President Barack Obama on Friday formally tapped FTC Commissioner Jon Leibowitz to become the agency's chairman, CongressDaily reported. The Democratic member of the panel since 2004 will succeed Republican William Kovacic, who led the agency charged with consumer protection and preventing unfair business practices for less than a year. Since he is on the commission, Leibowitz does not require Senate confirmation. He serves alongside Kovacic, Republican J. Thomas Rosch and Pamela Jones Harbour, an independent. He worked for the Motion Picture Association of America and was once Democratic counsel for the Senate Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee. Obama needs to fill another vacancy on the five-member panel.
As lawmakers and lobbyist prepare to do battle over legislation that would make sweeping changes to the U.S. patent system, one group backed by small and mid-sized companies hoping to influence the process has hired an executive director to coordinate its efforts in the 111th Congress. The Innovation Alliance announced Friday that it had brought on Brian Pomper, former international trade counsel for Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus. After leaving Capitol Hill, he co-founded consulting firm where he worked with clients on international trade and intellectual property.
The alliance's members, which include well known names like Dolby Laboratories and Qualcomm as well as lesser known firms, "understand that American ideas and innovation have been a critical part of our economic success and will be even more important in our economic recovery," Pomper said. He vowed to fight for a strong patent system that protects the rights of American inventors and drives our economy toward recovery. The Innovation Alliance, however, was a loud critic of patent bills introduced last Congress and complained that the proposals would have done more harm than good.
Sens. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., Thad Cochran, R-Miss., and Charles Schumer, D-N.Y, reintroduced legislation Thursday to require the electronic disclosure of Senate campaign finance reports. The bill is identical to legislation that Feingold sponsored in the 108th, 109th, and 110th Congresses, and that was approved by the Senate Rules Committee in 2007. The measure would bring Senate rules in line with those already in place for presidential candidates, House candidates and political action committees, officials said. The Campaign Finance Institute estimates the bill could save taxpayers $250,000 per year. "This commonsense bill to make our electoral system more transparent is long overdue," Feingold said in a press release.
Under the legislation, the reports would have to be filed electronically and forwarded to the FEC within 24 hours. The FEC is required to make available on the Internet within 24 hours any filing it receives electronically. Because of the FEC's detailed coding, which allows for more sophisticated searches and analysis, paper filing is currently completed over a week later for Senate reports than for House reports. "The Senate should catch up with the House, the president, and the many senators who already voluntarily file electronically by passing this reform which has broad bipartisan support." Schumer, who chairs the Rules Committee, called the proposal a "no-brainer" and said it should be approved expeditiously.
Michael O'Leary, who once served as counsel to then-Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., is being promoted from senior vice president to executive vice president of government relations at the Motion Picture Association of America. O'Leary will oversee all federal and state legislative and regulatory strategies and work with CEO Dan Glickman on government policy priorities. "Michael has been integral to many of the MPAA's legislative and regulatory achievements over the past several years and in his new, expanded role he will continue to lead our U.S. government affairs team to success in its advocacy efforts," Glickman said in a statement.
MPAA also announced that Greg Frazier, who worked in the Clinton administration, will become executive vice president and chief policy officer. He will be responsible for the association's annual operating plan and coordinating its implementation across departments. Frazier will continue to manage MPAA's U.S. trade policy and to work on international affairs issues. In other lobbying news, the Association of American Publishers has chosen former Rep. Tom Allen, D-Maine, as its new president and CEO. Allen will replace another former Rep. Pat Schroeder, D-Colo. He'll start the first week in April.
-- Winter Casey & Jeannette J. Lee
Freshman Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, has embraced YouTube to offer a series of regular "Cot-Side Chats" -- short videos of the former business executive hunkered down on a cot in his Longworth Building office talking to the camera about some of the most pressing issues of the day. Chaffetz thought the testimonials would be an effective way for constituents to understand his reasoning behind the votes he casts. Plus the platform gets his message out faster than writing letters. Why the cot? It's to reinforce that he practices the fiscal discipline he preaches -- like sleeping in his office.
Legislation that would make sweeping changes to the U.S. patent system could be unveiled as soon as Tuesday, industry sources told CongressDaily. Congressional aides would not confirm the timing, but the bills are expected to be introduced jointly by House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers and Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy. The measures would modify how courts handle patent disputes and would help streamline operations at the Patent and Trademark Office.
Ahead of the bill drop, groups formed by industry stakeholders to try to influence the patent debate said they have high hopes that President Barack Obama's new pick for Commerce secretary -- former Washington Gov. Gary Locke -- will be involved in the issue. On Thursday, the Innovation Alliance, which represents high-tech firms that do not want sweeping changes to the patent regime, lauded Locke's record of "working to help create an environment in the state of Washington that has nurtured the development of many small innovative companies."
The Coalition for Patent Fairness, which has championed Leahy's legislation, said Wednesday that Locke "understands the need to encourage innovation in order to create jobs and grow the U.S. economy" and his work as governor "shows that he understands the need for a strong patent system." The Coalition for 21st Century Patent Reform, which has called for more limited modifications to the system said Locke's leadership "will enhance the ability of the PTO to stimulate the innovation and manufacturing that will be instrumental to our nation¹s economic recovery."
President Barack Obama's 140-page, $3 trillion budget outline for 2010, which was unveiled Thursday, includes a few basic lines on e-government, transparency and public participation as part of the policy-making process.
Under the heading "Let Americans Track How Their Tax Dollars Are Spent," Obama pledged to take the following steps:
• Maintain Recovery.gov, a site that allows individuals to see where recovery funds are going, for what purpose, and to what result.
• Give the public five days to review all non-emergency bills before they are signed.
• Disclose each earmark and the name of the legislator who asked for each earmark, and make this information available on a searchable public Web site.
• Clean up military contracting by establishing the reporting requirements, accounting, and accountability.
The role of intellectual property in the economy will be even stronger post-recession than it was prior to when the economy began faltering, according to James Malackowski, president of Ocean Tomo, a bank that specializes in providing IP related financial products and services. "The recession gives people the opportunity to focus on what's important [and] will help to prove that IP adds significant value and then when the recession is over, IP will remain on the front burner," Malackowski said.
Some have said the 6-year-old firm is ahead of its time -- and that can be both a positive and a negative. In the last six months, the 80-plus employee company has given about 20 staffers their walking papers including 11 last week. Malackowski said those decisions reflect the bank's attempt to adapt to a changing market. Going forward, their will be some great IP deals on the market and more emphasis on IP quality, he said. He added that because the economy is bad, IP holders and countries "need every dime of value that there IP provides them" and there will be more anti-piracy efforts.
"The U.S. continues to be a leader in recognizing IP rights. With this recognition comes additional value. IP value is stronger here than elsewhere but other countries are quickly catching up by having a national policy focus on IP as an asset - such as Japan, Taiwan, to some extent China," who understand that they have to catch up, Malackowski said. "Typically IP is a counter-cyclical asset and in a modest recession companies turn to their IP as an underutilized value whether it be for sale or enforcement. This cycle is different." "We didn't slide into a recession we collapsed into one," he added. -- Winter Casey
In the recently ignited congressional debate over whether and how to streamline copyright licensing for satellite transmission of broadcast television programs, one key lawmaker wants to emphasize that "harmonization for harmonization sake has never made a whole lot of sense." House Energy and Commerce Communications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va., believes that there are key differences between cable and satellite systems and lawmakers should carefully weigh calls to unify the platforms' statutory language. "We ought to look at the differences and to the extent that different treatments are still called for on account of those differences, resist harmonization for harmonization sake," Boucher said in a Wednesday interview.
Two major questions before his subcommittee as they reauthorize the Satellite Home Viewer Act are whether satellite providers should offer local service to all 210 market areas nationwide and whether there should be a general rule for signals where market areas straddle state lines, Boucher said. About 30 markets lack local-to-local coverage entirely, many of which are rural areas like Boucher's own district. A fairly non-controversial item is moving language that pertains to significantly viewed channels from one section of copyright law (Sec. 119) to another (Sec. 122), which covers local-into-local service. "I think there's uniform agreement that we should make that change," Boucher said.
Read more about potential complications in the Satellite Home Viewer Act reauthorization efforts in Thursday's CongressDaily AM Edition (subscription required).
In her first hearing before Congress since being confirmed, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano was grilled about U.S. government policies for screening laptops and other high-tech gadgets at airports and whether she would address concerns from people who have had their laptops taken away at airports and examined. Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Calif., plans to reintroduce legislation on the issue. When asked by Sanchez to describe border control agents' abilities in this arena, Napolitano said the "law here is very straightforward." The federal government has broad authority to search at the border. However, existing statutes do not specifically answer whether agents should search laptops and what elements should be included in a search, she said. Napolitano said she is still looking into the issue and noted there are "a number of issues we handle that have really key privacy concerns inherent in them." She also answered questions about a 2012 deadline for scanning all U.S.-bound cargo containers in foreign seaports and whether she believes the Federal Emergency Management Agency should be moved out of the department. -- Juliana Gruenwald
High-tech groups and companies are hot and bothered over legislation introduced Wednesday that they fear will treat Internet marketplaces in a discriminatory fashion in response to retailers claims that stolen goods are being resold through sites like eBay and others. The bills, which were introduced by Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., Rep. Brad Ellsworth, Ind., Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., and are intended to address weaknesses in federal law that criminals have exploited to grow criminal enterprises. The measures were hailed by the Retail Industry Leaders Association.
Computer and Communications Industry Association President Ed Black said he is worried that the bills will undermine user privacy, and threaten to erode Internet service provider immunities that help Internet innovation thrive. "At a time of financial duress and economic contraction, the last thing we should be doing is attacking innovative e-commerce services," Black said. EBay Vice President Tod Cohen said he believed the bills "are less about fighting shoplifting and more about big box retailers wanting to crush legitimate small-business online competition." NetChoice Executive Director Steve DelBianco added he has "heard this song before, and it's getting old."
But the RILA disagrees. Organized retail crime involves sophisticated crime rings that move from store to store stealing large quantities of goods. The stolen merchandise is then sold, often to unknowing customers, through flea markets, swap meets, pawn shops and, increasingly, on Internet auction sites, the group said. RILA Senior Vice President John Emling said the bills will give law enforcers the tools they need to stop the scourge and protect consumers from unknowingly purchasing fraudulent or unsafe goods.
More vendors are touting a software model for government use that involves applications being delivered to a user through an Internet connection. Industry is calling this model SaaS, or software as a service. According to an industry source, the service is paid for based on a subscription sales model while the software applications reside in the SaaS provider's data centers and can be delivered to end users over a variety of devices, from cell phones to PCs to thin clients. The application's data could be maintained in the provider's data centers, or on premises within the government organization itself.
"The attractiveness of the SaaS model for the customer is that it can significantly reduce the user's up-front investment in software, computer processing, and storage. It also allows the supplier to offer competitive pricing by leveraging its economies of scale," according to an International Trade Administration report. SaaS has been driven in recent years by significant technological advances, notably faster broadband networks, so-called Web 2.0 innovations, improved security technologies and data centers that have virtualized computing and storage resources, the report said.
The document states that concerns about data security and privacy overseas have emerged as potential trade barriers for U.S. SaaS firms. "Vendors have come up against restrictions on trans border data flows in Asia that ban off-shoring of any banking and telecommunications data processing and, as a result, adversely affect their SaaS sales," the paper stated. They have faced resistance in Canada and Europe as well as from some agencies, governments and businesses that are concerned about data confidentiality and the risk that U.S. intelligence organizations could access sensitive information at will.
Internet and government transparency activist Carl Malamud has launched a gutsy campaign to get himself named to run the Office of the Public Printer of the United States in the Obama administration. The position heads the Government Printing Office, which is responsible for providing public access to a variety of federal work products. His Web site, YesWeScan.org (a play on Obama's "Yes We Can" campaign motto), lays out a seven-point platform for shaking things up.
Malamud says the GPO should:
1) Lead the effort to make all primary legal materials produced by the United States readily available.
2) Work more closely with the nation's libraries and reform the Federal Depository Library Program.
3) Retrain and refocus its workforce by creating a U.S. Publishing Academy
4) Enhance security for passports and other secure documents
5) Create more materials for the public domain (books and master files for remixing)
6) Should work with the rest of the government to change how information is put online
7) Become fully transparent in its own financial affairs and serve on the front lines of customer service
His effort has support from a host of high-tech and transparency thought leaders including: Tim O'Reilly, Tim Wu, Lawrence Lessig, Ellen Miller, and Cory Doctorow.
Tech-savvy Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., has a new post as chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet in the 111th Congress -- and a new flat-screen TV in his office. Tech Daily Dose reported last summer that his giant wall-mounted Samsung was a goner. The TV was an analog set he admitted was "on the edge of obsolescence." On Wednesday, we sat down to discuss his tech and telecom agenda for 2009 and a brand new Panasonic was hanging on the wall. The TV, which is used for occasional videoconferencing, hadn't been set up yet but Boucher said he looked forward to taking it for a whirl.
High-tech stakeholders on Wednesday lauded President Barack Obama's third pick for Commerce secretary -- former Washington Gov. Gary Locke -- after his two other choices for the post, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., both withdrew. "I'm sure it's not lost on anyone that we've tried this a couple of times, but I'm a big believer in keeping at something until you get it right," Obama joked upon announcing Locke's nomination. He went on to praise his work wooing high-tech and other businesses to Washington state.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John (Jay) Rockefeller said the Commerce Department "has a major role to play in rebuilding our economy" and Locke is an excellent choice to run the show. "He is a seasoned executive, he understands the importance of economic development at the state level, and he is a life-long advocate and champion for American productivity," Rockefeller said. Ranking member Kay Bailey Hutchison said she hoped Locke "will be proactive in helping U.S. businesses' marketing efforts abroad and be an advocate from within the administration for responsible tax and regulatory policies."
Software and Information Industry Association President Ken Wasch touted Locke's executive experience and noted that Washington state "has the most manufacturing export-related jobs of any in the country." "Gov. Locke understands the need for America to compete in the global economic marketplace," Wasch said. SIIA General Counsel Mark Bohannon added the department's agenda - ensuring quality patents, opening markets and removing barriers to trade, advancing the U.S. technology base, and implementing export controls - factors importantly into economic recovery.
The United States ranks sixth in the world on global innovation-based economic competitiveness, ahead of the European Union, which ranked 18th, according to a new report from a high-tech think tank. The ranking of 39 countries and regions on 16 indicators in six key areas, authored by Information Technology and Innovation Foundation President Robert Atkinson and Scott Andes, also found the nation comes in last when measured by progress over the last decade.
Issues ITIF measured include: human capital, innovation capacity, entrepreneurship, IT infrastructure, economic policy factors and economic performance. "This study is based on the importance of benchmarking global competitiveness and innovation on a variety of factors, not simply policy factors or economic performance," Atkinson said. "It's important to look at the competitiveness of United States, Europe, Asia and the rest of world based on variety of factors -- not just one." While the United States leads Europe, it "is not the runaway leader that some recent studies have found it to be," added Atkinson.
The United States leads Europe in 13 of the 16 indicators, including knowledge (higher education and number of researchers); innovation (corporate and government R&D and scientific publications); IT (investments, e-government, and broadband); overall business climate; entrepreneurship (new firms and venture capital), and productivity. The so-called "EU-15" outperforms the United States in three of the 16 indicators: a lower effective corporate tax, trade performance, and foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows. Read more about the report here.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy and Sen. Orrin Hatch R-Utah, got some star-studded support Tuesday for legislation they introduced earlier this month that would end a long-standing royalty exemption granted to AM and FM radio. The rally organized by the MusicFirst Coalition featured an impressive line-up of performers including: Will.i.am; Sheryl Crow; Herbie Hancock; Emmylou Harris; Patti LaBelle; Dionne Warwick and others. House Foreign Affairs Chairman Howard Berman, House Oversight and Government Reform ranking member Darrell Issa and Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., also attended. Watch video clips of speeches by LaBelle, Crow and Harris above. For more, see CongressDaily's AM Edition on Wednesday.
The volume of e-mail being received on Capitol Hill is constantly increasing but in order for members of Congress and staff to receive these communications in real time, their technology wizards must make sure they have the appropriate mechanisms in place to deal with it. On Tuesday, for example, the technology wasn't dealing well and there were significant delays of inbound e-mail traffic for some House staffers. A House Administration Committee spokesman confirmed the glitch, but noted that overall the House has a solid system in place.
"There were delays on inbound Internet traffic yesterday but, given the fact that we receive on average more than 1 million e-mails per day, our system is extremely reliable and interruptions/slowdowns are rare. The volume is constantly increasing and we continually review technology upgrades to deal with it," Kyle Anderson said in a statement. "The House has committed a lot of resources to ensuring that our IT infrastructure is top notch. While there have been very isolated incidents in which incoming traffic has created issues, the volume is generally not an issue." -- Winter Casey
Christopher Caine, the head of IBM's worldwide programs based in Washington, D.C, is stepping down, National Journal has confirmed. Caine, vice president for governmental programs at IBM, has led the company's offices and teams in 35 countries for the past 13 years. He has worked for IBM for 25 years but will be retiring at the end of March to start his own company, Mercator XXI. The firm will focus on navigating the global economy.
In other lobbying news, former Under Secretary of Commerce for Technology Robert Cresanti will soon be heading up the Washington office of SAP America, a business software company. Cresanti most recently worked for Ocean Tomo, a bank specializing in intellectual property. While at Commerce, Cresanti served as the head of the Technology Administration, where he oversaw policy analysis staff and worked closely with the National Institute of Standards and Technology and National Technical Information Service.
At SAP, he will be filling the old position of Mary Arnold. Cresanti may have been drawn to the German-based company in part because he was a military brat who grew up in Germany with a German mother and an American father. -- Winter Casey
Update: Arnold has been named vice president of business development and is no longer lobbying for the first time in years. She has been reporting to Rick Knowles, senior vice president of operations for SAP America, since 2008. Prior to lobbying for SAP, Arnold was a lobbyist for AT&T.
Information technology security is unsurprisingly the top challenge reported by federal government CIOs in an annual survey conducted by the Technology Association of America -- a group formed earlier this year by the merger of the Information Technology Association of America and the American Electronics Association. Since 2009 marks a period of greater change than normal, with the transition to a new administration, authors revised the study's format to examine impacts of the transition and offer advice for the future. The paper also looks back at the eight years of President George W. Bush's administration and provides commentary on challenges, outcomes and lessons learned.
The study's findings, released Tuesday, classify participating CIOs into three categories in terms of their thinking on the current IT security challenge. One subset tended to define their IT security progress and challenges in terms of compliance with OMB directives and initiatives. Another subset was more focused on protecting current IT assets -- infrastructure, networks, software and data -- from unauthorized intrusion and harm. A third subset believed a strategic response is required to address cybersecurity. Other challenges described in the report include IT infrastructure, management, resources, workforce, applications systems and transitioning to the future.
Key observations from CIOs for the Obama administration fit into the following themes:
• Strong leadership drives change
• Employ laser-sharp focus
• Demand results and verify
• Achieve good IT governance
• Fix IT infrastructure
• Fund priority initiatives
• Continue to standardize and consolidate
• Strengthen the blended workforce
The full report and CIO survey will be available on the ITAA and AeA Web sites.
Kei Koizumi has been appointed assistant director for federal research and development at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, where he will be working on federal R&D budget issues and tracking funding. Koizumi served on the Obama transition team as part of the Technology, Innovation & Government Reform Policy Working Group. He said the group talked a lot about science funding in the stimulus bill and brainstormed ways to implement the Obama campaign agenda within the first 100 days of office. Koizumi last served as the longtime director of the R&D budget and policy program at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, an international nonprofit organization. While at AAAS, Koizumi was the principal budget analyst, editor, and writer for annual reports on federal R&D and for updated analysis on federal R&D on the association's Web site. Koizumi, who considers himself a Democrat, said he is "happy to be entering public service after 14 years in the nonprofit sector." -- Winter Casey
The National Association of Manufacturers released its legislative agenda for economic recovery and job creation Monday, which features a handful of high-tech priorities. "The 111th Congress is meeting in a time of tremendous economic challenges," NAM President John Engler said in a statement. "The NAM believes that Congress, the Obama administration and the private sector are in a strong position to respond in a positive and effective way." Some of the trade groups key points include:
▪ Funding Basic R&D. Policymakers must support adequate funds for the National Science Foundation, the Energy Department, the National Institute of Standards and Technology and NASA. NAM wants Congress to fully fund legislation from the 110th Congress that authorized major increases in those agencies.
▪ Universal Broadband Deployment. Future economic growth depends on the ability of businesses and individuals to easily secure broadband services without burdensome regulations. In addition, NAM says initiatives to promote broadband deployment in unserved and underserved areas will help ensure service is available across America.
▪ Protecting Intellectual Property. Only through stronger enforcement practices, stiffer penalties and integrated government coordination through the implementation of IP legislation signed last fall can economic losses be stemmed at home and abroad. The United States also needs an efficient and effective patent system, NAM says.
An Obama administration official confirmed for CongressDaily Monday that the president's likely third pick for Commerce secretary is former Washington Gov. Gary Locke. The Democrat was the nation's first Chinese-American governor when he served two terms from 1997 to 2005. Since leaving office, he has worked for Davis Wright Tremaine in Seattle on issues involving China, human rights and intellectual property rights. He was an IP crusader on the domestic front as well. Under Locke's leadership, Washington became the fourth state in 2000 to issue an executive order requiring state agencies and recipients of state funds to acquire and use legally licensed software. Obama's second choice for the job, Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., backed out a week after he was named citing "irresolvable conflicts" with the president's policies. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a Democrat, was his first choice but he withdrew in January amid allegations of wrongdoing in the awarding of contracts in his state. Also on the tech front, Locke was named to the board of Key Technology in May 2008. The Walla Walla, Wash.-based company designs and manufactures automation systems for the food processing and industrial markets.
The Center for Digital Democracy's Jeff Chester believes FTC Commissioner Jon Leibowitz is poised to "help transform what has been a largely anemic regulatory watchdog during the Bush years into an agency that sees its first priority as consumer protection." According to CongressDaily's PM Edition on Monday, an administration official confirmed the former Motion Picture Association of America executive will be tapped as FTC chairman by President Barack Obama early this week. Leibowitz, a Democratic member of the panel since 2004, will succeed Republican William Kovacic at the agency charged with consumer protection and preventing unfair business practices.
"We expect significant FTC action on financial and health-related consumer issues. There will also be a more critical eye cast with mergers," Chester said in an e-mail. "Public interest groups such as mine appreciate that Leibowitz has called for tougher online privacy safeguards, and that his door has always been open." Leibowitz, who was once Democratic counsel for the Senate Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee, serves alongside Kovacic; Republican J. Thomas Rosch, and Pamela Jones Harbour, an independent. Obama will also need to fill an existing vacancy on the five-member body. In unrelated FTC news, the Supreme Court has rejected a request by the agency to resurrect an antitrust case against computer memory manufacturer Rambus. Read more here.
President Barack Obama formally announced several White House staffers on Monday who have a role in the high-tech world. They include:
Macon Phillips has been named director of new media, a position he held on the presidential transition team. Phillips developed Change.gov and oversaw the transition's overall online communications. Prior to that, he served as deputy director of new media for the Obama campaign where he managed daily online operations. Before joining the campaign, he led Blue State Digital's strategy practice.
Cammie Croft has been named deputy new media director. Croft comes to the White House from the Obama transition project, where she served in the same capacity. Prior to that, she was new media rapid response manager for the Obama campaign where she oversaw efforts like FighttheSmears.com and UndertheRadar.com. Previously, Croft built the tracking and media monitoring program at Progressive Accountability, a campaign that provided video of Republican presidential candidates.
Jesse Lee has been named online programs director after having worked in the new media department for the transition team. Previously, Lee worked on online communications for the Democratic National Committee during election season. Prior to that, he was senior new media advisor to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Katie Stanton has been named director of citizen participation after having served at Google where she was a principal in the new business development team. While there, she was responsible for OpenSocial, Google Moderator, and various election-related initiatives. Also at Google, Stanton managed Google Finance, Google News, and Blog Search.
A battle between Internet giant Google and a Santa Monica, Calif.-based group that has been pressuring the company to enhance the privacy and security of its various Web applications appears to be getting bloodier. Earlier this month, Bob Boorstin, director of Google's corporate and policy communications, wrote to the head of the Rose Foundation, which funds Consumer Watchdog, complaining the group launched "totally fictitious" attacks on his company. Most recently, Consumer Watchdog accused Google -- absent any evidence and referencing "a rumored lobbying effort" in a press release -- of trying to obtain permission to sell patient medical records.
"I am hoping that as you consider the activities of your grantees and whether to renew your commitments, you will take these kinds of activities into account and consider whether there might be better groups in which to place your trust and resources," Boorstin said in an email to Rose Foundation Executive Director Tim Little. Boorstin also asked Little's permission to write to his board of trustees to highlight Consumer Watchdog's activities. Little replied that his foundation "welcomes feedback and comment on all of its grantmaking programs" but noted the philanthropy has a longstanding policy of not interfering in its grantees' work. He added that the foundation "believes that Consumer Watchdog is raising very fundamental questions about privacy over the Internet."
Consumer Watchdog President Jamie Court wrote to Google CEO Eric Schmidt Monday arguing that his top executives must "have more important priorities than defunding a consumer group critical of your lack of privacy protections." In the letter, he laid out some observations about Google's perceived "less than open corporate culture, its opaque public policymaking division and some suggestions for change and moving forward." Read previous posts about Google and Consumer Watchdog here and here as well as the email exchange between Boorstin and Little here and Court's letter to Schmidt here.
An about-face by social networking site Facebook last week regarding its terms of service headed off a complaint to federal regulators prepared by the Electronic Privacy Information Center. The Wednesday decision to restore Facebook's original policy and its commitment to a more transparent, participatory process regarding future changes to its operating procedure came hours before the watchdog group planned to file a complaint with the FTC. The EPIC filing was supported by more than a dozen consumer and privacy organizations, officials said.
The modified terms of service announced Feb. 4 were widely criticized, EPIC said in a Monday e-e-mail blast. The group argued the company's revised policy "adversely impacted Facebook customers, eviscerated wide-recognized privacy rights, and unilaterally and retroactively transferred control of user generated content to Facebook." The modifications were made without any meaningful notice to Facebook users, EPIC said, noting the transfer of rights was an unfair and deceptive business practice. Under the revised policies, the Web site "asserted broad, permanent, and retroactive rights to users' personal information - even after they deleted their accounts," EPIC said.
Previous EPIC complaints at the FTC have related to Microsoft Passport, Choicepoint, and the Google-Doubleclick merger. In response to user concerns, Facebook established a new Bill of Rights and Responsibilities and is seeking comments from users. The page includes these statements from the company:
The halls of Congress will be crawling with celebrities Tuesday as Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy and House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers make a push for legislation they introduced that would end a longstanding copyright royalty exemption granted to AM and FM radio stations. The afternoon MusicFirst Coalition rally will feature an impressive line-up of stars including: Will.i.am; Sheryl Crow; Herbie Hancock; Emmylou Harris; Patti LaBelle; Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty and Dionne Warwick. The event will formally kick off the group's campaign to "close the corporate radio loophole and establish a fair performance right on radio for American artists."
The Judiciary chairmen will also be joined by House Foreign Affairs Chairman Howard Berman, House Oversight and Government Reform ranking member Darrell Issa and Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., as well as Recording Academy President Neil Portnow. The National Association of Broadcasters and the Free Radio Alliance earlier this month launched their public outreach campaign opposing the legislation. At that briefing, Texas Reps. Gene Green, a Democrat, and Mike Conaway, a Republican, unveiled a resolution that had 110 cosponsors aimed at preserving local radio from the imposition of new royalty rates or fees. Read more about that effort here.
"NAB welcomes an honest debate over whether radio stations or the record labels have historically been a 'better friend' to musicians," spokesman Dennis Wharton said Monday. "Since the days of Count Basie, there have been two constants in music: free radio airplay has propelled the financial success of countless performers, and those same artists have been systematically abused by the labels. For RIAA to now use artists as a shield in their quest for a performance tax is utterly cynical and hypocritical."
Criminals are increasing using the Internet to make phone calls in order to avoid the possibility of their mobile phone calls getting intercepted by law enforcement authorities, according to a European Union body established in 2002 to enhance the effectiveness of organized crime investigations in member states. Carmen Manfredda, acting national member of Eurojust plans to lead an EU investigation on issues related to phone calls that take place through the Internet by way of the popular service Skype and others. "The purpose of Eurojust's coordination role is to overcome the technical and judicial obstacles to the interception of Internet telephony systems, taking into account the various data protection rules and civil rights," the group stated.
According to background information provided by Eurojust, police in Milan say organized crime, arms and drugs traffickers, and prostitution rings are turning to VoIP systems to frustrate law enforcement. "Skype's encryption system is a secret which the company refuses to share with the authorities," the group said. "Investigators have become increasingly reliant on wiretaps in recent years." Customs and tax officials in Milan have highlighted the Skype skirmish and have overheard a suspected cocaine trafficker telling an accomplice to switch to the program to get details of a drug transaction, Eurojust said. "Investigators are convinced that the interception of telephone calls have become an essential tool of the police, who spend millions of Euros each year tracking down crime through wiretaps of landlines and mobile phones," officials said.
"The possibility of intercepting Internet telephony will be an essential tool in the fight against international organized crime within Europe and beyond. Our aim is not to stop users from taking advantage of internet telephony, but to prevent criminals from using Skype and other systems to plan and organize their unlawful actions," Manfredda said. "Eurojust will make all possible efforts to coordinate and assist in the cooperation between member states." -- Winter Casey
Continue reading Cyber Crooks Turning To Internet Telephony.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy and House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers will join House Foreign Affairs Chairman Howard Berman, House Oversight and Government Reform ranking member Darrell Issa and Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., for a Tuesday briefing on legislation they introduced to end a longstanding copyright royalty exemption granted to AM and FM radio stations. The rally organized by the MusicFirst Coalition will feature appearances by artists and musicians from across genres and decades.
The House and Senate Judiciary committees will put executives from Live Nation and Ticketmaster on the hot seat this week as they examine the pair's $2.5 billion merger plan, now under Justice Department review. Senate Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman Herb Kohl, D-Wis., will chair a Tuesday hearing and the House Judiciary Courts and Competition Policy Subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., will follow up Thursday. Read a CongressDaily preview story here (subscription required).
The Property Rights Alliance will unveil its 2009 International Property Rights Index at the National Press Club on Tuesday. The event will be followed with a discussion by a panel of experts on what the rankings means for property rights in the 111th Congress and around the globe. The alliance's annual study measures the significance of physical and intellectual property rights and their protection for economic well-being. The index includes data for 115 countries, representing 96 percent of world GDP.
CNN and social networking site Facebook are teaming up for President Barack Obama's Tuesday evening address to Congress in hopes of recreating their successful Inauguration Day live streaming and commenting collaboration. During that historic event, over 2 million Facebook status updates were posted through the feed with 4,000 status updates per minute on average and a spike of 8,500 updates when Obama began his speech, Facebook reported. CNN touted the effort as "the largest live video event in Internet history." The partnership was "a symbolic day for social TV" that showed millions of people want to talk with their friends while watching TV that they care about, even if they can't be in the same place to watch it together, according to the Inside Facebook blog. Read more here.
High-tech giant Microsoft launched a new program Sunday intended to provide up to 2 million people over the next three years with training to help them succeed in the 21st-century economy. The announcement of the Elevate America initiative coincided with the National Governors Association winter meeting in Washington this weekend. The company will soon begin working with state governments, including those of Florida, New York and Washington, to offer training. An online resource that is already available provides access to several Microsoft training programs, including how to use the Internet, send e-mail and create a résumé, as well as more advanced programs on using specific Microsoft applications.
"At the federal, state and local level, leaders are working together to help start the engine of economic growth. The private sector provides much of the spark needed to jump-start that engine," Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire said in a statement. Florida Gov. Charlie Crist said the city of Miami has worked for years with Microsoft to bring technology training to underserved populations and the Elevate America program will help even more people at a time when new skills are needed more than ever. More than half of today's jobs require some technology skills, and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that will reach 77 percent in the next decade.
From National Journal magazine:
Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., has hired blogger Matt Stoller to be his senior policy adviser in Washington. He plans to focus on the lawmaker's financial services portfolio, including housing foreclosure issues. Stoller, 31, has been active in liberal Internet circles for five years, according to his Web site, MattStoller.com. He is a big fan of populist politics, or as he describes it: "Embracing the people and the public and allowing them to participate in self-governance." Stoller blogged for Jon Corzine's New Jersey gubernatorial campaign in 2005. He also did blog outreach for the Democratic National Convention in 2004 -- a first.
Stoller sees a big appetite for change. There is a "huge populist spirit," he says "and someone is going to figure out how to channel that into governance." While in college, Stoller spent one summer cleaning toilets and another working for an ad firm in Japan. He also put in a couple of years at a small software company in Boston. Stoller, who grew up in Miami, enjoys reading -- he is currently turning the pages of Come Home, America by William Greider -- and playing basketball. -- Winter Casey
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is embracing technology early in her tenure. She recently posted her first entry on Dipnote, the State Department's official blog and is participating in a new online forum, "Ask the Secretary." She also launched an internal agency Web site, "The Sounding Board," to solicit feedback from department staff. "There is no doubt in my mind that we have barely scratched the surface as to what we can use to communicate with people around the world, and in fact, to use them [new technologies] as tools...to further our own work and be smart about it," Clinton said at a town hall meeting earlier this month.
"There are legitimate concerns about security, but I believe we cannot just take that at face value and stop thinking about it. We've got to figure out how we're going to be smarter about using technology," she said. Clinton also cited social networking site Facebook as an example. "For everybody who is applying for a visa, you just should know that the State Department is on the watch here for Facebook," she said. In her Dipnote post, she said she intends to take advantage of new social media tools during her travels around the world "so the State Department can share its diplomatic work with a broader audience." "I invite you to use these tools and become a part of this conversation," she told blog readers.
Behind the glitz and glamour of this weekend's Oscar extravaganza, there's an economic story that the Motion Picture Association of America wants told. Brad Pitt, Anne Hathaway and Mickey Rourke are all nominated for one of Hollywood's biggest awards, the trade group said in a Friday press release, but all three were also a part of an "on location" shoot that helped bring jobs and revenue to states not necessarily known for red carpet events. "Some of the biggest winners already are the workers and small businesses in states where several of the nominated flicks were filmed," said the MPAA, which frequently laments the huge financial price its members pay when their products are pirated.
An estimated $225,000 per day is added to the economy where film production occurs, officials said. In Illinois alone, "The Dark Knight" provided a boost for Chicago when production of the Batman movie injected $35 million in jobs, taxes and other revenue over two months. Louisiana benefitted from "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" while New Jersey and Pennsylvania were featured in "The Wrestler." "Revolutionary Road" and "Rachel Getting Married" were filmed in Connecticut, "Tropic Thunder" was filmed in Hawaii, and "Iron Man" shot in Nevada.
Nearly 1.5 million film industry workers -- from truck drivers to set designers and caterers to animators -- earn more than $30 billion in wages annually, the MPAA said. Plus, more than 40 states have enacted tax and other incentives to lure Hollywood productions to their cities and towns. The industry came close to being handed even more economic encouragement when the Senate Finance Committee's tax title of the economic stimulus legislation included a tax break worth up to $246 million over 11 years for investors in bigger-budget movie projects that don't necessarily qualify for incentives currently. That provision was eliminated before the bill passed Congress.
Despite the economic slump, broadband Internet penetration and digital television investments in Russia have been increasing, according to analysis released Thursday by the consulting firm Frost & Sullivan. Russia is also continuing to push the use of third generation mobile services. "Based on the competitive environment and growth potential, we are likely to see further rollout activity, followed by a period of investment in products and services to capitalize on the network infrastructure over the next three years," the firm wrote. The Russian government is now focusing on the analog-to-digital TV transition with investments in that project expected to reach $12 billion through 2015. Private investors will provide the bulk of the funds, the report said.
However, while broadband Internet penetration grew in Russia in 2008, at 10 percent penetration the country still falls behind Western Europe, according to the research. The firm found that a number of Russian regions are increasing broadband penetration. But "when looking at Russia in terms of technology advancements, it is impossible to disregard the disparity between Moscow, other major cities and the country's rural areas," said Frost & Sullivan analyst Iwona Petruczynik in a statement. Read more about Frost & Sullivan's analysis here. -- Winter Casey
The Homeland Security Department's first chief privacy officer thinks the agency's pick for that post in the new administration is good one. Nuala O'Connor Kelly, who left DHS in 2005 to become General Electric's senior counsel for information governance and privacy, said Mary Ellen Callahan is a "respected privacy official and attorney" who will continue to grow what she believes is an "already excellent privacy organization" within the federal government. Callahan, a partner at Hogan & Hartson, was appointed by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on Thursday.
"Mary Ellen is a friend as well as a colleague, and I wish her tremendous success," O'Connor Kelly told Tech Daily Dose on Friday. "I am sure she will have the full support of the outstanding privacy office team." Callahan, an active member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals, has what it takes to do the job right and will likely find support in her new post from DHS General Counsel Ivan Fong, sources said. Fong, who was tapped by President Barack Obama last month, has a privacy background and most recently served as chief legal officer for Cardinal Health. He was O'Connor's predecessor at GE and previously served as deputy associate attorney general.
High-tech and child safety advocates are giving new Internet safety legislation introduced last week by House Judiciary Committee ranking member Lamar Smith and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, a chilly reception. Their bills, which were publicized at a Thursday press conference, direct Internet service providers to retain subscriber information for up to two years to help law enforcement identify users who upload and view explicit child pornography. The measure also makes it a crime to financially facilitate the sale, distribution and purchase of child pornography and would provide more resources to the FBI to fight the scourge.
"It's ironic that at a time when so many in Congress seemingly want online providers to collect and retain less data about users, this bill proposes that ISPs be required to collect and retain more data," Progress and Freedom Foundation Senior Fellow Adam Thierer said, wondering how the conflicting legislative priorities will be reconciled. "It's good that Congress is taking steps to address the scourge of child pornography... Extensive data retention mandates, however, would be unlikely to help much anyway given the ease with which bad guys will likely circumvent those requirements using alternative access points or proxies," he said.
The Center for Democracy and Technology General Counsel John Morris said a robust data preservation regime is already in place and new efforts in that arena pose privacy concerns. Meanwhile, the head of the U.S. Internet Service Provider Association said before advancing new legislation, it is crucial to see how current law will change with the implementation of another child safety measure, which former President George W. Bush signed in October. USISPA Executive Director Kate Dean, whose group represents AOL, AT&T, Comcast, Verizon and others, said the new statute made great strides to improve investigations and prosecutions and provided more resources to law enforcement.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on Thursday appointed Hogan & Hartson partner Mary Ellen Callahan as the agency's chief privacy officer. Callahan has counseled clients on online and offline marketing issues as well as Web site privacy policies and terms of use and helped create and implement privacy and security-related compliance strategies and programs. She has written numerous comments on behalf of clients such as the Motion Picture Association of America and the Online Publishers Association on rulemaking related to the FTC, federal anti-spam laws, and the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, according to her firm bio.
Callahan, who previously worked for the Congressional Research Service, is also co-chair of the Online Privacy Alliance -- a self-regulatory group of corporations and associations to create an environment of trust and foster the protection of individuals' privacy online. "Homeland security and privacy are not mutually exclusive, and having a seasoned professional like Mary Ellen on the team further ensures that privacy is built in to everything we do," Napolitano said in a statement.
The Future of Privacy Forum's Jules Polonetsky lauded the appointment, saying Callahan has "the critical combination of privacy savvy, common sense and backbone needed to help craft the balance between the war on terror and respect for the privacy and personal dignity of individuals." "For an administration that has promised to be both tough on terror and committed to civil liberties, this will be an incredibly critical role," he said. Callahan is a great listener who will be able to ensure that voices of both law enforcement and civil libertarians are heard and respected, Polonetsky added.
House Judiciary Committee ranking member Lamar Smith and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, introduced legislation late last week that directs Internet service providers to retain subscriber information for up to two years. The bill helps law enforcement officials identify users who upload and view explicit child pornography and would impose record-keeping requirements similar to those already in place for telephone companies, Smith said. ISPs routinely work with authorities and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children on this front and have made strides to bolster industry efforts in recent years.
"Of the nearly 600,000 images of graphic child pornography found online and reported to law enforcement officials, only 2,100 of these children have been identified and rescued," Smith said in a Thursday press release. "Law enforcement officials have reached a digital dead end," he said, noting they need ISPs to help identify users and distributers of illegal content. "While the Internet has generated many positive changes in the way we communicate and do business, its limitless nature offers anonymity that has opened the door to criminals looking to harm innocent children," Cornyn added.
In addition to record retention, the measure also makes it a crime to financially facilitate the sale, distribution and purchase of child pornography. The bill would provide additional funds to the FBI's Innocent Images program, which is the backbone of federal law enforcement's fight to eradicate child porn. Smith and Cornyn made the announcement at a press conference in Austin where they were joined by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. "Innovative legislative responses to high tech crimes are vital to the ongoing success of our crackdown on cyber predators," Abbott said.
Henry Selick, director of the recently released 3-D, stop-motion animated film "Coraline," will keynote at the National Association of Broadcasters' annual April extravaganza in Las Vegas, organizers announced Thursday. On Monday, April 20, Selick will offer NAB Show attendees his thoughts on how digital technology has helped to revitalize the handcrafted approach of stop-motion animation. His film, distributed by Focus Features, offers what Selick calls "a fully immersive three-dimensional movie-going experience."
"Coraline," which is the first stop-motion animated feature to be shot entirely in stereoscopic 3-D, opened in U.S. theaters Feb. 6 and has generated over $40 million at the box office. Selick is also well-known for other directorial works including "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and "James and the Giant Peach." The NAB Show takes place April 18-23. Other big names slated to attend include David Helfand, editor of "Weeds" and "That '70s Show;" "Hairspray" editor Michael Tronick; and "The Fast and the Furious" director Rob Cohen. Read more about the NAB Show here.
House Republicans resumed their call Thursday for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to post the half-trillion dollar omnibus appropriations bill online immediately since Democratic leaders plan to schedule a vote as soon as next week. Minority Leader John Boehner issued a statement saying the public deserves "adequate time to read the measure and understand what is in it." Boehner and others requested that the package be put on the Web two weeks ago and to date, their request has gone unanswered. "Time is running short, and American taxpayers deserve to know how their hard-earned tax dollars will be used under this legislation," he said.
Boehner has a lot of questions. Some include: "Will the omnibus spending bill be loaded with pork-barrel earmarks? Will it contain harmful language aimed at stopping environmentally-safe energy exploration far off our shores? Will it include other controversial policy changes akin to the 'stimulus' bill's provisions to undermine welfare reform and allow government bureaucrats to ration out health care for families and seniors?" "These are important questions that must be answered -- and will be answered, if Democratic leaders give the American people ample time to review the legislation by placing it online immediately," he said.
The Chinese government plans to give a boost to the country's electronics and information industry by spending more to promote the use of third-generation mobile communication services and digital televisions, Xinhua News Agency and Shanghai Daily and reported Thursday. China plans to encourage companies to set up shop overseas to build R&D centers, production facilities and marketing networks. The government said it will establish more policies to benefit the tech sector including offering tax rebates for product exports.
The plan will "tie in with the central government's effort to boost domestic consumption in the face of weakening global demand for Chinese exports," Shanghai Daily reported. China's imports and exports of electronics and information products reached $885.4 billion last year, up 10 percent from 2007, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said, according to Xinhua. More than 75 percent of those exports were telecom products, computers and home audio and video products and more than 80 percent were processed or assembled in China with materials supplied by overseas clients. The government wants the industry's domestic market revenue to grow 12 percent this year. -- Winter Casey
It remains unclear what technologies or standards President Barack Obama will decide to harness to support his open government initiatives. Obama has on numerous occasions pledged that he will make the government as transparent and open as possible - even going as far as to give his administration deadlines on when certain milestones will be reached and state that his administration "will put government data online in universally accessible formats." Many seem to agree that openness in general is a positive goal, but how to best reach that objective gets foggy.
"Openness" is a general movement, not just related to open source and standards. That said, openness intersects many areas and it doesn't take a big leap to go from discussions about open government to procurement policies for IT based on open standards," wrote IBM Vice President Bob Sutor in a blog post last month. Microsoft CTO Susie Adams agrees there has been a lot of talk about openness as a theme of the new administration and believes Obama "wants to capture an assurance of openness as a way to set direction and vision." In terms of how the goal of openness relates to technology specifically, she said "a true, open government should rely on a "mixed source" blend of technologies -- an approach used around the world.
"That approach would help ensure continued benefit and return on existing IT investments while simultaneously making sure the best tool for a particular job is in place," Adams said, noting that "no one vendor or one software approach will lead to success." But Sun Microsystems co-founder Scott McNealy, who told the BBC he has been asked to prepare a paper on open source for the Obama administration, has hailed open source products. "The government ought to mandate open source products based on open source reference implementations to improve security, get higher quality software, lower costs, higher reliability - all the benefits that come with open software," he said.
The Coalition for Patent Fairness, a group backed by major high-tech and media firms who want Congress to pass substantial overhauls to the U.S. patent system, is refocusing its message this year to highlight what its member companies argue would be the positive economic impact of updating the patent regime. "Deficiencies in our patent system are holding our economy back by dampening innovation and job creation. Congress needs to pass a bipartisan and comprehensive patent reform bill to modernize and reduce uncertainty in the current system," the group said in a Wednesday statement. Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy plans to introduce patent legislation in the near term and the House will follow suit.
The coalition has also revamped its Web site and introduced a new blog called "The Better Mouse Trap." The blog is named as a nod to America's tradition of innovation and will be updated regularly to track legislative and regulatory developments and highlight member company activity, the group said. CPF will have plenty of challenges in the 111th Congress. Manufacturing giants recently launched the Manufacturers Alliance on Patent Policy in hopes of influencing the debate. They join the Innovation Alliance, whose small and medium-sized firms oppose many of the modifications; and the Coalition for 21st Century Patent Reform, a multi-industry entity that has called for limited changes that pertain primarily to patent quality.
Recommendations for changing the patent litigation venue regime put forward by the last Congress are vague and subjective, which could result in confusion and excessive litigation, according to a report released Wednesday by the Progress and Freedom Foundation. PFF visiting fellow Sidney Rosenzweig's paper proposes simplified legislative language to address so-called "forum-shopping" as leaders of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees resume discussions about reintroducing patent legislation in the 111th Congress. The enactment of either bill from last session would "cause a tidal wave of venue-related disputes to drown the federal courts," he wrote.
Rosenzweig proposes the following revision to 28 U.S.C. § 1400(b) to address the only concrete problem identified by Congress, "namely the lax standard for venue against corporate defendants" --
'Notwithstanding subsection 1391(c) of this title, any civil action for patent infringement may be brought against a corporation only in a judicial district--
'(1) where the defendant has its principal place of business or where the defendant is incorporated;
'(2) where the defendant has committed a substantial portion of the acts of infringement and has a regular and established physical facility that it controls;
'(3) where any defendant has committed a substantial portion of the acts of infringement and has a regular and established physical facility that it controls, if there is no other district in which the action may be brought under subsections (1) or (2); or
'(4) where any defendant has its principal place of business, where any defendant is incorporated, where any defendant may be found, or where any defendant has committed acts of infringement, if there is no other district in which the action may be brought under subsections (1), (2) or (3).'
The greatest challenges for U.S. telecommunications and high-tech companies continue to be difficulties in dealing with governmental restrictions on doing business, according to top U.S. telecom official David Gross. The former U.S. Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy is joining the communications practice of Wiley Rein LLP in March. At the law firm, Gross will provide counseling on global telecommunications issues and assist U.S. and foreign entities looking for international business opportunities.
"U.S. high tech products and services are still as good as any in the world, but some governments -- especially in Africa, Asia and the Middle East -- need to be convinced to let them compete in their markets. These problems include spectrum licensing issues for wireless carriers, the provision of competitive, international telecommunications services, and attempts to restrict Internet-based services, including the free flow of information," Gross said. "Although a lot of great work has been done on these issues during the past few years, much still needs to be accomplished if the remaining billions of potential users and customers will be allowed to benefit from these transformational goods and services. I want to help make these potential benefits a reality by helping companies and other organizations with their market-opening efforts," the former ambassador added.
Richard Beaird is currently serving in Gross's place at the State Department in an acting capacity. Gross held the title of coordinator since 2001 when he was nominated by former President George W. Bush. According to the State Department's Web site, Gross led "more U.S. delegations to major international telecommunication conferences than anyone in modern history." As coordinator, Gross was responsible for the formulation and advocacy of international communications policy for the United States. He had previously been a partner at Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan. Before serving as Gross's deputy, Beaird was an associate administrator at National Telecommunications and Information Administration. -- Winter Casey
Amid fears from big brand owners about sweeping changes to the way top-level domains, such as .biz, .info, and .us, are assigned, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is expected to unveil on Wednesday a revised guidebook for their plan and a 155-page analysis of public comments that is intended to show the effect input from various stakeholders has had. A range of intellectual property stakeholders from Marriott to Verizon are afraid that ICANN's Web address expansion will force them to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to protect their identities from fraud and infringement.
"This won't be the last revision," ICANN Vice President Paul Levins said, noting the extent of this analysis is a first for his organization. "This is literally thousands of voices shaping the next layer of innovation on the Internet and we're documenting it for all to see," he said. Levins said there is more work to be done on trademark issues; security and stability; worries about increases in malicious conduct; and supply and demand examination. ICANN is committed to consulting with all stakeholders -- including the World Intellectual Property Organization -- to craft the right policy, he said. "We're not rushing this. We are listening and acting," he added.
ICANN released a draft proposal in October suggesting that any entity could apply for a domain as long as they could pay a fee of about $190,000. The application process is expected to start this year, with the first of hundreds of new domains potentially coming online late this year. Earlier this month, the Coalition Against Domain Name Abuse and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce hosted closed-door meetings with executives and Capitol Hill staffers to discuss how Congress could get involved in the debate. Read more of CongressDaily's coverage here (subscription required).
Update: ICANN has posted materials here.
The Justice Department will get $4 billion from the $787 billion economic stimulus plan signed by President Barack Obama on Tuesday to enhance state, local, and tribal law enforcement efforts. Included in that pool is $50 million for the agency's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Forces. Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., a staunch supporter of the program, made sure the money was part of the package. The funding will help those who track down child pornographers and will preserve law enforcement jobs, the National Association to Protect Children (PROTECT) said. The $50 million was halved during Senate negotiations but was restored after child protection advocates spoke out.
Law enforcement grant funds for the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) and Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) programs will also be available as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and much of it could go toward child exploitation work, PROTECT said. Grants will fund an estimated 5,500 local police officers through COPS as well as the JAG program's formula grants to state and local law enforcement. PROTECT worked in 2008 with the Surviving Parents Coalition to boost ICAC budgets in the pending FY 2009 omnibus. Senate appropriators increased the budget from $15.9 million to $30 million while the House allotted $25 million.
"This funding is vital to keeping our communities strong," Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement. "As governors, mayors, and local law enforcement professionals struggle with the current economic crisis, we can't afford to decrease our commitment to fighting crime and keeping our communities safe. These grants will help ensure states and localities can make the concerted efforts necessary to protect our most vulnerable communities and populations."
About a week after promotion giant Live Nation formally announced its intention to buy Ticketmaster, a company that does much of its concert ticket business on the Internet, Congress is getting involved. Senate Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman Herb Kohl, D-Wis., has announced a Feb. 24 hearing that will examine the deal and what it means for consumers and the future of the concert business. He and the subcommittee's top Republican, Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, issued a statement shortly after the company's announcement saying the merger should be closely reviewed. The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts and Competition Policy has also announced a similar hearing on Feb. 26. Witnesses for the hearings have not yet been announced.
"Any merger between two companies who would otherwise compete against each other raises significant antitrust concern when those companies already have significant market power," House Subcommittee Chairman Hank Johnson, D-Ga., said, noting the proposed merger "deserves serious scrutiny for any anticompetitive impact." House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers added the hearing would be the first test of the Obama administration's antitrust policy. Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., was the first to speak out about the deal as well as recent allegations that Ticketmaster sent Bruce Springsteen fans to a subsidiary Web site that sold concert seats at a premium cost.
While the United States struggles with efforts to switch the country over to digital television signals, the European Union said Tuesday that it "is leading the world in switching from analogue to digital television." The EU government said the transition has been completed in five member states thus far: Germany, Finland, Luxembourg, Sweden and the Netherlands. By 2010 "the process should be well advanced in the whole EU," officials said.
Specifically, the terrestrial TV switch-off is supposed to take place by the end of 2010 or earlier in Austria, Estonia, Denmark, Spain, Malta and Slovenia. The change is set to occur between the end of 2010 and the end of 2012 in Belgium (Wallonia and Brussels capital region), Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Greece, France, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Latvia, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and the United Kingdom. In Poland the final switch-off date is 2015 at the latest, according to the EU.
"[The European] Commission is working on a common approach on how to use the spectrum released by the digital switchover to achieve the greatest benefits for the single market and its 500 million citizens," a press release said. Japan's switch-off is planned for July 2011, South Korea for the end of 2012, Australia for 2013, and India and Russia for 2015, according to the EU. In the United States, President Barack Obama signed legislation Feb. 12 delaying the DTV switch from Tuesday until June 12. -- Winter Casey
BlackBerry maker Research in Motion and four of its senior executives on Tuesday were charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission for stock option backdating. The SEC's complaint alleges that the Ontario, Canada-based company, its former CFO Dennis Kavelman, former Vice President of Finance Angelo Loberto, and Co-CEOs James Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis illegally granted undisclosed, in-the-money options to RIM executives and employees by backdating millions of stock options over an eight-year period from 1998 through 2006. The news comes ahead of President Barack Obama's one-day visit to Ottawa on Thursday.
SEC Enforcement Division Director Linda Chatman Thomsen said the action underscores the commission's resolve "to assure full and accurate disclosure to U.S. investors by foreign issuers." "Companies and executives who attempt to conceal their fraudulent conduct from investors and regulators will be held accountable," added SEC Enforcement Division Associate Director Antonia Chion in a press release. The SEC's complaint alleges false and misleading disclosures were made about how RIM priced and accounted for options. The backdating violated terms of RIM's stock option plan and a listing requirement of the Toronto Stock Exchange, the SEC said. RIM's stock is also listed on NASDAQ where it was down more than 8 percent in midday trading.
According to the SEC, all defendants have agreed to settle the matter, without admitting or denying the allegations in the complaint. RIM consented to an order permanently enjoining it from violating the anti-fraud, reporting, books and records and internal controls provisions of federal securities laws. The settlement with RIM also takes into account the company's cooperation during the SEC's investigation. Kavelman and the others named in the complaint agreed to pay penalties ranging from $334,250 to $500,000 and to disgorge the in-the-money value of backdated options they had exercised. Earlier this month, the Ontario Securities Commission settled a related case against RIM and executives.
As promised, the White House on Tuesday launched Recovery.gov -- a Web site that features information on how the $787 billion economic stimulus package is being spent along with tools to help citizens hold the government accountable. Issues surrounding the site's implementation and measures for success will likely arise as part of a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing planned for March 5. OMB Director Peter Orszag is expected to testify along with GAO Acting Comptroller General Eugene Dodaro and Phyllis Fong, chair of the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency.
"It is critical to ensure that systems are in place -- ahead of time -- to oversee this massive level of spending and that the public is provided with as much information as possible about where their money is going," Chairman Joseph Lieberman said in a Saturday press release. Ranking member Susan Collins echoed his sentiment, noting that she opposed releasing the remaining government funding for financial institutions last month because the initial roll-out lacked what she believed was proper transparency and accountability. "We cannot afford to make the same mistake with the economic stimulus package," she said.
The issue is expected to gain traction in the House as well, according to a spokesman for House Oversight and Government Reform Committee ranking member Darrell Issa. "The promise of transparency must be met with more than rhetoric -- it must be exercised in application," Kurt Bardella said in an e-mail. "The reality is the federal bureaucracy is now being asked to absorb hundreds of billions of dollars and the potential for waste, fraud, abuse and mismanagement is something we will need to be diligent in preventing.
Canada, China, Russia and 10 other countries continue to pose the worst problems in 2009 with respect to protecting U.S. intellectual property rights, the American music, movie, software, and video game industries told the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in an annual filing on Tuesday. The International Intellectual Property Alliance recommended that 13 nations be placed on the USTR's priority watch list and that 25 be placed or maintained on a less critical list when the official rosters are released by the U.S. government this spring. IIPA also requested that later this year, USTR conduct so-called "out-of-cycle reviews" of Malaysia, Spain and Saudi Arabia to evaluate their respective progress on specific IP issues.
"With the U.S. economy shedding jobs at an alarming rate, our government needs to redouble it efforts to stem massive global theft of U.S. copyrighted works in physical form and on the Internet," IIPA's Eric Smith said, noting that the USTR's Special 301 process is a critical tool in reducing piracy losses. Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus and Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, introduced legislation in the 110th Congress that would beef up the report, which some stakeholders believe has become what aides called a "shaming exercise." Their proposal would have required trade officials to create an action plan for the worst offenders and harsh consequences for countries that do not comply. A spokeswoman for Baucus said her boss remains interested in the issue and is working with ranking member Charles Grassley to determine the best way forward.
The Recording Industry Association of America, American Federation of Musicians, the National Music Publishers Association and other music industry stakeholders issued a joint statement commending IIPA's recommendations. "In these troubled economic times, it is more important than ever that the U.S. government take meaningful steps to ensure that the most competitive parts of the U.S. economy -- those that contribute to positive balance of trade payments -- can effectively compete in global markets without facing unfair competition," the groups said. "The copyright industries generally, and the music community in particular, are among America's most competitive sectors, and our contribution to the public welfare goes well beyond our economic contributions."
Continue reading IP Crusaders Want Robust Anti-Piracy Agenda.
Surf on over to CongressDaily's TechCentral for a new "Issue of the Week." Here's a taste:
For the first time in years, government officials and the U.S. biotechnology industry are weighing an overhaul of the regulatory framework for federal and private laboratories that work with the world's deadliest biological agents and toxins. At the heart of the matter is concern over securing biological pathogens with dual-use applications, the kind of infectious organisms that have scientific and medical value when used properly but that also can be turned into a weapon to kill or sicken people.
Spurring calls for action, the congressionally chartered Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism predicted in its final report in December that a bioterrorism attack is likely to occur somewhere in the world within the next five years. The panel also reported significant security gaps at U.S. laboratories. Meanwhile, President George W. Bush, in one of his last acts before leaving office last month, established a high-level federal working group that would make recommendations to President Barack Obama within six months on whether laws and regulations governing security at labs should be changed.
And now, Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairman Joseph Lieberman and ranking member Susan Collins say they are in the early stages of writ-ing legislation to tighten oversight of so-called high containment laboratories that handle deadly biological pathogens, especially facilities run by private companies. "One of the findings of the WMD Commission is that a lot of the privately operated labs operate for good purposes to develop biotechnology products ... but what they're doing could easy be converted to a biological weapon," Lieberman told CongressDaily.
On the heels of congressional passage of the $787 billion stimulus package, brand consultancy Strategic Name Development has announced a "Name the U.S. Economic Recovery Contest." Online entries will be judged on their ability to address the following three criteria: "Uplifts our spirits; leads us from darkness to light; engages and entertains us," according to a press release from the Minneapolis-based firm whose clients include General Electric, Johnson & Johnson, Sprint, Qualcomm and many others.
To submit name ideas click here. Deadline is Feb. 27 and the best slogan will be unveiled on March 6. The winner gets a year's supply of movie tickets. To get those creative juices flowing, here are some colorful examples from SND:
▪ The Universal Reversal
▪ The Crash and Learn Era
▪ From Fizzle to Sizzle
▪ The Profound Rebound
▪ The Extreme Economic Makeover
▪ RegainOnomics
▪ Boomsday
▪ The Great Resurrection
AM and FM radio stations that simulcast programming over the Internet or that create new stand-alone Internet stations reached a deal with digital royalty collector SoundExchange on Monday to provide discounts on previously set rates for 2009 and 2010 and establish rates for 2011-2015. Under the agreement, rates for simulcasts or Web channels operated by local stations are reduced for the first two years by about 16 percent then gradually increase through 2015 -- from $0.0015 per streamed sound recording in 2009 to $0.0025 per stream by 2015.
The National Association of Broadcasters has reached separate deals with individual record label groups that waive certain statutory format restrictions allowing, for example, certain artists to be played more often during a four hour period. The agreement was reached under the authority of the Webcaster Settlement Act, which passed Congress last September, and covers simulcasts over the Internet of all copyrighted commercially released musical performances. Meanwhile, the same parties involved in the agreement have just begun a battle on Capitol Hill over performance royalties that the music industry wants AM and FM radio stations to pay.
"Because of the explosive growth of music on the Internet, this is good news for everyone involved in music -- from artists to labels to broadcasters and to fans," SoundExchange Executive Director John Simson said in a press release. NAB spokesman Dennis Wharton said the arrangement "provides local radio stations with the ability to enhance their local service with an online component, boosting listeners' access to music, local news and information." The Webcaster Settlement Act was sponsored by Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.
Still to come: settlements between SoundExchange and small commercial webcasters; religious broadcasters; and members of the Digital Media Association.
The Department of Homeland Security's Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee has offered DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano 16 recommendations on how to best address privacy issues currently facing the department. The panel stressed that "the need to update the government's legal authority to protect and defend cyberspace in the U.S. classified intelligence systems raise specific and sometimes significant privacy issues, including the conflict between transparency and redress."
The committee has asked that each DHS component - such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Office of Intelligence and Analysis - have a designated privacy officer that would report to the head of the section. The committee also "encourages DHS to continue to work toward policy and functional interoperability in the development of new systems and when making major modifications to existing systems," according to a letter from the committee hand delivered to Napolitano.
Additionally, the panel said the 1974 Privacy Act has "not kept pace with the evolution of technology and developments in how data is collected, used, shared and stored. To the extent the Secretary is asked to submit recommendations to Congress for making the act more relevant and effective, the committee recommends that the secretary seek guidance from the Privacy Office staff, who are experts in applying the Act's provisions throughout the department." For more on the recommendations, read the committee's letter here.
-- Winter Casey
Rep. Rush Holt, D-N.J., praised federal research and development dollars included in the $790 billion compromise economic stimulus plan, saying in a Thursday interview that the package is "overall good news for science." The legislation provides for significant increases for innovation at the National Science Foundation, Energy Department's Office of Science and National Institutes of Health and would offer substantially more than a bill to ramp up federal R&D that passed the 110th Congress but proved difficult to fund.
Holt, who is a scientist by training and co-chairs the Congressional Research Caucus, said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and President Barack Obama have for months insisted that investing in science and technology can help turn the economy around. The America Competes Act "was the best we could do in the previous negotiating climate -- but [the stimulus] goes way beyond that," Holt said, noting that R&D provisions of the original House proposal have largely been sustained. "The science spending in this bill is a better job generator than most of the rest of the bill," he said, estimating that 20,000 research positions are created for every billion dollars spent.
Despite his enthusiasm for the stimulus, Holt is worried that come appropriations season, some may argue that R&D has received plenty. "Underlying this entire stimulus package is the pledge that it not increase the base. A few years from now we don't want to be in a boom-bust cycle," he said. "I hope we can avoid a boom-bust cycle but I also will welcome the boom for however long it lasts." Read a summary from Holt's office about the $22 billion in stimulus R&D investments here.
The European Court of Justice ruled this week that a data retention directive, which the European Council passed in 2006, is legal. The Court did not address any privacy concerns related to the directive and found that the provisions of the directive are limited to the activities of service providers.
"The Court notes at the outset that the action brought by Ireland relates solely to the choice of legal basis and not to any possible infringement by the directive of fundamental rights resulting from interference with the exercise of the right to privacy," according to a government statement. "Finally, the Court finds that the provisions of the directive are essentially limited to the activities of service providers and do not govern access to data or the use thereof by the police or judicial authorities of the member states."
TJ McIntyre, a lecturer at the University College Dublin, said the court found the directive doesn't regulate access to data based on the seriousness of the crime. He holds that this decision undermines all of the previous justifications promised to privacy advocates who were told that access to data would be limited to serious crimes. McIntyre, who chairs a group that challenged the EU directive, said the case brought by Ireland was the first challenge to the directive that has been heard by the European Court of Justice. His group has asked Ireland's High Court to refer the case to the Court of Justice.
See what you missed this week on the high-tech policy agenda by reading TechCentral's regular Friday feature, the Executive Summary.
This week's topics:
▪ Gregg Withdraws Nomination For Commerce
▪ Leahy To Unveil Patent Bill Soon
▪ Opposition Builds To Music Royalty Bill
▪ FCC To Allow Some Stations To Convert To DTV Before New Deadline
▪ Stimulus Compromise Leaves Health IT Funding Largely Intact
▪ Broadband Tax Credits Dropped From Stimulus
▪ FTC Unveils Consumer Privacy Guidelines For Net Ads
▪ Review Of Federal Cybersecurity Efforts Praised
▪ Border Initiative Now Focusing on Technology
▪ Government Close To Deal To Allow Agencies To Use YouTube
▪ Lawmakers Wary Of Ticketmaster, LiveNation Merger
▪ House Passes Measure To Bolster Nanotech Oversight
Read the full rundown here (subscription required).
Adult film performer/writer Stormy Daniels, who caused a stir when she came to Washington last May to advocate for online child safety, wants to give Sen. David Vitter, R-La., a run for his money. She's contemplating entering the 2010 Louisiana Senate race and has reached out to Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt to run her campaign, according to press reports. Daniels told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that while Flynt had nothing to do with the "Draft Stormy" movement she has "reached out to him in the last couple of days."
In recognition of National Internet Safety Month, Daniels appeared at the National Press Club alongside Joan Irvine of the Association of Sites Advocating Child Protection. The 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. Their press conference showcased a public service announcement campaign that promoted ASACP's "restricted to adults" label for applicable Web sites and encourages parents to use filtering software. Daniels was presented with ASACP's annual service award Thursday.
If elected, Daniels will join a list of porn stars turned politician, according to the Washington Examiner: "Ilona Staller, better known as Cicciolina, was elected to Italian parliament in 1987. Mimi Miyagi, a Filipina porn star, filed as a Republican gubernatorial candidate in Nevada in 2006. And many Californians are already (more than) familiar with the infamous Mary Carey, who made a very well-publicized run for Governor in 2003."
Internet telephony executive Daniel Berninger thinks information technology has the potential to transform Africa's modern economy -- and earlier this week shared his vision with a group of Washington tech policy watchers and President Barack Obama's Africa policy adviser, Witney Schneidman. "Although Africa remains last among world regions in estimated Internet penetration, it also features a growth rate of 1,000 percent between 2000 and 2008," Schneidman noted at the Wednesday event hosted by Qorvis Communications.
The benefits of increased Internet access have been bolstered by unprecedented adoption of cellular technology in Africa -- more than 20 percent growth annually, speakers said. The resulting economic turnaround on the continent has led policymakers from around the world to consider the potential computer and networking industry holds to develop the economy among the 53 African nations. "Trade, not aid, is the key to bringing Africa into the global economy, and infotech is the enabler," Qorvis partner Maura Corbett said.
Vijay Mahajan, author, Africa Rising and The 86% Solution, and James Moore, chairman of the Geopartners Foundation, also took part in the conversation. Click here to watch a video of the forum.
Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., withdrew his nomination for Commerce secretary today, citing differing views with President Barack Obama on the economic stimulus and the Census. "Obviously, the president requires a team that is fully supportive of all of his initiatives," Gregg said. In a statement, Gregg said he and Obama discussed the differences during the nominating process but "unfortunately we did not adequately focus on these concerns. We are functioning from a different set of views on many critical items of policy."
Shortly before Gregg was tapped, there was plenty of buzz inside the Beltway and in Silicon Valley about Symantec CEO John Thompson's candidacy for the job that New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson also turned down. Thompson told Tech Daily Dose on Inauguration Day that, if chosen, he would be honored to serve in the new administration. It is unclear whether the high-tech executive is back in the running or if he would still want the position after being edged out by the senator. For more on Gregg, see Friday's CongressDaily AM Edition, which will be online later this evening.
The House Republican Conference has launched a new GOP.gov, the official Web site of House Republicans in the 111th Congress. The updates are meant to enhance citizen engagement through blogs, a legislative digest, interactive features, video, radio addresses and the option to receive automatic updates when content is published.
Scott Graves, a publisher of Republican blogs, said it looks like the GOP is taking a "play from the playbook of the Obama campaign." The site's designer clearly recognized that what Democrats did in 2008 worked, he said. "The Republicans over the last few months have finally recognized that they are going to need to focus real attention and real resources on their online communication efforts," Graves added. He said he hopes the GOP will look to emerging technologies in 2012 rather than relying on what worked in 2008.
Rep. Gene Green, D-Texas, on Thursday took a swipe at legislation unveiled last week by House and Senate Judiciary Committee leaders that would end a long-standing music royalty exemption granted to AM and FM stations by introducing a resolution urging Congress not to impose "any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge" on local radio. Green's resolution, which is supported by the National Association of Broadcasters, already has the backing of 110 cosponsors -- double the number he had when the measure was introduced in the 110th Congress. He eventually gathered more than 220 supporters last year.
"This is our base whip list," Green said in an interview. "This is nonbinding but if someone signs on and votes another way, they'd have to explain that to a lot of constituents." If the House royalty bill, which is sponsored by Judiciary Chairman John Conyers, makes it through his committee and onto the floor, Green said he hopes he will have enough supporters to vote it down. Last year, the legislation passed Judiciary's Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property, which has been abolished in the 111th Congress. Green said he expected the royalty bill to pass Conyers's panel. A companion bill was introduced by Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy last year and again last week. The two bills differ slightly. Read CongressDaily's recent coverage for details (subscription required).
The MusicFirst coalition, which supports the royalty bills, issued a press release slamming Green's resolution as "a last ditch effort to save corporate radio's loophole in copyright law." "Radio is the only platform that does not pay a fair performance royalty to America's artists and musicians," the group said, noting that satellite, Internet and cable music stations pay. "It's not fair, it's not right and it will be changed." The NAB, however, calls that effort "a record label bailout," which will put thousands of radio jobs at risk and threaten the economic viability of an artist's greatest promotional asset.
The FTC unveiled an updated set of recommendations Thursday on how Internet firms can better protect consumer privacy in an age of sophisticated advertising models. The guidance came on the heels of a December report by agency staff that offered proposed principles to steer the development of self-regulation for behavioral advertising, which involves tracking of a consumer's activities online including searches, Web pages visited, and content viewed.
The new staff report summarizes and responds to key issues raised by more than 60 comments received and sets forth revised principles. The document points out that most comments concerned the scope of the proposed principles like it was necessary to provide privacy protections for data that is not personally identifiable. In response, the report states that Web sites should cover any data that reasonably can be associated with a particular consumer or computer or other device.
Commenters also questioned the need to apply privacy principles to "first party" advertising, in which a site collects consumer data to deliver targeted advertising but does not share any information with third parties. The FTC also fielded questions about contextual ads, which involve little or no data storage. The agency concluded those methods pose fewer privacy concerns and do not need to be included within the scope of self-regulatory principles.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer urged members of Congress in a Wednesday letter sent to Capitol Hill to vote for the economic stimulus package that House and Senate negotiators finalized. "We believe the final conference agreement will help families during this difficult economic time, create and save jobs, and begin to put our country back on the path toward long-term economic growth," he wrote, noting that the nation is experiencing "a once-in-a-lifetime economic crisis." He carried a similar message to the House Democratic Caucus Retreat in Williamsburg, Va., last Friday, where he spoke.
The final package includes significant investments in human capital, technology, and research and development, Ballmer wrote. That funding will help extend the reach of broadband access as well as create jobs in green technology, alternative energy, bioengineering, and advanced computing. The agreement also promotes the adoption of information technology, he wrote. "Government support for rapid adoption of information technology is essential and measurable outcomes are needed to help the administration and Congress achieve the goals of increased access, lower healthcare costs, and improved quality of care," he concluded.
Legislation intended to strengthen and provide transparency in federal nanotechnology research efforts passed the House on Wednesday. The bill is identical to one that was approved by the chamber in the 110th Congress. House Science and Technology Committee on Science and Technology Chairman Bart Gordon lauded the news, saying "there is no doubt that the potential of this technology is vast" since it is already part of cellular phones, cosmetics, paints and refrigerators and will soon help protect the lives of police officers and military servicemen.
Specifically, the bill requires that the multi-agency National Nanotechnology Initiative develop a plan for environmental and safety research components including explicit near-term and long-term goals, specifics about the funding required to attain those goals, and details about the role of each participating entity. The measure also assigns responsibility to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to oversee the planning and ensure the agencies allocate the resources necessary to carry it out.
The legislation also includes provisions aimed at capturing the economic benefits of nanotechnology by encouraging the creation of industry liaison groups to foster technology transfer and to help guide the NNI research agenda. The bill also authorizes large-scale, focused, multi-agency R&D initiatives in areas of national need. Additionally, the bill addresses the future workforce by supporting the development of undergraduate courses in nanotechnology fields. A companion bill has not been introduced in the Senate.
The Senate's $838 billion economic stimulus package contains about $17.8 billion in federal research and development while the $819 billion House bill, which passed last month, contains $13.2 billion for R&D, according to the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The House version contains far less for the National Institutes of Health but provides more for other R&D programs, AAAS analyst Kei Koizumi said Wednesday. Senators added $6.5 billion for biomedical research during floor debate, bringing NIH's total Senate funding to $10.4 billion. The House offered $3.9 billion.
Basic competitiveness-related research, biomedical research, energy R&D, and climate change programs seem to be the highest priorities for both bills. The National Science Foundation, the Energy Department's science office and the National Institute of Standards and Technology -- three agencies highlighted in U.S. competitiveness legislation that passed the 110th Congress -- would do well in both versions, Koizumi said. But some, like the Alliance for Science & Technology Research in America, believe the Senate language is lacking, and are pushing conferees to restore some of the House-passed funding. A detailed update is available on the AAAS R&D Web site here.
Democratic Gov. Tim Kaine of Virignia didn't waste any time Tuesday launching Stimulus.Virginia.Gov, a new Web portal to gather project ideas for potential funding from the federal stimulus package, which passed the Senate 61-37 the same day. House and Senate conferees are now meeting to merge the packages, which differ considerably, with a goal of sending a final version to President Barack Obama by the end of the week.
"While we wait to learn what conditions will be placed on the federal stimulus monies received by the states, we want to start collecting ideas from all over the Commonwealth to ensure the money is spent in a timely and effective manner," Kaine said in a press release. "Every locality and citizen has a stake in our economic recovery and should have a voice in deciding how this money is spent." Citizens will be able to view proposals in a format that will be updated daily, officials said.
After the $800 billion-plus stimulus package becomes law, projects from Stimulus.Virginia.Gov will be identified that may qualify for funding. Those initiatives will be evaluated and selected through a process similar to the way the state government develops its biennial budget. In some cases, the information will be sent to localities and other appropriate governmental entities because they will be responsible for prioritizing projects, Kaine's office said. Virginia began accepting proposals the day the site went live.
Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., gave an economic pep talk to a room full of technology policy experts Tuesday night at a reception celebrating the merger of two prominent trade groups -- the American Electronics Association and the Information Technology Association of America -- to form the Technology Association of America (which is being branded as TechAmerica). "We are at a crossroads for change," Eshoo said, pointing to seismic shifts in government and the marketplace. "Those who stand still are really falling behind."
Amid ample economic uncertainty, there is trepidation and doubt in the private sector, Eshoo said. But she noted that "we know as Americans that we are a can-do people -- we have always been innovators." She stressed that Silicon Valley companies that call her congressional district home should take the lead. "You are so integral to the changes that need to be made in our country. People are hungry for it, they're starving for it," Eshoo told a crowd of about 100 who gathered at the new Congressional Visitors Center.
She was joined at the reception by Reps. Jerry McNerney, D-Calif., David Wu, D-Ore., and Darrell Issa, R-Calif.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Tuesday announced his plan to "restore confidence in the strength of U.S. financial institutions and restart the critical flow of credit to households and businesses." Core elements of the program include a new capital assistance initiative; a public-private investment fund; an initiative to reduce credit spreads and restart the securitized credit markets; an extension of the FDIC's temporary liquidity guarantee program; more oversight to help make banks accountable and.... a new Web site: FinancialStability.gov.
"We will begin immediately a process of consultation designed to solicit further input from key public and private stakeholders. Details on all programs will be posted on FinancialStability.gov over the course of the next several weeks," a press release stated. For now, the site doesn't offer much (see screenshot above). The site will eventually provide information disclosed or reported to Treasury by funding recipients as well as public companies' 8Ks, 10Qs and 10Ks. Read more here (subscription required).
Capitol Hill is keeping an eye on promotion giant Live Nation's planned $575 million acquisition of Ticketmaster, a company that does much of its concert ticket business on the Internet. Sens. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., and Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, believe the merger should be closely reviewed to ensure that the combined company does not gain inappropriate market power. "We are concerned about the antitrust implications of the proposed merger," the Senate Judiciary Committee members said in a statement. "We look forward to examining the details of this proposed acquisition to ensure that consumers are protected."
Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., who earlier this week raised concerns about the rumored business deal, said the Tuesday announcement by Live Nation and Ticketmaster was "a major disappointment for music fans all around the country." He said the arrangement threatens to increase concert prices and limit access for middle-class Americans to entertainment events. "We saw last week the trouble that can arise when one company exercises too much control over a market," Pascrell said, pointing to allegations that Ticketmaster sent Bruce Springsteen fans to a subsidiary Web site that sells concert seats at a premium cost.
"Any merger that would consolidate so many aspects of the concert business under one roof must be carefully scrutinized for antitrust violations by the relevant federal regulators and the United States Congress," Pascrell said. "This proposed company would have unprecedented control over nearly every single step of the music industry, from the managing and promoting of artists, to running the venues, to selling the tickets." Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino, however, said the combination "will drive measurable benefits to consumers and accelerate the execution of our strategy to build a better artist-to-fan direct distribution platform."
Intel CEO Paul Otellini roamed the halls of Congress on Tuesday meeting with members about the importance of investing in U.S. innovation. He held an afternoon briefing with lawmakers whose districts and states are home to the high-tech company's facilities. See a related post on Otellini's visit to Washington here. Pictured (left to right): Rep. David Wu, D-Ore., Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., Otellini, Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., and Rep. Ben Luján, D-N.M.
Hewlett-Packard has been looking to hire a vice president for global government affairs that would lead the company's global government relations and public policy initiatives. The company's Washington, D.C., office has been in need of some unity ever since HP's acquisition of EDS closed on Aug. 26. NationalJournal.com's Under The Influence blog reported in December that HP was still working through the integration of the government affairs teams for the two companies.
According to an Internet advertisement that links to an HP job Web page saying "the job is no longer available," the firm has been on the hunt for a person to lead the government affairs team for HP on a global basis. This person would also "oversee development of legislative and regulatory strategies to advocate public policy goals before national and state government entities" and "develop strong relationships with key public officials and other decision makers." The new hire would lobby and report on legislation and regulation with an impact on HP and develop relationships with tech sector trade groups.
David Isaacs, former director of government affairs at Hewlett-Packard, left the company at the end of 2008. -- Winter Casey
Entertainment industry attorney Tom Perrelli, who is President Barack Obama's pick for associate attorney general, told the Senate Judiciary Committee during his confirmation hearing Tuesday that existing U.S. intellectual property laws "don't seem to be addressing the problem" of global counterfeiting and piracy and said he hopes the department will bring a renewed focus to the issue. Perrelli was most recently managing partner of Jenner & Block's Washington, D.C., office and co-chaired the firm's entertainment and new media practice. In that capacity, he represented record labels and movie studios in a variety of copyright court battles.
"This committee was the source of a bill that created a broader IP position through the administration," Perrelli pointed out. That legislation sponsored by Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy and ranking member Arlen Specter became law in October. The measure toughened civil and criminal IP laws and provided new prosecutorial resources. It also created an IP enforcement coordinator within the White House -- a vacant position that Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., urged the administration to fill.
During the hearing, Perrelli was also grilled by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., about legislation that he sponsored in the 110th Congress to expand the requirements for electronic service providers to report online child pornography and help to root out people selling, trading, or displaying illegal pornographic images of children. "We have to do everything we can to protect children from depictions that are going to be harmful to them," Perrelli said, pledging to work with the committee on child protection issues and help ensure that those who distribute unlawful Internet content are prosecuted.
It is American business, and not the government, that needs to invest in technologies to support innovation and growth, Intel CEO Paul Otellini said Tuesday before the Economic Club of Washington, D.C. "This year, we are going to see an unprecedented level of public investment in schools, bridges, roads, and healthcare. It is important.... But let me be very clear. All that investment is not sufficient. While it may help lift us out of our current crisis, it will not secure our future. By itself, it won't help stimulate the next generation of ideas," Otellini said.
"A secure future requires investment in areas that will give rise to new ideas and new industries. We can't look to government to do this. In fact, creating the future is an area where American business and entrepreneurialism has a stellar track record, one that I believe we can continue," he said. "What I am asking is that other companies join us. Companies that are willing to step up now and place investments to lay the groundwork for our future. In fact, creating the future is an area where American business and entrepreneurialism has a stellar track record, one that I believe we can continue."
Otellini backed his call up with the announcement that his company will be spending $7 billion over the next two years to build advanced manufacturing facilities in the U.S. that will produce the most advanced computing technology in the world. The initiative will represent Intel's largest-ever investment for a new manufacturing process and will support about 7,000 high-skilled jobs. Otellini said the company generates more than 75 percent of its sales overseas but carries out roughly 75 percent of its semiconductor manufacturing domestically and about 75 percent of the company's R&D spending and capital investments are made in the United States.
Continue reading Despite Economic Slump, Intel Takes A Leap.
From Tuesday's CongressDaily AM Edition (subscription required):
Big Firms Wary Of Stimulus Grants For Internet Expansion
AT&T, Verizon and other major telecommunications carriers are signaling to Congress that they are ready to pass on billions of dollars in grant money the economic stimulus package would allocate to expand the Internet to rural areas without service. Read more.
Groups Fight Stimulus Limit On Workers With H-1B Visas
Business groups and immigration advocates hope to remove a controversial provision from the Senate's economic stimulus bill that would restrict companies receiving federal bailout funds from hiring highly skilled foreign workers. Read more.
IT Stakeholders, Spared Large Cuts, Will Lobby To Restore
The Senate's compromise economic stimulus package has preserved much of the original measure's investments and incentives to spur adoption of electronic health records, although some stakeholders will still fight to restore cuts. Read more.
A couple of tech tidbits from President Barack Obama's first televised primetime press conference, which was also streamed live on the White House Web site:
On the economic stimulus package: "It also contains an unprecedented level of transparency and accountability so that every American will be able to go online and see where and how we're spending every dime. What it does not contain, however, is a single pet project, not a single earmark, and it has been stripped of the projects members of both parties found most objectionable."
On health information technology: "We've got the most inefficient health care system imaginable. We're still using paper. We're still filing things in triplicate. Nurses can't read the prescriptions that doctors -- that doctors have written out. Why wouldn't we want to put that on -- put that on an electronic medical record that will reduce error rates, reduce our long-term costs of health care, and create jobs right now?"
The White House planned to announce as early as Monday that Melissa Hathaway, top cybersecurity adviser to the director of national intelligence under President George W.Bush, will oversee a review of federal cybersecurity efforts, after which she will likely be offered the post of cyber czar, an intelligence official confirmed Friday. Hathaway, who was senior adviser to former Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell and previously worked as a consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton, will leave the office for 60 days to conduct the review of overall cyber organization and strategy in the federal government, sources told GovExec.com.
Hathaway will lead the review with the National Security Council, the president's principal forum for considering national security and foreign policy issues with senior advisers and Cabinet officials. The council also helps coordinate policies among federal agencies. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is running a parallel review at that department outlining the state of cybersecurity in government. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Federal Financial Management Subcommittee Chairman Thomas Carper, D-Del., lauded the news but said the exploration must not stop with Hathaway's assessment.
"I will continue to monitor cyber security issues and work with the Obama administration to ensure our nation's sensitive information and critical infrastructure is protected," Carper said. "America's military, economy and way of life depend on our ability to send and receive accurate and reliable information quickly and securely. Unfortunately, I have seen evidence of criminal groups and even foreign nations looking to do us harm by exploiting vulnerabilities in our information infrastructure."
Update: The announcement about Hathaway came at 6:45 p.m. Follow the jump for the official White House press release...
Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman officially tossed her hat in the ring for California governor on Monday by forming an exploratory committee led by California Republican Reps. Kevin McCarthy and Mary Bono Mack. The long-anticipated announcement that she would seek the GOP gubernatorial nomination in 2010 comes on the heels of her service as a co-chair for the presidential campaign of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. Former California Gov. Pete Wilson will serve as her campaign chairman.
In the coming weeks, through speeches in Silicon Valley, Orange County and at the California Republican Party Convention in Sacramento, Whitman will offer a vision for the Golden State, according to a press release. "California faces challenges unlike any other time in its history - a weak and faltering economy, massive job losses, and an exploding state budget deficit. California is better than this, and I refuse to stand by and watch it fail," she said. "Now is the time for people across the state to join in a cause for change, excellence and a new California."
Jeff Randle, CEO of Randle Communications, will serve as Whitman's senior advisor and has worked with her since 2007. Randle joins Henry Gomez, one of Whitman's closest advisors during her tenure at the Internet auction Web site. Randle called Whitman a "tremendous leader and team-builder" and said she is poised to address California's problems. "Meg is committed to working to restore the state's greatness. With new leadership and a new direction, Meg will forge a new California, which will once again be the number one state in economic growth, job creation and quality of life," he said. Whitman's chief opponent is Republican California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy told Tech Daily Dose on Monday that legislation to overhaul the U.S. patent system will emerge soon and will look very similar to the version that passed his panel in the 110th Congress but did not reach the floor. Leahy, who plans to reintroduce the bill with Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said his staff has made "a few changes" to the bill since last spring when he and ranking member Arlen Specter split over language to address how damages are awarded in infringement lawsuits. He declined to provide insight about whether his differences with Specter, which also pitted industry stakeholders against each other, had been worked out.
CongressDaily reported last month that Leahy and Hatch had resumed negotiations on the bill that passed their committee 13-5 in 2007. "We'll see this on a fast track," one individual close to the issue said. "The deal is there and it's ready to be made." The Senate Judiciary Committee patent debate will unfold with three new Democrats on the panel -- Sens. Ron Wyden of Oregon, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Ted Kaufman of Delaware -- and an administration that favors changes in the patent system. In addition, Leahy's key patent staffer, Susan Davies, has become associate counsel for President Barack Obama.
Read CongressDaily's recent coverage here (subscription required).
A government transparency group is urging Congress this week to post its massive economic stimulus legislation online for at least 72 hours before consideration. The House passed its version last month and the Senate is expected to approve its legislation -- worth about $820 billion -- on Tuesday. While there is currently no formal requirement to do so, the House and Senate should each ensure that lawmakers and citizens alike have time to review the measure before they vote, the Sunlight Foundation said.
"Because the scope and public import of this legislation demand a measured and transparent process we strongly urge President Obama to post the enrolled version of the bill on WhiteHouse.gov for five days before signing it, in accordance with his campaign promise," the group stated. "While access and feedback from the public after final passage is not as effective as providing online availability of legislation before final passage, it would still give the public an opportunity to make their views known to the president."
As the 111th Congress gets underway, the coming week includes several events that feature -- or are at least likely to touch upon - the intellectual property debate.
▪ Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy will discuss his committee's legislative agenda for the 111th Congress in a Monday speech at Georgetown University. While his address, entitled "Restoring Trust in the Justice System," is expected to center on oversight of the Justice Department in the new administration, Leahy -- who is currently moving to reintroduce legislation overhauling the patent system -- may also take the opportunity to discuss the U.S. patent and copyright regimes and other intellectual property issues.
▪ The chief executive of computer chip manufacturer Intel will visit Capitol Hill Tuesday afternoon to discuss how investments in innovation can help drive the nation's long-term economic growth. Intel CEO Paul Otellini will share the floor of the Russell Caucus Room with senators from states where the company has facilities like Arizona, California, New Mexico and Oregon. Otellini will speak earlier in the day to the Economic Club of Washington. That evening, he will attend a reception celebrating the merger of the Information Technology Industry Association and the American Electronics Association.
▪ The FTC Wednesday and Thursday will hold the second in a series of hearings exploring the evolving market for intellectual property. The session, which will feature a keynote by U.S. District Judge Sue Robinson of Delaware, will examine remedies for patent infringement. The topic of how damages are handled in patent lawsuits -- an issue that sunk sweeping patent legislation in the 110th Congress -- also will be discussed, as will the impact of permanent injunctions in the wake of a landmark 2006 Supreme Court case involving Internet auction site eBay.
▪ The annual Future of Music Coalition summit, taking place Wednesday, will focus on issues arising in the courts, Congress, and the FCC as well as at the U.S. Copyright Office. Acting FCC Chairman Michael Copps and FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein are scheduled to speak, along with representatives from Free Press, Media Access Project, Recording Industry Association of America, Songwriters Guild of America, among others.
House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers told a crowd of 300 in Los Angles, Calif. on Friday that passing legislation he introduced earlier this week to end a longstanding royalty exemption granted to AM and FM radio "is going to be a serious struggle" due to opposition from the National Association of Broadcasters. Moving the measure through the House -- and the Senate where a companion bill is sponsored by Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy -- will require the help of the labor and civil rights movements in addition to music industry interests, he said. Conyers added the problem has "gone unremedied for too damned long." The bills received hearings but stalled in the Judiciary Committees in the 110th Congress.
Conyers appeared at a town hall-style Recording Academy event that preceded the music industry's biggest night of the year -- the 51st Grammy Awards on Sunday. He was joined by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., who are original cosponsors of the bill. The chairman noted the legislation is "a work in progress" and invited his audience to provide input. Blackburn pointed out the House version includes enhanced protections for songwriters but the Senate version does not. She vowed to ensure that both bills would contain that language before the legislation goes to conference. [Read CongressDaily's recent coverage here]
Continue reading Conyers: 'Serious Struggle' For Royalty Bill.
The private sector has "borrowed too much money, businesses and consumers alike, fueled by a lot of different things," Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told the House Democratic Caucus Retreat in Williamsburg, Va., Friday. The high-tech executive said there is a natural tendency to want to blame somebody for the economic crisis but in reality, "we've all contributed to a culture of spending and private debt." He added that the current situation is a once-in-a-lifetime economic event but it is not unique in U.S. history. In 1929, just before the stock market crash, the private debt-to-GDP ratio was 160 percent and has been steadily increasing since almost the end of World War II, Ballmer said, according to a transcript.
"What we now have will be a fundamental economic reset. The economy is going to have to re-establish itself at a level of spending that reflects the real value of underlying assets before we can all start growing again at a healthy rate," he said. "This may not be the thing that people really want to hear, but it's certainly what we're planning on, and it's the truth on which we're basing sort of our model, if you will, at Microsoft." As part of its reset, the company announced last month that it was cutting 5,000 jobs and said it would create several thousand new jobs in areas that require investment.
To reach the reset point, Ballmer said three things need to happen:
▪ "The economy must be deleveraged. Private debt as a percentage of GDP has to be reduced. Restoring health to the nation's financial system is a fundamental part of this."
▪ "Confidence must be restored. The stimulus package, in my opinion, is vital. It will provide a cushion as we reach the reset point and it will help restart our economic engine."
▪ "America really has to return to growth that's built on innovation and productivity, rather than leverage and private debt. That must happen."
High-tech watchdogs are abuzz over leaked information from ongoing international negotiations surrounding the Anti-Counterfeiting Copyright Agreement. The Electronic Frontier Foundation sent an e-mail to supporters Friday claiming the pact between the U.S. and a handful of trading partners "threatens to shift the balance of copyright law across the world, with little or no oversight from lawmakers." A fifth round of deliberations -- the first on President Barack Obama's watch -- is slated to take place in Morocco next month. Some expect the document, which has been in the works for over a year, could be ready for signing by then, EFF states. [Read CongressDaily's recent coverage here]
Draft language from the closed meetings suggests provisions of ACTA will include mandated disclosure of personal information in alleged IP disputes, a new global requirement that "commercial scale" piracy will also capture non-commercial copies, and new powers to place injunctions on IP violations with lowered standards of proof and limited due process, EFF argues. An entire section is also reportedly devoted to "rights management technology/the Internet." Much of the language is reminiscent of entertainment industry demands, the group states.
Of over 1,300 pages of ACTA background documents requested by EFF in a Freedom of Information Act request last year, 159 were released to the public by the U.S. Trade Representative. EFF and Public Knowledge are currently involved in a pending federal lawsuit to obtain more information. EFF has also urged Congress to do more by telling the USTR to "open up the ACTA process to true oversight and deliberation, and demand it keep to its original agenda of fighting counterfeit fake products and commercial piracy on behalf of consumers." Read more here and here.
My colleague over at NextGov.com and Government Executive Gautham Nagesh has been monitoring the Office of Management and Budget's expected announcement about a new e-government administrator. Here's the latest...
Federal information technology specialists think District of Columbia chief technology officer Vivek Kundra would be a strong successor to Karen Evans in the top IT job at the Office of Management and Budget, but they caution that change comes much harder at the federal level. "I think it's great; Vivek is both creative and practical," said Bruce McConnell, an independent consultant and former chief of information technology and policy at OMB. "His track record as D.C. CTO is amazing in terms of opening up government and making systems work. I think he's taking on a bigger challenge this time, but he's got the tools and experience to be very successful."
Ray Bjorklund, senior vice president and chief knowledge officer for the consulting firm FedSources, agrees. "There are big challenges for anybody taking on that position, but [Kundra] is somebody who seems to have a fresh, dynamic way of approaching IT management . . . and is also very willing to be decisive," he said. Despite having "fairly rigorous" processes in place for managing IT investments, the office of e-government has "probably never had enough decisiveness built into it," Bjorklund said. "There are painful decisions that have to be made," he added, referring to programs that should be either eliminated or consolidated across agency lines.
Read the full story here.
My colleague Kevin Friedl writes at NationalJournal.com's Under the Influence blog that President Barack Obama has not kept a pledge to post bills online before signing...
When President Obama signed into law an expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program on Wednesday, he was keeping one promise while breaking another. The measure, designed to expand health insurance to some 4 million additional children, was a significant step towards his pledge to "require that all children have health care coverage. And in his remarks at the signing ceremony, the president called it a "down payment" on his broader pledge to bring universal coverage to the U.S.
But by signing the bill the same afternoon it was passed in the House, Obama fell to an 0-2 record on one of his most specific good-government promises, announced over a year and a half ago during a campaign speech in Manchester, N.H.: "When there is a bill that ends up on my desk as president, you will have five days to look online and find out what's in it before I sign it." The wording of that pledge has since been amended to refer only to "non-emergency legislation," but neither the SCHIP legislation nor the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act he signed into law last week meet that test.
Read the full post here.
Information is the coin of the realm in the nation's capital, and a nonpartisan group is offering a new Web site, LittleSis, that discloses the connections among people in the world of Washington politics, policy, and advocacy, writes Eliza Krigman in this week's National Journal magazine. The site, www.littlesis.org, is described as an involuntary Facebook for government. Read the full story here.
The heads of several telecommunications trade associations wrote to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday night urging them to preserve the economic stimulus package's broadband deployment incentives as Democrats and Republicans continued to spar over what should stay and what should be slashed from the increasingly expensive measure. More than $9 billion in the proposal would fund Internet grants and tax credits.
"Broadband provisions in the stimulus bill should give the president the flexibility to put funds to use in ways that will most quickly and effectively create jobs, stimulate economic growth, and bring broadband to the greatest number of Americans in the shortest possible time -- not attempt to settle broad policy arguments that need and deserve more deliberate and thoughtful consideration," wrote executives from CTIA: The Wireless Association; U.S. Telecom; the Western Telecommunications Alliance; the Independent Telephone and Telecommunications Alliance; and OPASTCO, the Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies.
President Barack Obama unveiled his group of outside economic advisers Friday, which will be chaired by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker and will be directed inside the White House. Several experts on the 15-member panel have close ties to the high-tech community. They include:
▪ John Doerr, a partner at venture capital firm Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers who helped launch companies like Amazon, Google, Compaq and Netscape.
▪ Oracle Corp. President Charles Phillips, who was previously with investment bank Morgan Stanley and a captain in the U.S. Marine Corps.
▪ University of California at Berkeley business school dean Laura Tyson, a former economic adviser to President Bill Clinton and author of a recent report on the economic impact of intellectual property enforcement.
▪ General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt, who has been with GE since 1982 and serves on the board of the New York Federal Reserve Bank.
"The board will provide an independent voice on intelligence issues and will be charged with offering independent advice to the president as he formulates and implements his plans for economic recovery," according to a White House press release. The group will provide regular briefings to Obama and Vice President Joe Biden and will be established initially for a two-year term.
A popular annual summer retreat for Washington technology and telecommunications policy professionals, which has been held in Aspen, Colo. for 14 years, will move to Sundance, Utah in 2009. Progress and Freedom Foundation President Ken Ferree said his think tank wanted to "do something unique" this year and the Sundance Resort -- situated on 6,000 acres of wilderness at the base of Mount Timpanogos -- is an ideal setting to bring a fresh feel to the Aug. 9-11 event. "I'm sure the attendees will enjoy the change of scenery," Ferree said. This year's theme, "A New Deal for the Digital Age," sets the stage for a searching inquiry about policy priorities in the new administration, PFF said in a press release. Panelists and keynote speakers will discuss the future of public policy in the fields of communications, intellectual property and e-commerce. The summit, which is usually held at the swanky St. Regis in Aspen, is known for attracting big name speakers like former FCC Chairman Michael Powell, Sun Microsystems President Jonathan Schwartz, Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Viacom founder Sumner Redstone.
Congress and the new administration should adopt policies that will promote "a dynamic force of third-party Internet sites and tools to enhance the usefulness of government data," the Association for Computing Machinery's public policy committee recommended Thursday. The group's statement came on the heels of President Barack Obama's "day one" memos urging government transparency and citizen participation and an announcement that the public will be able to track economic stimulus package funding at Recovery.gov after the bill wins congressional approval.
"Internet users are combining and analyzing information in innovative ways that go beyond what the data's original publishers imagined," ACM Vice Chair Edward Felten said in a press release. "Government has a treasure trove of data and it can unleash creative new analysis by giving users access to this data in a format that allows them the advantage of easy, fast integration, machine-readability, download capability, and authenticity measures." Felten is a professor at Princeton University and an oft quoted cyber expert.
ACM's recommendations for data that is already considered public include...
House Minority Leader John Boehner and other Republican members on Thursday wrote to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer urging them to put the fiscal year 2009 omnibus spending package online immediately. Posting the massive bill on the Internet would allow the American people to study the contents of the measure between now and the week after President's Day, when the legislation is scheduled to be brought to a vote and would be consistent with President Barack Obama's call for greater transparency in government, they said.
"In the face of the highest deficit in our nation's history, the Majority has asked the American taxpayers to fund nearly $1.5 trillion in new government spending in just four short weeks. And yet now the Majority plans to spend hundreds of billions more without yet sharing the content of the bill with Republican Members or the public," the GOP members wrote. "In the midst of a severe recession, taxpayers have a right to see each provision of this legislation and evaluate the merit of each dollar of government spending their children and grandchildren are being required to fund."
A spokesman for Boehner told Tech Daily Dose that GOP leaders had not even seen the omnibus package that has been prepared. Read a copy of the Republican letter here.
Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J, who earlier this week requested a federal investigation of Ticketmaster's business practices and relationship with TicketsNow.com, commended musician Bruce Springsteen Thursday for speaking out against Ticketmaster. In an angry letter on his Web site, the rock 'n' roll Hall of Famer accused the company of gouging his fans when tickets went on sale Monday for his "Working on a Dream" tour. Consumers complained that Ticketmaster, which handled the original sales for many concert dates, was directing buyers to TicketsNow -- a site that sells seats at a premium cost.
"This recent flap with TicketsNow exposed how a corporation with too much influence over the entertainment industry can hurt the average American music fan," Pascrell said in a statement, citing news reports that Ticketmaster may try to merge with concert promotion giant Live Nation. "Such a transaction brings up serious antitrust issues that may only further disadvantage middle-class Americans and disenfranchise consumers," he said. He urged House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers and Courts and Competition Subcommittee Chairman Hank Johnson, D-Ga., to hold hearings.
Former House Majority Leader Richard Armey, R-Texas, who represents music industry clients at DLA Piper, said he plans to lobby hard this Congress in favor of legislation that would end a longstanding music royalty exemption granted to AM and FM radio stations. On Wednesday, House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers and Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy simultaneously introduced bills that would make the change, which the National Association of Broadcasters has vowed to fight. Armey called upon former colleagues last year on behalf of the MusicFirst coalition, which is backed by the Recording Industry Association of America, SoundExchange, the American Federation of Musicians and others. Read CongressDaily's AM Edition story here.
"There has to be a clarification in this anomaly in the definition of property rights," Armey told Tech Daily Dose, saying he believes the legislation has "a very good chance of being passed." In the 110th Congress, the measure was approved by the now-defunct House Judiciary Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property Subcommittee and the Senate version stalled in the Judiciary Committee without a mark-up. A House resolution opposing the effort gathered more than 200 supporters. "This is a small increase in expense for the number one product radio puts out," Armey said, noting there are exemptions written in for talk radio and religious broadcasters and a lower rate for noncommercial entities.
In related news, Armey said music industry interests have largely wrapped up final negotiations this week on an agreement with broadcasters to lower the royalties that over-the-air stations pay for songs they stream on the Internet in advance of a Feb. 15 deadline. "[Broadcasters] were perfectly willing to sit down and talk about how to diminish their burden of responsibility on the Internet... but when it comes to the question of sitting down to talk about compensation for over-the-air broadcast, they won't talk at all," he said. Parties in those negotiations have agreed not to speak publicly about the discussions, which have been going on for many months.
The White House pool report from Thursday morning's National Prayer Breakfast -- a tradition begun in 1953 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower -- includes the latest BlackBerry banter.
Tony Blair, the former British Prime Minister, gave what amounted to the keynote, mentioning President Barack Obama's success in obtaining a super-secure BlackBerry:
"You don't need cheerleaders but partners, not spectators but supporters. The truest friends are those still around when the going gets toughest," Blair told Obama. "Great news about the BlackBerry," Blair said, launching into a story about his first mobile phone, which he got the day after he left 10 Downing Street. He said he sent a text message without realizing the recipient, a friend of his, wouldn't know who it was from. "Back came the reply: Sorry, who are you?" As if to say, how soon a leader is forgotten.
President Barack Obama plans to announce he has appointed Vivek Kundra, the District of Columbia's chief technology officer to take the top information technology post in the federal government, according to a source. Kundra, who has deployed advanced applications to improve the performance of public services during his nearly two years as CTO for the District, will replace Karen Evans as administrator for e-government and information technology in the Office of Management and Budget.
The position effectively serves as the federal government's chief information officer. The administration could announce Kundra's appointment as soon as Thursday. Kundra could not be reached, and a spokesman for Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty declined to comment. Kundra's name has been linked to a top IT job in the Obama administration for months, though most of the discussion has focused on the still-open chief technology officer position. During the campaign, Obama said the CTO would report directly to him, indicating the position would have authority. Read the full Government Executive story here and an earlier interview with Kundra here.
After serving eight years as U.S. Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy, David Gross left the State Department on Jan. 20. Richard Beaird is currently serving in his place in an acting capacity. Gross held the title since 2001 when he was nominated by former President George W. Bush. According to the State Department's Web site, Gross led "more U.S. delegations to major international telecommunication conferences than anyone in modern history."
As coordinator, Gross was responsible for the formulation and advocacy of international communications policy for the United States. He had previously been a partner at the Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan law firm, where he specialized in telecommunication issues. He has also served as Washington Counsel for AirTouch Communications, a wireless telecommunications company. In 2000, Gross joined the Bush presidential campaign. Before serving as Gross's deputy, Beaird was an associate administrator at National Telecommunications and Information Administration. Prior to that, he worked for AT&T.
State's International Communication and Information Policy group advocates international policies for expanded access to information and communication technologies and improved efficiency in the international telecommunications market "through increased reliance on free-market forces, and fair opportunities for U.S. companies to participate in this important sector around the globe." A rumor has recently circulated that FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein could be a candidate for Gross's former position.
-- Winter Casey
The House voted 264-158 Wednesday to pass a Senate-approved bill that would delay the nation's transition to digital TV signals until June 12, but as the bill heads to President Barack Obama's desk for his signature, concerns are being raised about its financial impact. Read the full story in CongressDaily here (subscription required).
Sen. David Vitter, R-La., unsuccessfully offered an amendment Wednesday evening to strip from the economic stimulus package a multi-billion section that would fund programs intended to spur the nationwide adoption of electronic medical records. His proposal, which failed 32-65, would have also nixed funding for other high-tech provisions including:
▪ National Institute of Standards and Technology construction ($357 million)
▪ Defense Department hybrid vehicle purchases ($100 million)
▪ NASA climate change research ($500 million)
▪ Broadband investments and deployment ($9 billion)
"It's disappointing that the Senate ignored this opportunity to show our constituents that we are truly serious about creating jobs and stimulating our ailing economy," Vitter said. He said his proposal would have pulled more than $45 billion in "Washington spending projects." Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., spoke on the floor a short time earlier, emphasizing the importance of the health IT language. While the economic trouble is top of mind, the crisis affecting the U.S. healthcare system is close behind and could be even more detrimental, he said.
Antony Taubman will assume the top intellectual property position at the World Trade Organization, Intellectual Property Watch reports. He is slated to start his new job on May 1. Taubman has been serving as acting director of the global IP issues division of the World Intellectual Property Organization. He has a background serving as a diplomat and previously worked in Australia, according to the WIPO Web site. President Barack Obama's agenda includes working "to ensure intellectual property is protected in foreign markets, and promote greater cooperation on international standards that allow our technologies to compete everywhere." -- Winter Casey
House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers late Tuesday introduced legislation that would overturn a recent mandate that the National Institutes of Health require federally supported scientists to submit their research manuscripts for free public access on the Internet. The requirement passed as part of the fiscal year 2008 Labor-Health and Human Services appropriations bill without allowing input by committees with expertise and oversight on copyright. The bill is co-sponsored by Reps. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., Trent Franks, R-Ariz., Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Robert Wexler, D-Fla.
Last September, Conyers slammed the powerful House Appropriations Committee for not consulting with his panel (see CongressDaily story). "We have tried to communicate repeatedly with the leader of that committee ... and what did we get? Nothing," Conyers said at a hearing of the Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property Subcommittee. He said he viewed the silence as a blow-off by Appropriations Chairman David Obey and said he was frustrated that appropriators ran roughshod over the "sacred jurisdiction" of his committee to act "summarily, unilaterally and probably incorrectly."
Open access and consumer advocates championed the NIH's new requirement while publishers panned it, arguing that it could put subscription-based scientific journals out of business. "The mere fact that a scientist accepts as part of her funding a federal grant should not enable the federal government to commandeer the resulting peer-reviewed research paper and treat it as a public domain work," Copyright Alliance Executive Director Patrick Ross said in a Wednesday statement. "Grants are provided to pay for the research and resulting data... But taking the scientist's copyrighted interpretation of the data is not fair to other funders, and it violates the rights of the publisher."
From Wednesday's CongressDaily AM Edition:
Big brand owners like Marriott, Nike and Verizon are gearing up for a battle in Congress and the Commerce Department over sweeping changes to the way top-level domains, such as .biz, .info, and .us, are assigned. A range of intellectual property stakeholders fear that a planned expansion of such domains by the Internet's key oversight agency will force them to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to protect their identities from fraud and infringement.
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers released a draft proposal in October suggesting that any entity could apply for a domain as long as they could pay a fee of about $190,000. The application process is expected to start this year, with the first of hundreds of new domains potentially coming online late this year. ICANN Vice President Paul Levins said everyone's concerns will be considered and as a starting point, an analysis of 300 comments received by ICANN will be released in the next two weeks.
On Tuesday, the Coalition Against Domain Name Abuse hosted a briefing for executives and Capitol Hill staffers to discuss how Congress can get involved, but ICANN officials were told they were not welcome, Levins said. Another forum, which will be closed to the press and public, is set for Friday at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Among those taking part are the Financial Services Roundtable, National Association of Manufacturers, Motion Picture Association of America, Recording Industry Association of America and other industry groups. ICANN officials will be on hand at that event, Levins said.
Read the full story here (subscription required).
Popular social networking destination MySpace revealed it has identified about 90,000 convicted registered sex offenders on the Web site, which is about 40,000 more than previously acknowledged. The admission was made as a result of a subpoena from Connecticut Attorney General Robert Blumenthal who co-chairs a task force on social networking with and North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper. Blumenthal called the revelation powerful evidence refuting a recent task force report downplaying the threat of sexual predators on social networking sites.
Blumenthal's office plans to identify Connecticut offenders with MySpace profiles and inform appropriate law enforcement authorities so they can determine whether terms of probation or release were violated. In a Tuesday press release, he urged all states to take similar actions and vowed to "continue to fight for reforms and safeguards at MySpace and other social networking sites to protect children." Recent reports indicate that offenders also maintain profiles on Facebook, which Blumenthal has also subpoenaed. Washington has been grappling with how to deal with online predation in recent years as well. A series of hearings were held in the 109th Congress.
"Technology companies and social networking sites must do more -- and do it now. Blaming the victim is appalling and outrageous," Blumenthal said. "Parents remain the first line of defense against social networking abuse, and I urge the industry to adopt technology and tools that empower and enable parents to better protect their children." MySpace's disclosure comes on the heels of a report by a panel created by 49 attorneys general that concluded the issue is exaggerated. The paper argued that youth bullying was far more serious than online sexual solicitation.
The yet-to-be-named federal chief technology officer will likely face a variety of challenges in executing the mission envisioned by President Barack Obama, according to a Congressional Research Service report released this week. Among the early hurdles will be negotiating domains of responsibilities, formal and informal, within the White House and with executive branch agencies that have overlapping missions. Obama has not indicated whether he intends to establish a CTO position by executive order or other administrative process, or whether he will seek legislation.
Congress may decide to provide a statutory foundation for a CTO, define the individual's roles and authorities, authorize and appropriate funds, provide for oversight, and address other aspects of the position, the CRS report dated Jan. 21 states. If Congress takes this route, questions may arise. What mission, duties, and authorities should the CTO have? Should a CTO serve as the chief CIO for the government as well as the lead champion for U.S. innovation? Should the CTO's appointment be subject to Senate confirmation? What is the relationship between the CTO and the existing CTOs and CIOs of individual agencies?
From Wednesday's CongressDaily AM Edition (subscription required):
Stimulus Conference Becoming Venue For E-Verify Battle
Immigration advocates are looking at conference negotiations over the economic recovery package as the main battleground to defeat an effort to require companies benefiting from stimulus spending to verify the legal status of their workers.
Read more.
Senate Votes Down Repatriation, Hollywood Provisions
The Senate Tuesday voted down tax breaks for high-tech and pharmaceutical firms as well as Hollywood studios but added one for the battered auto industry to the stimulus package. Business groups and companies such as Dell Inc. and Eli Lilly & Co. lost their bid for a one-year, 85 percent tax cut on foreign earnings brought back to the United States.
Read more.
Stimulus Health IT Amendments Lined Up For Consideration
Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Chairman Edward Kennedy and Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., are expected to try to amend the health information technology section of the economic stimulus package to ensure that electronic medical records collect data on race, ethnicity and gender.
Read more.
The chairman of Greater Media, which owns 23 AM and FM radio stations in Boston, Charlotte, Detroit, Philadelphia and New Jersey, is appealing to Web surfers who happen upon his "From The Corner Office" column to fight a forthcoming effort in Congress that would end an longstanding copyright royalty exemption granted to companies like his. In a open letter titled "Radio Needs your Help....Yes, You," Peter Smyth warns that the "performance tax has once again reared its ugly head" and the result could cost the radio industry between $400 million and $7 billion per year.
"There will be claims that this is a question of fairness and the money is needed to help recording artists. The fact is that the record companies - not individual artists - will be the primary beneficiaries of a performance tax on radio," Smyth writes. "The same companies who denied, resisted and ultimately blew their business in the transition to digital delivery now want to dig into the pockets of radio to save their skins." The bill's passage would force "a wholesale rethinking of our station's formats, our staffing, our ability to contribute to our communities, and how we run our business," he said.
One proponent of the legislation, which is expected to be introduced in the House soon, emailed to point out that the National Association of Broadcasters and its allies have heretofore quoted a $4-7 billion statistic. The $4 billion would be 25 percent of revenue; $7 billion would be 44 percent of revenue. Compared to what some have estimated to be the "real world" impact (around 3-7 percent since in the United States, songwriters get just under 3 percent), Smyth's message is off-kilter, the email said. "Either the new $400 million number is a bow to reality or a tacit admission that they know not of what they speak."
Senate Budget Committee ranking member Judd Gregg, who was officially tapped Tuesday to run the Commerce Department, has a reputation for being a fiscal conservative and some technology policy watchers wonder if that mindset will clash with some of President Barack Obama's spending priorities. While Gregg largely cast favorable votes on key technology issues during his tenure on Capitol Hill, he did not support U.S. competitiveness legislation that passed in the 110th Congress, which authorized major funding increases in federal R&D programs.
Throwing billions of dollars at "feel-good initiatives" would not help the country stay competitive, he argued in April 2007. The Senate passed the bill 88-8; the House voted for it 367-57; and former President George W. Bush signed the bill later that summer. Since the measure's enactment, appropriators have not kept pace with its doubling of the National Science Foundation budget and other funding boosts. Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, issued a statement saying Gregg's fiscal restraint "will certainly be missed in the halls of Congress." For his part, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John (Jay) Rockefeller called Gregg "a compassionate leader who understands that commerce is the keystone of any of our economic recovery plans."
If confirmed, it is unclear what ideas the New Hampshire senator will bring to the table with respect to the country's upcoming transition to digital television or efforts to increase broadband Internet availability in underserved areas. "He has been supportive of these issues but has never taken a leadership role," said Ralph Hellman, a lobbyist for the Information Technology Industry Council. The Commerce Department oversees the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which is coordinating the digital TV shift, as well as the National Institutes of Standards and Technology, and the Patent and Trademark Office.
Continue reading Gregg's Tech Track Record Has Highs & Lows.
Policymakers must ensure that the nation's economic infrastructure is "rebuilt to handle the traffic of the global economy" and that "our cutting-edge science and technology remain the envy of the world," President Barack Obama said Tuesday as he formally announced that Senate Budget Committee ranking member Judd Gregg is his pick for Commerce secretary. Until last week, many high-tech insiders thought Symantec CEO John Thompson had a good shot at the job. Watch video of the White House event above. Watch Thompson's Inauguration Day remarks about tech policy and the economy here.
From Tuesday's CongressDaily AM Edition:
FTC Commissioner and onetime Hollywood lobbyist Jon Leibowitz is a top contender to lead the agency charged with consumer protection and preventing unfair business practices, sources told CongressDaily Monday. Leibowitz, who served as vice president for congressional affairs at the Motion Picture Association of America and worked as Democratic counsel for the Senate Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee, was appointed by President George W. Bush in 2004. He serves alongside Republicans J. Thomas Rosch and William Kovacic, the acting chairman, and Pamela Jones Harbour, an independent. Christine Varney, a former FTC commissioner and a partner at Hogan & Hartson, was in the mix to lead FTC but was nominated last month by President Barack Obama to head the Justice Department's antitrust division. Another former FTC commissioner whose name is being floated is Mozelle Thompson, a policy adviser to social-networking site Facebook.
Read the full story here.
Google has brought on McBee Strategic Consulting to lobby on energy efficiency and renewable resource issues in the 111th Congress. Steve McBee, a former senior aide to Rep. Norm Dicks and Sen. Maria Cantwell -- both Washington State Democrats -- and Rob Chamberlin, who most recently worked as chief counsel on the Senate Commerce Committee under Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., will do some of the Internet company's bidding on Capitol Hill, according to a lobbying registration form filed last month.
Google's philanthropic arm has recently been investing in efforts to develop electricity from renewable energy cheaper than from coal. In August, the firm devoted more than $10 million in a breakthrough energy technology called enhanced geothermal systems as well as funds for researching next-generation geothermal resource mapping and a policy agenda for geothermal energy. Google has set a goal to produce one gigawatt of renewable energy capacity -- enough to power a city the size of San Francisco -- in years, not decades. Google's energy team has been studying a number of ways to reduce fossil fuel use by 2030.
McBee has also registered to lobby this year for financial services giant JP Morgan Chase; property and casualty insurer Chubb Corporation; and Time Warner Cable, a division of media conglomerate Time Warner. In 2008, Google worked with a range of outside firms including Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck; Dutko Worldwide; Franklin Square Group; Hispanic Strategy Group; King & Spalding; the Podesta Group; Van Ness Feldman; and Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr.
Former Vice President Al Gore helped launch a new feature for Google Earth on Monday that lets users dive beneath the water's surface, explore three-dimensional underwater terrain and browse ocean-related content contributed by leaders in ocean science and advocacy. Gore, who testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week, noted that one new add-on lets Web surfers look back in time to see "the unprecedented pace of change taking place on the Earth -- largely because of human influences." One such occurrence is the melting of Glacier National Park's largest glacier over a decade.
Google CEO Eric Schmidt pointed out that "in discussions about climate change, the world's oceans are often overlooked despite being an integral part of the issue." About one-third of the carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere ends up in the sea and oceanic biodiversity loss over the next 20-plus years will be roughly equivalent to losing an entire Amazon rainforest, he said. During his Senate appearance, Gore called climate change an "unprecedented threat to the existence of civilization" and urged Congress to pass President Barack Obama's economic recovery package that provides for investments in energy efficiency, renewable energy, an improved electricity grid and cleaner cars.
Three other new offerings from Google Earth include a time slider to see both newer and older satellite imagery from around the globe; an application that lets users create narrated tours of imagery; and a high resolution 3D function that lets users explore Mars.
After some viewers of the Super Bowl in Tucson, Arizona, had their regularly scheduled program interrupted with full-frontal male nudity, Comcast says it has already made efforts to communicate with the FCC and Capitol Hill about the incident. "We've proactively reached out to the FCC and members of Congress and will keep them informed as our investigation into this incident progresses," the cable giant said in a statement. "We are reaching out to the proper legal authorities as well and have every intention of referring the individual or individuals found responsible for this act to proper law enforcement authorities for prosecution."
The company said it is going to give a credit to Tucson customers who viewed the inappropriate content and that it is undergoing a thorough investigation to determine what went wrong. "We are mortified by last evening's Super Bowl interruption and we apologize to our customers. Our initial investigation suggests this was an isolated malicious act," said Comcast, which boasts 24.4 million cable customers and 14.7 million high-speed Internet customers. Comcast said that its technical systems appeared to have been working properly when the incident occurred. -- Winter Casey
Senate Budget Committee ranking member Judd Gregg , who recently emerged as the top contender for Commerce secretary, has earned high marks for his stance on issues of importance to the tech sector including casting votes for key trade agreements and tax bills. He supported the Central America Free Trade Agreement as well as accords with Australia, Chile, Morrocco and Singapore and backed a permanent federal research and development tax credit. He has been an advocate for high skilled immigration and co-sponsored legislation last Congress that would allocate more visas to immigrants with advanced degrees.
Gregg also supported the high-tech industry on stock options legislation and Internet taxation issues and has voted for overhauls to the nation's securities and class action litigation regimes. He has an 82 percent lifetime vote rating on the Information Technology Industry Council's congressional scorecard, which was created in 1998. On the flip side, Gregg voted against U.S. competitiveness legislation that authorized major monetary increases in federal R&D programs, citing concerns about funding levels. He also voted against some larger omnibus bills that contained tech supported tax language.
While Gregg has not had to vote on controversial legislation that would overhaul the U.S. patent system, he has not indicated he would support the bill in the form that nearly reached the Senate floor last spring. Gregg has, however, been helpful from his position on the Appropriations Commerce-State-Justice Subcommittee to end fee diversion at the Patent and Trademark Office, sources said.
Surf on over to CongressDaily's TechCentral for a new "Issue of the Week." Here's a taste:
When President Barack Obama issued "Day One" memos instructing members of his administration to operate under principles of openness, transparency and citizen engagement, government watchdogs cheered. They hailed the early presidential directive as unprecedented and said it was a welcome change from the past eight years. But in the days since Obama's issuance, open government enthusiasts have turned their attention to making sure words become deeds.
Obama's memo stipulated that the heads of OMB and the General Services Administration, as well as his yet-to-be-named chief technology officer, craft an open government directive by May 21 that laid out actions to support his principles. The guidance also stated that all agencies should adopt a presumption in favor of disclosure in Freedom of Information Act decisions, which means making information public in a timely fashion and not waiting for specific requests from the public.
"This is a wonderful window of opportunity for those who care about open government," said Dan Metcalfe, a former Justice Department attorney and head of the Washington College of Law's Collaboration on Government Secrecy. Metcalfe assembled a group of information policy experts last week to draft transparency blueprints for the new administration. "It's been a long time since an administration has come into power with so many competing priorities," Metcalfe said, noting that his community needs to be strategic about what it believes should be addressed first Obama's team.
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Former Patent and Trademark Office Director Jon Dudas has joined the law firm Foley & Lardner as a partner in the Washington, D.C. office, working with the intellectual property and public affairs practices. Dudas was nominated by President Bush in March 2004 and confirmed by the Senate several months later after having served for two years as deputy director. During his tenure at PTO, Dudas managed the day-to-day business of the $2 billion agency and its 9,000-plus employees and was vocal about legislative proposals aimed at overhauling the U.S. patent system.
In a Monday press release, Dudas said Foley was "a natural next step" after having served at PTO because the firm's IP practice earns high marks for litigation and prosecution. In his role as the nation's top patent official, Dudas spearheaded a number of patent cooperation and development missions with the European Union, China, Japan, Korea and other countries and made progress toward "patent work-sharing," which could enhance efficiencies in patent examination at the PTO and achieve better U.S. patent protection abroad. Earlier in his career, Dudas served as counsel to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property and was staff director for the House Judiciary Committee.
"Jon brings a unique mix of talent and experience leveraging both his distinguished tenure within the federal government and his experience as a litigator established prior to his government service," Foley IP chief Sharon Barner said. "Foley's global IP practice and its increasing global patent litigation will benefit from Jon's integration with our multinational patent enforcement teams."
From National Journal's David Herbert...
When President Barack Obama signed an executive order instructing federal agencies to disseminate more information online and open more channels for feedback, the media duly applauded while good-government groups breathed a sigh of relief. But agencies are already using social media; most just haven't been successful. Bureaucratic inefficiency is partly to blame, as are a handful of outdated and inflexible laws. One of the most onerous and anachronistic, the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, requires the Office of Management and Budget to approve any government survey of 10 or more people, meaning a simple online customer satisfaction poll must submit to a months-long review process.
Still, the biggest problem facing most agencies isn't the trap of outdated regulations but the failure to attract an audience. Take the Commerce Department, which spent months negotiating a special end-user license agreement with YouTube and became one of the first federal agencies on the site last year. It was an achievement for the department to make it to YouTube, but its videos haven't taken off: Its channel has 14 videos and three subscribers. Its most popular? A seven-minute clip of then-Secretary Carlos Gutierrez speaking to the Manufacturing Council in July, with just over 100 hits. Read the full story here.
From President Barack Obama's Super Bowl Sunday interview with NBC's Matt Lauer:
"It's like Inspector Gadget. If you touched it, it might blow up. It turns into a car if I have to make a quick getaway." When Lauer asked about who has the coveted number, Obama said he wouldn't give it to Lauer but he might give it to Lauer's young son Jack, prompting Lauer to whisper, "Jack, give it to your pappa." (Huffington Post)
From Obama's remarks at the uber exclusive Alfalfa Dinner on Saturday night:
"In just the first few weeks, I've had to engage in some of the toughest diplomacy of my life. And that was just to keep my Blackberry. I finally agreed to limit the number of people who could email me. It's a very exclusive list. How exclusive? Everyone look at the person sitting on your left. Now look at the person sitting on your right. None of you have my email address." More on the Barack BlackBerry here and here.
On this, the Sunday of Super Bowl XLII, ESPN.com writer Michael Weinreb reflects on what he calls "the commercial that ruined that Super Bowl" -- the now legendary "1984" ad for the Apple Macintosh computer. "It was the first and only Super Bowl spot driven by German Expressionism sensibilities and obvious literary allusions to the work of a British intellectual author," he writes. "Its featured character was a spiky-haired woman dressed up like a Hooters waitress and toting a massive sledgehammer, and its message managed to be both subversive and sneakily capitalistic, dismissive of its direct competitor, IBM, as a 'Big Brother' figure straight out of George Orwell's '1984.'" More than 70,000 Macs were sold within the first 100 days of the ad's airing, exceeding the company's goals by 50 percent. Watch the nostalgic ad above. Read Weinreb's missive here.
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