FCC to carriers: Block unwanted text
The Federal Communications Commission voted Wednesday to clarify that telephone companies may block unwanted text messages in a move the agency said would help prevent spam from polluting the popular service.
The action is a loss for messaging company Twilio Inc. and free speech groups that had asked for more protections for text messages, saying carriers sometimes interfered.
With the vote, the FCC cleared up the the regulatory status of text messages. Supporters of the measure said it strengthens the legal foundation that allows phone companies to cut off unwanted messages.
The agency is "empowering wireless providers to continue taking action against unwanted text messages," said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. "We stand with American consumers, not those trying to bombard them with spam or scam robotexts."
Opponents of the move said carriers already have the ability to block unwanted texts, and might abuse the power to censor speech.
Jessica Rosenworcel, the sole Democratic FCC commissioner, voted against the order.
"Today's decision offers consumers no new ability to prevent robotexts," Rosenworcel said. "It simply provides that carriers can block our text messages and censor the very content of the messages themselves. Calling this decision anything else is just doublespeak."
Top U.S. carriers backed the plan.
-- Bloomberg News
Railroad moving headquarters to Atlanta
ATLANTA -- Railroad company Norfolk Southern Corp. is moving its headquarters from Norfolk, Va., to Atlanta, bringing with it 850 jobs and more than $500 million in economic investment, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal announced Wednesday.
The company plans to build a new headquarters campus with 750,000 square feet of office space in the city's Midtown area, according to records from Atlanta's economic development authority.
"When you consider those 850 new jobs on top of -- in excess of -- 4,700 jobs that are currently Norfolk Southern employees in the state of Georgia, they suddenly become a major player in our state's economy," Deal said at Wednesday's news conference.
Caterpillar made a similar move from Peoria, Ill., to suburban Chicago. Boeing also moved its headquarters from Seattle to Chicago.
Norfolk Southern's railroad subsidiary operates in 22 states and the District of Columbia, transporting freight that includes automotive and industrial products and coal. It says it serves every major container port in the eastern U.S.
-- The Associated Press
Indigo Ag establishing HQ in Memphis
MEMPHIS -- Agriculture technology company Indigo Ag Inc. says it is establishing its North American commercial operations headquarters in Memphis.
Indigo Ag Chief Executive Officer David Perry and Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam said Wednesday that the fast-growing Boston startup plans to invest about $6.6 million and add 700 jobs over the next three years as it expands its operations in a downtown-Memphis building near the city's minor-league baseball stadium, hotels and historic Beale Street.
Indigo treats seeds with plant microbes and sells them to cotton, soybean, rice and corn farmers seeking higher crop yields. It also helps farmers market and sell crops.
-- The Associated Press
McDonald's to cut beef antibiotic use
McDonald's Corp. announced a new beef antibiotic policy affecting 85 percent of its global supply chain intended to reduce the use of antibiotics.
Scientists say the overuse of antibiotics in agriculture is behind the growing global problem of antimicrobial resistance.
McDonald's says it has been on a mission to clean up its menu since Steve Easterbrook took the helm in 2015.
Because of its scale, with about 37,000 restaurants worldwide, McDonald's purchasing changes -- even small ones -- can have major ramifications for the industry. When it dropped margarine from its Egg McMuffins, it sent suppliers into overdrive to make and ship millions of pounds of butter across the country.
The announcement includes three benchmarks: measuring current antibiotics usage in its top 10 beef sourcing countries, setting reduction targets for medically important antibiotics by the end of 2020, and requiring that suppliers report progress in meeting those targets starting in 2022.
-- Bloomberg News
Delta bans puppies as service animals
ATLANTA -- Delta Air Lines said it will ban service and support animals under 4 months old, and will also ban emotional support animals on flights longer than eight hours.
The airline said it has seen an 84 percent increase in incidents reported involving service and support animals in 2016 and 2017, "including urination/defecation, biting" and a mauling by a 70-pound dog.
Delta said its new policy aligns with the CDC vaccination policy, and the limit on emotional support animals on long flights "is consistent with the principles outlined in the U.S. Department of Transportation's Air Carrier Access Act."
The new policy takes effect for tickets booked Dec. 18 or later. Regardless of booking date, it will also take effect for flights Feb. 1 or later. Delta said it will contact customers to adjust reservations if the policy affects them.
-- Cox Newspapers
Court ends sales of used digital music
Purchasers of digital music files from services such as Apple Inc.'s iTunes cannot resell them through a virtual marketplace, a New York appeals court said in a ruling that recalls an era dominated by vinyl records and CDs before streaming services reshaped the music industry.
The decision, issued Wednesday, affirms a district court's ruling that such sales infringe the exclusive rights of copyright holders. A virtual marketplace designed to resell digital music files as if they were secondhand albums runs afoul of copyright law, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled in a victory for record labels.
ReDigi Inc., a closely held company that created a platform for the resale of legally purchased music files, had argued that its service facilitated the transfer of music from one recipient to another without duplicating the original file.
-- Bloomberg News
Business on 12/13/2018