News

WASHINGTON — President Bush today pledged to veto congressional legislation on government eavesdropping if it doesn’t include retroactive immunity for companies like AT&T and Verizon for aiding government surveillance.

Free Press Executive Director Josh Silver made the following statement:

WASHINGTON — Consumer groups slammed the Federal Communications Commission yesterday for its inability to accurately assess the true state of female and minority broadcast ownership. In filed comments, Free Press, Consumers Union and Consumer Federation of America exposed how the FCC’s official research failed to account for the majority of the female- and minority-owned broadcast stations.

WASHINGTON — Free Press, coordinator of the SavetheInternet.com Coalition, is calling for congressional hearings to address growing public outrage over phone company censorship policies. Last week, Verizon made headlines with its decision to ban text messages from NARAL Pro-Choice America.

WASHINGTON — Today’s New York Times reports that Verizon censored a text message from the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL). The phone company is claiming that the incident was the result of “dusty internal policy.”

WASHINGTON — In testimony before the Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship today, Free Press Policy Director Ben Scott will call on lawmakers to confront the lack of broadband competition that is hurting America’s small businesses in the global marketplace.

WASHINGTON — Today, in response to a complaint filed in 2006 by Free Press and the Center for Media and Democracy, the Federal Communications Commission announced its intention to fine Comcast for airing a video news release (VNR) for “Nelson’s Rescue Sleep” on its CN8 news channel without identifying the sponsor.

WASHINGTON — Three leading members of Congress endorsed FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein’s call for an independent, nonpartisan task force to address the disgracefully low levels of media ownership by people of color.

CHICAGO — More than 800 people filled the headquarters of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition on Thursday night, testifying for over seven hours before the Federal Communications Commission about the negative impacts of runaway media consolidation.

CHICAGO — This week, hundreds will attend a Federal Communications Commission hearing to tell all five commissioners how media consolidation has negatively impacted Chicago’s diverse communities.

WHAT: FCC Hearing on Media Ownership
WHEN: Thursday, Sept. 20, 2007, 4-11 p.m.
WHO: FCC Commissioners, local leaders, media representatives and concerned citizens

WASHINGTON — Public interest advocates are seeking to uncover whether industry lobbyists or White House politics unduly influenced a recent Justice Department filing against Net Neutrality — the longstanding principle that prevents phone and cable companies from discriminating against Web sites and services.