New CRS Report – Social Networking and Constituent Communication: Member Use of Twitter During a Two-Week Period in the 111th Congress, by Matthew Eric Glassman, Jacob R. Straus, and Colleen J. Shogan, Congressional Research Service 7-5700, R40823 (September 21, 2009).
This report examines Member use of one specific new electronic communication medium: Twitter. After providing an [...]
Archive of entries posted on September 2009
New CRS Report – Social Networking and Constituent Communication
Republicans to Push Against Net Neutrality; FCC Says Start of Process
From the Washington Post:
Senate Republicans moved Monday afternoon to prevent the FCC’s proposed rules on net neutrality with an amendment to the Interior Appropriations bill that would tie up funding at the agency for new regulatory mandates. Observers said, however, that the move was unlikely to be approved in the Democrat-majority Congress.
FCC chief proposes new Net neutrality rules
From cnet:
As expected, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski on Monday outlined a plan to keep the Internet open.
In a speech given at the Brookings Institute, Genachowski proposed that the FCC turn its four principles of network openness official into regulation. And he suggested that the FCC add two more “principles” as part of these [...]
Newly Declassified Files Detail Massive FBI Data-Mining Project
From Wired:
A fast-growing FBI data-mining system billed as a tool for hunting terrorists is being used in hacker and domestic criminal investigations, and now contains tens of thousands of records from private corporate databases, including car-rental companies, large hotel chains and at least one national department store, declassified documents obtained by Wired.com show.
Music industry ready for climbdown on internet piracy demands
From The Times:
The music industry is preparing to back down from its demands that people caught downloading songs illegally be disconnected from the internet after a revolt by leading musicians.
UK Music, the body that represents the British music scene, will release a statement today clarifying its stance on file-sharing. It has been forced to drop [...]
Canadian University fears looming copyright reforms
From the Edmonton Journal:
Ottawa’s copyright reforms could force online universities to destroy their courses after every exam and would marginalize Alberta’s Athabasca University, says the head of the web-based institution.
University president Frits Pannekoek had been urging students to lobby Ottawa before the eight-week period for public input on the reforms expired on Sunday.
Industry Minister Tony [...]
Our Principles For the Mass Digitization of Books: Protecting Innovation, Competition, And The Public Interest
From the Open Book Alliance:
Friday marks an important deadline in the ongoing debate about the Google Book Settlement. It’s the deadline for the Department of Justice to submit its findings to the US District Court.
The members of the Open Book Alliance recognize the tremendous value that the mass digitization of books can bring to consumers, [...]
Groups call for EU scrutiny of Google book deal
From Reuters:
EU regulators should look into the book settlement that Google Inc reached with a group of U.S. writers and publishers last October because the deal will create a de facto monopoly, European opponents to the book deal said on Friday.
Justice Department Submits Views on Proposed Google Book Search Settlement
DOJ Press Release:
The Department of Justice today advised the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York that while it should not accept the class action settlement in The Authors Guild Inc. et al. v. Google Inc. as proposed due to concerns of the United States regarding class action, copyright and antitrust law, [...]
Google Signs Print-on-Demand Deal for Two Million Public Domain Titles
From Library Journal:
Google and On Demand Books (ODB), the maker of the Espresso Book Machine® (EBM), have signed a deal to provide print-on-demand (PoD) access to more than two million public-domain titles (published before 1923) in the Google digital files.
The deal also presages potential PoD access to millions more in-copyright “orphan works” should the Google [...]