Federal Communications Commission

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Google Is Building a Private Wireless Network at HQ

Which makes some wonder what it's up to

(Newser) - Google is creating its own, experimental wireless network for its headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., leaving tech watchers wondering what it's up to. Last week Google asked the FCC for permission to set up an "experimental radio service" within a two-mile radius of its headquarters, using frequencies incompatible...

Starting Today, TV Ads Can't Blare Anymore

FCC implements rule toning down volume of commercials

(Newser) - TV viewing could soon sound a little calmer. The CALM Act, which limits the volume of TV commercials, goes into effect today. CALM stands for Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation. The act is designed to prevent TV commercials from blaring at louder volumes than the program content they accompany, and it...

Supreme Court Strikes Down FCC's Profanity Policy

Broadcasters won't have to pay fines, sanctions

(Newser) - The US Supreme Court has thrown out fines and sanctions against broadcasters who violated the FCC policy regulating curse words and nudity on broadcast television. The justices declined today to issue a broad ruling on the constitutionality of the FCC indecency policy. Instead, the court concluded only that broadcasters could...

Google Fined $25K for Stalling Street View Probe

Company refused to cooperate with investigation: FCC

(Newser) - The Federal Communications Commission was sympathetic in 2010 when Google said it was really, really sorry its street map vehicles accidentally picked up people's personal information from their wireless home networks. Two years later, however, the FCC is exasperated by Google's lack of cooperation with a probe into...

FCC to Kill Stolen Phones
 FCC to Kill Stolen Phones 
Apr 10, 2012 11:41 AM CDT

FCC to Kill Stolen Phones

New database will allow carriers to identify, shut down phones

(Newser) - Pretty soon, a stolen cellphone will be "as worthless as an empty wallet," Charles Schumer boasted in a statement yesterday, touting a new deal between the FCC and major cellphone carriers that will allow the carriers to shut down pilfered phones. The FCC has agreed to set up...

Steinem, Fonda to Clear Channel, FCC: Dump Rush

Limbaugh's hate speech is eating valuable radio spectrum, feminists say

(Newser) - Three of the biggest names in American feminism—Jane Fonda, Robin Morgan, and Gloria Steinem—are calling on the FCC to yank the licenses of channels that air Rush Limbaugh, saying his "degrading" and "dehumanizing" language is not in the public interest. "Spectrum is a scarce government...

Arizona Bill Would Restrict Teachers' Speech

Proposed legislation would punish those who violate FCC standards

(Newser) - Arizona doesn't want its teachers cussing in class—and new proposed legislation would actually make it illegal to do so. GOP state lawmakers are behind Senate Bill 1467, which would require public school teachers to adhere to the FCC's TV and radio standards. That means certain limits on...

Google Creating Techie 'Entertainment Device'

Music gadget expected to mark start of new focus on hardware

(Newser) - Google has asked the Federal Communications Commission for permission to start testing an "entertainment device," sparking speculation about what is expected to be the search giant's biggest step into creating hardware. The device, which will be tested in employees' homes this summer, is an entertainment system that...

Emergency Alerts Coming to Your Phone

FCC to bring emergency broadcast network to your pocket

(Newser) - The FCC will announce a new plan today for a system that will send warnings of impending emergencies to people’s cell phones. Dubbed the Personal Localized Alerting Network (PLAN, get it?), the system will be able to send geographically targeted messages to people who are in the paths of...

FCC Chair Pushes to Regulate ISPs
 FCC Chair 
 Pushes to 
 Regulate ISPs 

NET NEUTRALITY?
Dec 1, 2010 11:27 AM CST

FCC Chair Pushes to Regulate ISPs

Proposal might amount to net neutrality order

(Newser) - FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski is making yet another valiant stab at introducing net neutrality or something like it today. In a speech today, Genachowski will propose a new regulatory framework that would forbid Internet broadband providers from blocking lawful content, the New York Times reports. The rules would also allow...

Sen. Rockefeller: Fox, MSNBC Should 'Go Away'

Senator wishes FCC could kill cable news

(Newser) - Sen. Jay Rockefeller apparently isn’t a fan of cable news. In a hearing on television retransmission consent yesterday, Rockefeller went off-topic to rail against the “endless barking” of a news media that “has all but surrendered to the forces of entertainment.” Then he went off-script to...

FCC Battles Cell Phone 'Bill Shock'

Haiti volunteer hit with $30K in roaming charges

(Newser) - A FEMA worker supporting the earthquake relief effort in Haiti was hit with a $30,000 bill for roaming charges when she arrived back in the US. Federal regulators say this kind of cell phone "bill shock" is all too common, and they hope to curb it with regulations...

Family Guy Racks Up Most Indecency Complaints

Fox programs account for half of all gripes

(Newser) - Fox's Family Guy is keeping the Federal Communications Commission busier than any other program on TV, according to records released under the Freedom of Information Act. A single episode of the show in March 2009 with a plot line involving horse semen triggered nearly 200,000 complaints to the section...

House OKs Bill to Turn Down Loud TV Ads

Measure even has cutesy acronym: It's the CALM Act

(Newser) - Think TV commercials can be too loud? Well, the House of Representatives is with you, today passing a bill—the CALM Act, a cutesy acronym for Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation—that would turn down the volume. Ads significantly louder than the program they’re interrupting are a particular target of...

Shine a Light on Sneaky TV Product Placement

Do you know when you're being sold something?

(Newser) - You can tell when you’re watching a commercial, right? Not at all, writes NE Marsden , and that’s a huge problem. A new FTC measure seeks to expose the practice of paid consideration—“stealth advertising” is a better phrase—online by requiring bloggers and marketers to disclose remuneration,...

FCC to Probe Nipplegate, Again
 FCC to Probe Nipplegate, Again 
Sep 16, 2009 11:58 AM CDT

FCC to Probe Nipplegate, Again

Says CBS should have used tape delay to prevent incident

(Newser) - Five years after the nation saw a split-second of Janet Jackson’s right boob, the FCC is trying to reopen the case, Broadcasting & Cable reports. The FCC is asking the Third Circuit Appeals Court to remand the case back to the agency. The evidence “strongly suggests that CBS...

Apple-Google Party Ended Before FCC Waltzed In
Apple-Google Party Ended Before FCC Waltzed In
ANALYSIS
Aug 3, 2009 2:38 PM CDT

Apple-Google Party Ended Before FCC Waltzed In

Philosophical standoff led to Schmidt's ouster

(Newser) - Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s departure from the Apple board can be most directly linked to the rejection of the Voice app from the App Store, which has sparked a probe by the Federal Communications Commission, Erick Schonfeld writes for TechCrunch: “Google brought down the disapproving scrutiny of the...

Obama to Name Tech Adviser as FCC Chair

Genachowski choice praised by media reform movement

(Newser) - Barack Obama is expected to announce Julius Genachowski as his FCC chairman, and media reform groups are enthusiastic about the choice, Ars Technica reports. Genachowski served in the FCC during the Clinton administration and in the dot-com industry before becoming Obama’s technology adviser. He helped craft the President-elect’s...

FCC Approves Satellite Radio Merger
FCC Approves Satellite Radio Merger
Jul 25, 2008 8:21 PM CDT

FCC Approves Satellite Radio Merger

3-2 vote OKs $3.3B Sirius buyout of XM, ends 16-month drama

(Newser) - Federal regulators formally approved the merger of the United States' only two satellite radio operators today, ending a 16-month-long drama closely watched by Washington and Wall Street. Sirius Satellite Radio Inc.'s $3.3 billion buyout of rival XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. will mean 18 million-plus subscribers will be...

FCC Staff Blesses Satellite Radio Merger

Sirius-XM deal could go to commission within 3 weeks

(Newser) - After languishing nearly a year and a half in regulatory limbo, the merger between XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio may finally get the green light to proceed. The FCC staff has signed off on the $5 billion deal, reports the Wall Street Journal, with some conditions devised by...

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