GOP Senator John Kennedy has now introduced a bill designed to fortify the FCC’s recent repeal of net neutrality. The measure would ban U.S. states like Washington from creating their own net neutrality laws. It’s hard to tell if the …
Category archives: Legislative
Comcast Found ‘Accidentally’ Blocking Legitimate Sites — Including PayPal and Steam
Scared yet? Comcast’s Xfinity broadband internet access service has been found blocking a number of legitimate sites through its ‘Protected Browsing’ option. The internet is full of bad things: malware, phishing attacks, nefario…
Oregon Becomes the Second U.S. State to Pass a Law Protecting Net Neutrality
Oregon joins Washington in the net neutrality rebellion. Just days after Washington passed its momentous law protecting net neutrality, Oregon has followed suit. Indeed, it now appears that the entire west coast of the United States will soon hav…
Senate Democrats Introduce a Formal Resolution to Block the Net Neutrality Repeal — & Feed Republicans to the Lions
“On #NetNeutrality, it’s clear @SenateGOP is listening to corporate lobbyists and not their constituents. Because if they were, there would only be one choice: support my resolution to save net neutrality .” — @SenMarkey, W…
Virginia Legislators Tried to Add a 50-Cent Tax to Every Netflix & Spotify Monthly Account
How much tax is too much tax? Just recently, Virginia legislators tried to add a 5% tax on every streaming video and audio service — including Netflix, Spotify, Hulu, Apple Music, and others. Sales tax is usually a pesky surcharge that you learn to li…
Beware Songwriters: The Music Modernization Act Sets the Stage for a Brutal Songwriter-Publisher Tug-Of-War
The Music Modernization Act is setting the stage for a brutal tug-of-war over tens of millions of dollars between individual songwriters and their publishers. H.R. 4706, also known as the Music Modernization Act, provides many benefits and updates to t…
State of California Passes Its Own Net Neutrality Bill — In Direct Defiance of the FCC
The State of California has officially passed a bill protecting net neutrality in its state. The move is a direct counter-attack against the FCC’s neutrality rollback. If the FCC wanted an even bigger problem, they got it this morning. After ma…
The US Government Is Forcing Streaming Services to Pay Songwriters 43.8% More
A new ruling from the US Government requires that streaming music services raise their royalty rates for songwriters and music publishers. Here are the details. The United States Copyright Board (CRB) held hearings from March to June of 2017 to deter…
San Jose’s Mayor Quits the FCC’s ‘Broadband Advisory Council’ — Says It “Plainly Prioritized Industry Interests”
San Jose mayor Sam Liccardo is publicly stepping down from the FCC’s ‘Broadband Advisory Council’. Liccardo says the Council is clearly designed to help corporate interests instead of citizens. The Federal Communications Commission s…
Indie Songwriters Feeling Left Out as the ‘Music Modernization Act’ Moves to the Senate
The ‘Music Modernization Act’ is being heralded as groundbreaking legislation for music and tech. But indie songwriters and publishers feel like they’re getting the shaft. Most music industry bills face brutal deaths, outmatched by s…