WASHINGTON -- On Friday, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) said that he has suggested removing a provision from the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) that would allow for blocking domain names of websites that illegally post copyrighted content.

WASHINGTON -- On Thursday, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said in an interview with Vermont Public Radio that he was willing to eliminate a provision from the controversial PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) that allows for blocking domain names of websites that illegally post copyrighted content.

WASHINGTON – In a speech delivered Monday morning, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski outlined his approach for reforming the Universal Service Fund's "Lifeline" program, which provides financial support to eligible recipients who cannot afford vital communications services such as basic telephone service.

WASHINGTON -- According to the <em>Wall Street Journal</em>, the Federal Communications Commission has approved AT&T's $1.9 billion acquisition of spectrum licenses from Qualcomm. The licenses are for use of the valuable airwaves in the 700 MHz band — prime spectrum for mobile broadband use, of which AT&T already holds a considerable amount.

WASHINGTON -- On Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission proposed rules that would further weaken media ownership limits for local newspapers and broadcast stations. The agency's proposal is strikingly similar to one adopted in 2007 under former FCC Chairman Kevin Martin.

WASHINGTON -- On Monday, AT&T and T-Mobile reportedly abandoned their proposed $39-billion merger.

WASHINGTON -- On Monday, Verizon Wireless filed a statement with the Federal Communications Commission regarding its agreement to purchase prime wireless broadband spectrum licenses from cable operators Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House.

WASHINGTON -- On Friday, Cox Communications announced that it will sell its spectrum to Verizon Wireless, in a deal similar to the one announced by Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks earlier this month. Like Verizon’s deal with the other companies, the agreement also means Cox will resell Verizon services to its customers as part of a cable-wireless bundle.

WASHINGTON -- On Thursday, the House Judiciary Committee held a markup of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), which would give companies largely unchecked power to blacklist thousands of websites that they suspect of copyright infringement. If enacted, SOPA could force popular websites where people share videos, images and other data to censor user content or risk being blocked themselves.

WASHINGTON – Responding to reports that the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission are taking a closer look into allegations that Carrier IQ software is tracking cellphone activity and sharing it without the users’ knowledge.