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Congress has rejected a bill that would have barred employers from demanding workers reveal their passwords for social networking sites. The vote won't have any immediate effect, but could lead to further legal cases on the issue. The U.S. House of ... Representatives considered the topic as part of a wider bill that aims to limit the power of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) by restricting the way it makes new regulations. There's no guarantee the bill itself would ever become law. Even if it passed the House, it may be rejected by the Senate or vetoed by the President. Representative ... (view more)

The Department of Justice (DoJ) has launched a legal bid to block a planned merger of cellphone giants AT&T and T-Mobile. Meanwhile, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has hinted it may also raise objections. The proposed merger between ... the second- and fourth-largest cellphone networks respectively would create a new market leader, with a combined subscriber base of 130 million overtaking the current number one, Verizon. From the moment the deal was announced, speculation began that regulators would be wary of the "big four" becoming the "big three". Concerns Result in ... (view more)

A government agency intends to extend a rural phone subsidy program to cover high-speed Internet. It comes as the agency's chairman warns that as many as 24 million Americans may have no access to broadband whatsoever. The debate involves the ... Universal Service Fund, a scheme set up in 1997 to provide every home in the country with telephone service. Phone operators forward a portion of their revenue to the fund, which is used to subsidize phone service in areas where operators couldn't otherwise charge reasonable rates and still make a profit. (Source: washingtonpost.com ) The fund also ... (view more)

Republican Congress members have taken the first step in blocking the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from enforcing net neutrality rules. But the political landscape means the final outcome is far from clear. The move follows a hearing by ... the House of Representatives committee that questioned all five FCC members about their decision in December to issue controversial guidelines attempting to enforce net neutrality (the principle that all lawful Internet traffic should be treated equally). (Source: pcworld.com ) With Republican politicians unimpressed by the evidence given by the ... (view more)

If regulators have their way, cellphone companies will have to warn customers before they incur unusually high charges. It's a new program designed to prevent situations where a customer unexpectedly receives a bill for $68,505, as was the case for ... one customer in the first quarter of 2010. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which oversees the mobile industry, is proposing three new rules regarding how and when companies should tell users about potential charges beyond their normal fees. Cell Phone Bill Shock: Shocking Statistics In May, the FCC released a report suggesting that ... (view more)

A recent Wall Street Journal article reported that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is holding 'closed-door meetings' with industry insiders to broker a deal on Net Neutrality -- controlling the Internet over the people that use it. ... Included in the meeting were a small group of industry lobbyists from AT ... (view more)

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) says it has found a solution to legal road-blocking of its powers over broadband providers. It will use a technicality to enforce the " net neutrality " principles, but relax its controls over other ... aspects of broadband. The legal saga involves Comcast intentionally slowing down Internet access to customers who were using peer-to-peer filesharing services such as those based on the BitTorrent system. Many people using BitTorrent do so to share copyrighted files without permission, but the system itself is not illegal and can be used just as easily ... (view more)

A former presidential advisor has called for the US government to reclassify the legal status of the Internet. It follows concerns that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) may not have the statutory authority to enforce "net neutrality" ... principles or to go ahead with proposed plans to expand Internet access. The FCC has historically sought to uphold the idea of net neutrality. This is the principle that, with the exception of illegal material, all Internet traffic should be treated equally by carriers. This would mean, for example, that an Internet service provider couldn't charge ... (view more)

It remains unclear whether the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will be able to bring its proposed net neutrality rules into force. Another politician has launched a bid to block the FCC from further regulating the net, while an Internet ... carrier claims the commission doesn't have the legal power to bring the rules into force. Last week, the FCC voted unanimously to adopt plans for new rules enforcing the existing principle of net neutrality. The overall idea is that Internet carriers should treat all traffic equally. In practice that could mean cable firms and ISPs would not be allowed ... (view more)

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has backed plans to introduce laws on net neutrality . Unfortunately, they face political and legal challenges which appear to have the support of major Internet carriers. In a unanimous vote, the ... five-strong commission agreed to give force to the principles of net neutrality: that Internet providers treat all legal Internet traffic equally . That would outlaw practices such as slowing down access to people using peer-to-peer file-sharing, or blocking applications from running on cellphone networks. The vote doesn't guarantee the rules will come ... (view more)