Consulting firm Gartner's annual IT security summit has a new home this year -- the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center. After years at the centrally located Marriott Wardman Park in Washington, D.C., the firm moved the popular event, which starts Monday, to the not-so-convenient and recently opened National Harbor in Prince George's County, Md.
Keynoters include Arlan Andrews, founder of science fiction think tank SIGMA; high-tech visionary Greg Bear; political satirist PJ O'Rourke; futurists Robert Sawyer and Bruce Sterling; and Google's Scott Petry. The conference theme is "The Next Ten Years in Information Security" -- an interesting angle in a world of rapidly advancing threats and new technology solutions.
An interesting tidbit courtesy of the Patently-O blog:
Top 10 Receipients of U.S. design patents in 2007.
1. Samsung
2. Microsoft
3. Sony
4. Nike
5. P&G
6. LGE
7. Wolverine
8. Hon Hai Precision
9. Honda
10. Matsushita (Panasonic)
(ASACP's Joan Irvine & Stormy Daniels / Photo Credit: ASACP)
I thought I'd supplement my reporting of Stormy Daniels' visit to Washington on Thursday with some coverage by Jeff Dufour of the Examiner's "Yeas & Nays" column. He writes:
What does a famous adult-film actress wear at a D.C. press conference? No, whatever you were thinking of, it’s not that. For Wicked Pictures’ Stormy Daniels, who appeared at the National Press Club this morning, the choice was a knee length black business suit, a dark blue shirt and what looked to be an engagement ring on her left ring finger (sorry, guys).
Daniels was in town with the Association of Sites Advocating Child Protection, as they promoted a new “Restricted to Adults” label for use by adult sites, the better to flag themselves for parental-control software.
The association picked a good spokeswoman in Daniels. Apart from being a performer, director and writer of X-rated fare, she has some mainstream exposure, thanks to bit parts in “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” and “Knocked Up.” She’s also lobbied California state legislators in Sacramento on the same issue.
“I do not want children viewing my site or its adult-only content,” she said. “The adult industry does not want their business.” Read his full story here.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Friday joined international police agency INTERPOL in announcing a major seizure of counterfeit and other illicit goods in South America. The sting, known as "Operation Jupiter," resulted in 185 new arrests and the seizure of $115 million of goods.
Counterfeit medicines, toys, sub-standard electrical products, and agro-chemicals were nabbed in addition to illicit drugs, firearms, ammunition, and other products. To date, Operation Jupiter seizures netted over $165 million worth of illicit goods, officials said in a press release.
"It’s hard to rest easy knowing that this is just the tip of the iceberg, but this bust is an important step towards protecting workers and families from the devastating and lethal consequences of counterfeiting and piracy," said Chamber Global IP Center CEO David Hirschmann.
Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson and Subcommittee on Emerging Threats, Cybersecurity, and Science and Technology Chairman James Langevin sent a letter late Thursday to Energy and Commerce Chairman John Dingell detailing their recent efforts to review the United States' bulk power systems operators to secure their information networks.
The letter suggests that the two committees work together to pass legislation granting Federal Energy Regulatory Commission enhanced authority to protect the nation from potential cyber-attacks. Langevin's subcommittee held a hearing on the topic last week at which lawmakers slammed FERC and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation for not doing enough to keep the power grid safe from cyber-threats.
Read the full letter here.
Congress is in recess for Memorial Day until next Monday. If you're looking for something to -- shall we say -- spice up what is likely to be a slow week on the tech policy front, we call your attention to a Thursday morning press conference featuring adult film performer/writer Stormy Daniels -- just in time for National Internet Safety Month.
The session at the National Press Club features a joint appearance between the odd couple of Daniels and Joan Irvine of the Association of Sites Advocating Child Protection. The latter group was created more than a decade ago with the goal of eliminating child pornography from the Internet and to help parents prevent children from viewing "age-inappropriate" material online.
The press conference appears to be the latest move in a campaign launched two months ago, in which Daniels -- whose work is produced by an entity called Wicked Pictures -- appears in a public service announcement sponsored by ASACP, promoting a "restricted to adults" label on applicable Web sites and encouraging parents to use filtering software. The PSA can be viewed above.
House Judiciary Committee ranking member Lamar Smith on Wednesday weighed in on the U.S. Trade Representative's request that the World Trade Organization dispute the European Union’s settlement consultation regarding tariffs on certain high-tech products. His statement, which came too late for my story in CongressDaily's PM Edition, lauded Susan Schwab's action and said it was "an important step toward promoting free trade and protecting American businesses."
"Information technology products are a driving force in the American economy," he said. "The federal government has a responsibility to promote the interests of these American companies by challenging tariffs imposed by the European Union on certain technology products that are not produced in the EU." Further, Smith noted that in a global economy, "countries must work together to encourage innovation, rather than stifling it with taxes and duties that harm both businesses and consumers."
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children believes it's important for families to have conversations about serious subjects like safety while doing something positive together -- like cooking. So, just in time for June (National Internet Safety Month), Red Robin Gourmet Burgers has teamed up with the center to produce a cookbook filled with kid-invented recipes and online safety tips.
The book, filled with more than 50 recipes, will be sold for $5 on Red Robin's Web site until Aug. 10 and profits will benefit NCMEC. Joey Yarwick, 12, of San Diego, Calif., was the grand prize winner of Red Robin's contest with his "Au Brie Burger a la Francais" (made with ground sirloin, brie cheese, au gratin potatoes, butter, cream, fresh rosemary, salt and pepper).
Maybe NCMEC should also pair up with the American Heart Association for a handbook to teach kids how to avoid burger-induced heart attacks and how to stay safe online.
(Photo Credit: daxiang stef via Flickr)
The FTC has clamped down on an operation that allegedly obtained consumers’ confidential phone records without their knowledge or consent and sold them to third parties, according to a Wednesday press release. The defendants are barred from obtaining consumers’ telephone records without consent and are being fined more than $600,000 -- the estimated amount of their ill-gotten gains.
The case is the latest in a series targeting telephone "pretexters," which are individuals who use false pretenses to obtain consumers’ confidential information. Since 2006 the FTC has charged 16 individuals and their corporations with violating federal law by pretexting. All have been banned from the practice and have been ordered to forfeit their profits.
The FTC alleged that Action Research Group and its principals, Joseph and Matthew DePantes, sold confidential customer phone records, including lists of calls made and the dates, times, and duration of the calls, to third parties. To get the records, they relied on the other defendants, Eye in the Sky Investigations, Cassandra Selvage and Bryan Wagner, who obtained them from phone companies through pretexting. The DePantes and ARG agreed to settle the FTC charges and ESI, Selvage, and Wagner are subject to default judgments entered by the court.
From CongressDaily's TechCentral Issue Of The Week:
A new cybersecurity initiative aimed at bringing together a swath of stakeholders to improve the global capacity to prevent and respond to digital-age dangers debuted last week with great fanfare -- and an impressive list of backers, including top-level government officials, leading security firms and tech opinion leaders.
But the project's unveiling begs the question: What will this group do that a host of other similar-sounding endeavors have not?
Launched at the World Congress on Information and Technology in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, IMPACT -- International Multilateral Partnership Against Cyber-Terrorism -- secured $13 million seed money from the Malaysian government, and has the support of Internet pioneer Vint Cerf and former White House cyber czar Howard Schmidt, as well as security vendors Kaspersky Labs, Symantec, and TrendMicro.
Read the full story here.
From the New Scientist via EurekAlert:
LOL, OMG and TTYL: parents and teachers worry that teenagers' use of these and other forms of online shorthand is harming their language skills. Perhaps they will take comfort from a study suggesting that instant messaging (IM) actually represents “an expansive new linguistic renaissance."
Sali Tagliamonte and Derek Denis at the University of Toronto, Canada, say teenagers risk the disapproval of their elders if they use slang, and the scorn of their friends if they sound too buttoned-up. But instant messaging allows them to deploy a “robust mix” of colloquial and formal language.
In a paper to be published in the spring 2008 issue of American Speech, the researchers argue that far from ruining teenagers’ ability to communicate, IM lets teenagers show off what they can do with language.
Noah Clements writes on the Association for Competitive Technology's blog that the Software Freedom Law Center has taken a page from the Business Software Alliance's playbook by filing four heavily publicized lawsuits on behalf of BusyBox, a set of Unix utilities licensed under the Gnu Public License version 2.
The suits filed last fall and winter against Monsoon Multimedia, Xterasys, High-Gain Antennas, and Verizon, all involved the same claim that the companies (perhaps inadvertently) distributed BusyBox with their products without the source code as required by GPLv2. The suits all seem to have settled the same way -- by promising to release the code, appointing an "open-source compliance officer," and paying an undisclosed sum of money.
If these actions seem familiar, Clements writes, you might be thinking of the BSA, which has been criticized for what some call intimidation tactics to "punish businesses that may be trying to play by the rules." GPL lawsuits are only going to increase, he predicts. The people behind the SFLC recently formed a for-profit law firm so that open-source businesses can sue for violations as well.
Experiencing prolonged chest pains? Maybe you're allergic to your wireless Internet signal -- or at least that's what a group of citizens in Santa Fe is alleging. New Mexico's KOB-TV reports that the group has complained the city is discriminating against them because they will not ban Wi-Fi from public buildings.
Arthur Firstenberg told the station that he is highly sensitive to certain types of electric fields, including wireless Internet and cell phones. "I get chest pain and it doesn't go away right away," he said. Firstenberg and others say public Wi-Fi is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the city attorney is checking into the situation.
High-tech accessory manufacturer Man & Machine filed a lawsuit this week against Apple Inc. and CBS, claiming the companies' use of the term "Mighty Mouse" infringes its trademark. The firm brought its case Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.
Apple has been selling a Mighty Mouse product for some time and CBS is involved because the company owns the trademark for the animated superhero Mighty Mouse. A blurb on Man & Machine's Web site said the company "declines to discuss its trademark-infringement complaint… the underlying merits of the case, or any related settlement discussions, since the litigation remains pending."
The Senate passed an Internet safety resolution Thursday night that designates June as "National Internet Safety Month" and calls on Web safety groups, law enforcement, educators and others to boost efforts to raise online safety awareness. The bill was introduced by Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and was cosponsored by Olympia Snowe, R-Maine.
"When you consider that one in five children have been solicited for sex online in the last year and one in four has been exposed to unwanted illicit material, the need for strengthened Internet safety is undeniable," Snowe said. "We must pledge to protect the impressionable minds of our youth and stop the dangerous predators who seek to do them harm."
The brand new National Museum of Crime and Punishment hosted a special preview party on Thursday night for those who wanted a sneak peek at its interactive, educational offerings a day before it opened to the public. The event included drinks, hors d'oeuvres, a CSI-style crime lab and high-speed police chase simulators.
The downtown D.C. destination, owned by an Orlando businessman in partnership with "America’s Most Wanted" host John Walsh, spans three floors and more than 28,000 square feet. It presents the history of crime and punishment in America -- from pirates and Wild West outlaws to high-tech white-collar criminals.
Interactive components include a studio with green-screen technology; touch-screen and zip code analysis for learning about community-based crime prevention programs; and a simulated FBI shooting range. The museum charges a whopping $17.95 for adults and $14.95 for kids and is conveniently located near the International Spy Museum ($18 for adults; $15 for kids) and the Newseum ($20 for adults; $13 for kids).
The U.K. government is considering floating a bill that would centralize all data collected by Internet service providers. It's an issue that has gotten little press attention and could be "the biggest surveillance story in years," according to Internet expert Susan Crawford.
Arstechnica.com reports that under current law, communications providers are required to retain certain kinds of data about their customers for a year, and to make that data available in response to government subpoenas. Under the new proposal, these records would have to be automatically submitted to a centralized government database.
The plan is being drafted by the British Home Office, which performs many of the same functions as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The Home Office claims that new legislation is needed to cope with changes in the way Britons communicate, the article states. The government points to the increased use of e-mail, instant messaging, and other communications technologies, which it claims are hampering lawful surveillance.
On her blog, Crawford points out that the U.K.'s data retention laws, which have been in place since October 2007, "require phone companies to hang onto phone and text records, and this next step would make all of that data plus email, Internet usage, and VoIP data available in a single place - accessible by a mid-level policeman who wanted to know more about his traffic-stop suspect."
(Photo Credit: rjs1322 via Flickr)
The Patently-O blog points out the launch of USPTOExaminers.com, a Web site designed for professionals to anonymously review, rank, and learn about a patent examiner or a trademark examining attorney who works at the Patent and Trademark Office. Law firms are also reviewed on the site, whose motto is: "We Examine the Examiners."
The site's owners are anonymous and the individuals who make comments about particular examiners are also kept secret, but pointed, the blog states. Here's an example: "The work I have reviewed from him plainly indicates his incompetence. I have had to appeal every case where he was the examiner… I think he falls into some kind of job protected category. That is the only reason I can think of why he has not been fired."
Patently-O also published a Q&A with the site's creators.
The Crooks & Liars blog says presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain's Web outreach effort reads "like a desperate personal ad" -- but something tells me this will be pretty effective.
It works like this --
1) McCain backer selects from a number of Web, blog and news sites listed
2) McCain backer visits those sites and post comments supporting him
3) McCain backer reports details of the comment on the campaign site
4) McCain backer gets points through McCain's Online Action Center
A few featured blogs: Conservative online community Red State and liberal nerve center Daily Kos.
Office of Management and Budget E-Gov Administrator Karen Evans said this week that Rep. Tom Davis' annual evaluation of agency efforts to protect sensitive information on government computer systems is relatively consistent with the agencies' performance on her office's own scorecard -- even though the methodology is different.
Nine federal departments received a failing grade last year as part of the House Oversight and Government Reform ranking member's report card. The document, unveiled Tuesday, also called attention to eight agencies that received an "A." [Read CongressDaily's coverage here]
"What agencies need to improve upon is their oversight and management of systems, which are operated by contractors and their application of common security configurations" established by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Evans said. "OMB and the Hill share the goal of moving our scorecards beyond a compliance exercise to measuring results."
Most notably on the Virginia Republican's tally, the Transportation Department went from a "B" to an "F" and the Labor Department went from "B-" to "F." An OMB official said Labor dropped due to a negative inspector general report. Transportation dropped apparently due to factors such as the results of the FY07 financial statement reporting.
The Department of Homeland Security improved its 2006 "D" to a "B" in 2007. That's because of the agency's performance as well as an inspector general report that validated oversight of contractor systems and the factors which reduced the other agencies. It also appears that Davis gave DHS credit for continual improvement in financial management.
NextGov.com reports:
After working for more than six years under a court ruling not allowing certain Interior Department employees to use the Internet, a U.S. District judge ruled this week that the affected departmental agencies could get back online.
District Judge James Robertson granted on May 14 motions filed by Interior requesting that the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Office of Hearings and Appeals, the Office of the Special Trustee, and the Office of Historical Trust Accounting be allowed to reconnect their networks to the Internet.
In December 2001, U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth ordered Interior to disconnect from the Internet all information technology systems that had access to Indian trust data managed by Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs. The ruling was part of a class action lawsuit accusing the government of mismanaging thousands of Indian trust accounts.
After more than a month of radio silence, Cisco Systems' High Tech Policy Blog was freshened up on Wednesday with an interesting post by Morgan Elliott, the company's executive director of government affairs in Canada. The topic: "What is the value of intellectual property?"
In his post, he asks a number of big questions -- What specifically needs to be done? Is additional legislation needed in some areas to better secure IP protection? If rules are implemented, how far should ex-ante or ex-post rules be introduced? In terms of the flow of information are general competition laws a sufficient remedy for complaints about perceived restrictions on content availability? Or do we risk impeding on-going innovation if governments over-regulate?
"IP is the new capital -- for a new economy. Failure to adequately protect IP will stunt innovation and risk undermining what we’ve created... and what will be create," he writes, noting that "we're unlikely to ever get any public policy 100% correct" so public policy should remain "a living breathing entity -- evolving with the times."
Read the full entry here.
CongressDaily's PM edition includes a follow up story on Tuesday's Senate Judiciary Human Rights Subcommittee hearing that brought Cisco, Google and Yahoo executives to Capitol Hill, but it also mentions a new revelation, which is described in greater detail here…
Tech Daily Dose has learned that the Justice Department wrote to House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman earlier this week opposing a bill introduced by Rep. Christopher Smith, R-N.J., aimed at promoting global Internet freedom. The letter argues the proposal could compromise the agency's ability to work with foreign law enforcement and said certain provisions raise constitutional red flags.
The Foreign Affairs Committee approved Smith's bill when the late Tom Lantos, D-Calif., chaired the committee. He died earlier this year and Berman has recently been studying the bill to fully understand its ramifications. An aide said he is "in the process of holding meetings with human rights groups and with business and technology groups."
Meanwhile, DOJ thinks the measure could thrust U.S. firms "into an environment of conflict of laws and to create significant difficulties for the department in the administration of the bill's requirements." As written, the bill "may have the unintended effect of prompting foreign countries to preclude United States businesses from operating in their territories, thus having the exact opposite effect of its intended goal," the letter said.
Here's a rundown of the Smith bill's key provisions with DOJ concerns [expressed by Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski] intertwined.
Internet innovators gathered at the National Press Club on Wednesday morning to discuss how the Web, social media and related technologies are changing the nonprofit, advocacy and political arenas. The webcast of the event will be archived and should be available here soon.
Panelists included Chris Kelly, the chief privacy officer for popular social networking site Facebook; Rock the Vote Executive Director Heather Smith; Republican online strategist Patrick Ruffini; Democratic online strategist Nicco Mele, and Vinay Bhagat, founder of Convio, which provides Internet solutions for online advocacy and fundraising. Tucker Eskew, former deputy assistant to the president, moderated the discussion.
"Hot seat" seemed to emerge as the favorite phrase on Tuesday among reporters who covered the Senate Judiciary Human Rights Subcommittee hearing on global Internet freedom. The term was used by several of us to describe what Cisco Systems General Counsel Mark Chandler was sitting in as he was grilled about the company's business dealings in China by Subcommittee Chairman Richard Durbin, D-Ill.
CongressDaily: Internet networking giant Cisco Systems took the hot seat at a Senate Judiciary Human Rights Subcommittee hearing today for reportedly having a role in the Chinese government's construction of a system for monitoring, censoring and prosecuting online dissidents who speak in favor of democratic values.
Dow Jones: Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) was on the hot seat at a Senate hearing Tuesday, where a senior officer apologized for including a Chinese official's comments about a popular dissident group in an internal document.
CNet.com: Senators on Tuesday pressed executives from Yahoo, Google, and Cisco Systems to justify their business practices in China and other Internet-censoring countries, with Cisco in the hot seat over new allegations of cozier-than-confessed ties with the Chinese police.
The FBI warned the public on Tuesday to beware of e-mails claiming to be raising money to help victims of the recent earthquake in China. The Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Hurricane Katrina, the Virginia Tech shooting and other tragedies have prompted online criminals to solicit contributions for charitable organizations.
Some of the Chinese earthquake scam messages claim to be offering free vacation trips to the largest donors and even use fake logos of legitimate online pay services to fool people, the FBI said. The bureau urged individuals not respond to unsolicited e-mail; not to click on links contained within those spam messages; and to make contributions directly to recognized organizations.
"People should feel free to make donations, just make sure you know who you are dealing with and where the donations are going," Special Agent Richard Kolko said. "This way you can make sure your money really makes a difference and helps out a needy person, not a greedy criminal."
Senate Judiciary Human Rights Subcommittee Chairman Richard Durbin, D-Ill., displays photographs of dissidents from several countries who have been prosecuted for speaking out online as Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., the subcommittee's ranking member, looks on.
Global Internet Freedom Consortium's Shiyu Zhou; Cisco Systems General Counsel Mark Chandler; Human Rights Watch's Arvind Ganesan; Yahoo Deputy General Counsel Michael Samway; Google Deputy General Counsel Nicole Wong testify.
The Center for Democracy and Technology said Monday that the indictment by the U.S. Attorney’s office in Los Angeles of the St. Louis woman at the center of a MySpace suicide case represents "a gross and inappropriate expansion of federal power to regulate speech" over the Internet.
Lori Drew’s alleged deception -- creating a fake MySpace profile of a teenage boy -- to “gather intelligence” about her daughter’s classmate, Megan Meir, 13, turned horribly wrong. Megan took Drew’s messages as cruel and harassing, and ultimately unbearable. Megan committed suicide.
If the allegations are true, Drew could face civil liability for her actions, but the Justice Department, finding nothing appropriate in federal statutes to charge her with, charged her with breaching the MySpace “terms of service” agreement on the grounds that she accessed protected computers without authorization.
In the government’s theory, if someone signs up for an online service and then does not follow the rules of that service, the use of the service is "unauthorized" and thus (according to this indictment) a federal crime under a statute appropriately used to prosecute people who break into a computer system, according to CDT.
If the indictment stands, all that "fine print" of the user agreement is moved from an annoyance to a significant legal risk, the watchdog group said: "If you violate any term, you are committing a federal crime. This could seriously chill the robust interactivity of the Internet."
Monday's big legal story was the Supreme Court's codification of a 2003 federal law aimed at combatting child pornography. The high court concluded in a 7-to-2 opinion that a federal appeals court was wrong to find the law unconstitutionally vague.
Some selected coverage:
WaPo: Court Upholds Law That Prohibits Promotion of Child Pornography
NYT: Supreme Court Upholds Law Aimed at Child Pornography
SCOTUS Blog: Analysis
ScotusWiki: U.S. v Williams case page
CongressDaily's PM edition offered a sneak peek into Google's testimony on Tuesday at a Senate hearing on global Internet freedom. The Web giant's deputy general counsel Nicole Wong will make a number of recommendations for the U.S. government -- plus tout Google's track record for championing human rights --- in the real world and online.
Wong will explain to the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law how Google provides users with transparency whenever the firm is required to remove content from products. For the last 18 months, Google has worked with other companies, human rights groups and academics to develop a set of principles for responding to those challenges.
Google has also collaborated with human rights organizations to give exposure to human rights issues -- from creating a human rights YouTube channel to partnering with the U.S. Holocaust Museum to map genocides in Google Earth.
Technology and consumer advocates planned a unique discussion on Capitol Hill on Monday morning to discuss how federal, state, and local governments use their own version of "scrapbooking" to preserve records. Most of the time, technologies on which they rely are expensive to maintain and could easily be upgraded. Those systems also lack safeguards needed to protect privacy and sensitive data.
Association for Competitive Technology President Jonathan Zuck; Citizens Against Government Waste President Tom Schatz; and Stephen Forte of Telerik were to discuss the real costs of continuing to use legacy systems, both short and long term; the risks of not dealing with the problem, or choosing to simply avoid it; and what governments can do, including a discussion of where interoperability, accessibility, and privacy intersect.
From CongressDaily's PM edition on Friday:
On a 2004 trip to Pakistan, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., flipped on the television in his hotel room to find scantily clad American film starlet Halle Berry prowling the night in search of justice in the title role in "Catwoman." The femme fatale's box office flop "surprised me on a number of levels," he told a Congressional International Anti-Piracy Caucus briefing Thursday.
Not only was the Emmy-winning actress's risqué costume an eye-opener, but the fact the movie was airing on state-run TV was a shock because the film was still playing in theaters in the United States. "How can that be?" Schiff thought to himself. Unless the Central Asian country was "on the quick-to-TV route," something was amiss.
Read the full "Friday Buzz" item here.
FBI Director Robert Mueller showed a softer side at the National Press Club on Friday with a speech that largely focused on the mission similarities between law enforcement and the Fourth Estate. Read more about the meatiest parts of his keynote in CongressDaily's PM edition.
He began by quoting New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd: "Wooing the press is an exercise roughly akin to picnicking with a tiger. You might enjoy the meal, but the tiger always eats last." Mueller's own take: "I did enjoy the meal but I am struck with the notion that I am now at the podium and many of you still look quite hungry."
During the question-and-answer session he tackled (and dodged) some pretty serious queries but he also made room for lighter topics. Mueller was asked if the high-tech investigative methods depicted in primetime cop dramas like "CSI" and "Criminal Minds" were realistic. He said they were but the shows make the work look easier than it is -- and they don’t necessarily show the safeguards analysts employ to protect citizens' privacy.
Mueller also revealed that he does not visit social networking sites that have become all the rage. "I guess I can't invite you to be my friend on Facebook?" the questioner asked. "No," he replied.
I'm giving a shout-out to 463 Communications twice this week but it's kind of worth it. Sean Garrett, the PR firm's main man in San Fran, posted a really interesting missive on the company blog about present-day high-tech leadership in Silicon Valley.
Garrett writes:
A decade ago, we had industry leaders like John Doerr, John Chambers, Jim Barksdale, Reed Hastings, Craig Barrett and so on who put on the hat of industry steward and talked about the growth of the technology industry and the policy issues that would impact it. They weren't necessarily reserving their big keynote addresses or sit-downs with the Wall Street Journal to discuss Kleiner Perkins portfolio companies or Cisco's growth strategy.
Who is doing this in 2008? With a few exceptions, it's pretty much the same people. That's a good thing when considering how well Doerr, Chambers and Barrett do when evocatively connecting the dots between sound policy and innovation that benefits society at large. But, it's also a bad thing when you consider that a whole lot of companies have grown up and a lot of executives have made their marks since then without a contribution to the policy dialogue.
Read the full 463 blog post here.
It had been a while since I thought about Senate Commerce Committee kingpin Ted Stevens' infamous commentary on the Internet, which he described as a "series of tubes." But thanks to CNBC Chief Washington Correspondent John Harwood, all those memories of the "net neutrality" debate in the 109th Congress came rushing back.
Harwood told Jon Stewart on "The Daily Show" on Wednesday that the satirical news program's hilarious treatment of the Stevens rant is mentioned in his new book, "Pennsylvania Avenue: Profiles in Backroom Power," as an example of how the media can be used to spin an issue memorably and humorously out of control.
In honor of that shout-out, I've posted my favorite YouTube remix of the Stevens speech above. Enjoy! I think the net neutrality debate in the 110th Congress is missing a gem like this.
Librarian of Congress James Billington on Wednesday named 25 additions to the National Recording Registry as part of its efforts to preserve the nation’s aural history. Each year the institution selects recordings that are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" to preserve for all time. Read the press release here.
Some of the selections were:
▪ Harry S. Truman’s 1948 Democratic National Convention speech
▪ 1,000 broadcasts by Ronald Reagan before his presidency
▪ The first trans-Atlantic radio broadcast in 1925
▪ Michael Jackson’s "Thriller"
▪ The "Sounds of Earth" disc that traveled with Voyager through space
▪ Herbie Hancock’s "Headhunters"
▪ One of the few gospel recordings performed by Thomas Dorsey
▪ The first recording of "Call it Stormy Monday, but Tuesday is Just As Bad"
The Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee will host a luncheon discussion on Thursday featuring a panel of former FTC and FCC officials who will debate how much authority, if any, those agencies have to police alleged "net neutrality" problems -- should they arise. Panelists include Stifel Nicolaus analyst Rebecca Arbogast, Dan Caprio, Kyle Dixon, Harold Furchtgott-Roth, and Christine Varney. Read more here.
Independent presidential contender and longtime political activist Ralph Nader, who still uses a manual Underwood typewriter and is not easily dazzled by technological advances, traveled to Google headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. on Monday to make some waves.
Throughout his career, Nader has confronted head-on the downside of nuclear, automobile, genetic engineering and other industrial advances -- and now he's questioning the amount of time Americans spend in front of their computers. [Hey Ralph, it's 9:49 p.m., I'm online and I logged on at 8 a.m. Lock me up.]
A Nader press release asks: "Has Google and the information revolution that it leads made our society better? Or is it just another mass diversion from the reality of the corporate takeover of our democracy?" At Google HQ, Nader took questions for an hour and then sat down for an eight-minute interview with YouTube, which he is unable to view on his silly typewriter.
Women's online network BlogHer has released an interesting audio interview with former Hewlett-Packard chief Carly Fiorina in which she discusses her leading role in presumptive GOP presidential nominee Sen. John McCain's campaign and shares her perspective on issues ranging from the economy to healthcare.
"The 2008 election is a landmark for women in politics as they have played an integral role as voters, politicians and campaigners. I am proud to be from a country where women can play a vital part in the election process," Fiorina said. Online communities are playing a much larger role this campaign cycle, she added. "With the shift in media consumption, more and more voters are turning to the Web – specifically blogs – for their news."
BlogHer is a non-partisan organization that reaches nine million women each month through its news hub and 1,800 blog affiliates. The full Fiorina interview is available here.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean this week unveiled a list of blogs selected to participate in the 2008 Democratic National Convention's State Blogger Corps. Dean notified the blogs selected via an online video message at www.DemConvention.com.
"Similar to the record-breaking voter turnout our party has seen during the primary season, the demand for these coveted blogger positions is yet another indicator of the tremendous interest in this historic convention," Dean said. "The Internet has played a critical role in connecting Americans to elected officials and candidates seeking office."
More than 400 applications were received from bloggers across the United States and multiple territories. Some of the blogs selected for the State Corps are full-time, professional endeavors while others are the work of individuals, who through their own efforts have become recognized authorities on state and local politics, the DNC said.
See the full list of convention bloggers here.
Former Majority Leader Dick Armey came out swinging on Wednesday, offering the National Association of Broadcasters a good old-fashioned Texas butt-kicking over their opposition to a bill that he believes would put AM and FM radio on a level playing field with other music distribution platforms that pay royalties to artists and copyright holders.
At a briefing organized by the MusicFirst coalition, Armey (now employed by DLA Piper) said twin bills offered in the House and Senate would eradicate broadcast radio's longstanding exemption from paying performance royalties. He called the NAB's resistance to the bill "a sad testimony to their lack of professionalism and commitment to the arts and creativity."
First he called upon the Bible ("The holy script says a worker is worthy of his hire and should be paid"); then the nation's Founding Fathers ("The Constitution said people who are creators whether it be inventors or artists should have their rights to their work protected"); then on Howard Roark, the protagonist in "The Fountainhead" and then on William Shakespeare; to make his point.
My spirited colleague Brooks Boliek from The Hollywood Reporter asked Armey how he was a credible source given a story published that day that pointed out what MusicFirst did not -- that he's a lobbyist for the Recording Industry Association of America. Armey snapped: "I just think you're kind of annoying me. If you came in here to grind an ax, grind it somewhere else, because I frankly don’t care what somebody in Hollywood says about my credibility." He later apologized for "flying off the handle."
About 400 librarians from around the country have descended on Washington this week for their annual lobbying blitz. In fact, CongressDaily's AM edition includes a fun piece ("Librarians Have Catalog Of Issues To Share With Lawmakers") about their pilgrimage to Capitol Hill.
But before they began Wednesday meetings in the House and Senate, American Library Association President Loriene Roy hosted a press conference to discuss her group's joint effort with the Association of Public Television Stations and PBS to help educate citizens about the rapidly approaching digital TV transition deadline.
While awareness of the Feb. 17, 2009 analog shutoff date is growing, research also shows that many people are confused about what they can do to navigate the transition, the ALA said. As trusted community resources, libraries and public TV stations are uniquely positioned to help get people the information they need. Read more about ALA lobbying efforts here.
The good folks over at 463 Communications know that tech-related parties make for one of my favorite blog topics so I was glad when they sent me this little gem, which I would have seen on their own blog eventually. [Sidebar: I'm not sure why I didn’t think to blog about 463's annual Ocho de Mayo party -- it was a who's who of tech policy flacks, hacks, wonks, etc. at Chef Geoff's in downtown D.C.]
Anyway, 463er Katie Hallen writes:
Arianna Huffington and Melanie Ellison threw a posh soiree for Berkman Center for Internet Society Co-Founder Jonathan Zittrain this past Saturday night in honor of his new book, "The Future of the Internet – And How To Stop It."
Held at the Ellison’s breathtaking, ubermodern Pacific Heights home overlooking Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge, the party was well attended by Silicon Valley celebrities including Melanie’s husband, Larry Ellison, Larry Page and Craig Newmark (sporting an Obama pin).
Others included Mayor Gavin Newsom, Jerry Brown, Phil Bronstein, Yves Behar (designer of the XO laptop), USA Today’s Jon Swartz (co-author of the cybersecurity caper "Zero Day Threat"), and Stanford Law’s Joshua Cohen (leading John Rawls philosopher and editor of the Boston Review). And, myself.
The Wall Street Journal’s Kara Swisher posted this fun video capturing the evening and thoughts on the book. For more, Zittrain discusses the book tonight on Charlie Rose. The Berkman Center is a 463 client.
The FTC on Monday approved four new rule provisions under the CAN-SPAM Act, a 2004 mandate that set requirements for those who send commercial e-mail and spelled out penalties for inbox outlaws. The changes are intended to clarify the statute's requirements in an age of sophisticated cyber-scams.
Four topics are addressed in the new rule provisions:
(1) An e-mail recipient cannot be required to pay a fee, provide information other than his or her e-mail address and opt-out preferences, or take any steps other than sending a reply e-mail message or visiting a single Internet Web page to opt out of receiving future e-mail from a sender.
(2) The definition of “sender” was modified to make it easier to determine which of multiple parties advertising in a single e-mail message is responsible for complying with the act’s opt-out requirements.
(3) A “sender” of commercial e-mail can include an accurately-registered post office box or private mailbox established under U.S. Postal Service regulations to satisfy the act’s requirement that a commercial e-mail display a “valid physical postal address.”
(4) A definition of the term “person” was added to clarify that CAN-SPAM’s obligations are not limited to natural persons.
In addition, the FTC's statement of basis and purpose accompanying the final rule addresses a number of topics that are not the subject of any new rule provisions. Click here to read the full press release with more details.
(Spam Photo Credit: Benny Yap via Flickr)
From the Silicon Valley Insider:
Want to know what that giant earthquake in China's remote Sichuan looked like? Better yet, want to know what it's like to experience a 7.8 magnitude quake? Someone claiming to be a Sichuan University student posted a video to Tudou, where it's No. 2 on the homepage, and it was reposted on YouTube. The video shows interminable shaking, creaking and groaning of what appears to be a college dorm.
Plus the Insider notes that search engine Summize shows lots of Twittering about the earthquake; unclear how many of the Twitters are actually near quake-affected areas. More coverage: U.K. Telegraph, Poynter Online.
The 320,000-member American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers published a position paper last week to "demystify the basic rights of music creators" amid growing confusion and concern around music copyright issues. The topic has been a recent favorite on Capitol Hill.
The paper helps define a "right" and copyright basics; and explains the meaning of "performing rights." It also asks the gazillion-dollar question: "Are rights still relevant in the digital age?" The document also includes a "Bill of Rights for Songwriters and Composers," which has collected over 6,000 signatures in support to date online.
The document centers around 10 core principles like: "We have the right to be compensated for the use of our creative works, and share in the revenues that they generate." In addition to the flurry of online signatures, a number of prominent musicians have backed the effort, including Lionel Richie, Stacy "Fergie" Ferguson and Justin Timberlake.
If they haven’t already, the group might want to send a copy of the position paper and bill to the 200-plus members of the House who have signed a resolution to fight legislation to nix an exemption granted to AM and FM radio stations that allows them to broadcast music without paying royalties.
A similar effort just began in the Senate. Read more about it CongressDaily's AM edition on Tuesday.
The House Science Committee on Monday held a field hearing in ranking member Ralph Hall's congressional district that focused on how to engage students in math and science at an early age. At the Texarkana, Texas event, Chairman Bart Gordon pledged to continue to advocate for "the best tools and technologies in our classrooms in order to grow a new generation of innovators to compete in this new global economy."
"The United States’ economy will depend on having a highly skilled workforce in order to compete globally," Gordon said in a statement. "We have enormous responsibility to support younger students’ growth, to stimulate their interest, and to ensure that they are prepared for higher level work in subsequent grades and beyond.”
Witnesses included officials from the National Science Foundation; Texas A&M University; the Texarkana Independent School District; North Heights Junior High School; and aluminum manufacturer Alcoa.
IP Law360.com reports:
Attorneys looking to track down more details on U.S. patents issued this year may have trouble relying on Google Patent Search. The Mountain View, Calif.-based search engine launched its user-friendly beta Web site, www.google.com/patents, in December 2006 to make information on the United States’ seven million patents more accessible, but has not updated the site since Jan. 1. So Googlers, what gives?
Forbes.com published an op-ed Friday written by former Bush administration IP czar Chris Israel. In it, the Institute for Policy Innovation fellow discusses the recent announcement made by Comcast and BitTorrent that they will work together to find a market-based solution to challenges posed by the bandwidth demands of peer-to-peer file sharing.
According to Israel, the news "further demonstrates that an intrusive government 'network neutrality' regime is not necessary, and this provides a more promising future for protecting intellectual property online." In the debate over net neutrality, he writes, the issue of who gets to do what with the network they built has been the main sticking point while stopping the flow of illegal content has played a somewhat secondary role.
Meanwhile, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers and Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., added to the ongoing debate over the topic on Capitol Hill on Thursday by introducing a bill that would require pipeline providers to interconnect on "a reasonable and nondiscriminatory basis" and ensure all legal content, applications and services have an equal opportunity to reach consumers.
Their bill, which approaches net neutrality from an antitrust angle, differs from a measure introduced by Energy and Commerce Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee Chairman Edward Markey, D-Mass., which is FCC-focused. Read CongressDaily's latest coverage here.
The American Civil Liberties Union, the Constitution Project and Electronic Privacy Information Center sent a letter Friday to members of the D.C. City Council calling on them to reject Mayor Adrian Fenty's request for more than $900,000 for the Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency to centralize monitoring of more than 5,000 cameras installed in public schools, public housing, and residential neighborhoods.
The cameras are currently operated under the auspices of several different city agencies, including the Metropolitan Police Department, which has implemented policies governing use and protecting individual privacy that have been heralded by law enforcement officials, public security experts, and privacy advocates as among the nation's best. The policies, developed through hearings in 2002 and 2006, have not been adopted by HSEMA.
Even if the Council determines that some new network would be appropriate, it is important to assess carefully which cameras and how many of them should be part of such a network," the letter said. "Before any funds are appropriated, HSEMA should develop, with public input, a robust privacy policy to govern operation of such a network." The group said it is critical that the city "preserve the important privacy and civil liberties safeguards currently in place."
(Photo Credit: SocTech via Flickr)
Winners of the annual Webby Awards were announced this week.
Highlights include:
▪ Webby Person Of The Year - Stephen Colbert, Comedy Central's "Colbert Report." He was honored for using the Internet to interact with fans of his show -- from "Google bombing" to make him the top search result for "greatest living American" to challenging the "truthiness" of Wikipedia.
▪ Webby Film & Video Person of The Year - Filmmaker Michel Gondry. His latest film, "Be Kind Rewind," is a celebration do-it-yourself filmmaking introduced "sweding" to the Internet, inspiring filmmakers to recreate scenes from their favorite films.
▪ Webby Artist Of The Year - Will.I.Am, frontman for the Black Eyed Peas. He was recognized for the songs and Internet videos he created in support of U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama. His online "Yes We Can" video has been viewed more than 17 million times since its February premiere.
▪ Webby Film & Video - Best Actor: Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, creators of the cult hit timanderic.com. They are poster children for the kind of weirdness that could only take off online.
Other highlights include multiple winnings by NYTimes.com, The Onion, PostSecret, National Geographic, Apple.com, Hometown Baghdad, "You Suck at Photoshop," Flickr, FactCheck.org, BBC, TED.com, ESPN.com, and CondeNet. Read more about the winners here.
The FTC released the results of a nationwide undercover sting on Thursday showing the extent to which movie theaters and movie, music, and video game retailers prevent unaccompanied minors from buying tickets to R-rated movies, R-rated DVDs, unrated DVDs of movies that were R-rated in theaters, M-rated video games, and CDs with a parental advisory warning.
The survey found that 20 percent of underage teenage secret shoppers were able to buy M-rated video games, a major improvement from all prior surveys, and down from 42 percent in 2006. While CD and DVD retailers demonstrated some improvement since the earlier survey, roughly half of the 13- to 16-year-olds involved were able to purchase R-rated and unrated movie DVDs and flagged CDs. This shows that retailers need to redouble their efforts, the FTC said.
Although movie theaters have improved since the FTC's 2000 effort, they still sold R-rated movie tickets to unaccompanied children 35 percent of the time, demonstrating no statistically significant improvement in ratings enforcement since 2003, the FTC said. Click here for details.
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain announced members of his Justice Advisory Committee this week -- a group of 50 attorneys and law professors from around the country. Quite a few on the list will be familiar to tech policy watchers.
▪Michael Abramowicz, a professor at George Washington University Law School and author of several articles about patent reform.
▪Manus Cooney, former Senate Judiciary Committee chief counsel and adviser to the Innovation Alliance.
▪Carol Dinkins, a partner at Vinson & Elkins and previous chair of the controversial White House Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board.
▪Orin Kerr, a professor at George Washington University Law School and expert on computer crime issues.
▪Ed Reines, president of the Federal Circuit Bar Association and partner at Weil Gotshal.
▪Ronald Rotunda, a law professor at George Mason University and nominee to serve on the recommissioned White House Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board.
▪Eugene Volokh, a UCLA law professor who pens the popular Volokh Conspiracy blog.
A federal judge in Los Angeles on Wednesday handed down a $110 million judgment for the infringement of thousands of copyrighted motion pictures and television shows and issued a permanent injunction banning the defendant TorrentSpy from further infringement actions.
The win for big Hollywood studios was the second defeat for TorrentSpy in the case. Last year the same court entered a default order and found the Web site's operators liable for copyright infringement. TorrentSpy was shut down in March. A message on the site said it was closed down because "the legal climate in the USA for copyright, privacy of search requests, and links to torrent files in search results is simply too hostile."
“This substantial money judgment sends a strong message about the illegality of these sites,” said Motion Picture Association of America chief Dan Glickman. "The demise of TorrentSpy is a clear victory for the studios and demonstrates that such pirate sites will not be allowed to continue to operate without facing relentless litigation by copyright holders."
A friend and former journalist who left the Fourth Estate to work on Capitol Hill sent along a pretty funny e-mail Wednesday morning about one of my favorite Web sites for blog fodder: Craigslist.org. The classified ad is particularly amusing given Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama's big victory in North Carolina on Tuesday night and Sen. Hillary Clinton's modest win in Indiana.
Free Hillary Clinton Campaign Material (16th and Penn)
________________________________________
Reply to: sale-671432270@craigslist.org
Date: 2008-05-07, 11:07AM EDT
Bumper stickers, yard sign, pins, mugs, folders, letterhead and a large banner. Won't be needing them.
Location: 16th and Penn
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
Recently anointed FTC Chairman William Kovacic is obviously a sports fan. His breakfast speech to members of the Computer and Communications Industry Association on Wednesday was packed with athletic imagery. On succeeding Deborah Platt Majoras he said: "I feel a bit like the back-up quarterback who has held the clipboard on the sideline, knows the plays… and all of a sudden the starting quarterback is gone and I'm noticing how much faster the game moves when you're out there." He also quoted Hall of Fame Major League Baseball manager Earl Weaver: "It's what you learn after you know it all that counts." Read more about his remarks in CongressDaily's PM edition.
My former Technology Daily colleague Brittany Ballenstedt, now with Government Executive magazine, has an interesting story about new survey results released by the Gallup Organization that shows roughly one-third of young adults seriously would consider a career in public service if asked by a parent or the next president of the United States.
When it comes to exploring jobs in the federal government, respondents said they would be most likely to look at government Web sites as their primary source of information. Of millennials, 11 percent said they would use search engines like Google and Yahoo to learn about federal jobs, compared with 6 percent of those older than 30. Read the full story here.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., told us Tuesday that he is "not giving up on this Congress" but the current push for network neutrality legislation may frame the debate for a more fruitful fight in a new Congress with a new presidential administration. Markey's bipartisan bill will be the basis for the most significant action in the coming months, he predicted after speaking to members of the Computer and Communications Industry Association.
"Executives that we've protected under federal law from regulatory pounding and discriminatory taxes say 'now we've got right to charge tolls beyond legitimate fees,'" Wyden told the trade group. The more that telecom firms "use their monopoly power, the more they run the risk of losing immunity protections" granted under Section 230 of the Communications Act and the Internet Tax Freedom Act, which he sponsored.
"The sword cuts both ways," Wyden said, vowing to "take whatever steps necessary on the floor of the U.S. Senate [to protect] equal treatment of bits and bytes across our land."
Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., plans to introduce and withdraw several amendments at Wednesday's House Judiciary Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property Subcommittee mark up of so-called "orphan works" legislation to spotlight changes that she believes are needed before the bill reaches the House floor. The measure, introduced by the subcommittee's chairman Howard Berman, D-Calif., is aimed at reworking part of U.S. copyright law that deals with musical tracks, writings, images or videos whose owners cannot easily be located.
While she wanted to keep specifics of her amendments under wraps to "maintain the element of surprise," Lofgren said Tuesday that one proposal would erase what has become known as a "dark archives" provision, which would require individuals to notify the Copyright Office of their intention to use an orphan work. The American Library Association and others believe that language would drive up compliance costs and require academics to confer with university lawyers prior to filing submissions with the office.
Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., also reportedly has problems with the bill, which is cosponsored by Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, ranking member Lamar Smith and the IP subcommittee's top Republican Howard Coble of North Carolina.
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell and ranking member Joe Barton joined 14 other colleagues on Tuesday in sending a letter to Commerce Secretary Gutierrez praising the administration's continued oversight of the international entity charged with administering the Internet.
The lawmakers also asked the Commerce Department to comment on the possibility of an overseas relocation of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, which is currently based in Marina Del Ray, Calif. Rumors have swirled in recent years that some foreign government and industry stakeholders want ICANN's headquarters to move to Brussels.
The concern comes as ICANN's leaders gradually try to transition the coordination of technical functions of the Web to the private sector. "Any change that threatens the important U.S. role in promoting U.S. commercial and free speech principles on the Internet can only hurt the consumers and businesses that count on this network every day," they wrote.
The letter requests a response to a handful of questions about ICANN's future within two weeks time. While ICANN remains the "best option for reaching consensus in an increasingly divided world," members said the organization should ensure transparency and promote greater accountability in its operations. ICANN constituents meet several times a year and their next meeting is scheduled for June 22-26 in Paris, France.
The nonprofit Intellectual Property Hall of Fame is seeking nominations for 2008 inductees. The award is designed to honor individuals who have made significant contributions to today’s IP regime and is limited to five inductees this year. The award is sponsored by the U.K.-based Intellectual Asset Management Magazine.
Previous winners include former U.S. commissioner of patents and trademarks Gerald Mossinghoff; U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman; and Microsoft IP Chief Marshall Phelps. Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison were also honored for their insistence that IP rights be specifically safeguarded by the Constitution. (Hat tip to Patently-O for the info).
The New York Times ran an interesting story on Tuesday about a George Washington University law professor who has discovered a constitutional flaw in the appointment process over the last eight years for judges who decide patent appeals and disputes. John Duffy's short paper documenting the problem seems poised to undo thousands of patent decisions concerning claims worth billions of dollars.
Since 2000, patent judges have been appointed by a government official without the constitutional power to do so, the paper reports. "I actually ran it by a number of colleagues who teach administrative law and constitutional law," Duffy said, recalling his own astonishment at finding such a chink in the legal armor.
Although a spokesman for the Justice Department would not offer a comment, the agency has already all but conceded that Duffy is right, the article states. Given the opportunity to dispute him in a December appeals court filing, government lawyers said only that they were at work on a legislative solution. Read the full story here.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Tuesday launched a redesigned Web site featuring expanded content, improved navigation tools and a new digital subscription service. The site now includes a "frequently asked questions" section and a gallery of photographs suitable for use by news organizations.
The electronic subscription management feature offers users multiple ways to receive the latest news and information from ODNI, tailored to personal preferences. An RSS feed, for instance, pushes real time information to cellular phones, Web browsers or handheld devices, officials said in a release. Another service sends e-mail alerts when information is posted.
National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell oversees 16 federal organizations that make up the U.S. intelligence community. His office also manages the implementation of the national intelligence program.
Longtime White House reporter Trude Feldman, who is best known in Washington circles for the fact that no one really knew for whom she worked or where her work appeared, turned up at the Computer and Communications Industry Association's annual Washington Caucus at the Willard Hotel on Tuesday -- just in time for lunch (where she pulled up a chair beside Mike McKeehan, Verizon's director of Internet policy).
A recent Fishbowl DC blog post noted the frail but forthright Feldman has frequently been cited in White House transcripts as being associated with "Trans Services" but her last association was with the World Tribune Company. Over the years, the tenacious scribe has interviewed every U.S. president since Lyndon B. Johnson, according to her bio on WorldTribune.com.
Perhaps Feldman now has a penchant for tech policy. She was also spotted at the Consumer Electronics Association's Digital Patriots Dinner last month, which honored Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy and House Oversight and Government Reform ranking member Tom Davis.
Rep. Rick Boucher, one of the Computer and Communications Industry Association's best friends on Capitol Hill, skipped his scheduled keynote at the trade group's annual Washington Caucus on Tuesday. Sources told Tech Daily Dose that the Virginia Democrat confirmed his attendance Monday night but CCIA President Ed Black announced right before his scheduled timeslot that Boucher had called in sick.
The prominent member of the House Judiciary Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property Subcommittee is the sponsor of a bill introduced last February that would amend the Digital Millennium Copyright Act by changing some provisions that ban the use of technologies aimed at defeating IP protections. CCIA was one of the proposal's biggest industry backers in the 110th Congress and in prior sessions.
Boucher has been rumored to be a front-runner for the top spot at the IP subcommittee in the 111th Congress, when its current chairman Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., is expected to take the helm at the House Foreign Affairs Committee. CCIA and its high-profile Silicon Valley member companies watch the panel closely and routinely weigh in on its actions.
Susan Crawford points out on her blog that the Yale Information Society Project recently posted its 9.5 Theses for Technology Policy in the Next Administration:
1. Privacy. Protect human dignity, autonomy, and privacy by providing individuals with control over the collection, use, and distribution of their personal information and medical information.
2. Access. Promote high-speed Internet access and increased connectivity for all, through both government and private initiatives, to reduce the digital divide.
3. Network Neutrality. Legislate against unreasonable discrimination by network providers against particular applications or content to maintain the Internet’s role in fostering innovation, economic growth, and democratic communication.
4. Transparency. Preserve accountability and oversight of government functions by strengthening freedom of information and improving electronic access to government deliberations and materials.
5. Innovation. Restore balance to intellectual property rules and explore alternative incentives to better promote innovation, freedom, access to knowledge, and human development.
Read the full list here.
High-tech giant Microsoft on Tuesday announced legal actions against eight software dealers in the United States, Canada, Egypt and the Netherlands that are alleged to have engaged in the illegal sale of unlicensed Microsoft products. The actions came as a result of hundreds of reports to the Microsoft anti-piracy hotline (800) RU-LEGIT (785-3448).
The alleged illegal sales involved the unlawful importation of unlicensed software into North America from multiple dealers overseas. As alleged in the lawsuits, the dealers deceived customers by selling them software without also providing them with the necessary licenses, according to a Microsoft press release.
"We want customers to receive the best possible experience with our products, including the benefits of support and service that come with the purchase of licensed, genuine software," Microsoft attorney Bonnie MacNaughton said. "The unlawful distribution and sale of this software has tangible, negative consequences for the marketplace."
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced an aggressive new approach to fighting piracy in the Empire State on Monday. Cuomo, who was joined at a press briefing by Motion Picture Association of America chief Dan Glickman and NBC President Jeff Zucker, announced that he is appointing a special intellectual property deputy and is proposing new legislation that would boost penalties for movie theather camcording.
Cuomo's proposal would update the existing illegal recording statute by making it a misdemeanor to either illegally record a film or live performance or use an illegal recording for commercial purposes. First time offenders would face of up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine and multiple repeat offenders would be charged with a felony and even higher penalties. Currently, the state only charges illegal film recording as a violation and slaps offenders with a small fee.
"New York has become the hub for a criminal network dedicated to film piracy," Cuomo said. The piracy costs the state vital economic resources, including thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in tax revenue, he said, adding: "We are all paying a price for the leniency given to this type of organized crime, and I will not let it continue on my watch."
My obsession with NBC's "30 Rock" requires I mention that the show's star, Tina Fey, was also part of the press conference. "It's discouraging to see the widespread effects piracy has had on our industry," she said in a press release. "Piracy is an issue that is often overlooked, but is one that has an enormous negative impact on every person who works in entertainment, from the stagehands, to the actors, to the producers and so on."
C'mon Tina. That wasn’t a very funny quote. I was expecting something better. When you do these public service announcement type of things you gotta bring your A-game -- like this.
The FTC will host a town hall meeting this week to explore the mobile marketplace and its implications for consumer protection policy. Industry experts, academics, consumer advocates, privacy professionals and government analysts will discuss the use of text messaging and related services as instruments of commerce and consumers' ability to control mobile applications at the two-day event, which begins Tuesday.
Other topics include the adaptation of advertising to mobile devices (including challenges presented by small screen disclosures); applications targeting children and teens; industry best practices in preventing fraud, disclosing costs, and resolving billing disputes; security threats and solutions; and next-generation products and services.
Officials from Google, Nokia, Sprint-Nextel, Verizon, Yahoo, wireless association CTIA, and others will take part in the forum. The full agenda can be found here.
(Photo Credit: KB35 via Flickr)
Microsoft announced over the weekend that has withdrawn its offer to acquire Internet giant Yahoo for roughly $5 billion. "After careful consideration, we believe the economics demanded by Yahoo do not make sense for us, and it is in the best interests of Microsoft stockholders, employees and other stakeholders to withdraw our proposal," Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said in a statement.
"We have a talented team in place and a compelling plan to grow our business through innovative new services and strategic transactions with other business partners," Ballmer said. "While Yahoo would have accelerated our strategy, I am confident that we can continue to move forward toward our goals."
Roy Bostock, chairman of Yahoo issued a response reiterating that "our independent board and our management have been steadfast in our belief that Microsoft's offer undervalued the company and we are pleased that so many of our shareholders joined us in expressing that view." Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang added: "With the distraction of Microsoft's unsolicited proposal now behind us, we will be able to focus all of our energies on executing the most important transition in our history."
Stanford Group analyst Clay Moran believes Yahoo missed a good opportunity and he expected the firm's stock to drop significantly on Monday. "We believe this is good for Microsoft’s stock in the near term not only due to the unwinding of arbitrage positions, but also as it likely represented its best option under the circumstances," he added.
The result of the deal's demise makes Google the big winner, Moran said. The company's two largest competitors remain separate, thus entrenching its dominant position, and Yahoo may be pressured to further pursue a search outsourcing agreement with Google.
(Photo Credit: David Bohrer/White House)
Ninety-nine educators from around the country have been awarded the annual Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching for 2007. The teachers, who each get a certificate and $10,000 educational grant to be used over a three-year period, will be recognized during a ceremony on Friday evening hosted by National Science Foundation Director Arden Bement.
While in Washington this week, the teachers visited the White House and were slated to meet a NASA astronaut as well as members of Congress and the Bush administration to discuss hot topics in math and science teaching. A little bird tells us the group had been promised a snapshot with POTUS himself but he was busy chatting up the New York Giants who stopped by the South Lawn the same day. Instead, the teachers posed for a photo-op with Vice President Dick Cheney.
Click here for the press release and here for a larger Cheney pic.
Update: An administration official pointed out that Bush met with the award winners in 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 and First Lady Laura Bush met with them in 2003 and 2007. Cheney met with the recipients in 2002 and again this year. According to the source, former President Bill Clinton never (or rarely) met with them.
The woman believed to be the so-called "D.C. Madam" was reportedly found dead Thursday in a shed near hear mother's Florida mobile home. The madam, Deborah Jeane Palfrey, was recently convicted on federal charges stemming from operating a prostitution service in the nation's capital with a number of high-profile clients. Her sentencing was scheduled for July 24.
The news prompted me to visit Palfrey's personal Web site where she previously posted a copy of her escort service records (all 46 pounds of them). The site, which was created in February 2007 and is registered to Palfrey's attorney, Montgomery Blair Sibley, is now blank except for a line that eerily reads: "deborahjeanepalfrey.com is off line until further notice."
It is unclear when the site was wiped clean. Deborahjeanepalfrey.com had a traffic rank of 3,463147366,946 on analytics site Alexa.com.
At the request of the Federal Trade Commission, a federal court in Illinois has entered a final order and default judgment against a group of individual and corporate defendants based in Ontario, Canada, for their role in a cross-border telemarketing scheme involving credit card offers and free cellular telephone offers. The defendants, collectively known as Pacific Liberty, are liable for about $5 million -- the total net sales they made.
The case was brought with the help of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Toronto Strategic Partnership, which consists of the FTC, Competition Bureau Canada and various law enforcement agencies. Canadian regulators filed criminal charges against two of the defendants in September 2007. One got a year in jail and another received a six-month conditional sentence. Both were barred from telemarketing for 10 years. Read more about the case here.
Watchdog group Public Citizen will argue in federal court in Detroit on Friday that a Michigan court should dismiss a lawsuit against a Web site operator who provided a forum for consumers of infomercial products. Arizona resident Justin Leonard created InfomercialScams.com, which allows users to read and post reviews.
One of the companies reviewed on the site, a Michigan-based cosmetic surgery company known as Lifestyle Lift Holding Inc., claimed Leonard’s site violates trademark law by using the firm's name to identify reviews of its cosmetic procedure. Public Citizen attorney Paul Alan Levy will urge the court to dismiss Lifestyle Lift's case because the First Amendment protects the mention of the company’s trademark on Leonard’s site.
One of the 50+ reviewers complained: "I just wanted my jowls done, but the doctor recommended my neck also. My jowls were improved slightly, my neck is more wrinkled than it ever was." Another said: "I lost my hearing in my right ear. I called and they said it was just some swelling and would eventually go down. Well, it has been 6 months now, and I still can't hear out of my right ear." Wowza!
The Coalition Against Domain Name Abuse planned to send an e-mail to thousands of brand owners on Thursday urging them to get involved in the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the global body that administers the World Wide Web.
The group's cleverly phrased May Day message, "Say ICANN," is aimed at curbing abusive practices of certain Internet registrars and registrants, Tech Daily Dose has learned. "Suspicious new registrar activities such as domain front running and the proposal of a new voting structure that will strengthen the strangle hold that registrars and registries have on the ICANN process necessitate immediate action on the part of brand owners," the e-mail said.
Recently, concerns have been raised about domain name "tasting" and "kiting." Tasting is when an entity registers several Web addresses and exploits a five-day grace period, during which names can be returned for refunds. Kiting is repeatedly adding and dropping domains to avoid registration costs while making money off pay-per-click links.
Four CADNA members -- AIG, Dell, Eli Lilly, and DirecTV -- have already answered the call by pledging to join ICANN’s business constituency, officials said. "Currently, domain industry insiders dominate ICANN’s membership and often sway decisions in their favor," the e-mail argues. ICANN's next meeting will take place in Paris, France in June.
According to ICANN's business constituency site, its membership outreach already extends directly to over 50,000 companies and indirectly to over 1.5 million companies worldwide. Some big-name members include eBay, Microsoft, News Corp., Nokia, Walt Disney Co., Time Warner, and Verizon.
View CADNA's "Say ICANN" page here.
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