Antitrust
Justice's Approval Of AT&T, BellSouth Deal Criticized
     The FCC's two Democratic regulators this week harshly criticized the Justice Department for approving, without conditions, the proposed AT&T, BellSouth merger. "The Justice Department has packed its bags and walked out on consumers and small businesses by refusing to impose even a single condition in the largest telecom merger the nation has ever seen," Commissioner Michael Copps complained in a statement. Under the decision, the merged firm would not be subject to an automatic judicial review. "This abdication looks suspiciously like an end-run around the public-interest review" required under antitrust law, Copps added. The FCC's other Democrat, Jonathan Adelstein, characterized Justice's conclusions as "a reckless abandonment of [the department's] responsibility to protect competition and consumers." The department, however, said "the presence of other competitors, changing regulatory requirements and the emergence of new technologies" prompted its decision. The FCC later postponed by its consideration of the merger by at least a day.

Campaigns
Mark Warner Decides Against 2008 White House Run
     Former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner announced that he will not seek the presidency in 2008. Warner said he made the decision after spending Columbus Day weekend with his family and after traveling to 86 events in 25 states to raise $7.3 million for Democrats this election season. Warner co-founded Nextel, and he was a favorite of the technology industry and bloggers in his party. He also was a leader in developing an interactive Web site. His Forward Together political action committee sponsored a contest to encourage young voters to register using text-messaging. "While politically this appears to be the right time for me to take the plunge, at this point, I want to have a real life," Warner said in an online statement. Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, talked to Warner and said he made the decision because he "is sane" and "has some very good values."

Campaigns
Watchdogs Spearhead Trio Of Transparency Efforts
     More information to help voters make decisions at the polls next month is just a few mouse clicks away thanks to a trio of projects launched by watchdog groups. OMB Watch and the Center for Responsive Politics launched FedSpending.org to offer information on government contracts and aid programs. For the first time, itemized information on $12 trillion in government transactions between fiscal 2000 and fiscal 2005 is available online. The searchable database was unveiled days after enactment of a law to create a similar government system. Public Citizen, meanwhile, unveiled a searchable database of campaign contributions. It released 10 state-based reports of lobbyist contributions, with the goal of covering all states by the election. And over the Columbus Day weekend, citizens working with the Sunlight Foundation determined that 13 House Republicans and six Democrats paid spouses from campaign funds.

Campaigns
Web Effort Offers Aid To Candidates For Election Posts
     A group of online Democratic activists is throwing its weight behind secretary of state candidates in battleground states this year by tapping into some of the grassroots fundraising infrastructure the party already has built on the Internet. The Secretary of State Project, which launched last month, provides Democratic supporters direct access to fundraising pages at the online clearinghouse ActBlue for statewide candidates in seven races. The goal is to boost funding for candidates with limited financial resources who are running for positions that have enormous influence over the administration of elections. The candidate who has benefited the most so far is Jennifer Brunner, the Democrat running against Hamilton County Courts Clerk Greg Hartmann. Brunner, a former county judge has raised more than $75,000 through the project, which also has targeted races in Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico and Nevada.

E-Commerce
Realty Groups Accused Of Hurting Web Competitors
     The FTC charged two real-estate groups that run multiple-listing with unlawfully stymieing competition. The agency said the groups limit consumer access to low-cost real-estate brokerages frequently offered on the Internet. The commission also struck deals with five other operators of multiple listing services that have discontinued the same conduct, FTC Competition Bureau Director Jeffrey Schmidt said. Historically, real-estate agents have handled everything from open houses and price negotiations to settlement. Web-based and brick-and-mortar businesses that offer more specialized services have lowered the costs of home-buying and selling. According to the FTC, all seven groups adopted rules that withheld valuable benefits of their multiple-listing services from consumers who opted for non-traditional contracts with real-estate brokers. Six of the seven companies named by the FTC blocked less-than-full-service home listings from being transmitted to popular Internet Web sites. The seventh adopted policies that included blocking such brokerage contracts from its listings entirely.

E-Commerce
Scandals May Spur Crackdown On Instant Messaging
     Instant messaging could be the next online regulatory target for lawmakers in the wake of two scandals involving the preservation of electronic communications, according to high-tech policy watchers. Explicit instant messages, or IMs, were the smoking guns in the ongoing House page scandal and in Hewlett-Packard's investigation of board members, employees and journalists. A bill aimed at limiting minors' unrestricted access to IM services could be introduced, Progress and Freedom Foundation Senior Fellow Adam Thierer surmised. He said the prospect is "interesting and troubling" because it could marry two distinct forms of regulation -- data retention and age verification of minors -- that have been discussed all year. Michele Stockwell of the Progressive Policy Institute said that while such regulation has been considered, no one seems ready to draft legislation. At least one member plans on highlighting the issue in the near future, she hinted.

Business
Google, YouTube Deal Has Legal, Political Risks
     The decision by Google to buy the YouTube video-sharing site has observers wondering about the potential legal and political impact of the deal. Google already is defending against copyright lawsuits from journalists and photographers. Now some observers wonder if the YouTube deal may add to those litigation headaches because YouTube posts content that sometimes includes television clips and other copyrighted material. But Phil Leigh, a senior analyst at Inside Digital Media, said he doubts that YouTube will be pursued like Napster and other music-sharing sites were for contributory infringement. He also said "most media companies realize YouTube is something that really benefits them." Conservative blogger Michelle Malkin, meanwhile, has criticized both Google and YouTube for editorial decisions and expects more of the same. "Google plus YouTube equals more trouble for conservative users," Malkin wrote, noting that Google officials largely have donated to Democrats.