AT&T has filed official paperwork to gobble another competitor with the agency charged with protecting the public interest and competition in a vital industry. That agency, the FCC, had already found a lack of competition among wireless carriers in its latest report. The FCC indicated in a public notice last week it had already begun…
Late last month FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski began circulating an order approving the proposed merger of Comcast with NBC Universal. Throughout the regulatory approval process lawmakers, industry groups, and consumer advocates have called on the FCC and the Department of Justice Antitrust Division to block the proposed combination because it provides no public interest benefits,…
The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved a measure Thursday that would give the government additional tools to pressure other companies to not do business with domains suspected of illegally sharing copyrighted material. Some due process for domains was added in during the markup ahead of the vote. This may mean that a domain would loose…
Senate Judiciary Committee leaders and staff are getting an earful from a broad coalition of tech companies, consumers’ groups and Internet engineers about a newly introduced bill it hoped to markup this week that would give the DOJ a new tool to essentially shut down domains accused of copyright infringement. Tech companies and consumer, library and privacy…
The Computer & Communications Industry Association welcomes the introduction of H.R. 5932, the Organized Retail Theft Investigation and Prosecution Act, by Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va.. The bill would establish an Organized Retail Theft Investigation and Prosecution Unit (ORTIP) in the Department of Justice. CCIA supports efforts to stop organized retail criminals, but previous legislative attempts…
The Senate Antitrust Subcommittee will hold a general oversight hearing this afternoon on the two federal antitrust enforcement agencies charged with protecting consumers — the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition. It will be Chairman Kohl’s chance to ask questions about mergers he has expressed concern about such…
The Department of Justice announced late Friday that it liked the idea of a vibrant marketplace for the electronic distribution of in print, out of print and so-called orphaned books. The DOJ also supported the creation of the independent “Book Rights Registry.” Officials expressed some concerns, but said it believed Google and its proposed partners…
A shift in U.S. Department of Justice antitrust policy announced last week could blunt the expansion or merger plans of IT vendors, according to legal experts. In speeches last week before the Center for American Progress and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Christine Varney, assistant attorney general in charge of the DOJ’s antitrust division, said…
Assistant Attorney General Christine Varney’s announced this morning at the Center for American Progress that the Department of Justice is withdrawing a 2008 Bush administration report that made it more difficult to police anticompetitive behavior. Ed Black, the President & CEO of the Computer & Communications Industry Association spoke on the antitrust panel that followed…
