Press Releases

The following statement is attributed to Gigi B. Sohn, president and co-founder of Public Knowledge:

“We are concerned that several provisions in this bill could have harmful, if unintended, consequences that would harm consumers. The bill rightly targets enforcement of copyright law against commercial infringers, but some of these same enforcement provisions are likely to hurt ordinary consumers.

Seven public-interest and consumer groups, led by Public Knowledge, late yesterday called on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to turn down Hollywood’s request to take control of consumers’ TV sets and other devices.

Background: Press reports indicate FCC Chairman Kevin Martin is recommending that Comcast be punished for violating Commission policy statements to preserve an open Internet.

The following statement is attributed to Gigi B. Sohn, president and co-founder of Public Knowledge:

“We are pleased that Chairman Martin has decided to enforce the Commission’s policies preserving the rights of Internet users. Comcast’s conduct in throttling Internet traffic was deplorable when it was discovered, and remains deplorable today.

Two key merger conditions suggested recently by Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) “fall short of what is necessary to ensure that the merger is in the public interest,” Public Knowledge (PK) and Media Access Project (MAP) today told FCC Chairman Kevin Martin.

Background: Charter Communications said this afternoon it will not now move forward with a pilot project involving NebuAd, a company that provides targeted advertising for Internet Service Providers (ISPs). A technical investigation by Public Knowledge and Free Press found that consumers are having their Web browsing intercepted and Web sites are having their computer code altered by NebuAd. The report is available here.

The following statement is attributed to Gigi B. Sohn, president and co-founder of Public Knowledge:

“We are pleased that Charter has agreed to cancel its participation in pilot projects with NebuAd ‘at this time.’ However, Charter statement leaves room for participation at a future time. Should Charter decide to enter into commercial arrangements with NebuAd, it should be on the basis that NebuAd will not intercept customers’ data and plant false code in it.

Consumers are having their Web browsing intercepted and Web sites are having their computer code altered by NebuAd, a company that provides targeted advertising for Internet Service Providers (ISPs), according to a technical investigation by Free Press and Public Knowledge.

NebuAd is an online advertising company whose partnership with cable and phone companies has raised substantial privacy questions for House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet Chairman Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas).

In a new report, “NebuAd and Partner ISPs: Wiretapping, Forgery and Browser Hijacking,” Robert M. Topolski, the chief technical consultant for the organizations, found that NebuAd uses special equipment that “monitors, intercepts and modifies the contents of Internet packets” as consumers go online. Topolski, the network engineer who made public Comcast’s throttling of BitTorrent applications, said in the report that “NebuAd commandeers users’ Web browsers” to load tracking cookies and collects information from users in order to place ads from ISPs.
“Apparently, neither the consumers nor the affected Web sites have actual knowledge of NebuAd’s interceptions and modifications,” the report found.

The following statement is attributed to Gigi B. Sohn, president and co-founder of Public Knowledge:

“From what we have been able to read and to learn this morning, many of the conditions the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is considering placing on a potential merger of XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio are conditions that we have proposed and supported for more than a year, both in Congressional testimony, as well as in meetings with the Commission.

“We support what we have heard today about the Commission’s proposals, although we would like to know more about how the set-aside for noncommercial channels would be implemented.

“Press reports indicate that the Commission is considering placing a price cap on programming of perhaps three years, as well as that the new combined company;

• offer a la carte programming choices;
• open the standards for satellite radio receivers so that any device manufacturer can make satellite radios;

The following statement is attributed to Gigi B. Sohn, president and co-founder of Public Knowledge:

“The Verizon Wireless purchase of Alltel raises serious questions for consumers that will have to be addressed through antitrust analysis, and through public-interest conditions by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Background: The Senate Judiciary Committee today approved on voice vote S. 2913, The Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act of 2008. (Bentley was a former Committee staff member who died at age 41.) Orphan works are works, such as photographs, music or film, or other works for which the copyright holder can’t be found by someone who wants to use the work in a way that normally would require permission. Works can become “orphaned” for a number of reasons: the owner did not register the work, the owner sold rights in the work and did not register the transfer, the owner died and his heirs cannot be found.

The following statement is attributed to Gigi B. Sohn, president and co-founder of Public Knowledge:

The Max Planck Institute has released a new survey of worldwide BitTorrent traffic finding that Comcast and Cox are the chief offenders for throttling traffic, and that they block at all hours of the day and night.

The study is here:
http://broadband.mpi-sws.mpg.de/transparency/results/

The following statement is attributed to Gigi B. Sohn, president and co-founder of Public Knowledge:

“This study is further proof that the largest cable companies are hiding behind ‘network management’ excuses when caught throttling the legitimate traffic of their customers. This study clearly shows there is no blocking at peak usage times, or on certain busy days. The study found the ‘percentage of blocked connections remains high at all times of the day. Our data suggests that the BitTorrent blocking is independent of the time of the day.’