Media Policy

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Restrictive media policies can curtail access to the content we do have through the infrastructure we currently have in place. There are clear roles for funders to play in helping to address media policy issues and GFEM works to keep funders abreast of the constantly shifting media policy environment.

The Media Policy Working Group (MPWG) was created to raise awareness and build knowledge about key issues in media policy within the broader philanthropic community. Our aim is to engage and educate grantmakers across fields about the ever-changing media policy and communications policy landscape, as well as foster collaboration among interested donors in support of targeted activities to help advance the media policy field. MPWG activities include a quarterly teleconference and periodic phone briefings on timely issues in addition to quarterly updates in the GFEM newsletter. MPWG also partners with other funder affinity groups to organize media policy-related sessions at national gatherings. Membership is open to grantmakers working in and outside the U.S. with an interest in learning and sharing grantmaking experiences about media policy in the public interest. If you would like to join the MPWG please contact jperlstein (at) gfem (dot) org.

Enough, Already: The SOPA Debate Ignores How Much Copyright Protection We Already Have

[Source: The Atlantic, by Margot Kaminski, February 8, 2012]
When it comes to copyright enforcement, American content companies are already armed to the teeth, yet they persist in using secretly negotiated trade agreements to further their agenda.   In the ...

Meet ACTA: PIPA and SOPA’s Big Brother

[Source: Access, January 25, 2012]
Sign the Access petition calling on the European Parliament to vote NO on ACTA!   Last week, online activists took to the streets in New York and San Francisco to protest SOPA and PIPA, convincing ...

Supreme Court Sidesteps Digital Privacy … For Now

[Source: GigaOm, by Derrick Harris, January 24, 2012]
On Monday, the Supreme Court deemed it unconstitutional in most cases to use GPS to track suspects without first obtaining a warrant — calling the attachment of a GPS device to a suspect’s ...

Next Battle over Net Ramps Up Worldwide

[Source: Politico, by Eliza Krigman, January 18, 2012]
While Congress is consumed by the online piracy battle, an arguably more important fight over the future of the Internet is quietly unfolding abroad.   In the coming months, countries will ...

Understanding PIPA/SOPA & Why You Should Be Concerned

[Source: NewLeftMedia, January 18, 2012]
Most everyone has noticed the swath of websites that were blacked out in protest of the pending PIPA/SOPA legislation in Congress, but not as many people understand exactly why those bills are ...

PIPA and SOPA Votes Shelved. Your Move, Web.

[Source: GigaOm, by Stacey Higginbotham, January 20, 2012]
Update: After this story was published, the House Judiciary chairman and co-sponsor of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) also said he would postpone the vote to bring SOPA out of committee (it’s ...

Media Alliance Joins 7,000 Websites in a Day of Darkness to Protest Stop IP Act

[Source: Media Alliance, by Tracy Rosenberg, January 18, 2012]
Oakland, CA - Across the United States, thousands of websites from large to small joined a symbolic day of digital darkness to protest the online anti-piracy bills, SOPA and PIPA, which they ...

How PIPA and SOPA Violate White House Principles Supporting Free Speech and Innovation

[Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation, by Trevor Timm, January 16, 2012]
Over the weekend, the Obama administration issued a potentially game-changing statement on the blacklist bills, saying it would oppose PIPA and SOPA as written, and drew an important line in the ...

Roundup of Articles on SOPA and PIPA Blackout

  Biggest Day Ever of Online Protest in English The Benton Foundation's Kevin Taglang offers a terrific roundup of developments regarding SOPA and PIPA, along with responses from the White House, ...

Verizon's Deal with Big Cable Spells the Demise of the Telecom Act

[Source: Save the Internet, by Joel Kelsey, January 5, 2012]
We all remember the 1980s and its awesome fashion and music. While some may want to revisit those aspects of the past, I don't think anyone wants to return to the era of the cable and Ma Bell ...