AfterDawn: News

GAO blasts FCC for anti-consumer bias

In a report that shouldn't surprise long time Afterdawn visitors, the U.S. General Accounting Office accuses FCC members of a bias toward helping Washington lobbyists. The report states that some at the agency leak details regarding what votes are coming up to industry lobbyists, who then have a chance to stage some sort of campaign to get whatever result they're looking for.

The report says "this imbalance of information is not the intended result of the Communications Act and it runs contrary to the principles of transparency and equal opportunity for participation established by law and to FCC's own rules that govern rulemaking."



David Fiske, director of media relations at the agency, said in an interview that FCC Chairman Kevin Martin "has always been very open and transparent" about what issues are coming to a vote and that the commission is "exploring ways in which we can make our processes even more open and transparent."

Despite FCC claims of neutrality, events over the last few years tell a different story. It was, after all, the the FCC that first attempted to mandate compatibility with the so-called broadcast flag. The broadcast flag, which the television industry has been fighting to get for years, would allow digital broadcasts to tell a potential recording device that it's not authorized to record them. Before being shot down by a Federal Court as outside the agency's authority, FCC regulations would have required all consumer electronics devices to not only support, but be dictated to by the flag.

As far as consumer groups go, agency members aren't nearly as forthcoming about what's going on. the study says consumer advocates "who generally represent consumer and public interest groups, told us they do not know when FCC is about to vote on a rulemaking or when it would be best to meet with FCC staff to make their arguments."

Besides the obvious ethical issues, the leaks may also represent illegal behavior. FCC rules state that the agenda items are "nonpublic information" and "shall not be disclosed, directly or indirectly, to any person outside the Commission."

Sources:
Wired
DSLReports

Written by: Rich Fiscus @ 4 Oct 2007 5:36

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• 10 comments

• chaos_zzz

  first doesn't matter can someone explain dun understand :(

  4.10.2007 05:41 #1

• Ocean23

  A lobbyist is an activist usually paid by an interest group to promote their positions to legislatures. A lobbyist can also work to change public opinion through advertising campaigns or by influencing 'opinion leaders' or pundits, thereby creating a climate for the change his or her employer desires. The word lobbyist comes from the chambers in which the act of lobbying usually takes place, an anteroom near legislative bodies, for instance, or even the lobby of hotels where important people are staying.
  
  So this report that was leaked says that the fcc is giving reports to certain lobbyists, most likely becasue they are gaining something from it, and the report says what votes are coming up and that gives these lobbyists time to go spread their propoganda and pre-pare all their bullshit before the vote comes.
  Lobbyists are the ones causing all the the bullshit in the goverment.
  These people that have high posistions in goverment are there because they are greedy, so any chance they get to make more money they take it.

  4.10.2007 07:02 #2

• nobrainer

  What do ppl actually expect from a nation beset on destroying all socialist ideas using propaganda to make ppl think that only communists and failed nations rely on government control in favour of the capitalist screw over so the 1% ruling class can continue to keep every one in dept having to pay a premium for a service that should be standard.
  
  didn't gw bush say that net neutrality was a bad idea as it would restrict the service to Americans not so long ago, you can see who lines his pockets with gold, and where his vested interests lie!
  
  http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?doci...earch&plindex=0
  
  
  

  Track What Companies Have Edited Wiki http://wikiscanner.virgil.gr/ (very heavy load atm)

  4.10.2007 08:39 #3

• edsrouter

  I just want to address the subject of corruption. All governments have some sort of corruption communist or capitalist. Capitalism as well as communism is a good idea at its core principle, but at the heart of both subjects is the corruption: Money. In a perfect world I would use the Capitalist model and have some sort of profit cap. I mean, really, what is a company going to do with 100 billion dollars a year in profit besides buy other corporations? How can greed still be a factor in profit margins that high? How are we advancing as a human race when our only goal is greed?
  
  The corruption inside the FCC is amazing. Big media is always trying to monopolize the market and the FCC is the forerunner in this. For more information on the history into this corruption of the FCC go here.

  4.10.2007 12:13 #4

• eLeCTR0n

  shame on FCC

  4.10.2007 14:01 #5

• duckNrun

  Originally posted by edsrouter: I mean, really, what is a company going to do with 100 billion dollars a year in profit besides buy other corporations?well for starters they COULD pay dividends on that profit to their shareholders.....you know those people who have bought stock, invested their retirement funds etc into the company...
  
  Of course these evil greedy corporation b@stards instead could be capped on the profits they make, and therefore the return they provide to these investors, who are not always the rich and famous. Many retirement plans, public and private, relay on these outrageous profits as a way to provide a future income to people when they are too old to work. There's a reason that $10,000 a year invested for 25 years can produce over 1 MILLION dollars in a portfolio as opposed to the 'paltry' $250,000 that would be acrued without the return rate produced by these greedy profit mongers.
  
  just a thought.

  4.10.2007 15:00 #6

• ZippyDSM

  Regulation bought by lobbyists who would thought!

  4.10.2007 20:39 #7

• borhan9

  Good to see them fighting among themselves.

  10.10.2007 21:42 #8

• nobrainer

  Originally posted by borhan9: Good to see them fighting among themselves.fighting to screw us over!

  11.10.2007 07:32 #9

• Cableproblems

  Yes, I need to voice my concerns over a private landlord who won't let us disabled low-income tenants have our freedom of coice about using the cheaper TV cable providers..I nedd the FCC phone number to call and start my complaint..
  

  18.11.2011 08:12 #10