Influence Alley

Our friends at Tech Daily Dose have an interesting post about two Federal Communications Commission commissioners getting involved in a clash between the D.C. Taxicab Commission and Uber, a livery cab service dispatched using texts and mobile.

Here's Adam Mazmanian:

Uber, the livery cab service that is dispatched via mobile phone app or text message, has run afoul of the Taxicab Commission in Washington, D.C., which has crafted a draft set of regulations governing dispatched "sedan class" cars that would effectively shut Uber out of the market. Any new regulations will be finalized with the input of the City Council, which is showing signs of support for the upstart car service.

The Federal Communications Commission doesn't have a say in the matter, but Chairman Julius Genachowski and Republican Commissioner Ajit Pai are inserting themselves in the debate. In a speech Tuesday afternoon, Genachowski said, "There's a debate right now in Washington about rules that could discourage the innovative on-demand car service company Uber. Not hard to guess which side I'm on -- I'm on the side of innovation." Pai agreed, in the form of a tweeted reply that said that the new regulations would slow innovation.