FCC news stories on Newser

FCC Chairman: Boston Player's On-Air F-Bomb Fine by Me

Evann Gastaldo — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 12:17:15 CDT

David Ortiz recently let an F-bomb fly during a live broadcast, but the Boston Red Sox player had kind of a good reason—and even the FCC chairman agrees. "This is our fucking city and nobody’s going to dictate our freedom," Ortiz said Saturday before the Sox played the Kansas...

FCC Boss Calling It Quits

Matt Cantor — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 03:00:10 CDT

The head of the FCC will announce his exit today after four years on the job, insiders tell Reuters . The expected move comes ahead of his term's end in June. President Obama appointed ex-venture capitalist Julius Genachowski in 2009; his term saw the commission halt a proposed T-Mobile-AT&T merger , the...

FCC Puts Kibosh on Cell Phone Signal Boosters

Kevin Spak — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 15:41:05 CST

The FCC today ordered the 2 million Americans using wireless signal boosters to turn them off—then quickly backpedaled, saying only that they might have to turn them off. The FCC adopted new rules governing the devices, which are designed to boost cell phone reception, but which regulators fear will...

Airwaves Fight Threatens ... Cordless Microphones?

John Johnson — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 17:09:29 CST

Might the cordless microphone go the way of Betamax? The Wall Street Journal calls attention to a weird battle in the ongoing fight over control of the nation's airwaves, one that has united groups such as megachurches, the NFL, and Broadway theaters. They're all lobbying to save cordless mics. The...

CBS May Be in Trouble for Flacco F-Bomb

Evann Gastaldo — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 09:53:16 CST

Another Super Bowl will be investigated by the FCC—not for a wardrobe malfunction this time, but for an F-bomb. While celebrating last night's win, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco appeared to say, "This is fucking awesome," Politico reports. Another player apparently said, "Holy shit." The Parents Television Council has,...

Google Is Building a Private Wireless Network at HQ

Kevin Spak — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 12:35:24 CST

Google is creating its own, experimental wireless network for its headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., leaving tech watchers wondering what it's up to. Last week Google asked the FCC for permission to set up an "experimental radio service" within a two-mile radius of its headquarters, using frequencies incompatible with virtually...

Starting Today, TV Ads Can't Blare Anymore

Thu, 13 Dec 2012 15:24:05 CST

TV viewing could soon sound a little calmer. The CALM Act, which limits the volume of TV commercials, goes into effect today. CALM stands for Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation. The act is designed to prevent TV commercials from blaring at louder volumes than the program content they accompany, and it...

FCC Wants to Tax Broadband

Kevin Spak — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 12:50:32 CDT

The FCC is considering imposing a tax on all broadband Internet services to help pay for expanded access to, well, broadband services. The move has gotten lots of attention from tech companies, but little from anyone else, the Hill reports. "If members of Congress understood that the FCC is contemplating...

Supreme Court Strikes Down FCC's Profanity Policy

Thu, 21 Jun 2012 10:14:47 CDT

The US Supreme Court has thrown out fines and sanctions against broadcasters who violated the FCC policy regulating curse words and nudity on broadcast television. The justices declined today to issue a broad ruling on the constitutionality of the FCC indecency policy. Instead, the court concluded only that broadcasters could...