Policy Blog Entries by Alex Curtis

Free Culture X, a conference of Students for Free Culture, will be held February 13th at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Keynote addresses will be given by Harvard Berkman Center co-founder Jonathan Zittrain, PK President and cofounder Gigi Sohn, and the director of American University’s Center for Social Media, Pat Aufderheide.

Yesterday, the MPAA and RIAA made a giant political misstep by refusing to participate in a debate about three strikes. In doing so, they exposed the public and a number of US policy makers to policy that would strip Internet subscribers of their constitutional due process rights.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, I attended this year’s State of the Net Conference beautifully orchestrated by Tim Lordan and his crew at the Internet Caucus Advisory Committee.

If you were following our tweets yesterday (and don’t forget to follow the tweets of our collective staff, found on this twitter list, too), you may have seen an update that PK Legal Director Harold Feld participated in a discussion about set top boxes, over-the-top Internet video, cutting the cord, and net neutrality on the Kojo Nnamdi Show. If you missed the live show, you can read the transcripts and listen to the recorded audio stream here.

Jonathan Moore is rapidly becoming a major, and respected voice for Net Neutrality. His web site, Rowdy Orbit, which features work by minority artists, was featured in the Washington Post. He was a panelist at the Federal Communications Commission workshop on Speech, Democratic Engagement and the Open Internet.

In this video prepared for PK, Jonathan explains why he supports Net Neutrality. His is an important voice. Please listen and spread the word.

Mr. X-Parte announces some amazing merch you can order at the Public Knowledge Store this holiday season. Thank you for your support!

On the Eve of Thanksgiving, Mr. X Parte tells Harold that the MPAA has made a lengthy FCC filing on their waiver request for Selectable Output Control. Clearly, Harold has touched a nerve because Hollywood calls him a liar. Harold addresses the substance of MPAA’s filing and explains why it, despite being 37 pages, still doesn’t make a showing of the required evidence needed for the requested waiver.

A new PKTV series, “Oh Hollywood!” focusses on … well, it’s kind of self explanatory. In this first episode we highlight the recent goings on in Coshocton, a small rural town in Ohio, that provides free WiFi in public areas in the community. It’s a service that’s used by citizens, businesses, and even the local police. Last week, Sony Pictures Entertainment, a Hollywood movie studio, threateningly notified the city that allegedly someone may have illegally downloaded one its movies. And so, the city’s free public Internet access, used by hundreds, was shut down.

All together, now … Oh Hollywood!

There’s been a lot of back and forth in the FCC Docket at the end of October and early November between Public Knowledge, CEA and HRRC and the MPAA over Selectable Output Control — a technology that MPAA wants to use to turn off the outputs on the back of your entertainment system. This episode is Part 2 of 2 where Mr. X-Parte drills down on the MPAA’s recent filing. In Part 1, Mr. X-Parte quickly goes over the recent filings in the FCC Docket.

There’s been a lot of back and forth in the FCC Docket at the end of October and early November between Public Knowledge, CEA and HRRC and the MPAA over Selectable Output Control — a technology that MPAA wants to use to turn off the outputs on the back of your entertainment system. This episode is Part 1 of 2 that quickly goes over the recent filings. In Part 2, Mr. X-Parte drills down on the MPAA’s recent filing.

This the latest installment of 5 Minutes with Harold Feld, Harold explains what “Selectable Output Control” means, why it’s bad for consumers, why Hollywood is promoting it, and why the FCC should tell MPAA, “No!”