FCC

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FCC May Allow Cell Phone Calls During Flights

Agency will consider lifting ban next month

(Newser) - This is either great or horrible news for air travelers, depending on perspective: The FCC might soon allow passengers to talk on their cell phones all throughout their flights, reports the Washington Post . The agency will consider lifting its ban on airborne calls next month. Under the proposed change, the...

FCC's Lone Republican Fights for Life of AM Radio

Just 15% of radio listeners tune in

(Newser) - AM radio doesn't have it easy these days. It's not just that FM, satellite radio, and online listening services keep eating away at its audience: AM also faces interference from all kinds of consumer electronics. But the New York Times reports that the radio format has found a...

FCC Chairman: Boston Player's On-Air F-Bomb Fine by Me

Julius Genachowski stands with David Ortiz, Boston

(Newser) - David Ortiz recently let an F-bomb fly during a live broadcast, but the Boston Red Sox player had kind of a good reason—and even the FCC chairman agrees. "This is our f---ing city and nobody’s going to dictate our freedom," Ortiz said Saturday before the Sox...

FCC Boss Calling It Quits

Julius Genachowski was appointed in 2009

(Newser) - The head of the FCC will announce his exit today after four years on the job, insiders tell Reuters . The expected move comes ahead of his term's end in June. President Obama appointed ex-venture capitalist Julius Genachowski in 2009; his term saw the commission halt a proposed T-Mobile-AT&T...

FCC Puts Kibosh on Cell Phone Signal Boosters

Tells owners they may have to turn them off

(Newser) - The FCC today ordered the 2 million Americans using wireless signal boosters to turn them off—then quickly backpedaled, saying only that they might have to turn them off. The FCC adopted new rules governing the devices, which are designed to boost cell phone reception, but which regulators fear will...

Airwaves Fight Threatens ... Cordless Microphones?

Big churches aren't happy, and neither is the NFL

(Newser) - Might the cordless microphone go the way of Betamax? The Wall Street Journal calls attention to a weird battle in the ongoing fight over control of the nation's airwaves, one that has united groups such as megachurches, the NFL, and Broadway theaters. They're all lobbying to save cordless...

CBS May Be in Trouble for Flacco F-Bomb
 CBS May Be 
 in Trouble for 
 Flacco F-Bomb 
super bowl xlvii
Feb 4, 2013 9:53 AM CST

CBS May Be in Trouble for Flacco F-Bomb

Parents Television Council wants FCC to investigate

(Newser) - Another Super Bowl will be investigated by the FCC—not for a wardrobe malfunction this time, but for an F-bomb. While celebrating last night's win, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco appeared to say, "This is f---ing awesome," Politico reports. Another player apparently said, "Holy shit."...

Google Is Building a Private Wireless Network at HQ

Which makes some wonder what it's up to

(Newser) - Google is creating its own, experimental wireless network for its headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., leaving tech watchers wondering what it's up to. Last week Google asked the FCC for permission to set up an "experimental radio service" within a two-mile radius of its headquarters, using frequencies incompatible...

Starting Today, TV Ads Can't Blare Anymore

FCC implements rule toning down volume of commercials

(Newser) - TV viewing could soon sound a little calmer. The CALM Act, which limits the volume of TV commercials, goes into effect today. CALM stands for Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation. The act is designed to prevent TV commercials from blaring at louder volumes than the program content they accompany, and it...

FCC Wants to Tax Broadband
 FCC Wants to Tax Broadband 
Aug 27, 2012 12:50 PM CDT

FCC Wants to Tax Broadband

Tech companies line up to lobby for and against

(Newser) - The FCC is considering imposing a tax on all broadband Internet services to help pay for expanded access to, well, broadband services. The move has gotten lots of attention from tech companies, but little from anyone else, the Hill reports. "If members of Congress understood that the FCC is...

Supreme Court Strikes Down FCC's Profanity Policy

Broadcasters won't have to pay fines, sanctions

(Newser) - The US Supreme Court has thrown out fines and sanctions against broadcasters who violated the FCC policy regulating curse words and nudity on broadcast television. The justices declined today to issue a broad ruling on the constitutionality of the FCC indecency policy. Instead, the court concluded only that broadcasters could...

'Know-It-All' Street View Engineer Identified

Googler who knew data was snatched is outed

(Newser) - The noose appears to be tightening around Google. Federal sources have now identified the Google engineer who knew —and informed co-workers and a boss—that Street View cars were snatching unencrypted personal data from potentially millions of household wireless networks over three years, according to government investigators. Google execs...

Google Knew Street View Was Snatching Data: FCC

Engineer told manager exactly what was happening, says report

(Newser) - The fact that Google's Street View operation was snatching citizens' personal data from the air shouldn't have come as a surprise to company execs—because their own engineer told them it was happening, according to a new federal report. Google has maintained all along that secret collection of...

Supreme Court May Rule on 'Wardrobe Malfunction'

FCC wants its $550,000 fine against CBS reinstated

(Newser) - The infamous 2004 Super Bowl wardrobe malfunction may make it all the way to the Supreme Court. The FCC filed an appeal to the high court today, asking it to reconsider a decision by a lower court that threw out a $550,000 fine the FCC levied against CBS, reports...

Google Fined $25K for Stalling Street View Probe

Company refused to cooperate with investigation: FCC

(Newser) - The Federal Communications Commission was sympathetic in 2010 when Google said it was really, really sorry its street map vehicles accidentally picked up people's personal information from their wireless home networks. Two years later, however, the FCC is exasperated by Google's lack of cooperation with a probe into...

FCC to Kill Stolen Phones
 FCC to Kill Stolen Phones 
Apr 10, 2012 11:41 AM CDT

FCC to Kill Stolen Phones

New database will allow carriers to identify, shut down phones

(Newser) - Pretty soon, a stolen cellphone will be "as worthless as an empty wallet," Charles Schumer boasted in a statement yesterday, touting a new deal between the FCC and major cellphone carriers that will allow the carriers to shut down pilfered phones. The FCC has agreed to set up...

Steinem, Fonda to Clear Channel, FCC: Dump Rush

Limbaugh's hate speech is eating valuable radio spectrum, feminists say

(Newser) - Three of the biggest names in American feminism—Jane Fonda, Robin Morgan, and Gloria Steinem—are calling on the FCC to yank the licenses of channels that air Rush Limbaugh, saying his "degrading" and "dehumanizing" language is not in the public interest. "Spectrum is a scarce government...

Government to Auction Off Public Airwaves

Payroll tax compromise could lead to faster wireless speeds

(Newser) - Congress is expected to approve a bill that would sell off public airwaves currently used for television to wireless Internet companies, speeding up broadband for mobile devices across the country, while at the same time creating a long-sought-after national communications network for emergency services. What is this revolutionary communications bill?...

Arizona Bill Would Restrict Teachers' Speech

Proposed legislation would punish those who violate FCC standards

(Newser) - Arizona doesn't want its teachers cussing in class—and new proposed legislation would actually make it illegal to do so. GOP state lawmakers are behind Senate Bill 1467, which would require public school teachers to adhere to the FCC's TV and radio standards. That means certain limits on...

Cops: Remote Shutdowns Would Curb Phone Thefts

They want FCC, carriers to put safeguard in place

(Newser) - With smartphone robberies soaring, frustrated police are calling for regulators and service providers to shut down stolen phones remotely to reduce their value, reports the Washington Post . About 40% of robberies in Washington in 2011 involved smartphones, iPods, or tablets, while in New York City the figure was nearly 50%....

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