provides financing for broadband networks only for schools and libraries. Originally designed to expand telephone service to […]

For four months, new Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Kevin Martin has been largely silent on what direction he wants to take the powerful independent agency. No more. With rumors swirling that the White House is close to filling vacancies at the FCC that will return the majority to the Republicans (currently there are two […]

WASHINGTON — A major telecom reform bill iintroduced last week by Sen. John Ensign brought the Nevada Republican a blitz of favorable comments and praise. Think tanks and IT trade groups alike rushed to praise the “sweeping” and “timely” legislation. Not so fast, said Pulver.com general counsel Jonathan Askin. “We’ll be stuck with another five […]

The Department of Justice’s (DoJ) crackdown on large-scale piracy continued today with the indictments of eight individuals for criminal copyright infringement. The defendants are accused of being major online distributors of illegal software, music, movies and games. The indictments are the first resulting from the DoJ’s Operations FastLink and Site Down, the two largest and […]

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee passed legislation today requiring disclosure to consumers when sensitive personal data is breached or lost. Approved on a voice vote, the Identity Theft Protection Act requires data brokers, government agencies and educational institutions to disclose security breaches to consumers within 45 days if there is a “reasonable risk” […]

WASHINGTON — Sweeping legislation to deregulate the U.S. telecommunications market finally hit Congress today. Long awaited and much anticipated, the bill calls for stripping away many of the current federal and state rules for the delivery of voice, video and data services. Introduced by Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) and co-sponsored by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), […]

Voice over IP providers have another 30 days to inform customers of possible E911 emergency calling limitations — or pull the plug on their service. After Aug. 30, VoIP providers will have to cut off subscribers who refuse to acknowledge the warning, according to the ruling by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The original deadline […]

The Bush administration is continuing its efforts to highlight overseas intellectual property theft with the creation of a new senior-level position to coordinate the government’s foreign anti-piracy campaign. In a White House personnel notice issued Friday afternoon, Bush appointed Chris Israel, currently deputy chief of staff for Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez, as the new […]