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October 27, 2006
'Google Bombs' On The Campaign Trail
The 2006 campaign is being "Google-bombed." Both liberal and conservative bloggers this week started trying to manipulate the Google search engine so that negative articles about the candidates they oppose appear near the top.
Liberal blogger Chris Bowers of MyDD outlined the strategy first. He said the plan involves purchasing Google AdWords that will place each negative article on the most common searches for each Republican candidate in about 50 targeted races.
Conservative blogger John Hawkins of Right Wing News learned of the strategy and urged his allies to "fight fire with fire."
Experts in political technology disagreed about whether the effort could succeed in time for the election, and Google criticized the effort and said such campaigns to distort search results are unlikely to be effective.
Other technology-related topics in news this week included controversy over campaign "robocalls," the push for e-voting standards, and IBM's patent suit against Amazon.com. Listen to the podcast for details.
Posted by Technology Daily at 10:50 AM | Permalink
October 20, 2006
Making Money With Musical Ring Tones
You know that favorite tune stored as a ring tone on your cell phone? The recording industry stands to make bundles of money for those ring tones under a new Copyright Office ruling.
The office decided that most ring tones are subject to royalties under the compulsory licensing system of copyright law. The recording industry said the decision helps inject clarity into the music marketplace.
A communications analyst said the market for musical ring tones could have bottomed out without the move. But groups that represent songwriters and music publishers said the royalties could hurt an important new technology income scheme for them.
The tech-related news this week also featured discussions about anti-terrorism surveillance, border security, media consolidation and spectrum for emergency personnel. Listen to the podcast for details.
Posted by Technology Daily at 10:54 AM | Permalink
October 13, 2006
A Telecom Mega-Merger Without Rules
The push by AT&T and BellSouth to merge their telecommunications businesses in a $78 billion deal moved one step closer to reality this week.
The Justice Department approved the plan without imposing any conditions on it. It said the presence of other competitors, changing regulatory requirements and the emergence of new technologies warranted the ruling.
But the FCC's two Democratic commissioners harshly criticized the decision, and their desire for conditions on the deal delayed debate at the agency by at least a day. The FCC is tentatively scheduled to consider the merger proposal today.
Also in the news this week, former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner announced that he will not seek the presidency in 2008. And the FTC charged two real-estate groups with hindering competition from online property brokerages.
Listen to the podcast for details of those stories and more.
Posted by Technology Daily at 09:19 AM | Permalink
October 06, 2006
The Online 'Grooming' Of House Pages
Much of political America is preoccupied with sex these days -- the cyber sex that former Rep. Mark Foley of Florida reportedly had or wanted to have with congressioinal pages -- and the discussion has prompted some talk of new laws.
The question some people on Capitol Hill are asking is whether Foley's explicit electronic communications with some pages was his attempt at "grooming" them for illegal sexual activities. Cyber-law expert Parry Aftab has been deluged with calls from Hill aides asking about the limitations of federal law in punishing such grooming.
Aftab said federal laws require proof of intent to perform criminally liable sexual acts. She has not decided for herself whether stronger laws against grooming are needed.
Other news on the technology front includes a push to grant telecommunications firms liability for anti-terrorism surveillance ordered by the government, the status of the fight for a permanent Internet tax moratorium, and the FCC's first field hearing on media ownership. Listen to the podcast for details.
Posted by Technology Daily at 10:41 AM | Permalink
