According to the Treasury Department, the U.S. and China made progress on priority issues during the third meeting of the Economic Track of the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) which took place on May 9-10, 2011. China pledged to take actions that will provide greater market access for U.S. firms, ensure greater protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights, deepen financial sector reforms, and promote greater Chinese domestic consumption and imports through policy shifts, including greater exchange rate flexibility.
The FCC should redo an order making it harder to move radio stations from rural to urban areas, owners of hundreds of outlets said in petitions for reconsideration. A group of 45 station owners and other industry entities asked the agency to adopt what they called a “consistent standard” and update criteria of Tuck studies for such move-in requests (CD March 4 p10). Entravision, owner of 48 stations, said a presumption in the order, making such applications harder to get approved, should only apply when licensees outside an urbanized area seek to move to one and to transmit to much of one. A broadcaster with 10 radio stations that has a move-in request pending said the commission should change the new rules so they don’t apply to applications pending when the order was approved March 3.
Reps. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Joe Barton, R-Texas, said they plan to introduce legislation that updates the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act by providing protections for teens using mobile platforms. They released a discussion draft Friday of the Do Not Track Kids privacy bill. The bill requires online companies “to obtain parental consent for collection of children’s personal information” and it prohibits companies from using personal information of children and teens for targeted marketing purposes, they said. Websites or mobile apps directed at children must provide clearly “the types of personal information the operator collects [and] how the operator uses such information” and they must “obtain verifiable parental consent for the collection, use or disclosure of personal information of a child,” the draft said. Another provision gives rights to individuals, the draft said. Users have the right to obtain “reasons for any denial of a request” and to challenge the accuracy of personal information, it said. If the individual establishes that their personal information is inaccurate, the person has the right “to have the information erased, corrected, completed, or otherwise amended,” the draft said. There are “practical and principled reasons to be concerned about the aim of the Markey-Barton plan,” said Adam Thierer, senior research fellow at George Mason University. It’s hard to imagine how a “Do Not Track Kids” regime would work “without requiring mandatory online age verification of all websurfers,” he said in a statement. Previous efforts to age-verify surfers have raised privacy and First Amendment concerns, he said. “It’s also unclear how to enforce an Internet ‘Eraser Button’ without seriously burdening online speech and commerce."
The FCC shouldn’t issue new rules on the provision of closed captioning on TV, in implementing the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act, the NCTA said in a filing posted Wednesday to docket 05-231. “Imposing additional measures in this area would not only raise serious legal and policy concerns, but could complicate the shared goal of achieving a successful implementation of the CVAA.” NCTA executives discussed the association’s comments on the act (CD April 27 p6) in a meeting with an aide to Commissioner Meredith Baker, saying the cable industry wants to implement the legislation “in a timely and collaborative fashion."
President Barack Obama didn’t encourage the FCC to act on net neutrality, Chairman Julius Genachowski said at a hearing Thursday of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Internet. Genachowski and Commissioner Robert McDowell clashed over whether antitrust laws would have been enough to keep the Internet open. Internet Subcommittee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., said he continues to explore legislation updating antitrust laws to reduce costs for those with net neutrality complaints.
President Barack Obama didn’t encourage the FCC to act on net neutrality, Chairman Julius Genachowski said at a hearing Thursday of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Internet. Genachowski and Commissioner Robert McDowell clashed over whether antitrust laws would have been enough to keep the Internet open. Internet Subcommittee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., said he continues to explore legislation updating antitrust laws to reduce costs for those with net neutrality complaints.
The Justice Department has announced that seafood wholesalers Karen Blyth and David Phelps were sentenced to 33 months and 24 months in prison, respectively, for violating the Lacey Act, etc. A third defendant charged in the case, John Popa had previously pleaded guilty to similar offenses, and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 26, 2011.
The International Trade Commission announces that a section 337 patent-based complaint has been filed regarding certain electronic devices having a digital television receiver and components thereof.
Sony acted “with care and caution” in dealing with the massive hack of the PlayStation Network, Kazuo Hirai, chairman of Sony Computer Entertainment America, told the House Commerce Manufacturing Subcommittee by letter Tuesday. Subcommittee Chair Mary Bono Mack, R-Calif., and ranking member G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., wrote Sony Friday demanding answers on why PSN users were kept in the dark for days about the PSN breach and what the company was doing to prevent another hack.
Sony acted “with care and caution” in dealing with the massive hack of the PlayStation Network, Kazuo Hirai, chairman of Sony Computer Entertainment America, told the House Commerce Manufacturing Subcommittee by letter Tuesday. Subcommittee Chair Mary Bono Mack, R-Calif., and Ranking Member G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., wrote Sony Friday demanding answers on why PSN users were kept in the dark for days about the PSN breach and what the company was doing to prevent another hack.