Week in review: FCC not done with Net neutrality
The federal agency tries another avenue to Net neutrality, while Google offers peek inside its venture capital arm. Also: iPhone court records fight.
It seems the Federal Communications Commission's quest for Net neutrality isn't dead.
The agency detailed plans for its so-called "third way" to reclassify broadband service as a telecommunications service, which would help the agency reassert its authority for regulating the Internet. The move came after the commission lost an important legal battle last month. Consumer groups and Net neutrality advocates had been calling for the FCC to reclassify broadband as a telecommunications service, which would make all the old regulation for the regular phone network apply to broadband. But broadband providers, namely AT&T, Verizon Communications, Comcast, and others, vehemently oppose this approach arguing that it would kill innovation and investment.
The chairman's statement said that the agency will not assert new powers that it did not have before the Comcast decision was handed down. Essentially, the chairman said he simply wants to reassert and clarify the FCC's jurisdiction as it was understood before the court case was decided.
• Liberal group worries about FCC on Net neutrality
• FAQ: The FCC's plan to reclassify broadband
• FCC statement on 'third way' for broadband
• FCC statement: 'Third way' legal framework
More headlines
Venture capital, done the Google way
Google Ventures has made 10 investments over its first year in operation, and has about $100 million to spend this year. How will it distribute that cash?• Google spends over $250 million on start-ups in quarter
• Google invests nearly $39 million in wind farms
Judge nixes media request for iPhone warrant
Judge refuses to consider a request by media organizations to learn the justification police used to search a Gizmodo editor's home for information about the sale of a possible prototype iPhone.• Court fight brews over unsealing iPhone records
• Media want Gizmodo court records in iPhone probe
Apple sells 1 million iPads
As the 3G model hits the market, total sales for the iPad surpass the 1 million mark, Apple says. Plus: 12 million app downloads.Apple in antitrust crosshairs?
The federal government is reportedly looking into Apple's requirement that developers use only its--or neutral--programming tools.• Apple, the App Store, and antitrust (FAQ)
House privacy bill draws fire from all sides
A draft bill prepared by Rep. Rick Boucher, a Democrat from rural Virginia, is panned by pro- and anti-regulation groups for very different reasons.• Consumer groups: Online tracking at 'alarming levels'
• How a browser extension leaks Google history to Amazon
Understanding Facebook's privacy aftershocks
The weeks following the social network's most audacious changes to its privacy policy yet have caused one minor freak-out after another.• Facebook users reveal risky details
• Privacy bug causes Facebook to disable chat
• Facebook to open engineering office in Seattle
Connecticut AG subpoenas Craigslist over sex ads
State's top law enforcement official says the Internet bulletin board isn't doing enough to curb prostitution ads on the site.Microsoft's browser share dips below 60 percent
Continuing its years-long slide, Internet Explorer is now being used by fewer than three in five Internet connections, Net Applications says.Google gives search results pages a makeover
A new color scheme and more prominent placement for search options are the centerpiece of one of Google's larger redesigns: even the logo got an update.• Google Calendar down for 'majority of users'
• Report: UC Davis ending Gmail pilot program
• Gmail returns to the U.K.
Stock market panic hobbles financial Web
Financial news sites and personal brokerage systems were slammed by frantic demand for information during one of the largest plunges in U.S. stock market history.YouTube will let some users charge for rentals
Partners in YouTube's existing revenue-sharing program will soon be able to use an automated tool to charge for rentals.• Mark Cuban: Netflix's streaming success can't last
China, South Korea lead in green-tech funding
All other G20 nations lag behind for percentage of GDP spent on green infrastructure, United Nations book says.• Tapping the computing cloud for smarter water
Also of note
• Microsoft hitting 'unsubscribe' on newsgroups
• News site spies naughty pics on lawmaker's laptop
• Pirate Bay sees 'Iron Man 2' ahead of U.S. debut