Reassessing Turner and litigating the must-carry law beyond a facial challenge.
I. INTRODUCTION II. MUST-CARRY'S PURPOSE A. Cable Becomes a Threat to Broadcasting B. FCC. Attempts to Protect Local Broadcasting from Cable C. Objections to the Must-Carry Provisions D. Road to the Modern Must-Carry Law: Century Communications and the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992 1. The...

Direct marketing, mobile phones, and consumer privacy: ensuring adequate disclosure and consent mechanisms for emerging mobile advertising practices.
I. INTRODUCTION II. MOBILE COMMERCE AND MOBILE ADVERTISING III. M-ADVERTISING RAISES PRIVACY CONCERNS FOR CONSUMERS IV. PRIVACY REGULATION AND MOBILE ADVERTISING V. FEDERAL PRIVACY REGULATION AND M-ADVERTISING A. Breach of Privacy Policies as Unfair Trade Practices B. Spamming as an Unfair Trade Practice 1. "Opt-out" Consent is the Minimum...

Chain versus independent television station ownership: toward an investment model of commitment to local news quality.
In June 2003 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted 3-2 to relax ownership restrictions of broadcast and print media, allowing a single company or individual to own up to three television stations, eight radio stations, one daily newspaper, and one cable operation in the largest media markets. Further, the...

Responses by the Federal Communications Commission to WorldCom's accounting fraud.
WorldCom's disclosure of billions of dollars of financial fraud on June 25, 2002 challenged the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") in several major ways. The FCC proclaimed its commitment to enforce its rules to protect consumers against service discontinuance as well as the priority of rooting out corporate fraud. The...

Private eyes are watching you: with the implementation of the E-911 mandate, who will watch every move you make?
The FCC's E-911 mandate, which will ensure that emergency operators automatically receive a caller's location information, should help save lives. However, privacy advocates have expressed concern over the potential for wireless carriers, the government, and third parties to collect and store personal information. Congress has addressed these concerns with...

The concrete barrier at the end of the information superhighway: why lack of local rights-of-way access is killing competitive local exchange carriers.
I. INTRODUCTION The Telecommunications Act of 1996 (1996 Act) (1) contained the promise of a deregulated national telecommunications market with unfettered competition in both the local and long-distance telecommunications markets. Unfortunately, five years after the 1996 Act was signed into law, competition in local telephony is still...

Wandering along the road to competition and convergence - the changing CMRS roadmap.
I. INTRODUCTION: THE WIRELESS ROAD LESS TRAVELED--TWO ROADS DIVERGED A. Once Again, Whither Wireless? B. Charting a Federal Course for CMRS--The FCC as Wilderness Guide II. WIRELESS LANDSCAPE IMPROVEMENTS--1998-2003 III. PERSISTENT PROBLEMS: MISGUIDED LEGAL ANALYSES AND STATE REGULATORY BURDENS A. Conflicting Court and Commission Decisions 1. Section 332 Cases:...

The FCC's main studio rule: achieving little for localism at a great cost to broadcasters.
The old adage, "a moving target is harder to hit," should not apply to government regulation. Unluckily, Jones Eastern has learned the hard way that the vagaries of imprecision apply to many things in life, including in this case the main studio role.(1) I. INTRODUCTION ...

Digital Crossroads: American Telecommunications Policy in the Internet Age.
Digital Crossroads: American Telecommunications Policy in the Internet Age By Jonathan E. Nuechterlein and Philip J. Weiser Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2005. Pp. xvii, 670. $40.00 cloth. Revolutionary improvements in computing and information technology, falling prices for equipment and services, and rapidly changing industry structures have turned...

Is COPA a cop out? The Child Online Privacy Protection Act as proof that parents, not government, should be protecting children's interests on the Internet.
The real danger is not pornography. The biggest danger is meeting strangers on line--being molested or killed. (1) INTRODUCTION The Internet (2) is a rapidly growing tool that enables children and adults alike to instantly access information, resources, and other people. (3) In addition to...