Civil rights groups urge hearing to weigh RIAA tax impact on minority broadcasters Radio Facts
The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, Rainbow PUSH Coalition and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law today urged the House Judiciary Committee to delay any action on legislation supported by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) until the committee holds a hearing to weigh the legislation’s impact on minority-owned broadcast radio stations. Noting “two significant voting rights cases” before the Supreme Court, Rainbow PUSH and the Lawyers’ Committee explained that “the chief remaining resource to ensure that African Americans can participate fully in the democratic process will be the continued engagement of minority radio broadcasters to drive turnout.”

Google: We’re good for journalism CNet News
Google is under attack for profiting from content produced by newspaper executives, magazine publishers, and The Associated Press, but the company’s Marissa Mayer on Wednesday sought to convince the U.S. Senate that Google adds to journalism, too. The most recent attack, by Forbes.com Chief Executive Jim Spanfeller, decried “the parasitical nature of its business model” and asserted that Google makes about $60 million a year directing people to the Forbes site.

India ahead of US, UK in IP laws, enforcement practices Economic Times
India has been ranked as the country with the world’s most consumer friendly intellectual property (IP) laws since its copyright Indian IP regulations allow citizens great freedom to access and utilise information for educational and development purposes. This emerged in a study of 16 countries, including economically advanced ones, undertaken by the Malaysia-based Consumers International, which calls itself the “world’s only global consumer advocacy body”. Consumers International said its first IP Watch List focused on copyright – which has “the most immediate impact on consumers’ access to knowledge and thereby on their educational, cultural and developmental opportunities”.

YouTube is losing money hand over fist, says Credit Suisse. As is Twitter. – The Telegraph
If you want to get to grips with the scale of the challenge facing the newspaper industry, consider this slightly amazing piece that was published in Advertising Age a couple of days ago. It describes at some length and in jolly detail (as do the various links from it, which are also worth following) the ways in which those massive cyber success stories YouTube and Twitter are believed to be losing money hand over fist, currently surviving only on the largesse of venture capitalists and Google (which recently bought YouTube despite it being loss-making). Zillions of hits every day, the confidence of their users and unrivalled niches on the internet have apparently failed so far to create the conditions for monetisation (the dread word).

Tech Rumor of the Day: Apple The Street
AT&T (T Quote) is considering a $10 price cut for the iPhone’s monthly service plan when Apple (AAPL Quote) introduces the newest version of the phone next month. There is a “strong possibility” that AT&T will drop the entry-level price to $59 from $69, says Cote Collaborative analyst Michael Cote, an industry pricing strategist. The announcement, he said, will probably accompany the launch of the new iPhone on June 8, during Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference.

Cybercriminals use fake search engines to spread malware CNet News
Cybercriminals have moved on from search engine optimization techniques and are now creating fake search sites designed solely to direct Web surfers to pages hosting malware, Panda Security warned on Wednesday. Previously, attackers resorted to sending e-mails with malicious code in attachments and with links to malicious Web sites and took measures to push those Web sites higher in search engine rankings. Now, they’re also creating fake search engines that are showing up in Google search results, according to a PandaLabs blog posting.

AGs v. Craigslist: Putting the Bully Back Into Bully Pulpit EFF
Here we go again. On Tuesday, South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster notified craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster that unless craigslist removes its erotic services section within 10 days, “craigslist management may be subject to criminal investigation and prosecution.” McMaster’s threat comes on the heels of increasingly bellicose rhetoric in recent weeks from other AGs such as Rhode Island AG Patrick Lynch, Illinois AG Lisa Madigan, and Connecticut AG Richard Blumenthal. The case further echos the suit brought by Cook County (Illinois) Sheriff Thomas Dart back in March seeking, among other things, compensation for funds the County spent on combating prostitution. The AGs would almost certainly lose any such threatened lawsuit.

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May, 2009