2010 June InfoTech & Telecom News (full-text pdf)

Published June 1, 2010

The June issue of InfoTech & Telecom News highlights FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski’s National Broadband Plan — which he unveiled exactly one month after a federal court ruled the agency lacks the authority to regulate the Internet. A Rasmussen Reports poll shows most Americans oppose the FCC’s plan.

Also in this issue:

  • Three U.S. Senate Democrats are hoping to close a loophole in federal wiretapping laws that allowed a suburban Philadelphia school to spy on students via a laptop camera.
  • Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has embarked on a carrot-and-stick approach to regulate user privacy on the Internet.
  • Advocates of government transparency were pleased when Congress followed through on its 2009 promise to list online all earmarks stuffed into appropriation bills–but the spending database does not live up to its promise.
  • The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to rule on a constitutional challenge to California’s ban on the sale and rental of violent video games to minors.
  • Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn (D) saw a tax on music and movie downloads as a great way to help plug a huge hole in the state budget–for one day. He quickly backed off the proposal after getting blowback from state legislators.