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Net Neutrality Vets Join Obama FCC Transition Team

Posted by Soulskill on from the setting-the-table dept.

circleid writes "The Obama-Biden transition team on Friday named two long-time net neutrality advocates to head up its Federal Communications Commission Review team. Susan Crawford, a professor at the University of Michigan Law School, member of the board of directors of ICANN, and OneWebDay founder, as well as Kevin Werbach, former FCC staffer, organizer of the annual Supernova technology conference, and a Wharton professor, will lead the Obama-Biden transition team's review of the FCC. 'Both are highly-regarded outside-the-Beltway experts in telecom policy, and they've both been pretty harsh critics of the Bush administration's telecom policies in the past year.' The choice of the duo strongly signals an entirely different approach to the incumbent-friendly telecom policy-making that's characterized most of the past eight-years at the FCC." Reuters has a related story about Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND), who plans to introduce net neutrality legislation in January.

6 of 179 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Refreshing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    They are part of his transition team. Nobody said anything about cabinet appointments yet.

  2. Re:So... by kipin · · Score: 4, Informative

    I think you're looking for the Parents Television Council and some would place the number closer to 99% of all complaints.

    This is the same organization that had form letter email campaigns that encouraged people who didn't even watch the damn shoes to report them as "indecent".

    I guess you could say they figured out how to DDoS the FCC with complaints.

    --
    If I can not smoke in heaven, then I shall not go. -- Mark Twain
  3. First thing the Bush admin did by Nicolas+MONNET · · Score: 5, Informative

    The Clinton FCC had forced phone companies and cable companies to lease their lines to competitors at fair prices.
    One of the first things the Bush FCC did was to undo this.
    (The exact opposite happened in France around the same time; the EU forced phone line unbundling to the former state monopoly. Result? Cheap, abundant broadband)

    1. Re:First thing the Bush admin did by spiritraveller · · Score: 3, Informative

      "Clinton FCC" and "Bush FCC" are sort of misnomers. The FCC is an independent Federal agency that does not fall under the Executive branch.

      Commissioners are appointed to five year terms by the President, with approval of the Senate. Once appointed, they are similar to Federal judges in that they may only be removed by impeachment (or the expiration of a term). The President has influence over who gets onto the Commission, but he cannot fire them or tell them what policy to make.

      There is an additional check on the influence of the President in that no more than 3 of the 5 commissioners may be of the same political party. So the President can have some influence in who he appoints over time, but even if he gets two terms, he cannot completely alter the partisan make-up of the Commission.

  4. Re:Bizarro World by hanshotfirst · · Score: 2, Informative

    Sorry to pinch you, but he named people to a review team which is advising a transition team, not exactly an important government post. He still has time to put doofuses there.

    --
    Why, oh why, didn't I take the Blue Pill?
  5. Re:Yes, it was deregulated by Nicolas+MONNET · · Score: 2, Informative

    The Glass-Steagal act, which was a regulation; was mostly repealed. That's a DEregulation.