News

WASHINGTON — On Tuesday, the Free Press Action Fund called on Congress to return campaign donations from the Motion Picture Association of America.

In an interview last week, MPAA President Chris Dodd, a former U.S. senator, threatened to cut off campaign donations to members of Congress who vote against legislation the MPAA supports.

WASHINGTON – On Friday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced he would delay a vote on the PROTECT IP Act. A cloture vote on the controversial legislation had been scheduled for Tuesday.

Craig Aaron, president and CEO of the Free Press Action Fund, made the following statement:

WASHINGTON – On Thursday, News Corp. admitted to British officials that “senior employees and directors” of the company’s British newspaper division, News Group Newspapers, knew about illegal phone hacking by News of the World staff “and sought to conceal it by deliberately deceiving investigators and destroying evidence.”

WASHINGTON — On Thursday, Verizon Wireless, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox and Bright House Networks announced that they would provide the Federal Communications Commission with copies of the companies’ joint marketing agreements to resell each other’s services.

WASHINGTON — On Wednesday, AT&T announced that it would raise data prices for new customers by up to 20 percent.

WASHINGTON — On Friday, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) said that he has suggested removing a provision from the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) that would allow for blocking domain names of websites that illegally post copyrighted content.

WASHINGTON — On Thursday, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said in an interview with Vermont Public Radio that he was willing to eliminate a provision from the controversial PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) that allows for blocking domain names of websites that illegally post copyrighted content.

WASHINGTON – In a speech delivered Monday morning, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski outlined his approach for reforming the Universal Service Fund’s “Lifeline” program, which provides financial support to eligible recipients who cannot afford vital communications services such as basic telephone service.

WASHINGTON — According to the Wall Street Journal, the Federal Communications Commission has approved AT&T’s $1.9 billion acquisition of spectrum licenses from Qualcomm. The licenses are for use of the valuable airwaves in the 700 MHz band — prime spectrum for mobile broadband use, of which AT&T already holds a considerable amount.

WASHINGTON — On Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission proposed rules that would further weaken media ownership limits for local newspapers and broadcast stations. The agency’s proposal is strikingly similar to one adopted in 2007 under former FCC Chairman Kevin Martin.