Although the Rev. Jesse Jackson urged FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler not to reclassify broadband as a Title II Communications Act service to impose net neutrality rules (see 1411180058), the reclassification argument is as strong as ever, a MoveOn.Org spokesman told us Wednesday. He referred to a statement by Anna Galland, executive director of MoveOn.org Civic Action, responding to President Barack Obama’s Nov. 10 backing of Title II: “With millions of Americans having submitted comments to the FCC in support of Net Neutrality and Title II, the pressure is now squarely on Chairman Wheeler and the other FCC commissioners to quickly deliver on the vision that President Obama and the American public share -- an Internet free and open for all.” Jackson expressed concern Title II would deter broadband deployment in minority communities, said a TechFreedom ex parte notice on the Nov. 13 meeting. A Title II approach “would effectively redefine broadband as a regulated telecommunications service, which could subject the broadband industry and its services to existing state and local taxes,” said an ex parte letter sent by the American Consumer Institute Center for Citizen Research, posted in docket 14-28 on Wednesday. Higher taxes would “raise consumer prices," it said. "In turn, higher consumer prices would reduce both subscribership and consumer welfare. For the broader economy, demand suppression would reduce economic output, jobs and employment earnings.”

The FCC is an independent agency and it will make a decision on net neutrality “based on our own independent review” of the state of play, said Commissioner Ajit Pai, referring to President Barack Obama’s comments this month on net neutrality and Communications Act Title II (see 1411100035). His remarks “don’t change the facts that are in the record of law that is before us,” Pai said Wednesday at a Mobile Future event in Washington. While Obama’s comment shapes the overall debate, it “won’t sway my deliberations one way or the other,” said Pai. He said he will focus on how to maximize the benefits of broadband advancement to U.S. consumers, especially in the mobile space.

The FCC is an independent agency and it will make a decision on net neutrality “based on our own independent review” of the state of play, said Commissioner Ajit Pai, referring to President Barack Obama’s comments this month on net neutrality and Communications Act Title II (see 1411100035). His remarks “don’t change the facts that are in the record of law that is before us,” Pai said Wednesday at a Mobile Future event in Washington. While Obama’s comment shapes the overall debate, it “won’t sway my deliberations one way or the other,” said Pai. He said he will focus on how to maximize the benefits of broadband advancement to U.S. consumers, especially in the mobile space.

In what Communications Act Title II opponents say illustrates a split among progressives on net neutrality, Rev. Jesse Jackson urged FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler at a meeting Thursday not to base rules on Title II, according to an as yet still unposted ex parte notice. Jackson, echoing concerns by minority groups as well as by broadband providers like AT&T, told Wheeler and top agency aides he feared reclassification “would harm investment in broadband infrastructure, which would reduce broadband deployment … in minority communities,” said TechFreedom’s ex parte report on the meeting given to us. The meeting included what one of the participants, Minority Media and Telecommunications Council Vice President Nicol Turner-Lee, called a group of “strange bedfellows” that included net neutrality groups and free market advocates like the Free State Foundation.

California should cut down on frivolous Proposition 65 lawsuits by clarifying and strengthening exemptions to labeling requirements, said the California Chamber of Commerce and almost 140 companies and trade associations in a Nov. 14 letter to the state’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) (here). The law, which requires warning labels on products that contain certain listed chemicals that are known to cause cancer or birth defects, has created a situation where “a substantial portion of warnings provided to consumers and to the public are provided solely to avoid litigation,” said the letter. “Businesses would prefer not to be confronted with the Hobson’s choice of either warning or being sued. Unfortunately, that is the current reality in today’s Proposition 65 climate,” said the industry coalition.

In what Communications Act Title II opponents say illustrates a split among progressives on net neutrality, Rev. Jesse Jackson urged FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler at a meeting Thursday not to base rules on Title II, according to an as yet still unposted ex parte notice. Jackson, echoing concerns by minority groups as well as by broadband providers like AT&T, told Wheeler and top agency aides he feared reclassification “would harm investment in broadband infrastructure, which would reduce broadband deployment … in minority communities,” said TechFreedom’s ex parte report on the meeting given to us. The meeting included what one of the participants, Minority Media and Telecommunications Council Vice President Nicol Turner-Lee, called a group of “strange bedfellows” that included net neutrality groups and free market advocates like the Free State Foundation.

The FCC may not be able to forbear away all the collateral effects of Title II reclassification under the Communications Act of the Internet, said a group of cable executives in a meeting with FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler last week, according to an NCTA ex parte filing posted in docket 14-28 Monday. The group included Cox Communications President Pat Esser, Midcontinent Communications President Pat McAdaragh, NCTA President Michael Powell and Suddenlink CEO Jerry Kent, the filing said. One aspect of Title II reclassification that may be beyond forbearance is the web of state and local taxes that apply to utilities and telecom services but hadn’t previously been applied to broadband, the filing said. The “impact of Title II reclassification would be to stifle investment and innovation, raise consumer prices, and hurt broadband adoption,” the filing said. Rules based on Section 706 of Telecom Act would be “consistent with industry practices that have provided consumers with an open Internet experience for the past two decades,” the filing said.

The FCC may not be able to forbear away all the collateral effects of Title II reclassification under the Communications Act of the Internet, said a group of cable executives in a meeting with FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler last week, according to an NCTA ex parte filing posted in docket 14-28 Monday. The group included Cox Communications President Pat Esser, Midcontinent Communications President Pat McAdaragh, NCTA President Michael Powell and Suddenlink CEO Jerry Kent, the filing said. One aspect of Title II reclassification that may be beyond forbearance is the web of state and local taxes that apply to utilities and telecom services but hadn’t previously been applied to broadband, the filing said. The “impact of Title II reclassification would be to stifle investment and innovation, raise consumer prices, and hurt broadband adoption,” the filing said. Rules based on Section 706 of Telecom Act would be “consistent with industry practices that have provided consumers with an open Internet experience for the past two decades,” the filing said.

The U.S. International Trade Commission is seeking comments by Nov. 25 on any public interest issues raised by a RealD complaint alleging Section 337 Tariff Act violations against rival 3D cinema supplier MasterImage 3D, the commission said in a Federal Register notice published Monday.

The U.S. International Trade Commission is seeking comments by Nov. 25 on any public interest issues raised by a RealD complaint alleging Section 337 Tariff Act violations against rival 3D cinema supplier MasterImage 3D, the commission said in a Federal Register notice published Monday.