Good Morning Tech: ’30 Rock’ mocks merger; FCC takes on cell bills

’30 Rock’ mocks ‘vertical integration’ in NBC-Comcast merger

The
NBC sitcom “30 Rock” has taken repeated aim at parent company NBC
Universal over the years, so its treatment of the proposed NBC-Comcast
merger has been predictably sharp. Last night Alec Baldwin’s fictional
NBC executive Jack Donaghy was summoned to Washington to discuss the
implications of a potential merger between NBC and “Cabletown” and the
concept of “vertical integration.”

Asked to explain what
vertical integration is, Donaghy offered the following: “Imagine that
your favorite corn chip manufacturer also owned a number of diarrhea
medications.” When series star Tina Fey points out the possible downside
of such a relationship, Donaghy asserts his responsibility is to ensure
that such vertical integration, in this case between NBC and Cabletown,
does in fact take place.

As always, Baldwin’s character seems
fairly confident about the likelihood of his success; in a dismissive
aside, he informs Fey that these days Congress is mostly stocked with
former athletes and washed-up actors. Watch the episode here.

First
look: New campaign to stress children’s privacy

Common
Sense Media, a nonprofit that aims to help families navigate challenges
brought on by technology and media, will announce a campaign on Friday
to help families protect kids’ personal information online.

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Jon Leibowitz, Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski and Deputy
Education Secretary Anthony Miller will be on hand for the
announcement. It is scheduled for 10 a.m. at the National Press Club.
Read more in The Hill: http://bit.ly/bnoO7S

Bill
shock and awe coming next week

The FCC wants to regulate wireless
billing practices and is pressing hard to gain flattering publicity on
this policy. Genachowski will discuss his search for
a cure
in a speech on Wednesday at the Center for American Progress. He will
release the findings of a new FCC paper on “bill shock.” Read more in
The Hill: http://bit.ly/9n6TJ0

CEA invites broadcasters to Las Vegas show

Consumer
Electronics Association (CEA) President Gary Shapiro wrote to the
National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) on Thursday to oppose a
proposal that asks Congress to mandate FM radio reception on every cell
phone.

In a letter to NAB President Gordon Smith, Shapiro
extended a
“special invitation” to the NAB’s Radio Board and “any of your other
radio station members to join us at the 2011 International CES, Jan.
6-9 in Las Vegas, to explore the next generation of devices enabling
consumers to access local broadcast content.” Read more in The Hill: http://bit.ly/d0eYD6

FCC chairman gives broadband progress report

Genachowski received an award Thursday
night at an event held by One Economy, a group that works to bring
technology to low-income people. In accepting the award, Genachowski
stressed the challenges people face when they do not have an Internet
connection. Genachowski
said the FCC’s National Broadband Plan could help fill in the gaps. His
progress report: “A lot of progress. A lot of work to do.” Read more in
The Hill: http://bit.ly/bebxdT

Companies continue lobbying on conflict minerals rules

In
the
late stages of the debate over new financial regulations, Congress
dropped in a provision designed to restrict the trade of minerals that
have bankrolled conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
for the past 15 years.

During the debate, the World Gold Council, Honda North America Inc.,
Eastman Kodak Co., Motorola Inc. and Research in Motion, maker of the
BlackBerry, lobbied on the issue, according to congressional records. By
next spring, the Securities and Exchange Commission must write rules determining which companies must
comply, how the use of minerals should be tracked and the level of
reporting that is necessary.

“Our assumption is that the rules will apply to the bulk of the
high-tech industry because of tin and tantalum,” said Rick Goss, vice
president at the Information Technology Industry Council, which includes
more than 40 industry firms. Goss said the tech industry has already
been working on an audit program for smelters. Read more in The Hill: http://bit.ly/9VtiY1

Hill notes:

Udall encourages FCC to make ‘bill
shock’ rules.
Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) wrote to the FCC on Thursday to urge it to consider making new regulations to
protect consumers from “bill shock,” an issue he also addressed in
legislation introduced last month. http://bit.ly/dyCPun

Hutchison lauds NASA reauthorization bill.
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) praised the recently passed NASA
reauthorization bill on Thursday, claiming it will provide clear
direction and a new path forward for the nation’s space program. The
bill overhauls America’s space program by moving resources away from the
space shuttle program and toward the commercial space industry.
President Obama is expected to sign the bill into law this week. http://bit.ly/aekRf4

Intel, Microsoft, eBay support Rush’s privacy bill, while noting
concerns. The companies wrote to House Consumer Protection subcommittee
Chairman Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) on Monday in support of his privacy
legislation while advocating for the removal of one of its provisions. http://bit.ly/aHDYev

NARUC supports ‘bill shock’ legislation. The National Association of
Regulatory Utility Commissioners wrote to Senate Commerce leaders on
Thursday in support of “bill shock” legislation from Sen. Tom Udall
(D-N.M.). http://bit.ly/cpNeTH

Waxman: Title II is ‘imperfect,’ but ‘we just don’t have any other
recourse.’ House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and
Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) restated their calls for the FCC to move forward with Title II regulation
of broadband services in interviews with NPR that aired Wednesday. http://bit.ly/asn6ow

Industry notes:

Amazon amps up apps rivalry. Amazon.com is plotting a deeper
foray into Google Inc.’s and Apple Inc.’s turf, with plans to open an
online applications store for smartphones running Google’s Android
software, said people briefed on Amazon’s plans. http://bit.ly/a0y5Ic

Adobe shares surge on report of Microsoft merger. Adobe Systems Inc. shares surged 12 percent after a New York Times report fueled speculation that Microsoft might work more closely with the company, or even acquire it. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer recently met with Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen to discuss closer collaboration, the Times said. Two people familiar with the matter confirmed that the meeting took place at Adobe’s offices in San Francisco. http://bit.ly/9prpuv

Motorola sues Apple over alleged patent infringements. Motorola
is suing Apple alleging the iPhone, iPad and other Apple products
infringe on technology patents held by Motorola. Motorola filed
complaints in federal court and with the U.S. International Trade
Commission alleging Apple illegally used technologies developed by Motorola in its wireless devices. The complaints are the
latest in a series of long-running patent disputes involving numerous
large wireless firms. http://bit.ly/dCumLl

HP, Oracle lead $50 billion tech acquisition spree. Hewlett-Packard, Oracle and IBM are leading an acquisition spree that has propelled the value of U.S. technology deals 24 percent, to more than $50 billion this year, and broken down decades-old barriers between industries. http://bit.ly/ckcMvY

Akamai employee accused of aiding foreign government. An employee
of Akamai Technologies was arrested by the FBI and charged Wednesday
for, authorities allege, providing confidential business information to a
person he believed was an agent of a foreign government. Elliot Doxer,
42, was charged with one count of wire fraud for allegedly conspiring to
provide the agent of a foreign country with confidential business
information. http://bit.ly/b37y5U

Watercooler:

The blog Review My Life takes a look at the 13 users North Korea (@uriminzok) follows on Twitter: “Can we learn anything about North Korea’s secretive regime from who it is following? I don’t think so. I’d guess that when they set up their Twitter account, they just followed the first bunch of people who tweeted messages to them or about them.” http://bit.ly/9kKsts

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