Martin Changes Tune On Broadband Smut-Filter

In his final days as chairman of the FCC, Kevin Martin appears to have done an about face on a proposed content filter for free wireless broadband. After opposition killed the original plan, Martin has placed a new proposal, sans smut-filter, on the table for review at the next and final FCC meeting on January 15.

Perhaps it’s an attempt to end his tenure on a high note by doing something very positive for the nation—auctioning off spectrum to a wireless provider that can serve up wireless broadband to 95 percent of the country.

In a further twist, Martin didn’t call the Wall Street Journal or another paper of record to announce the plan. He called tech website

Martin admitted he had yet to garner any further Commission votes. The move is surprising given Martin’s history of penalizing broadcast networks for even fleeting, accidental language and images.

Supporters of a public national broadband network had