What’s New:
- PK Prepares For Presidential Transition
- PK and Silicon Flatirons Present “Reforming the Federal Communications Commission”
- Chairman Martin Fights to Maintain Control of the FCC
- Free Wireless Broadband Service: Good Concept, Flawed Execution
- PK Teams With UMUC For Orphan Works Workshop
- Last Chance to Make a Tax-Deductible Donation to Public Knowledge!
PK Prepares For Presidential Transition
As the rest of Washington nurses its post-election hangover, we here at Public Knowledge are looking excitedly toward the future. PK is delighted that a number of our friends, board members and advisory board members are playing major roles in the transition team, including PK board member and former FCC Chairman Reed Hundt and PK Advisory Board members Susan Crawford, Arti Rai, Phil Weiser, Daniel Weitzner and Kevin Werbach. What’s more, PK is meeting with various transition officials on a regular basis—as a matter of fact, we met with members of the transition team six times just last week. Additionally, PK is developing whitepapers—both by itself and as part of the Open Internet Coalition and the Media and Democracy Coalition—that will make policy recommendations to the transition team as well the new administration and revamped Federal agencies. And in the spirit of the new administration’s desire for transparency and accountability, you’ll find full accounts of all of our meetings with members of the transition team, including links to relevant documents, at the Public Knowledge blog. Rest assured, we’re currently in close contact with members of the transition team and will remain actively involved throughout the transition process.
For more detailed information on PK’s involvement in the transition, see this series of blog posts: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
PK and Silicon Flatirons Present “Reforming the Federal Communications Commission”
The new leadership of the FCC will face a challenge in evaluating how best to reform how the agency operates and addresses an increasing number of policy challenges. In the wake of the recent conclusions issued by the House Energy & Commerce Committee, it is both timely and important to examine how the FCC has done its job—and to consider how the FCC can do a better job in the future on issues such as managing spectrum, Net Neutrality and media ownership.
This January, Public Knowledge and Silicon Flatirons, a Center for Law, Technology and Entrepreneurship at the University of Colorado, will explore the future of the FCC with a leading group of academics, current and former FCC officials and leaders from the public interest community, including former FCC Chairmen Reed Hundt and William Kennard. “Reforming the Federal Communications Commission,” a conference to be held at the National Press Club in Washington D.C., will give participants an opportunity to compare future visions, explore historical lessons and, though a series of papers specially written for this event, offer a comprehensive set of recommendations for the creation of an FCC well-prepared to confront contemporary challenges. Please join us as we look toward the future of American communications policy.
January 5, 2009
9:00am - 12:30pm
National Press Club
Holeman Lounge
Washington, DC
Click here to see the full list of speakers and to RSVP.
Chairman Martin Fights to Maintain Control of the FCC
Earlier this month, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce released a report entitled “Deception and Distrust: The Federal Communications Commission Under Chairman Kevin J. Martin.” The report is the product of a yearlong investigation of the FCC undertaken by the Committee and charges that the Commission under Chairman Kevin Martin withheld information, did not handle matters openly and transparently and failed to carry out its responsibilities. The report blames Martin’s “heavy-handed, opaque and non-collegial management style” for creating “distrust, suspicion and turmoil among the five current Commissioners.” In response to this report, incoming chairmen of the Senate and House Commerce Committees, Jay Rockefeller and Henry Waxman, ordered the FCC to stand down and put all non-urgent agenda items on hold. The FCC has complied with this order, cancelling its scheduled December 18th hearing. This means that a number of FCC proceedings—most notably PK’s text messaging petition and Chairman Martin’s AWS-3 proposal—may see little or no movement until the new administration takes office.
For more on the shakeup at the FCC see this blog post from PK’s Communications Director Art Brodsky.
Related issues: Spectrum Reform | Text Message Petition
Free Wireless Broadband Service: Good Concept, Flawed Execution
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has proposed a plan to use a swath of the public airwaves known as the Advanced Wireless Services 3—or AWS-3—spectrum to build a free, national, wireless broadband service. Under Martin’s plan, the free service would be filtered for adult content, though users over the age of 18 could choose to “opt-out” of the filter. While Public Knowledge supports the spirit of Martin’s plan—which could potentially provide a genuine alternative to the current wireline cable/DSL duopoly and apply pressure on cable and telecom providers to enhance their service and speed offerings—we feel that his proposal doesn’t go far enough. As we noted in a joint FCC filing with Free Press, Media Access Project and Consumers Union this month, a free, national wireless broadband network should provide users with unrestricted access to the full range of content, applications, and information available on the Web, in order to encourage all Americans to fully participate in our economy and society. We’d also like to see such a network adopt principles of openness and nondiscrimination, so as to protect the democratic nature of the Internet and spur innovation in the wireless market. In light of the recent events at the FCC (see previous story), Chairman Martin’s AWS-3 proposal will likely not be voted on by the FCC this year. As such, its future is uncertain.
For more information on PK’s stance on Martin’s AWS-3 plan see this blog post from PK Communications Director Art Brodsky.
Related issues: Spectrum Reform
PK Teams With UMUC For Orphan Works Workshop
From January 19th to the 30th, Public Knowledge President and Co-Founder Gigi Sohn will host an online orphan works workshop for the University of Maryland University College. As you’ll recall, orphan works are copyrighted works—books, music, records, films, etc.—whose owner cannot be located. In this workshop, participants will be able to increase their understanding of the types, history, and background of orphan works and will consider various legislative attempts made to fix the ongoing problems associated with such works.
Click here to sign up for the online workshop
Related issues: Orphan Works
Last Chance to Make a Tax-Deductible Donation to Public Knowledge!
It’s been a busy and successful year here at Public Knowledge headquarters. 2008 was marked by a series of decisive victories for PK, its allies in the public interest and industry sectors and you, the citizen and end user. Here’s a quick recap of what we accomplished in 2008:
- We successfully pressured the FCC to rebuke Comcast for blocking P2P traffic
- We nearly passed an Orphan Works bill
- We helped scare Internet Service Providers away from using an invasive technology called Deep Packet Inspection
- We opened up the White Spaces for unlicensed wireless use
- We helped keep a number of nefarious technology mandates at bay
While we’re proud of everything that we’ve accomplished during the last year, there’s still plenty of work to do. With a new Administration and Congress taking office in January, we have a tremendous opportunity to promote an open Internet and more balanced copyright laws. However, nothing is guaranteed. There’s a need for an independent voice to represent your rights and to hold policy makers to their promises. Public Knowledge pledges to be that voice but we’ll need your support. This holiday season, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to Public Knowledge, to help us continue our important work in the areas of Internet Protocol, Intellectual Property and Information Policy.
