Big News Wednesday: Net Neutrality is Dead (in the US)

For now, anyway. 

The FCC announced a plan to allow content providers (e.g. Netflix) to pay internet service providers (e.g. Comcast) for faster and more reliable internet connections to paying customers. This is literally the opposite of net neutrality, and goes against the trend in regulations in Europe (see this NYT article for more). What's surprising about his decision is that it didn't have to be made. Neither Comcast nor Netflix are struggling for revenue, and Google Fiber is keeping ISPs on their toes in terms of infrastructure development too. January's decision to strike down the FCC's net neutrality principles didn't say they lacked the authority in total, rather, that the FCC would first have to treat ISPs as common carriers to be able to justify the level of regulation that net neutrality entails. This is exactly the shift that we see in Europe today, but yesterday the US went in another direction. 

Reporter's Privilege (and Prior Restraint) Prezi

The recording of the lecture is up on the recordings page. PDF of the Prezi is here. Let me know if you have any questions, okay?

NYT: "When ‘Liking’ a Brand Online Voids the Right to Sue"

Bit of a public interest story here, but one that connects with a lot of topics we've been discussing all semester. I'm curious how you all react to General Mills' new policy which limits consumer rights to take action against the company if the consumer has so much as "liked" it on Facebook or downloaded a coupon from its website. According to the NYT: 

"Anyone who has received anything that could be construed as a benefit and who then has a dispute with the company over its products will have to use informal negotiation via email or go through arbitration to seek relief, according to the new terms posted on its site. In language added on Tuesday after The New York Times contacted it about the changes, General Mills seemed to go even further, suggesting that buying its products would bind consumers to those terms."

This policy is obviously appalling and seems closer to something out of a movie script that than real life. The article goes on to question whether the policy would actually hold up in court. I would also add that consumers aren't powerless, as there is almost zero reason why anyone ever needs to buy a General Mills product. I certainly won't be buying any of their foodstuffs ever again (though I'll miss the Bugles!).

Link to recorded lectures is fixed!

Seriously not my day....but, alas, the link to the recorded lectures has been fixed. You should be able to access the lectures and download to your personal computer, tablet or smart phone. Please note that the recordings for Defamation and Openness in Government lectures are from a previous semester, as I was not able to record them this spring. Thus, they may not be up to date and I strongly encourage you to supplement them (and all other recordings) with your notes from class as well as the text book. 

Required reading has been corrected

I've fixed the class schedule to reflect the correct book chapters for each week's required reading. Apologies for any confusion! I'm using the edition, FYI. Thanks to Jack for noticing the discrepancy. As always, let me know if you have any questions!

Minor Right to Speech // Privacy Prezis

Link to PDFs here. 

Defamation Prezi

As always, download a PDF of the presentation here. 

Senate takes up the Comcast-Time Warner Cable Merger

The Senate Committee of the Judiciary held hearings yesterday to press Comcast and Time Warner Cable executives on the merits of their proposed $45 billion merger. The WSJ covered the hearings, including links to Comcast's 180 page report defending the merger, noting: "If the deal wins approval, Comcast would have 30% of the nation’s pay-TV subscribers and nearly 40% of U.S. broadband subscribers." While Congress doesn't actually get to vote on the deal itself, their deliberations can shape reviews by the two Federal agencies (the Department of Justice and the FCC) that will determine if the merger will proceed. 

The hearing, and the supporting documents provide some terrific research for both sides of the media ownership debate. I encourage you to read through and use them in your term paper!