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Category Archives: Federal Communications Commission
The Senate narrowly voted Thursday to overturn tough new privacy rules for internet service providers, employing a rarely used procedure to invalidate restrictions that cable and wireless companies strongly opposed. The Republican-backed measure, approved 50-48, repeals regulations approved on a 3-2 party line vote in October by the Federal Communications Commission when it was controlled by Democrats.
The Republican-led Senate moved Thursday to undo Obama-era regulations that would have forced internet service providers like Comcast and Verizon to ask customers' permission before they could use or sell much of their personal information. Senators voted along party lines, 50-48, to eliminate the rules.
Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, center, member of Congress's bipartisan task force combating anti-Semitism, speaks during a news conference addressing bomb treats against Jewish organizations and vandalism at Jewish cemeteries, Friday March 3, 2017, in New York. At background left is Jonathan Miller, NYPD deputy commissioner of Intelligence and Counterterrorism, and second from right is Arthur Schneier, senior rabbi at Park East Synagogue.
FCC chief: AT&T-Time Warner deal won't face agency's scrutiny Chairman Ajit Pai doesn't expect the FCC to review AT&T's $85.4 billion Time Warner bid. Check out this story on USATODAY.com: http://usat.ly/2lNH9dz Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai doesn't expect the agency to review AT&T's $85.4 billion acquisition of Time Warner.
Millions of Americans use their smartphones every day to stream music from services such as Pandora or Spotify. Others use mobile devices to access podcasts or radio shows.
AT&T Inc. and Time Warner Inc. promised lawmakers who criticized their planned merger that the combined company wouldn't withhold programming from rivals to gain a market advantage. "Restricting distribution of Time Warner content would not only sacrifice revenues, but also damage Time Warner's reputation and relationships in the entertainment industry," the companies told the lawmakers, according to a summary released by AT&T and Time Warner.
President Trump officially picked Pai on Monday to serve as the next chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, the agency that reviews media mergers and broadcast licenses. The net neutrality rules, approved by the FCC in 2015 amid an outpouring of online support, are intended to keep the Internet open and fair.
In this Aug. 9, 2013, file photo, FCC commissioner Ajit Pai presents his dissent during a Federal Communications Commission hearing at the FCC in Washington. President Donald Trump has picked Pai, a fierce critic of the Obama-era "net neutrality" rules, to be chief regulator of the nation's airwaves and internet connections.
Citing unidentified people, Bloomberg and Politico both reported Friday that the next chairman of the Federal Communications Commission will be Ajit Pai, currently a commissioner at the agency. Pai's chief of staff, Matthew Berry, declined to comment.
President Donald Trump plans to name Ajit Pai as head of the Federal Communications Commission, according to a report from Politico's Alex Byers and Tony Romm. Pai has served as a GOP commissioner at the FCC since 2012.
On the eve of Donald Trump's inauguration, one of the biggest tech-related questions surrounding his administration is the future of net neutrality. The Federal Communications Commission under President Barack Obama has taken steps to prevent internet service providers from favoring certain kinds of content over others, thereby preserving the core principles of a free and open internet.
Time Warner Inc. because he believes it would concentrate too much power in the media industry, according to people close to the president-elect, who has been publicly silent about the transaction for months. Trump told a friend in the last few weeks that he still considers the merger to be a bad deal, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the conversation was private.
Republicans poised to control the Federal Communications Commission next month said they'd revisit the net neutrality regulation "as soon as possible," laying out plans to address a rule they've opposed and that Democrats support. The statement Monday from Commissioners Ajit Pai and Michael O'Rielly indicates that opponents of the rule such as top broadband providers AT&T Inc. and Comcast Corp. may not need to wait for Congress to grapple with the regulation that requires equal treatment of web traffic.
The Federal Communications Commission is about to get a big shakeup in terms of personnel and quite likely in policy. On Thursday, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler [seen here], who pushed through controversial rules protecting net neutrality and guarding consumer privacy, announced he will step down from the commission on Jan. 20, the same day that Donald Trump will be inaugurated as president.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler will step down early next year, he announced Thursday before the FCC's open meeting. His planned Jan. 20, 2017 departure comes on the heels of Democratic Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel not receiving confirmation to remain as an FCC Commissioner.
On Thursday, the U.S. Transportation Department proposed a rule that would require airlines to tell passengers before they buy tickets that they may be “unwillingly exposed” to mobile voice calls while in the air. Actual cellular calls are currently prohibited in the air by the Federal Communications Commission, which originally adopted the ban over concerns that such phone use could affect a plane's operation.
Under a President Donald Trump, cable and phone companies could gain new power to influence what you do and what you watch online -- not to mention how much privacy you have while you're at it. Many experts say that Republicans who generally oppose regulation are likely to take charge at the Federal Communications Commission, the government's primary telecom regulator.
Under a President Donald Trump, cable and phone companies could gain new power to influence what you do and what you watch online - not to mention how much privacy you have while you're at it. Republicans who generally oppose regulation seem likely to take charge at the Federal Communications Commission, the government's primary telecom regulator.
Donald Trump Tax reform push sparks lobbying frenzy Poll: More than 80 percent think country more deeply divided than in the past Trump picks strike fear into net neutrality backers MORE 's appointments to his transition team are sparking fears among net neutrality supporters that the internet rules are on the chopping block. Trump has tapped tech experts Jeff Eisenach and Mark Jamison, two critics of net neutrality, to head his transition team for the Federal Communications Commission.