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Posts Tagged ‘FCC’
Wednesday, September 10th, 2014 by Vbhotla
ON THE TOPIC OF NET NEUTRALITY, the American public is anything but. POLITICO reported today that the debate has generated more than 1,477,301 public comments, more than Janet Jackson’s accidental exposure during the 2004 Super Bowl, the previous record-holder.
As POLITICO reports, many of these public comments are from form letters created by advocacy groups. Meanwhile, website such as Netflix and Reddit have organized an “internet slowdown day” on September 9th to illustrate the perils of allowing ISPs to create internet “fast lanes” which allocate more bandwidth to companies that are willing to pay.
According to the Daily Dot, ISPs opposed to net neutrality have spent more than 75 million dollars since 2003 lobbying against it, while advocacy groups and companies on the other side have spent a shade over 25 million. It would appear that advocacy groups attempting to guide the public debate in their favor rather than trying to influence lawmakers. Given that the FCC is a regulatory body, this strategy makes sense, and with the majority of the record-breaking 1.4 million comments on the issue in favor of net neutrality, it appears to be working.
Despite the lobbying advantage that ISPs are currently enjoying, tech companies in favor of net neutrality have massive funds and political cachet that they have yet to fully bring to bear on the issue. According to The Hill, tech companies and advocacy groups have spent millions on lobbying Congress but are growing increasingly frustrated with Congressional inaction on key issues such as net neutrality. With no end to gridlock in sight, these groups may begin withholding substantial contributions from lawmakers they deem inactive or in opposition to their goals. Although the eventual fate of net neutrality remains to be seen, if tech companies bring more substantial lobbying resources to bear, we may see the influence game swing in their favor.
Tags: comcast, FCC, Netflix, Tom Wheeler
Posted in Advocacy, Lobbying News | Comments Off on Advocacy groups rally public on net neutrality
Monday, March 28th, 2011 by Vbhotla
Absent intervention into campaign finance reform by the judicial branch, those hoping to put limits on what has been referred to as a”floodgate” of campaign funding made possible by last year’s Citizens United ruling have sought help from the Federal Communications Commission.
Media Access Project senior vice president and policy director Andrew Schwartzman argued last week that the FCC has long had the power to require political groups to disclose donors when running political ads. In a petition filed March 22, he calls on the agency “to amend and strengthen its rules to require on-air identification of persons paying” ‘25% or more of the cost of an ad, according to the organization’s official press release.
Schwartzman said, “The FCC has repeatedly said that members of the public are entitled to know by whom they are being persuaded, and it has stressed that this is especially important in the case of political messages. This petition simply seeks to update the FCC’s rules to fulfill its Congressional mandate.”
The petition points out what it believes to be “a fundamental policy…that ‘listeners are entitled to know by whom they are being persuaded.”
This effort by the Media Access Project is the latest attempt by campaign finance reformers seeking to narrow the reach of theCitizens United decision. Several attempts have been made to urge the Supreme Court to re-define the judgement’s implications, but the Court has declined to hear these appeals.
Tags: Campaign Finance, Campaign finance reform, Citizens United, FCC, media access project
Posted in Government Relations Alert | Comments Off on Finance Reformers Seek Regulatory Help
Tuesday, March 15th, 2011 by Vbhotla
Former FCC Chairman Michael Powell, who was appointed to the agency by former President Bill Clinton, has been named president and CEO of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, effective April 25. Powell, the son of former Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell, will succeed Kyle McSlarrow, who announced last week that he will be leaving the association to take the reins at Comcast.
 Michael Powell led the once-quiet FCC through a number of highly publicized (and highly politicized) battles during his four year tenure as chairman. Powell was first appointed to the commission in 1998 and was named chairman by then-President George W. Bush in 2001.
In his role at the FCC, Powell was considered a friend of the cable industry. During his high profile tenure with the agency, he pushed for increased fines for obscenity and indecent conduct on television, and was a driving force behind the $550,000 hit Viacom faced after the now-infamous Super Bowl wardrobe malfunction.
He is currently a senior adviser at Providence Equity Partners and is honorary co-chairman of Broadband for America. Before the FCC, Powell was chief of staff of the US Justice Dept.’s Antitrust Division.
Tags: colin powell, FCC, michael powell, national cable and telecommunications association, ncta, telecommunications lobbying
Posted in Lobbying News | Comments Off on Powell to head cable lobby
Monday, December 6th, 2010 by Vbhotla
Approximately 33% of freshman Congressmen in the 112th congressional session received donations from either Verizon, AT&T or both this campaign season, as the telecommunications carriers gear up for a big fight on net neutrality.
Groups on both sides of the Internet regulation issue have made a great number of lobbying contacts to Congressmen and FCC officials in anticipation of the Dec. 21 meeting to address regulation strategy. Google and Comcast were among other big donors, though their donation strategies differed from those of Verizon and AT&T, who supported candidates with little discretion at all, even, in some cases, opponents in the same race. Google’s support, for instance, was only for candidates with prior political experience, while Comcast targeted veterans it considers key players in the net neutrality battle.
The efforts are in response to FCC regulation over broadband access, following a decision by the DC Court of Appeals last spring which ruled the agency does not have the authority to regulate Internet service providers’ interference with web access. Despite the ruling, FCC chairman Julius Genachowski is expected to outline his new broadband plan Wednesday.
In response to challenges to his authority to act on the issue in light of the court ruling by ranking member Joe Barton (R-Texas) of the House Energy & Commerce Committee and a top member of its Internet subcommittee, Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) the New York Times reports that Genachowski “believes he has the legal authority to act because he argues that his plan would help spread broadband service more widely across the country, a priority that Congress has established as one of the F.C.C.’s mandates.”
Tags: at&t, broadband, broadband access, broadband plan, FCC, Google, net neutrality, network neutrality, regulatory authority, telecommuncations lobbying, verizon
Posted in Government Relations Alert | Comments Off on Telecomm industry embroiled in fight on net neutrality
Friday, June 18th, 2010 by Vbhotla
DISCLOSE Drama. Will they or won’t they? I’m not sure anyone knows what’s going on with the DISCLOSE Act these days. A Politico story with full background is here. (Eric Brown does an excellent round-up of news reports, here).
C St. Scandal: OCE drops it like it’s hot. According to Roll Call, OCE will drop an investigation into a potential violation of the gift rules. News reports around several member scandals indicated that a house on C Street in Washington DC was owned by a private organization called “The Fellowship” and was providing housing for members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, under-cost – a potential violation of the gift rules.
Hey lobbyists! LD-203 NOT optional. Yes, we already posted on the LDA guidance update, but we don’t want you to forget. Scan the changes, study the PDF, just just read our post!
Norm Eisen: scary individual. Did we get your attention? We’re just kidding, Norm Eisen seems like a nice guy, and he is an excellent “ethics czar.” But some watchdog groups fear for the future of his office if he is confirmed for an ambassadorship to the Czech Republic.
Patton Boggs’ Nick Allard does a Bulletproof Blog video interview on lobbying, and says the American public does not understand lobbying.
Take a number. The FCC wants lobbyists and others with an interest in shaping FCC processes to sign up for meeting time slots online. The Hill has the story.
Quote(s) of the Week:
“We investigative specific allegations. We do not conduct fishing expeditions.” OCE spokesman Jon Steinman, Roll Call June 14
“The “wink-wink-nod-nod” game we have all known to exist with regard to earmarks and campaign contributions is well-documented, and the ethics committee’s definition of “financial interest” needs to be updated to reflect these findings.” – Jeff Flake, Roll Call, June 17
“Is the NRA exception ideal, or pretty? No. Is it likely to complicate the defense of the DISCLOSE Act when it is challenged? Yes. But, is it worth dropping support of the legislation altogether? No.” – Scott Thomas, Of Counsel, Dickstein Shapiro, National Journal’s Under the Influence Experts Blog, June 16
Tags: DISCLOSE Act, FCC, Jeff Flake, LD-1, LD-2, LD-203, Nick Allard, Norm Eisen, OCE, Patton Boggs
Posted in Weekly Lobbying News Round-Up | Comments Off on Weekly Lobbying News Round-Up
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