Senate Commerce Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.VA.) has launched an investigation into certain ecommerce marketing practices that generate thousands of mysterious monthly charges to consumer credit cards.
The source of these monthly fees comes from a group of marketing companies that obtain consumers’ billing information through agreements with popular online retail sites.
EBay Pressures Senate To Outlaw Minimum Pricing
eBay, Burlington Coat Factory, and the US Federal Trade Commission are pressuring the US Senate to pass a law banning vertical price-fixing, effectively overturning a 2007 Supreme Court decision.
Manufacturers and retailers actually call it vertical “retail price management” (RPM). The practice entails setting a minimum price retailers can sell specific items for. Remember last Christmas, when you spent hours online comparative shopping only to find out everybody who carried it was selling it for exactly the same price?
Senate Rules Committee OKs Vote Publishing Via XML
The Senate Rules Committee decided today to make US Senator roll-call votes available in XML format. The change is part of a growing effort to make government more transparent.
After much petition and long after the House of Representatives had done so, a feed showing all votes from individual Senators is now available. Previously, only how the Senate voted as a group was easily accessible, and only through unanimous agreement could one easily decipher how his or her representative voted.
US Senate’s Response To Online Privacy Laws For Advertising
The US Senate is holding a series of hearings on online advertising, behavioral targeting and privacy to determine whether they should consider legislation protecting consumers online in these areas. The Senate has turned to Google, Microsoft, the FTC, Facebook, privacy watchdogs and others for their opinions in the matter. Some, like Google, welcomed a “comprehensive privacy law that would establish a uniform framework for privacy and procedures to punish bad actors.”
Community Broadband Act To Reach Senate
The bipartisan Community Broadband Act, supported by some well-known US senators, was passed out the Senate Commerce Committee today and will proceed to the full Senate for a vote.
Senate Prepares Grill For Google
Google’s proposed purchase of DoubleClick has drawn the scrutiny of privacy advocates, the Federal Trade Commission, and now a Senate Judiciary subcommittee.
Internet Tax Ban Introduced In Senate
The Internet Tax Freedom Extension Act of 2007 was introduced in the Senate yesterday and would extend the current ban on Internet access taxes for another four years.
Senate Pushes Web Pharmacy Regulations
There’s most likely a balance between no regulation and too much regulation, and the current Democratic Congress is walking that line. No one would doubt the potential harm caused by "rogue" Web-dealers, but Sen. Patrick Leahy’s (D-Vt.) tightening grip on Internet service providers should at least cause one to step back a bit to look at it.
Senate Rejects Blogging Bill
The U.S. Senate has shot down a proposal that would have required some political bloggers to register as lobbyists or face prison time for up to 10 years. The Senate approved an amendment that removed the section that would have required some bloggers to be regulated.
Net Neutrality Bill Reaches Senate, YouTube
The Net Neutrality debate is now front and center in the US Senate (well, when their not talking about Iraq) as Senators Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Byron Dorgan (D-ND) introduce the Internet Freedom Preservation Act. Dorgan didn’t stop with the floor of the Senate, he also took his case to YouTube.