Friday, Friday, Friday. Black Friday? Net Neutrality rules have become one step closer to official as the FCC finally delivered something to the OMB after months of stalling. Verizon, MetroPCS, Virginia AG Ken Cuccinelli, and others ended up unable sue to throw out the illegal power grab until it’s published, so the longer the FCC waited, the longer everyone else had to wait to begin to defeat rules that will harm innovation, investment, and jobs, say Fred Upton and Greg Walden.
It’ll be 90 more days at least before the rules hit the Federal Register and the rush to the courthouse begins.
Meanwhile the FCC’s bad run in the courts continues as it lost another case. Of course, this was actually a Bush-era rule, being thrown out on a technicality. But the Obama FCC continued its defense, and lost.
Even as pressure mounts to create a national censorship blacklist online via PROTECT IP, requiring ISPs to censor content according to bureaucratic dictates, much like the People’s Republic of China, Some ISPs and media groups have made their own plan of voluntary enforcement.
Some say you’re just like soft-on-terror radical left if you oppose PROTECT IP. I vehemently disagree. I believe in limited government. In fact, I insist on limited government. A power grab in the pursuit of good is still a power grab. I think a joint industry plan, protecting copyright holders, ISPs, and their customers, is a much better idea, though the details of this specific plan announced yesterday will need further study and refinement, I’m sure.
I’m going to go ahead and come out early for Marsha Blackburn needs her own sub/committee chair when our current guys term out. Technology, Oversight, Regulation, any of those fields. She’s dynamite on these issues.
Apple looks set to lose its App Store trademark, as Apple failed to get an injunction against Amazon. I have no real opinion on which way this should go, though. On one hand it’s a pretty generic name. On the other hand, the only reason everyone else is using it is that Apple popularized it.
More on Apple: The Register alleges Apple is dropping select mails, effectively censoring email based on content. I don’t know if I buy it, but we shall hear more if it’s true, I’m sure.
Tennessee Governor Haslam is wrong. States can’t “lose” revenue in the event that businesses change their practices to avoid such taxes. Such thinking assumes the money rightfully belongs with the government. I say, our money is ours. It’s a real shame when alleged Republicans get on tax and spend jags, like this Amazon Tax fad.
Our House Republicans continue to plug away on a number of tech issues including spectrum, regulation reform, privacy, and civil defense information broadcast (cue the tin foil hat brigade with their FEMA delusions).
PS. If Apple plans to release a Retina (4x the pixels of the old model, like the iPhone 4) iPad 3/iPad HD and a new iPhone on the same day, I’d better save up.