Turkey Day Surprise: AT&T Drops FCC Application for T-Mobile Merger
While most Americans were enjoying turkey, stuffing and football, AT&T requested to withdraw their merger application with T-Mobile from consideration at the Federal Communications Commission. AT&T and Deutsche Telecom (T-Mobile’s parent company) instead announced plans to concentrate on Department of Justice antitrust proceedings that will go to trial in February 2012. The withdrawal notice came in response to the FCC’s plan to schedule an administrative hearing on the merger — a process which could takes months to complete — pushing back the approval timeline even further. More on the who-what-why's over on FutureBlog.
DeVotchKa on Public Radio
Our friends in DeVotchKa swung through Washington, DC, way back in March and went to the Hill with us to talk to Congress about the importance of public radio for musicians. The Denver Post recently ran an Op-Ed from the band; click over to the Post’s website or see our blog for the full text of the piece.
Senate Votes to Preserve Open and Accessible Internet
On November 10, the United States Senate voted in favor of preserving an open and accessible internet. This is an important victory for musicians and other entrepreneurs, as it helps to ensure competition and free expression online. Congress was debating a resolution to strip the FCC of its rulemaking authority to preserve its openness — a direct attack on the FCC’s approved rules to prevent Internet Service Providers (ISPs) from blocking, slowing or restricting access to lawful sites and services based on business or other preferences. We’ve long made the case that an accessible internet is crucial to musicians and other entrepreneurs who need to compete on a level online playing field. Thousands of musicians from every conceivable background have gone on the record on this issue; check out our Rock the Net page to see their perspectives.
Keeping Watch on SOPA and PIPA
Recently, members of the US House of Representatives introduced legislation called the “Stop Online Piracy Act,” or SOPA, which follows an earlier Senate bill called PROTECT-IP (PIPA). The stated goal of these proposals are to prevent US access to foreign websites that traffic in the unauthorized distribution of intellectual property (like copyrights). Over on the FMC blog we break down exactly what we think needs to be changed to protect musicians while keeping the door open for innovation. As an organization that wants to ensure artists can maximize the value of their copyrights, FMC is interested in any legislative or policy proposal that purports to help artists. However, these bills, like many that have come before, raise serious concerns about unintended consequences. We're keeping tabs on both; check out our analysis of SOPA and PIPA and let us know what you think. Due to overwhelming negative response to the House bill in particular, policymakers have expressed a willingness to dial back some of the language in the bills. How far that goes remains to be seen, but you can be sure we’ll keep you posted.