August 2010

Information Technology Industry Council President and CEO Dean Garfield put out a progress report Tuesday on his group's efforts to find some middle ground among the stakeholders battling over the issue of network neutrality, saying there has been "significant progress" while declining to provide any details.

ITIC convened the talks to find consensus on the open Internet issue after FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski moved in May to shore up the commission's authority over broadband providers after a federal appeals court ruled in April that the agency had overstepped its authority in sanctioning Comcast for violating FCC network neutrality principles. Genachowski's "third way" proposal, which is staunchly opposed by broadband providers and backed by some Web firms and public Interest groups, calls for reclassifying some aspects of broadband as a telecommunications service.

"As we work to reach final consensus, we're focused on solidifying what unites us, incorporating new ideas and viewpoints, and, above all, delivering a series of constructive, pro-consumer and innovation-based principles that will only strengthen the Internet as we know it today," Garfield said in a statement. "Past precedent shows that when we work together and integrate the best ideas in a coordinated fashion, the stronger the outcome."

Earlier this month, Google and Verizon released a "policy framework" that they billed as their attempt to find a middle ground on the issue but has so far been widely criticized by network neutrality supporters, who want the FCC to impose rules that would bar broadband providers from discriminating against Internet content.

Garfield's group represents major tech firms such as Apple, IBM, Intel and Microsoft, which haven't been as vocal in the network neutrality debate. He said he is optimistic that "there will be ample common ground on which to find a meaningful and consensus-based solution" from the "multiphase process" his group is helping to lead.

Net neutrality supporter Free Press has dismissed ITIC's efforts, saying earlier this month that "industry deal-making is no substitute for responsible policymaking."

The FCC Monday released some details - though not much - of a private meeting held on Friday to discuss economic issues related to Comcast's merger with NBC Universal.

Among the few details included in the disclosure document filed with FCC Secretary Marlene H. Dortch was who attended the meeting. The meeting was divided up into two panels with the first focused on multichannel video programming distributors.

The first panel included economists representing Comcast and NBCU: Michael L. Katz, director of the University of California at Berkeley's Center for Telecommunications and Digital Convergence, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research Deputy Director Gregory L. Rosston and Mark Israel, senior vice president of the economics consulting firm Compass Lexecon. Critics of the deal also attended including Northwestern University economics professor William P. Rogerson, who representated the American Cable Association, and Bloomberg representative Leslie M. Marx, a Duke University economics professor.

The second panel focused on online issues and included other critics of the deal, according to the disclosure filed by William D. Freedman, associate chief of the FCC's Media Bureau. Among those on the second panel were Consumer Federation of America Research Director Mark Cooper, Navigant Economics Managing Director Hal Singer, who represented the Communications Workers of America, and University of Southern California economic professor Simon Wilkie, who attended on behalf of Internet service provider Earthlink and the satellite programming provider DISH Network.

Critics assert that the merger will hurt competition and media diversity. Comcast argues that those concerns are misplaced and that the transaction will strengthen marketplace competition and benefit consumers.

The merger is being weighed by both the FCC and the Justice Department.

In a filing this week to the FCC, AT&T defended the idea of allowing businesses and others to pay to ensure faster access to their Web content, saying the Internet's key standard setting organization has supported the idea of paid prioritization and that it is being used today by businesses of all sizes.

In a letter Monday to the FCC, AT&T Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Robert Quinn aimed to dispute claims from Free Press and other supporters of network neutrality, the idea of barring broadband providers from discriminating against content, that paid prioritization "is not taking place today, and, if permitted, would be a viable option only for a few select 'content giants that have deep enough pockets' to pay for it, to the exclusion of smaller and minority-owned businesses and non-profits," he wrote.

He added that "paid prioritization is expressly contemplated by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), the Internet standard-setting organization; it is widely available from multiple providers today; and, no less important, it is used by many businesses of all sizes."

Quinn argued that banning paid prioritization would be a "colossal mistake that would harm countless businesses and their customers."

Free Press Research Director S. Derek Turner countered that AT&T is trying to confuse people over the issue, saying the practice the company described in its letter to the FCC involves "businesses purchasing dedicated access lines in the enterprise broadband market," a practice the FCC open Internet proposal would permit. "This is a far cry from the harmful practice of paid prioritization that the FCC proposal would bar," Turner said in a news release.

Those African developers who have a great idea for a technology application that can also help assist in solving some of the most vexing development problems facing Eastern Africa have until midnight Tuesday to submit their idea.

The "Apps 4 Africa" contest is offering cash and prizes for those who can build the "best digital tools to address community challenges in areas ranging from healthcare to education and government transparency to election monitoring."

The contest is organized by the State Department and the African technology groups Appfrica Labs, iHub and the Social Development Network. It is open to anyone from the East African nations of Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.

The apps, which can be used on any platform, will be judged on their usefulness to citizens civil society organizations or East African governments; their appeal from a "usability perspective;" and inventiveness and originality, according to the Apps 4 Africa Web site.

Among the app ideas that already have been submitted include one that would provide African farmers with real-time weather updates and a management system called "i-match" for use during crises that "allows people to post their haves and others to post their needs."

Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster took to the company's blog Monday to blast CNN reporter Amber Lyon for engaging in tabloid journalism when she "ambushed" Craigslist founder Craig Newmark in May to ask about criticisms that the online classified site's adult services ads support sex trafficking.

In the post, Buckmaster chides Lyon for now seeking an interview about claims that Craiglist's adult services ads help promote prostitution, including sex trafficking of children, after promoting Lyon's impromptu interview with Newmark for weeks. Craigslist has come under increasing scrutiny for its adult services ads. Last week, a group of state attorneys general wrote Buckmaster and Newmark urging them to drop adult services ads.

Buckmaster noted in Monday's blog post that Lyon "sidestepped company channels in favor of ambushing our semi-retired founder," who is seen on camera in the May CNN report as not responding to some of Lyon's questions after she caught Newmark after speaking at a conference. Buckmaster then went on to claim Lyon is using the story to promote her career.

"Seeing how you've pinned your career hopes on butchering this story, I'll have to pass," he wrote of an interview with Lyon. "If Anderson Cooper would like to come out to SF [San Francisco] and sit with us for an interview worthy of CNN's viewers, we'll consider it."

In an attempt to boost American competitiveness in the technology and manufacturing sectors and strengthen national security, president Obama will announce the framework for a new export control system on Tuesday.

Under the current system, the State Department and the Commerce Department manage two different lists that define what items need to be controlled. The munitions list, administered by the State Department, consists of items designated for the exclusive use of the military. The Commerce Department maintains a list of dual-use items which are commercial in nature but may be used by the military.

The bifurcated management "has caused significant ambiguity, confusion and jurisdictional disputes, delaying clear license determinations for months and, in some cases, years," the White House press release stated.

Under the new approach, agency's will adopt a "tiered" system, with three levels, to determine what items should be subject to stricter or more permissive levels of control for different destinations, end-uses, and end-users.

Items in the highest tier are the most critical to the military and are therefore available almost exclusively from the U.S. and items in the lowest tier provide a significant military or intelligence advantage but are available more broadly.

An Export Enforcement Coordination Center will be established to carry out the planned reforms.

TechAmerica, a trade association that represents nearly 1500 companies, applauded the administration's announcement.

"The changes outlined today are a strong first step toward fixing America's outdated export controls system," said Phil Bond, president and CEO of TechAmerica. "The existing system undermines American competitiveness while failing to ensure our national security. Its unnecessary complexity discourages smaller companies from entering the export market and weighs down larger firms."

The Chamber of Commerce also praised the reform initiative and echoed TechAmerica's sentiment about the status quo.

"Stronger export controls may be warranted for the 'crown jewels' of U.S. military technologies, but U.S. export controls today cover too many products that lack a significant military application or are readily available from other countries," said Myron Brilliant, the Chamber's senior vice president of International Affairs.

The reform plan released by the administration on Monday is consistent with previous directives issued on this topic.

Interested in the intersection of technology and education?

Follow National Journal's education blog this week as experts discuss the potential benefits and challenges of using technology to improve classroom results.

Acting on behalf of the American Cable Association, former FCC chief economist William Rogerson made the case for imposing conditions on the pending $30 billion merger between Comcast and NBC Universal at a Thursday meeting with FCC officials.

Without specific conditions, Rogerson argued, the merger will hamper competition resulting in higher programming fees for rivals and in turn, higher fees for consumers, a disclosure document filed with the commission states. Rogerson, currently a professor of economics at Northwestern University, concludes that a condition-free merger could increase programming fees by 20 percent or more.

The meeting--which included ACA president Matthew Polka and the association's VP of government affairs, Ross Lieberman, as well as John Flynn, senior counsel to the FCC's chairman for transactions--came a day before a broader meeting about the merger convened by the FCC.

Friday's meeting brought economists representing Comcast, Bloomberg, ACA, and possibly other companies, to the FCC for discussion about the potential effects of the merger. Rogerson also spoke for ACA on Friday and Michael Katz and Mark Israel spoke for Comcast, according to a source familiar with the situation. Katz, director of the Institute for Business Innovation at the University of California at Berkley, has also served as chief economist for the commission. Israel is a senior vice president at Compass Lexecon, an economic consulting firm.

The FCC has declined to comment about the meeting.

Last week's meetings mark the latest in the ongoing saga surrounding the potential union between Comcast and NBC Universal, a matter that's currently under regulatory review by the FCC and the Justice Department. If government greenlights the merger, it will unite the nation's biggest cable and broadband operator with the parent company of the NBC broadcast network, Universal Pictures, and its passel of popular cable channels including USA, MSNBC, Bravo and Syfy.

Critics assert that the merger will hurt competition as well as media diversity. Comcast argues that those concerns are misplaced and that instead, the transaction will strengthen marketplace competition and benefit the consumer.

Over webcast, technology giant Intel announced Monday that it would purchase the wireless business of Infineon, a German chip maker, for roughly $1.4 billion.

"The deal aligns with the Internet connectivity pillar of Intel's computing strategy," the acquisition announcement states. As a growing number of devices were connecting to the Internet, Intel saw wireless connectivity's growth potential, Paul Otellini, head of Intel, told the New York Times.

Intel expects the deal to close by the first quarter of 2011.

With Infineon's Wireless Solutions, Intel is better positioned to compete in the market for smartphone chips.

The U.S. may remove controversial language from the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that would have made Internet firms liable for intellectual property rights infringements by individuals, Inside Trade reported on Friday.

ACTA aims to increase international cooperation in curbing the piracy and counterfeiting of intellectual property, but has provoked tension about whose job it is to police the protections afforded to rights holders.

The secondary liability provision has been favored by the American entertainment industry but has been opposed by Internet firms and activists in addition to some ACTA negotiating partners.

Negotiating this agreement are Australia, Canada, EU member states, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland and the United States. USTR hosted the 10th round of talks in Washington last week.

Sean Flynn, associate director of American University's program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property, is skeptical that secondary liability has been removed from the agreement.

According to Flynn, the language that may be removed from the treaty, as reported by Inside Trade, does not preclude other provisions of the text that evoke secondary liability issues. "On closer read of the ACTA text as we know it, the truth may be that secondary liability is not going away at all," Flynn said.

Since the 10th round of talks concluded last week, a revised text has not been released. Japan will host the next, and possibly final, round of negotiations in September.

USTR has declined to comment on the secondary liability issue at this time.

Social networking use among older adults soared over the past year according to a Pew study released on Friday.

From April 2009 to May 2010, adults 65 and older increased their use of social networking by 100 percent (13 to 26 percent). And during the same period, adults between 50 and 64 increased their social networking activity by 88 percent (25 to 47 percent).

Young adults, ages 18 to 29, experienced a modest uptake in their social networking use over the past year with a 13 percent increase (76 to 86 percent).

"Social media has the potential to bridge generational gaps," said Mary Madden, senior research specialist at Pew. "There are few other spaces--online or offline--where tweens, teens, sandwich generation members, grandparents, friends and neighbors regularly intersect and communicate across the same network."

Older adults are also taking to Twitter, and other status update services, in greater numbers, the study finds.

Only 5 percent of Internet users ages 50 to 64 had used Twitter or another status update service in 2009, and now 11 percent say they use these tools.

The results come from a nationwide telephone survey of 2,252 adults conducted during April and May of this year.

Apart from being legendary entertainers, what do George Carlin, Bono and Cher have in common?

All three were cited for their use of expletives over broadcast in the FCC's Thursday filing with the federal court of appeals in New York to reconsider its decision on indecency in Fox v. FCC.

"The three-judge panel's decision in July raised serious concerns about the
commission's ability to protect children and families from indecent
broadcast programming," FCC general counsel Austin Schlick said in a statement. "The commission remains committed to empowering parents and protecting children, and looks forward to the court of appeals' further consideration of our arguments."

Back in July, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York ruled that the FCC's indecency policy "is unconstitutionally vague." Under the rules, the FCC imposed fines on television and radio stations that aired what regulators deemed to be indecent or profane content, and was even able to revoke the licenses of violators.

The issue is expected to eventually reach the Supreme Court, which upheld the FCC's policy last year on procedural grounds but did not address the constitutional arguments.

Parents Television Council Tim Winter applauded FCC's move to appeal the court's decision. "The importance of the broadcast decency law has become abundantly apparent as the broadcast networks demonstrate their desire to push ever-more graphic content at all times of the day. The airwaves have become a battleground for networks to out-cuss, out-sex and out-gore each other; and sadly it is children and families who are in the crossfire."

The National Association of Broadcasters declined to comment.

The FCC will hold a closed-door meeting of economists Friday to discuss the impact of Comcast and NBC Universal's proposed $30 billion merger, a source familiar with the situation confirmed to Tech Daily Dose.

The merger, currently under regulatory review by both the FCC and Justice Department, has brought public interest groups, lawmakers and industry into a heated debate about whether it should be allowed to move forward. Critics worry that the merger will threaten diversity of the media and hamper competition.

The economists attending the meeting, the Los Angeles Times reports, will be representing companies that both support and oppose the controversial deal. Comcast, Bloomberg, and the American Cable Association are among the companies participating. A member of the Justice Department also is expected to attend.

Both the Justice Department and the FCC declined to comment.

According to the Los Angeles Times, attendance is limited to representatives of the companies, not the company executives themselves.

A key member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee said Thursday that the recent revelation that the U.S. military was the victim of a major cyber attack in 2008 underscores the need to better secure all federal government and civilian computer systems.

The comments from Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., a senior member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, comes a day after Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn III revealed details from the 2008 attack in an article published online Wednesday in Foreign Affairs magazine. In the article, Lynn confirmed that the U.S. military was the victim of "the most significant breach of U.S. military computers ever" in 2008 when an infected USB drive was inserted into a U.S. military laptop at a Middle East base.

"This latest revelation underscores the scary reality of how vulnerable we really are to cyber criminals, terrorists, and nation-states seeking to use technology to steal from us or do us harm," Carper said.

Carper, chairman of the Homeland Security's Federal Financial Management Subcommittee, said the attack underscores the need for legislation he has co-sponsored with Homeland Security Chairman Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., that would establish the office of cyber policy in the White House to lead the federal government's cybersecurity efforts. The measure also would extablish a National Center for Cybersecurity and Communications within the Department of Homeland Security that would enforce cybersecurity policies throughout the government and includes measures aimed at improving private sector cybersecurity.

"We won't be as safe as we should be until we ensure that a fully capable civilian agency is at the helm of our cyber security efforts, working as an open and transparent partner with the private sector to defend our nation from these types of attacks," Carper said.

Under a veil of secrecy, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative hosted the 10th round of negotiations on the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement in Washington last week, National Journal.com reported.

While the agreement is aimed at increasing international cooperation in curbing the piracy and counterfeiting of intellectual property, it has provoked tension about whose job it is to police the protections afforded to rights holders. The issues addressed under the agreement go far beyond the traditional concept of counterfeiting -- such as fake designer bags -- into digital IP enforcement and liability matters. The agreement, some stakeholders say, could harm business and consumers if not done correctly.

Under ACTA, companies could face "greater exposure to liability overseas for things that are legal and legitimate, and in fact encouraged, in the United States," said Matthew Schruers, a senior counsel at the Computer & Communications Industry Association.

Much is at stake for the technology sector: The digital IP provision of the agreement could make Internet service providers, technology providers and online intermediaries subject to onerous and unfair liability, critics say.

The problem, Schruers and others say, is that the draft ACTA agreement exports the more stringent protections of U.S. IP law into other countries without the balance of safeguards, such as the fair use doctrine of U.S. copyright law. To read more, click here.

Craigslist.org CEO Jim Buckmaster said Thursday that the online classified site wants to work to address concerns raised by a group of state attorneys general that urged the firm this week to eliminate "adult services" ads, which the officials claim help promote sex trafficking.

"We want to work with the attorneys general to address all of their concerns, which we share," Buckmaster said in an e-mail response to Tech Daily Dose. "Abdicating our responsibilities in the face of this demand would be a disaster for the very societal issues the AGs hope to address. It would encourage the notion that government censorship can
address complex societal challenges that will be met only through thoughtful, sustained investment in our communities."

Attorneys general from 17 states wrote Buckmaster and Craigslist founder Craig Newmark on Tuesday calling on the firm to drop adult services section from the online classified ads offered on the site.

"The increasingly sharp public criticism of Craigslist's adult services section reflects a growing recognition that ads for prostitution -- including ads trafficking children -- are rampant on it," the attorneys general wrote. "Because Craigslist cannot, or will not, adequately screen these ads, it should stop accepting them altogether and shut down the adult services section."

A law prohibiting Internet gambling is facing a serious challenge less than four years after it was enacted, with key House Democrats looking to build on support for a repeal when the Congress returns in September, National Journal.com reported.

Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., is pushing for a Ways and Means markup the week of Sept. 20 on his bill that would establish a federal tax for Internet bets that could bring in an estimated $42 billion over the next decade. Ways and Means Chairman Sander Levin, D-Mich., has not made a decision yet on marking up the bill, his spokeswoman said.

McDermott said he is hopeful for a vote after a companion bill that would set up a licensing and registration system for Internet gambling cleared the House Financial Services Committee on July 28 by a 41-22 tally. That vote margin was surprising because seven out of the 29 GOP members on the panel voted for the legislation sponsored by Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., which would allow states and tribes to opt out of the system and still continue a ban on sports gambling over the Web. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, voted present.

"It reflects the reality that Republicans like Grover Norquist and FreedomWorks support it," Frank said. To read, more click here.

A new report on the U.S. wireless market from the Government Accountability Office found that while consumers have benefitted in the last decade from lower prices and better coverage, industry consolidation has posed challenges for the competitiveness of smaller carriers.

The GAO examined the state of the industry since 1990 and found that wireless use has grown from 3.5 million mobile phone subscribers in 1989 to about 285 million by the end of 2009, while nearly 40 percent of U.S. households primarily use their wireless phone instead of a landline phone.

However, the wireless market has consolidated in recent years with only four companies, AT&T, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile USA, and Verizon Wireless, serving 90 percent of the wireless phone subscribers, according to the report. Despite this, the cost of wireless service has declined in the last decade. The average price for wireless service in 2009 was approximately 50 percent of what it was in 1999

"Industry consolidation has made it more difficult for small and regional carriers to be competitive," the report said. "Difficulties for these carriers include securing subscribers, making network investments, and offering the latest wireless phones necessary to compete in this dynamic industry."

The GAO said that smaller providers and others not linked to the four major wireless operators argue that some FCC policies favor the big wireless operators, such as the size of the wireless spectrum blocks offered in some of the recent FCC spectrum auctions, and policies governing special access to the infrastructure that connects cell phone towers to wireline phone networks. Much of that infrastructure is owned by big providers such as AT&T and Verizon, which critics say they offer access to at inflated prices.

"Better data on special access rates, in particular, would clarify the extent to which these policies hinder competition," the report said. The GAO also recommended that the FCC consider expanding other data it collects on the wireless industry such as information on prices, capital expenditures and equipment costs in order to get a better view of the competitive conditions in the wireless market.

Rick Kaplan, chief counsel to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, agreed with the GAO about the need for improved data and said the FCC is working to address the issue. "The FCC has taken proactive steps to improve our data and analysis, including collecting new and better data for this year's Mobile Wireless Competition Report," Kaplan said in a statement.

PayPal co-founder Max Levchin, who also founded the social technology provider Slide, has been named as Google's vice president of engineering, Mashable reports.

In Early August, Google acquired Slide for $182 million. The social technology application company started by allowing users to auto insert slideshows into their MySpace profiles.

Levchin will work under Urs Hölzle, Google's senior vice president of operations and Google fellow.

At PayPal, Levchin was the chief technology officer and responsible for its antifraud technology.

Attorneys general from 17 states wrote Craigslist.org's top executives this week urging them to remove the "adult services" section from the site's online classified offerings, saying it helps promote sex trafficking.

Craigslist has come under fire for the adult ads on its site. Some critics say Craigslist is benefitting financially from ads that offer prostitution and sex trafficking including of minors and has not done enough to screen out such ads. Two girls who say they were forced into sex trafficking because of an ad on Craigslist wrote an open letter to Craigstlist in July also urging the site to drop its adult services section.

"We sincerely hope Craigslist will finally hear the voices of the victims, women and children, who plead with you to make this important change," according to the Tuesday letter signed by attorneys general from Arkansas, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.

"We, too, call on Craigslist to listen and respond now by shutting down the Adult Services section of its Web site."

A Craigslist spokeswoman did not have an immediate response to the attorneys general letter. But in an Aug. 18 blog post, Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster defended the site's efforts, saying company attorneys have been manually screening adult services ads since May 2009 and have rejected more than 700,000 ads in the year since it was launched.

"Craigslist is committed to being socially responsible, and when it comes to adult services ads, that includes aggressively combating violent crime and human rights violations, including human trafficking and the exploitation of minors," Buckmaster said. "We are working intensively as I write this with experts and thought leaders at leading non-profits and among law enforcement on further substantive measures we can take."

In a statement, Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel said the states have tried to work with Craigslist to address their concerns, "but the site continues to be used for illegal activity," In their letter to Buckmaster and Craigslist founder Craig Newmark, McDaniel and the other state officials say the site's manual review "has failed to yield any discernable reduction in obvious solicitations."

Federal employees could become a "friend," a "fan" or even "like" a Facebook page a political party or candidate created, but they cannot do so during work hours or while in a federal workspace, according to new guidance the Office of Special Counsel has issued.

In a nine-page document of frequently asked questions it published recently, OSC addresses employees' and agencies' use of social media and how to comply with the 1939 Hatch Act, Nextgov.com reported. The law regulates the political activities of federal employees, such as using their authority to exert influence over an election.

While at work, employees cannot engage in political activity, which includes suggesting others to like, friend, or become a fan of a political party, group or candidate. They also cannot write a blog expressing support or opposition for a political candidate while on duty, but can do so after work hours and in a location other than a federal office.

Employees who list their official titles on their Facebook pages are permitted to answer the profile question that asks political views, because identifying the party they support is not a political activity, the report says.

Under the Hatch Act, federal employees are prohibited from soliciting, accepting or receiving political contributions at any time, which includes not using social media to seek contributions to a political party, candidate or group. They also are forbidden from posting links to the contribution page for any of those entities. To read more, click here.

The back and forth continued Wednesday between Verizon and critics of the policy framework the telecommunications giant unveiled earlier this month with Google aimed at providing a compromise on the network neutrality issue.

The fireworks began Monday when Verizon Executive Vice President Tom Tauke defended the proposal during a speech at the Technology Policy Institute's conference in Aspen, Colo. The Google-Verizon policy framework calls for imposing net neutrality rules on wireline Internet access while exempting wireless Internet access and "differentiated services."

Tauke and Google officials say their proposal was aimed at breaking a longtime stalemate over whether the FCC should impose net neutrality rules, which would bar broadband providers from discriminating against Internet content, but has done little to quiet debate over the issue.

"We believe the proposal is rational, addresses the issues of concern at the time," Tauke said. "It fulfills the president's campaign promise of non-discrimination and transparency on the Internet."

FreePress, which has been among the most vocal critics of the Verizon-Google proposal, fired back Tuesday with a statement from Research Director S. Derek Turner, saying the "deal contains no protections for wireless access, which accounts for nearly one-third of all Internet connections, giving Verizon and other ISPs the green light to block or degrade content on their wireless networks. In addition, it would allow Internet service providers to discriminate online by offering private Internet services alongside those on the 'public' Internet. As a candidate, Obama himself opposed the two-tiered Internet this proposal would create."

Verizon spokesman David Fish delivered the latest salvo Wednesday with a blog post that detailed facts about the proposal that he claimed critics are ignoring, including that the framework "includes a presumption against all prioritization on Internet connections."

He also defended the framework's different approaches to wireline and wireless broadband by arguing there is more competition in the wireless market. "Openness is fast becoming the standard in the wireless industry, as the FCC envisioned," Fish added. He noted, as Tauke did in Monday's speech, that Verizon is the only wireless company that has so far agreed to open Internet and nondiscrimination requirements when it purchased spectrum for deployment of its national 4G wireless network as part of a 2008 FCC auction.

A top Pentagon official has confirmed that the U.S. military was the victim of "the most significant breach of U.S. military computers ever" in 2008 when an infected USB drive was inserted into a U.S. military laptop at a Middle East base.

Deputy Director of Defense William Lynn III revealed the breach in an article published online Wednesday in Foreign Affairs magazine. The malicious code on the USB drive was spread to the U.S. central command's network, where it was then spread to both classified and unclassified computer systems and established a "beachhead," Lynn wrote, that allowed information to be transferred to computers under foreign control.

"It was a network administrator's worst fear: a rogue program operating silently, poised to deliver operational plans into the hands of an unknown adversary," Lynn wrote.

Lynn noted that the incident was a "wake-up call" for the military and helped prompt the creation of an effort known as "Operation Buckshot Yankee" aimed at bolstering the military's defense against cyber attacks, which he noted are increasing in frequency and sophistication.

"The 2008 intrusion that led to Operation Buckshot Yankee was not the only successful penetration," he wrote. "Adversaries have acquired thousands of files from U.S. networks and from the networks of U.S. allies and industry partners, including weapons blueprints, operational plans, and surveillance data."

In detailing how the government has responded to this attack and others, Lynn said policymakers will have to weigh whether to deploy the National Security Agency's defense capabilities to help protect civilian defense contractor networks. He noted that U.S. defense contractors also have been the victim of cyber attacks that have "compromised" sensitive weapon systems.

"The Pentagon is therefore working with the Department of Homeland Security and the private sector to look for innovative ways to use the military's cyber defense capabilities to protect the defense industry," Lynn wrote.

Several bills are pending in Congress aimed at boosting the U.S. government's efforts to protect its networks against cyber attacks and would require some private contractors to meet certain standards to ensure their computer systems are adequately protected.

Some contractors are welcoming the White House's threat to cut off funding for risky information technology projects as a moment that could be financially advantageous to them, Nextgov.com reported.

The Office of Management and Budget on Monday released a list of roughly 30 at-risk, mission-critical IT projects worth about $30 billion that need reworking. Simultaneously, OMB officials are deciding the fate of about 30 financial system projects, a historically costly class of IT systems that the White House halted on June 28. Agencies must downsize the projects or scrap them to start afresh.

The drastic measures are part of the Obama administration's effort to end the traditional practice of rolling out complex IT systems that take years to build and often fail.
OMB now wants agencies to break projects into smaller chunks that can be deployed more quickly and cheaply. This means some system contractors will be paid less while agencies stop to redirect wayward projects.

That's just fine for some suppliers of easy-to-configure software, even though they were affected by the pause in the projects. Executives from these companies said they could receive more business when departments recompete canceled projects, or when they buy smaller systems in the future.

"When you get beyond the fear and anxiety of, 'Oh my God! I'm on the list,' most people who've been around will confide in you that this [megaproject] model has to go," said David Lucas, chief strategy officer for Global Computer Enterprises, which provides Web-based hardware and software for financial management. GCE is the contractor for the Labor Department's new financial system, which is one of the projects OMB put on hold. To read more, click here.

The head of the FTC's consumer protection bureau says while he believes most consumers do not mind getting targeted online ads based on their Web surfing habits they will continue to be wary that information collected for advertising purposes could be used for other activities.

During a discussion taped earlier this month for a segment of C-SPAN's "The Communicators" series to be broadcast on Sept. 11, FTC Consumer Protection Bureau Director David Vladeck said the agency wants to ensure that sensitive data such as medical information or financial information are not used inappropriately.

"I don't think the delivery of targeted ads is what has people worried," he said. What most people are worried about "is the threat that there is this enormous amount of data out there that can be used for purposes other than advertising," Vladeck added.

He also said that while Web sites need an advertising stream to support the delivery of online content, it is important to find the right balance between ensuring that goal and protecting consumer privacy. "We now know that personal data is a commodity. It's being traded in online auctions every minute of every day," Vladeck said. "Our goal is to make sure people understand what the nature of that bargain is and how to make sure [consumers] are comfortable with that bargain."

FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz has floated the idea of implementing a "do not track" list that consumers could sign up to be on similar to the national Do Not Call registry that allows consumers to blocks most unwanted telemarketing calls. Vladeck said while the agency is taking a hard look at a do not track list, Congress would have to pass legislation giving the FTC authority to implement it. He also said there are currently technological limitations that would make implementing such a list difficult. He said either way he would like to see some sort of universal system developed where "consumers could in one screen ... disable tracking features."

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals struck down two FCC auction rules on Tuesday that required small businesses not to lease more than 50 percent of their winning spectrum to third parties and to wait ten years before reselling any of it, Broadcasting and Cable reported.

The court found the rules to be in violation of the Administrative Procedures Act because they were imposed without sufficient notice and comment.

The auctions at stake, the $14 billion 2006 auction of Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) spectrum and the $19 billion 2008 auction of the 700 megahertz spectrum block reclaimed from broadcasters in the switch to digital, were not invalidated because of the ruling.

The decision is a partial victory for the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council, Council Tree Communications and Bethel Native Corp., whom had argued that the FCC should invalidate the auction. The rules, they say, had reduced competition and made it easier for major wireless companies to consolidate their holdings.

"We are gratified that the Court recognized the merits of this case in vacating the two new rules," MMTC President David Honig told Broadcasting and Cable.

UPDATE:

FCC responds:

"We are pleased that the Third Circuit Court of Appeals upheld two important spectrum auctions for wireless communications services the commission conducted several years ago, which raised approximately $33 billion for American taxpayers," said Ruth Milkman, chief, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau at the FCC. "The commission remains committed to finding new and innovative ways to encourage the participation of small businesses and new entrants in our auction processes, and will continue to look for opportunities for this vital sector of the economy."

Update II Aug 26 1:40 pm

CTIA - The Wireless Association Responds:

"CTIA is pleased that the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit recognized that unwinding these licenses would have seriously disrupted wireless service for untold numbers of wireless users and declined to rescind the licenses awarded in Auctions 66 and 73," said Mike Altschul, senior vice president and general counsel at CTIA. "We look forward to working with the FCC when they seek additional comments on how to best address the Designated Entities rules that were vacated in today's decision."

Recovery Act dollars fueled major innovative and technological breakthroughs in solar power, electric vehicles, and medical research, according to a new report touted by Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday.

New technology, made possible by the $100 billion stimulus dollars invested in innovation, will cut the cost of solar power in half by 2015 and reduce the cost of electric vehicle batteries by 70 percent in the coming years, the report found.

Both Biden and Energy Secretary Steven Chu, who also spoke at the event, characterized the technological developments as "game-changers" that will help keep America competitive in the 21st century.

"The very roots of our growth are in innovation," Biden said.

Due to the Recovery Act, the report says, America is on track to double renewable energy generation capacity from wind, solar, and geothermal by 2012. And the cost of the human genome project, which could help discover new cures and personalize medical treatment, has been reduced significantly. By 2015, the cost of a personal human genome map will be less than $1,000.

The report included some fresh data on the $7 billion stimulus pot dedicated to broadband.
As of Aug. 18th, the Department of Commerce has invested $2.78 billion in broadband development and the Department of Agriculture invested $3.3 billion. Of the Commerce money, $125 million went to public computing and $157 million went to sustainable adoption programs that include digital literacy training and outreach campaigns.

Most companies' information-management policies are not updated to account for electronic information needed when disputes go to court, Oregon's Daily Journal of Commerce reports--a problem that becomes acute with increased use of social media.

"In litigation, courts view electronically-generated and stored information as essentially equivalent to information on paper," writes Hafez Daraee, an attorney at Jordan Schrader Ramis, a law firm with offices in Oregon and Washington.

But according to a survey on the effects of social networking cited by the article, most businesses are ill prepared to retrieve information from social media platforms. Only 9 percent of the companies' surveyed think they are well equipped to address electronic information discovery requests related to social networking.

Read the full article here.

As part of a cost-savings initiative, the administration will scale back $30 billion worth of high-risk IT projects.

On Monday, Federal Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra made public a list of 26 high-priority projects that will be reviewed by the Executive Mansion in an effort to reduce their size and scope. The IT overhaul is one component of the administration's "Accountable Government Initiative" announced in July.

The goal, Kundra said during a conference call with reporters, is "to speed up and simplify execution of these programs."

The projects under scrutiny were chosen, in part, because of performance targets or mission objectives that haven't been met and lack of executive sponsorship and/or leadership, among other variables. Between Aug. 2 and Aug. 18, the Office of Management and Budget met individually with chief information officers from 27 agencies to identify the projects for review.

Phil Bond, president and CEO of TechAmerica, said that more of explanation was needed. "Our companies need more information about how and why these projects were selected," Bond said in a statement after the OMB announcement. "There certainly are concerns in many quarters about what data went into the development of this list, how that data was analyzed and how it was presented."

In recognition of the need to boost efficiency in government IT, TechAmerica recently launched a commission to improve the way federal government purchases and implements IT systems.

Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., Government Affairs Subcommittee Chairman and a critic of federal IT, commended the Obama administration for its efforts to make government more efficient. "Federal agencies have traditionally had a bad track record when it comes to delivering these projects on cost, on time and performing as planned," Carper said in a statement.

Carper sponsored the Information Technology Oversight and Waste Prevention Act of 2009, a bill that would add more stringent regulations to federal IT investments. The measure recently cleared the Senate and now awaits action in the House.

Four of the top 20 spenders on federal lobbying in the first half of 2010 are telecommunication companies, according to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics.

Out of the telecom companies, Verizon spent the most K street dough at roughly $9.2 million. Spending slightly less, AT&T came in second having doled out $9.1 million on federal lobbying. The National Cable & Telecommunications Assn and Comcast Corp., spent $7.9 million and $6.9 million, respectively.

In an effort to advance the role technology plays in education, former Governors Jeb Bush and Bob Wise launched the Digital Learning Council last week. The new group aims to establish a roadmap to digital learning and promote its adoption.

"Technology has the power to customize education for every student in America," said Bush, co-chair of the Digital Learning Council. "Providing a customized, personalized education for students was a dream just a decade ago. Technology can turn that dream into reality today."

To date, more than 50 leaders from education, technology, government, and other fields, have joined the bipartisan council. The combined brainpower of the new group will identify policies to move digital learning from the marginal role it plays today to the forefront of education.

Ultimately, the council will make its final recommendations on digital learning the focus of a nationwide campaign to promote the adoption of those policy principles by states.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will announce Monday that Anthony Scardino is moving from HUD to become the PTO's new chief financial officer.

Scardino has been HUD's assistant CFO for budget, overseeing a $45 billion budget and managing $13.6 billion in stimulus spending. He held the position for four years, including most of last year when he was the department's acting deputy CFO.

Scardino is a graduate of the State University of New York at Geneseo and has a master's in public administration from SUNY Albany. He also is a recent graduate of the Senior Managers in Government program at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.

He replaces Karen Strohecker, who has been the PTO's acting CFO since January. Strohecker is returning to her previous job as program administrator for trademarks.

MINNEAPOLIS - If FCC members Michael Copps and Mignon Clyburn were hoping to find some confirmation Thursday night of their view that the commission needs to act to enact network neutrality rules, they certainly found it at a community gathering here sponsored by the public interest group Free Press, which strong backs regulations that would ensure all content is treated the same by broadband providers.

Copps and Clyburn back a proposal from FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski that calls for reclassifying some aspects of broadband service as a telecommunications service to ensure the commission has authority over broadband providers after the agency's power was put into doubt in the wake of an April federal appeals court ruling.

"Our job now is to correct course by reclassifying broadband as the telecommunications service that it is," Copps said at the packed gathering at Minneapolis' South High School auditorium, adding that such a move will ensure "someone has the authority to make sure our telecommunications infrastructure truly serves the people."

Copps was greeted with a standing ovation after Free Press President Josh Silver highlighted the Democratic commissioner's work in favor of network neutrality and against media consolidation. Dozens of attendees lined up to urge the commission to take action to ensure the FCC has authority to preserve the openness of the Internet. "The lack of FCC oversight will allow the telecoms to create a cast system with those who can't afford to pay left behind," said Cindy Gomez, editor of an alternative weekly in Fargo, N.D. called the High Plains Reader.

Copps and Clyburn were joined at the event by Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., who has emerged as a leading proponent of net neutrality. Franken showed off some of his famous skills from his previous career as a comedian in discussing his calls for preserving an open Internet

"I believe net neutrality is the First Amendment issue of our time, unless its freedom of religion, which until last week I thought we had all worked out," he joked, referring to the controversy over a proposal to build an Islamic center in New York near the site of the attacks on the World Trade Center.

There are seven geniuses in the Senate, and conservative Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., has almost as much "digital velocity" as Lady Gaga, says a new study by business professors at The George Washington University and New York University.

The unique analysis by Doug Guthrie, dean of the GW School of Business, and Scott Galloway, a marketing professor at NYU's Stern School of Business, assessed the digital IQ of all 100 senators, and found that Republicans are savvier on social networks like Twitter and Facebook than their Democratic colleagues.

The study found that seven out of 100 senators were rated as "genius," the highest level of digital competence. Four of the seven were Republicans, who overall had an average digital IQ that was 5.5 points higher than the average for Democrats. DeMint, with many fans among the tea party movement, "has the greatest digital velocity (acquiring likes and followers) of any senator," the professors said.

Not too surprisingly, senators who are up for re-election this fall are reaching out the most on social media platforms in an effort to boost their Web profiles. "It appears that U.S. senators are making their comprehension of the social media realm a priority and are using it as a way to engage prospective voters and mobilize grassroots efforts," Guthrie said.

"As a forward-looking indicator, social media following may be a crystal ball for what will happen in the voting booth this November, and it's looking very red," Galloway said.

A dozen music organizations have joined with the Recording Industry Association of America in pressing Google and Verizon to incorporate strong copyright protections and anti-piracy provisions in their joint proposal for preserving Internet openness.

"We all share the goal of a robust Internet that is highly accessible, secure and safe for individuals and commerce," the groups said in a letter sent Wednesday to Google Chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt. "An Internet predicated on order, rather than chaos, facilitates achievement of this goal."

The groups, including the American Federation of Musicians and the National Music Publishers Association, said in the letter: "The current legal and regulatory regime is not working for America's creators. Our businesses are being undermined, as are the dreams and careers of songwriters, artists, musicians, studio technicians, and other professionals."

At the same time, Web-based opportunities for the industry are limitless, the groups said.
"The number and range of music services is exploding," the letter said. "Our ability to invest in and create the next generation of music is grounded on crafting Internet policies and procedures that respect intellectual property.

"Accordingly, we are deeply interested in the details of your proposal as they may relate to the protection of content and to making sure that the distinction between lawful and unlawful activity has operational meaning," the letter to Schmidt concluded.
Google and Verizon last week unveiled a joint proposal they want considered as an alternative to stronger FCC regulation of broadband services.

The music industry is airing out a possible deal with radio broadcasters to settle a decades-old dispute over royalty payments for works played on AM and FM stations, says a spokesman for the musicFIRST Coalition, Marty Machowsky.

The tentative agreement now being circulated among recording studios and artists is considered "a tremendous breakthrough," but negotiations are continuing, he said.

The deal, which would need approval from Congress in performance-rights legislation pending in both the House and Senate, would require radio broadcasters to pay record labels and artists up to 1 percent of net revenues, with smaller stations paying less, according to a summary of the agreement drafted by the law firm Stifel Nicolaus. The National Association of Broadcasters estimates that would cost broadcasters about $100 million a year - much less than they would expect to pay under the pending legislation backed by the recording industry.

Broadcasters would get a reduction on rates for Internet streaming services and a requirement that FM radio chips be included in all new mobile phones, among other things, the proposed agreement stipulates.

Current law requires broadcasters to pay royalties to songwriters, but not to recording companies or artists, which have been clamoring for a share of the revenues since the early days of radio.

A coalition of nearly 900 small and mid-sized cable companies urged the FCC today to impose conditions on the Comcast-NBC Universal merger if it gives a green light to the proposed media conglomerate.

"With the risks so high, the FCC must not fail to protect consumers," said the president and CEO of the American Cable Association, Matthew Polka, as the group submitted comments on the merger to the FCC. Today is the deadline for filing comments.

The cable association called the Comcast-NBCU pact "the most serious threat to the media ecosystem in at least a decade, justifying regulatory intervention to prevent the media giant from harming competitors and their subscribers through the exercise of undue market power obtained as a result of the deal."

Independent cable companies fear the merger will mean skyrocketing fees for carrying signals from NBC's 10 owned-and-operated TV stations, Comcast's nine regional sports networks and the two companies' many national cable networks.

The association suggests that the FCC set three general conditions and four specific conditions for the merger to go forward. "In the main, ACA's conditions would simplify contracts, lower arbitration costs, and contain special conditions for smaller operators that cannot afford baseball-style arbitration available to all pay-TV providers," the group said.

For instance, one of the association's proposed general conditions would require Comcast-NBCU to sell signals for NBC stations and regional sports networks on a stand-alone basis, not in bundles with other networks.

The federal government's top technology official said Wednesday he might reshuffle funds for agencies' internal information technology projects in the FY12 budget.
Separately, the OMB is expected to publicly release a list of high-risk projects by Monday that will target around 30 projects for overhaul or termination, OMB officials said Wednesday. Both moves are part of a White House effort to cut off runaway IT investments that waste billions of taxpayer dollars annually. The contracting industry has expressed concern that uncertainty over the fate of IT programs could prevent private sector and federal personnel from taking on government work.

Federal Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra told NASA tech employees at the agency's first IT summit on Wednesday that the White House has to work harder at incorporating feedback from IT personnel into budget decisions. For example, Interior Department officials told him they wanted to distribute an e-mail departmentwide, but could not do so because each division has separate messaging systems, Kundra said, adding that such infrastructure costs the government about $20 billion annually.

"How do we move from an environment where we've had a history of colossal failures in terms of IT systems, and how do we convene those in this room" to battle the problem?, he asked.

Kundra said he already has met with every major agency official on the Chief Information Officers Council during the past month to identify troubled projects.

While telecom lobbyists are brainstorming in Washington on strategies for preserving Internet openness, two members of the FCC are headed to Minnesota today to get some public input on the mushrooming issue of net neutrality.

Commissioners Michael Copps and Mignon Clyburn were invited by Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., to attend a public forum in Minneapolis this evening on the future of the Internet. Franken's office pointedly noted that the hearing "comes in the wake of Google's pact with Verizon to build toll lanes on the Internet," a reference to a legislative proposal floated by the two companies last week offering an alternative to stronger FCC regulation of the Internet.

The Google-Verizon plan sparked a move by lobbyists for other high-tech companies to jump-start their own dialogue on recent moves by the FCC to consider beefing up regulation of broadband services. Talks on the issue were held Wednesday at the offices of the Information Technology Industry Council, which represents tech giants such as Apple, Dell and Microsoft.

ITI president and CEO Dean Garfield said in a statement that the meeting was "the first in a series of focused discussions, with ITI serving as facilitator, aimed at developing Internet openness principles that can achieve broad cross-sector support."

Consumer advocacy groups razzed the confab, which reportedly did not involve anyone from the FCC. "Industry deal-making is no substitute for responsible policymaking," said Aparna Sridhar, counsel for the group Free Press. "This latest effort by a few large companies to dictate the rules behind closed doors will not protect Internet users. Industry titans will propose rules that serve only their own interests."

Today's 6 p.m. hearing in Minneapolis, co-hosted by Free Press, the Main Street Project and the Center for Media Justice, is scheduled to be streamed live at www.theuptake.org.

Scores of stimulus grants to extend broadband infrastructure to underserved Americans were announced today by the departments of Commerce and Agriculture as part of an effort to bridge the digital divide between urban and rural areas.

Grants totaling $1.8 billion for 94 projects in 37 states are aimed at both job creation and technology expansion, Commerce Secretary Locke and Agriculture Secretary Vilsack said in a conference call announcing the latest round of funding from a $7.2 billion pot for broadband projects that was included in last year's Recovery Act.

"These projects will connect Americans who have for too long been without the full economic, educational and social benefits of high-speed Internet access - access central to success in the 21st century," Locke said.

Locke said 36 percent of Americans are without access to high-speed Internet services. "That is simply unacceptable," he said. The 66 projects announced today by the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration will develop 25,000 miles of new broadband networks, providing access to 19 million households and 1.8 million businesses, he said.

Vilsack said nearly half the people living in rural areas lack access to broadband services. The 28 awards provided today from USDA's Rural Utilities Service will extend infrastructure to 1.2 million households, he said.

Noteworthy among the funded projects are five new networks for public safety services, such as a $38.7 million project in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, N.M., that will enable streaming of patient data from paramedics to hospitals and other types of data transmission.

Satellite services are also being funded for the first time in four projects, including a $7.5 million award to Spacenet, Inc., to provide broadband service to rural customers in Alaska and Hawaii.

The FCC added more fuel to the fire over broadband regulation this week, with a paper suggesting that average residential download speeds are much slower than Internet service providers are telling their customers.
The technical paper issued Monday, under the innocuous title "Broadband Performance," says that ISPs advertise median download speeds of 7-8 Mbps, but an FCC analysis found the average actual speed consumers receive is about 4 Mbps.
"This gap is similar across technologies," the paper says. It cites a number of factors, including home computer performance and Wi-Fi setups, as contributing to the gap, but concludes that consumers have a right to be confused about what broadband providers are saying about their services.
Consumer groups are pointing to the paper as yet another reason for the FCC to strengthen its oversight of ISPs.
"In the U.S. we pay far more for slower broadband that an increasing number of nations around the world," said Benjamin Lennett, senior policy analyst for the Open Technology Initiative at the New America Foundation. "Add to that, consumers appear to rarely even get the speeds there providers advertise and it underscores the need for substantial policy intervention by the FCC."

Proclaiming that "the time for FCC action is now," four influential Democrats on the House Energy Energy and Commerce Committee urged FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski today to take regulatory action to preserve the openness of the Internet. The request came in a letter from Reps. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Anna Eshoo of California, Jay Inslee of Washington and Mike Doyle of Pennsylvania.

"Reclassification and clear FCC oversight as contemplated by your 'Third Way' proposal is critically important for bringing the benefits of broadband to all Americans," they wrote, referring to a controversial Genachowski initiative designed to clear up legal uncertainties about the agency's jurisdiction over broadband. Strong opposition from major broadband providers and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle has forced the FCC chairman to explore other options.

The four Democrats also criticized the recent announcement of an agreement by Google and Verizon on management of Internet traffic that could serve as a template for regulatory action. Critics assert the agreement would result in a two-tiered Internet that reserves a fast-lane for companies like Google that can afford to pay for priority treatment of their content.

"The recent proposal by Google and Verizon of an industry-centered net neutrality policy framework reinforces the need for resolution of the current open proceedings at the commission to ensure the maintenance of an open Internet," the lawmakers wrote.

The Democrats' recommendations won an immediate endorsement from the media watchdog group Free Press. "The Google-Verizon pact underscores the urgency with which the FCC must act. The industry titans are trying to convince policymakers in Washington to look the other way while carving up the Internet among a few big companies," Policy Director Joel Kelsey warned in a statement.

The next monthly FCC meeting is scheduled for Sept. 23, with the tentative agenda to be circulated in early September.

The who's who of the high-tech scene will jet off to posh Aspen, Colo., next week for the annual policy forum sponsored by the Technology Policy Institute, a non-profit think tank whose backers include major broadband providers. And if any of the attendees need personal butlers to fluff their pillows or walk their dogs, that can be arranged.

The event kicks off Sunday with welcoming remarks from Edward Mueller, the top executive at Qwest. Keynotes will be delivered by the CEOs of Intel, Verisign and Intuit and former HP CEO Carly Fiorina, who chairs the Institute's Board of Directors and is the GOP nominee in California for the Senate seat now held by Democrat Barbara Boxer.

At least two FCC officials are scheduled to make the trip: Republican Commissioner Meredith Atwell Baker and Phoebe Yang, senior advisor on broadband to Chairman Julius Genachowski. Also set to attend are Verizon lobbyist Tom Tauke; Walter McCormick, president and CEO of the U.S. Telecom Association; and Rey Ramsey, chairman of the non-profit One Economy Corp. and president and CEO of TechNet.

To see the complete roster for the event, which runs from Sunday through Tuesday, click here.

The forum will be held at the luxurious St. Regis Hotel in Aspen, which features breathtaking views of the Rockies. For the heaviest of hitters, there's the "Presidential Suite," which the St. Regis describes as the "pinnacle of luxury." Here's the description:

"Our 2,300 square foot Presidential Suite is contemporary opulence at its finest: Soaring ceilings, designer furnishings, epic mountain views, the latest in technology and a sumptuous king size St. Regis bed. Complimenting it all is a 60" flat screen television and baby grand piano. And should you require anything further, your own exclusive St. Regis butler is available 24 hours a day, poised to fulfill each and every request."

To arrange for 24-hour on-call butler service, click here.

The gloves come off Thursday in the second and final round of public comments at the FCC over the proposed $30 billion union of Comcast and NBC Universal. During a recent press briefing in Washington, officials with both companies said the FCC and Justice Department appear to still be on track to complete their reviews of the merger in the fourth quarter.

For more details on the transaction, visit the FCC's merge page here and this site featuring comments, testimony and other documents issued by the merger parties.

AT&T, Verizon, Vonage and other leading telecommunication companies sent a letter to the FCC recently urging the commission not to subject Internet telephony to state fees for the Universal Service Fund, a program that subsidizes telecommunications costs in low-income and rural areas.

States are preempted from regulating Internet telephony, also known as voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), the companies say, citing a 2004 FCC order.

Nebraska and Kansas have petitioned the FCC for a ruling that would allow states to collect fees on VoIP services for the Universal Service Fund. According to sources familiar with the situation, the FCC is considering a declaratory ruling that would accomplish as much.

The Telecom industry letter echoes sentiments expressed earlier this week by Energy and Commerce ranking member Joe Barton, R-Texas, and Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., the ranking member on the panel's Communications subcommittee.

Barton and Stearns encouraged the FCC to explore any changes to this order through a notice of proposed rulemaking, rather than a declaratory ruling. The former would offer opportunity for lengthier consideration and commentary from outside parties.

According to the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, the law has already made clear that Internet telephony services are obliged to contribute to state Universal Service Funds. "There is no dispute on the law," said Brad Ramsay, the association's general counsel.

In 2008, Vonage, the preeminent Internet telephony provider, filed a disclosure document with the FCC stating that the company has no objections to contributing to state Universal Service Funds, provided that federal law does not preempt their inclusion.

"Vonage wants a rulemaking to delay its obligation to pay - as its competitors pay - to support State programs," Ramsay said.

As protesters prepare to converge on Google's headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., at noon Pacific time today to rant about the terms of the Google-Verizon proposal on Internet traffic management, we offer some suggested chants for their repertoire:

Shame on you - we cast a hex!
Pox on Schmidt and his Googleplex!

With our `Net, don't be frugal!
Just say no to Verizon-Google!

Search On!
Search Off!

We lack the means to lobby or sue!
That's why we schlepped to Mountain View!

Danger lurks on our horizon!
If Google hitches with Verizon!

Surf's Up!
Cerf's Down!

You sped away just like Knievel!
From your pledge of Don't Be Evil!

We're not sure what we should do!
Why did we ever abandon Yahoo!

And if there are counterprotesters, a few ideas for them:

It's just a proposal, can't you see?
Nothing's been endorsed by the FCC!

Search off!
Search on!

You can watch video without delay!
There's no guarantee for that today!

You were wrong to hold this rally!
Not get the heck out of Silicon Valley!

Surf's down!
Cerf's up!

Pushing back against a raft of lawmakers whom have urged the FCC to let Congress act first on Internet regulation, the Open Internet Coalition implored the commission not to wait for the legislative body to move forward with reclassification of broadband.

In comments filed with the FCC on Thursday, the coalition said it would "be irresponsible" for the FCC to wait for Congress to take legislative action. "Congress has given the commission the authority to modify its regulatory treatment of broadband Internet access to protect consumers," the letter states. The FCC should "embrace its mandate and expeditiously adopt the outcome proposed by the 'third way' proposal."

The "third way," introduced by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski last May, would reclassify some aspects of broadband as a telecommunications service under Title II of the Communications Act. The chairman has said he would only apply a limited number of provisions of Title II, and exempt broadband from more onerous provisions such as price controls.

Genachowski offered his "third-way" proposal to reclassify broadband after the FCC's authority over broadband providers was put into doubt as a result of an April federal appeals court ruling.

At least 82 Democratic lawmakers have expressed opposition to the plan and some Republican members of Congress have characterized the "third way" as "government takeover of the Internet."

The coalition, whose members include Google and Skype, among many other tech companies, is a staunch advocate of net neutrality in the on-going debate about the future of Internet regulation.

UPDATE:

The coalition is happy to work with Congress to update the Communications Act but urges the FCC not to wait for congressional action on this matter.

Today the Veterans Affairs Department started posting online its monthly data breach reports as part of its ongoing transparency thing, VA Chief Information Officer Roger Baker told a press briefing this morning. He said the latest report (for July) might not make it to the Web until Thursday.

The reports include not only lost, misplaced or stolen computers and BlackBerries, but also misaddressed prescriptions sent out by the VA mail-order pharmacy operation, Baker said. Those packages contain sensitive veterans health information coupled with personal identifiers.

VA mailed out 5.6 million prescriptions last month, and a statically infinitesimal amount -- just 10 -- ended up in the wrong hands. If someone calls VA about receiving a misaddressed Rx, Baker said he or she is instructed to throw it away.

Nelson Grubbs in Pickering, Ohio, received an erroneously mailed Rx from VA earlier this month and following policy was told by VA to throw it away. Grubs told the Columbus, Ohio, NBC TV affiliate he had a hard time understanding the instruction because a local pharmacist valued the 90-day supply of a dementia drug he erroneously received at $700.

The TV station wanted to show the pill bottle on air, which resulted in the VA hospital in Columbus working with the station to blur out the label to keep from identifying a dementia patient, Baker said.

While it may seem wasteful to throw away $700 worth of drugs, the policy is enforce to ensure patient safety, because the "chain of custody" had been broken between VA and the intended recipient, he said.

Baker also said employees continue to lose BlackBerry gizmos -- 13 in July, 24 in June and 13 in May. That's something I have a hard time comprehending. He promised to supply me next month with a cumulative total for the number lost in 2010.

I asked if folks who lose their BlackBerrys are subject to a timeout before they are issued a new one. No, Baker said, because the low cost of the gadgets (a couple of hundred bucks) does not equal the loss in productivity that would result from a BlackBerry-less employee.

I live and work in a BlackBerry-free zone, and I believe my productivity is enhanced by not having one.

Fresh off the blog, Richard Whitt, Google's Telecom and Policy Counsel, posted a lengthy fact sheet Thursday afternoon rebutting some of the criticism surrounding their joint Internet regulation proposal.

"We don't expect everyone to agree with every aspect of our proposal, but there has been a number of inaccuracies about it," Whitt wrote, "and we do want to separate fact from fiction."

The explanatory post disputes the notion that the plan means Google has "sold out" on network neutrality or represents a step back for the open Internet, among other ideas that have been circulating about the proposal.

To read the full post, go here.

A coalition of public interest groups including Free Press and MoveOn.org are organizing a rally in front of Google's headquarters tomorrow to protest a deal on Internet regulation unveiled by Google and Verizon last Monday.

"The Google-Verizon plan would create two separate, unequal sections of the Internet," wrote Josh Levy, online campaign manager at Free Press, in an email to supporters. "A high-speed and exclusive fast lane for big business, and a slow lane, the "public Internet" that would be available to the rest of us."

The rally will take place at noon at the corner of Amphitheatre Parkway and Charleston Road in Mountain View, Calif. ColorofChange.org, Credo Action, and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee are also promoting the event.

The deal in question laid out a series of core principles on Internet regulation intended to guide prospective legislation and advance the debate on this issue. The goal, the companies said, is to preserve an open Internet and encourage innovation.

But critics took issue with two provisions that would undermine the openness of the Internet, they say. Under the proposal, wireless platforms would be exempt from the regulations apart from transparency and "differentiated services," such as healthcare monitoring, could receive preferred treatment over a non-public Internet.

Rob Atkinson, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, dismisses the notion that the proposal would somehow harm consumers, "there is nothing there to back that up," he said. According to Atkinson, Free Press and others would have criticized the Verizon-Google deal no matter what it said because their end goal is stricter government regulation.

A lot is at stake for the tech sector at next week's Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement negotiations, hosted by the USTR in Washington.

The purpose of the ACTA negotiations, according to USTR, is to negotiate a new, state-or-the-art agreement to combat counterfeiting and piracy. The draft of the agreement, made public on April of this year, includes a section on the enforcement of intellectual property rights in the digital environment.

The meetings, which will be held all day August 16-20th, are closed press. It's unknown how many parties or which countries will be represented. The agenda, made public Thursday, does not include any information about speakers, attendees, or the topics up for discussion.

Australia, Canada, the European Union and its 27 member states, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, and Switzerland are the countries named on the USTR website as trading partners that have worked on this agreement.

Under the proposal, "our companies would face legal liability in other countries for things that are perfectly legal in the U.S.," said Heather Greenfield, director of media relations at the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), her group opposes the agreement.

CCIA, a nonprofit whose members include Google and Facebook, advocates for open markets, systems and competition.

The secrecy about the negotiations is to "tamp down on public participation because it slows down the process," says Sean Flynn, an expert on information justice and intellectual property.

But the lack of transparency is a bad idea, "what they are negotiating here is a major and substantive intellectual property agreement," Flynn said. "To have that without getting input from the stakeholders is really devastating to the legitimacy of the agreement."

Social media and games dominate online activity according to recent research from the Nielsen Company.

As of June 2010, Americans spend nearly a quarter of their time on social networking sites and blogs, a 43 percent increase from just a year ago (22.7 percent up from 15.8 percent).

Online games came in second place taking up roughly 10 percent of online activity, up 10 percent from the previous year, and email came in third at 8 percent.

"Despite the almost unlimited nature of what you can do on the web, 40 percent of U.S. online time is spent on just three activities - social networking, playing games and emailing," said Nielsen analyst Dave Martin. This leaves "a whole lot of other sectors fighting for a declining share of the online pie."

If use of the Internet were condensed into an hour, a little over 13 minutes would be spent on social networking and blogs, six minutes would go to games and five minutes to email.

While email is losing ground computer Internet use, it remains number one on mobile platforms. Email takes up 41 percent of Internet activity on mobile phones.

In comments filed with the FCC on Tuesday, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation argued that subjecting broadband to regulations designed for telecommunications is not necessary at present time.

"The Internet's history suggests that self-governance is the most effective mechanism for ensuring both progress and openness," the comment concludes.

To be clear, ITIF does not suggest that the Internet should be void of regulation, but rather that a panel of Internet stakeholders--Internet firms, academics, think tank analysts, and public interest lobbyists--should develop interim guidelines pending Congressional action clarifying the FCC's role in relation to the Internet.

To ensure the commission's ability to carry out a ten-year plan aiming to provide high-speed Internet access to all Americans, the FCC is considering regulating broadband access providers under a more stringent regime now used for telephone services under Title II of the Communications Act.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski offered his "third-way" proposal to reclassify broadband after the FCC's authority over broadband providers was put into doubt as a result of an April federal appeals court ruling. The chairman has said he would only apply a limited number of provisions of Title II of the Communications Act to broadband, and not apply more onerous provisions such as price controls.

ITIF maintains that proponents of reclassification incorrectly assume that net neutrality and openness of the Internet are one and the same. "A truly open Internet--one in which new applications run successfully side-by-side with traditional ones, is not neutral, it's fair and active."

This is to say, that because all Internet content was not created equally, it can't all be treated equally for optimal performance.

A new report from the Pew's Internet & American Life Project found that growth of broadband adoption has slowed dramatically in 2010.

According to the survey, the amount of adults who now have a broadband Internet connection at home only grew 3 percent from 2009 to 2010, 63 percent to 66 percent. In the preceding years, broadband adoption experienced double digit growth.

Bucking the trend, African-Americans experienced a 22 percent year-over-year adoption rate increase narrowing the gap between whites and African-Americans from 19 points in 2009 (65 percent to 46 percent) to 11 points in 2010 (67 percent to 56 percent).

Additional key findings:

A slim majority of Americans don't think that government should devote much effort to the spread of affordable broadband. And 21 percent of American adults, who are not reading this blog, do not use the Internet. Only one in 10 non-users would like to start using the Internet in the future.

Conducted between April 29th and May 30th, 2010, the findings come from a nationwide telephone survey of 2,252 American adults.

Updated

FCC responds:

"Today's Pew report confirms what the FCC found in our broadband survey last year: there are still too many barriers to broadband adoption in America," said Jen Howard, FCC spokesperson. "That's why the National Broadband Plan lays out a strategy for improving digital literacy and ensuring that all Americans can take full advantage of the benefits of broadband"

In a sign of the times, lawmakers and pols expressed their condolences on the loss of former Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, on Facebook.

Both President Obama and former President Bush took to Facebook to reflect on the long-time Senator as did a raft of lawmakers including Sens. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Richard Shelby, R-Ala., Kay Bailey Hutchinson, R-Texas, and Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska as well as Alaska's former Republican Gov. Sarah Palin.

Two influential GOP House members called on the FCC Tuesday to block states from imposing fees on Internet telephony.

"Internet services such as [Internet telephony] have been responsible for tremendous growth in the U.S. communications services, software, and equipment industries," Energy and Commerce ranking member Joe Barton, R-Texas, and Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., the ranking member on the panel's Communications subcommittee, wrote in a letter to the FCC. "Imposing regulation, fees, and taxes could weigh heavily on these markets, create a drag on innovation, and hinder our economy."

The letter came in response to a request from Kansas and Nebraska to the FCC to collect fees from VoIP providers for state Universal Service Funds. A previous FCC order had pre-empted Internet telephony services, also known as voice over Internet protocol, from such state fees.

Barton and Stearns encouraged the FCC to explore any changes to this order through a notice of proposed rulemaking, rather than a declaratory ruling. The former would offer opportunity for lengthier consideration and commentary from outside parties.

According to Glenn S. Richards, executive director of the Voice On Net coalition (VON), there is an order circulating at the FCC that could change t he current regulations. His coalition opposes government regulation of the Internet telephony industry.

"We support the efforts of the congressman here," Richards said. "If the FCC wants to change the law here, they should do this in the context of the rulemaking."

The Computer and Communications Industry Association released a statement Tuesday that put some distance between itself and one of its more prominent members, Google, on the open Internet principles announced Monday by the Internet firm and Verizon.

CCIA has been a strong proponent of network neutrality rules, which would bar broadband providers from giving priority access to certain types of content. In its statement Tuesday, CCIA called on the FCC to move forward with Chairman Julius Genachowski's proposal to reclassify some aspects of broadband as a telecommunications service. The move is aimed at bolstering the FCC's authority over broadband following an April court decision that said the commission had overstepped its authority by trying to enforce its open Internet principles against Comcast.

Google and Verizon released a joint "suggested legislative framework" Monday that called for preserving the openness of the Internet by barring wireline broadband providers from discriminating against or prioritizing lawful Internet content, applications or services. However, the framework called for exempting fast-growing wireless Internet services from all the principles except for transparency and allowing for "differentiated services" to be fast-tracked over the Internet.

CCIA President Ed Black voiced concern in particular with the exception for differentiated services.

"While we believe the limitation on the regulation of content and apps is a positive proposal, we are concerned the 'differential services' aspect of the proposed agreement is an exception that could easily swallow the nondiscrimination rule," he said. "...The FCC needs to act now to protect consumers, and future innovative companies who have the possibility of becoming new Googles, eBays, Facebooks, or Twitters if they have equal access to the Internet's potential."

Officials in government and industry Tuesday mourned the loss of former Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, who appears to have died in an airplane crash in his home state Monday night.

Stevens, a former chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, was among the five passengers who died in the plane crash, AP reported. Others on the flight included former NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe and his son, both of whom appear to have survived, according to Reuters. O'Keefe currently serves as CEO of EADS North America, the arm of the European consortium that manufactures Airbus aircraft.

"A decorated World War II veteran, Sen. Ted Stevens devoted his career to serving the people of Alaska and fighting for our men and women in uniform," President Obama said in a statement. "Michelle and I extend our condolences to the entire Stevens family and to the families of those who perished alongside Senator Stevens in this terrible accident."

"From the very beginning, Ted was Alaska's greatest champion. He helped found his state, worked tirelessly to serve its unique needs in the Senate, and continued to be its fiercest advocate for the rest of his life," Senate Commerce ranking member Kay Bailey Hutchinson, R-Texas, said in a statement.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski echoed this view. "I was greatly saddened to learn of the tragic passing of former Senator Ted Stevens. Senator Stevens devoted his career to serving the people of Alaska. He was an important advocate for building our 21st century communications infrastructure," Genachowski said in a statement.

FCC member Robert McDowell described Stevens as an "American original."

"From strengthening our armed forces, to forging equal rights for women athletes through the passage of Title IX, to helping connect rural America to the rest of the world through his tireless support of the Universal Service program, the beneficial effects of Senator Stevens' bold efforts have long been felt far beyond the borders of his beloved Alaska," McDowell added.

NAB President Gordon Smith, who as a former GOP senator from Oregon served with Stevens, said the Alaskan was "a towering figure in the U.S. Senate and shepherded some of the most important communications legislation through Congress during his tenure on the Senate Commerce Committee. Broadcasters have lost a friend, but America has lost a war hero and a legislative giant."

Stevens was defeated for re-election in 2008 by Democrat Mark Begich.

Former NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe, who is now CEO of EADS North America, is among the passengers on a plane that crashed in Alaska Monday night, the company said Tuesday.

Other passengers who are believed to have been on the flight that apparently killed five of the nine passengers include former Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska.

"Local authorities are reporting that there are survivors and a rescue operation is underway," EADS North America spokesman Guy Hicks said in a statement. "No other details are available at this time."

Several sources told CongressDaily that former Senate Appropriations Committee chief of staff Jim Morhard and O'Keefe's son also were passengers on the plane, but their conditions are unknown.

O'Keefe has served as chief of EADS North America, the North American arm of the European consortium that manufactures Airbus aircraft, since November 2009. O'Keefe served as NASA administrator in the administration of President George W. Bush. He previously served as deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget, Navy secretary and Defense Department comptroller.

Ari Schwartz, a longtime advocate for protecting privacy in the age of Web-based government, is leaving his post at the Center for Democracy and Technology to press for change from within the administration at the National Institute for Standards and Technology, Nextgov.com reported.

After working at the Washington civil liberties group for nearly 13 years, Schwartz announced Monday that he has accepted an offer to become a NIST senior adviser for Internet policy. The move will allow him to continue examining issues related to identity management, cybersecurity and privacy, he said. Schwartz will join the federal government on Aug. 30.

Recently, Schwartz helped CDT negotiate with the Office of Management and Budget to lift a decade-old rule banning federal Web sites from using Web-tracking tools and add constraints that would protect users' personal identities.

"I've always said that my position at CDT was my dream job. In fact, it exceeded any expectation I could have ever had. Mostly that is due to the great colleagues and mentors that I've had here. On the other hand, I have great admiration and respect for those in public service," he said in an e-mail. "I have been on the lookout for the right position in the federal government and I'm confident that this is it."

Google and Verizon, following release of their joint proposal on Internet regulation today, pushed back against critics who said the plan would undermine the integrity of an open Internet. But at least one member of the House Energy and Commerce Communications Subcommittee was not convinced, CongressDaily reported.

"There is no business arrangement," said Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, on a conference call with reporters. Schmidt and Ivan Seidenberg, chairman and CEO of Verizon, attempted to dispel the notion that the companies' proposal would allow certain Internet content to move faster for those willing to pay for preferential treatment.

"Under the principles we are talking about here, there is no prioritization of Internet traffic that would come under any circumstances," Seidenberg said.

Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., co-sponsor of legislation to preserve Internet openness, criticized the proposal in a statement late today.

"This afternoon's announcement from Google and Verizon falls far short of the net neutrality principles necessary to protect consumers online," Inslee said. "Today's announcement is one more reason that the FCC must act to reclassify broadband and protect consumers online."

One provision of the Google-Verizon "suggested legislative framework" would allow for "differentiated services" to be fast-tracked over the Internet. Such services might include healthcare monitoring, the smart grid and advanced educational services. But according to the companies, those special services would not operate over the public Internet.

Read the full story at CongressDaily

As many in the telecommunications sector anticipated, Google and Verizon unveiled a joint public policy proposal on Internet regulation today that lays out core principles for preserving the openness of the Internet both firms hope will be applied across the industry, Congress Daily reports.

The "suggested legislative framework," is not a business agreement that allows for the paid-prioritization of Internet traffic as has been previously reported, the companies' emphasized. But Public Knowledge, a public interest group that advocates for net neutrality, called the proposal "nothing more than a private agreement between two corporate behemoths."

There are two noteworthy provisions of the new framework that will be met with a lot of debate in the coming days: the exemption of wireless broadband from all the principles, except for transparency, and the allowance of "differentiated services," that could have prioritized traffic, if they are distinguishable in scope and purpose from broadband. Such services might include healthcare monitoring, the smart grid, and advanced educational services

More to come.

With reports of a forthcoming deal between Google and Verizon on Internet traffic management, public interest and political groups are fighting back with a campaign to protect the openness of the Internet.

Don't be evil Google, says a petition being circulated by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee in partnership with MoveOn.org, Free Press and others. The coalition is calling upon Google to abandon the prospective deal with Verizon arguing that the deal, as it has been reported, would undermine net neutrality.

"You can make money without doing evil", is one of 10 principles Google abides by, according to the company website. As of Monday morning, the petition urging Google to stick by its motto had a little over 300,000 signatories.

Both Google and Verizon strongly denied one of the reports claiming the two firms are close to a deal. The New York Times reported that Verizon and Google are "nearing an agreement that could allow Verizon to speed some online content to Internet users more quickly if the content's creators are willing to pay for the privilege." Some of the mobile phones offered by Verizon Wireless use Google's Android operating system.

According to a blog post by Gigi Sohn, president of Public Knowledge, a public interest group that advocates for net neutrality, the Google-Verizon agreement is likely to be announced today.

Google has been contacted for further comment.

The idea that the effort to place people back on the moon might be sidelined with the proposed cancellation of NASA's Constellation program is disappointing. For many Americans who grew up in the 1960s and early 1970s and who were aware of the Apollo program, returning to the moon -- and eventually moving beyond -- seems like the natural thing to do. It feels strange we haven't been back.

Despite the disappointment, those kids who dreamt of life beyond Earth can find solace in a drive to transform NASA's technology research efforts from what some view as a bureaucratic and stodgy process into one that is flexible and cutting-edge. If successful, it might be more likely we'll return to the moon.

Read more (subscription required)

When pharmaceutical companies use the 'Facebook Share' application to promote their products, that information must comply with FDA regulations, the agency made clear recently.

The FDA cracked down on Novartis, a multi-national pharmaceutical company, for misuse of the 'Facebook Share' widget on the company's American website for Tasigna, a medicine used to treat certain types of leukemia.

The content distributed through the Facebook app is "misleading because it makes representations about the efficacy of Tasigna, but fails to communicate any risk information associated with the use of this drug," the FDA wrote in a letter to Novartis.

The application at hand allows Facebook users to share content, such as articles or video, by generating a link on his or her profile to the information with a brief description and a thumbnail image. It's the brief description of Tasigna that came under scrutiny of the FDA.

In response to the FDA letter, Novartis immediately took down the widget in question. "Novartis will continue to have active discussions with the FDA to understand fully all of the concerns," a company spokesperson told Tech Daily Dose over email. "We will also assess all of our web assets and materials based on these concerns.

Excerpts from National Journal magazine's latest feature on the battle over telecom policy:

As negotiators continue their high-stakes poker game aimed at crafting major telecommunications legislation that would be fast-tracked through Congress this fall, they must contend with a new wild card: possible Republican control of the House.

For months, powerful Democrats in Congress and at the Federal Communications Commission have been conducting closed-door meetings with industry lobbyists in an effort to resolve differences over the scope of the FCC's reach over broadband.

[EDITOR'S NOTE: For breaking news about the collapse of FCC negotiations aimed at crafting telecom legislation, click here.]

Until now, Democrats appeared to have the upper hand, prompting major telecom and cable companies to offer concessions aimed at dissuading FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski from moving ahead with tough new regulations.

But with polls indicating a resurgent GOP, it's the Democrats who are suddenly sweating.

If no deal materializes soon, Genachowski might be forced to schedule commission votes on his proposals either before or after the midterms -- and without congressional backup. Under that scenario, industry opponents such as AT&T, Verizon, and the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, buoyed by a newly empowered GOP, could seek to weaken or unravel any FCC actions through legislation.

Another school of thought has Genachowski retreating because he can't stomach the backlash. Despite having the votes he needs now to adopt his proposals, pressure from scores of Republicans, at least 81 Democrats, and irate broadband providers has brought him to the negotiating table.

Republicans, the government source said, are "chomping at the bit" to exert oversight authority and keep Genachowski at bay.

To read the entire article in the latest edition of National Journal magazine, click here [subscription required].

In yet another setback this week for the FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski's agenda, the spectrum bill unveiled by Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Chairman John (Jay) Rockefeller, D-W.Va Thursday evening clashes with proposals laid out in the national broadband plan.

The bill, which would create a nationwide interoperable public safety broadband network, specifically prohibits the FCC from reclaiming spectrum from broadcast television licensees on an involuntary basis. The possibility of taking spectrum through involuntary means had been detailed in the FCC's national broadband plan.

The National Association of Broadcaster's applauded Rockefeller's move.

"NAB is grateful for the wise leadership of Senator Rockefeller on an issue of critical importance to the millions of viewers who rely on free and local television," Dennis Wharton, NAB spokesperson said in a statement. "Broadcasters have no quarrel with incentive auctions that are truly voluntary, and the new legislation provides sound direction for that approach."

What's more, the measure would allocate 10 megahertz of spectrum, known as the D block, to the network. That provision flies in the face of the FCC's proposal to auction off the D block to spur competition and earn money for public safety.

When asked about Rockefeller's forthcoming spectrum bill at a press conference Thursday morning, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said that he and Rockefeller have proposed different paths to reach the same goal and are working together on it.

"The biggest obstacle to getting a national broadband plan built for first responders is paying for it," Genachowski said. "If it does not get paid for, it does not happen," he added.

Other key provisions of the bill include providing the FCC with the authority to conduct incentive auctions in which owners of spectrum may voluntarily relinquish their airwaves in exchange for a portion of the proceeds of the commercial auction and directing the commission to establish standards for leasing portions of the network when it's not needed by public safety officials.

The push to write a narrowly focused telecommunications bill that could be fast-tracked through Congress this fall was dealt a major blow Thursday when the FCC suspended its series of private talks with stakeholders and an influential Democratic senator conceded that without a consensus, advancing a near-term bill is now "unlikely."

The agency, which had been assisting lawmakers with efforts to craft an agreement clarifying how broadband should be regulated, ended its closed-door meetings after criticism erupted over reports that two key players in the discussions, Google and Verizon, were poised to cut their own deal over Internet traffic management.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski is now under pressure from leading watchdog groups and some Democratic overseers to schedule commission votes on his proposals for regulating broadband after a court decision in April undermined the FCC's authority.
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"As we work to find a path forward for governing broadband, congressional stalemate is making a legislative solution look increasingly unlikely in the near term," Senate Commerce Communications Subcommittee Chairman John Kerry, D-Mass., said in a statement. To read more, see Friday's CongressDaily AM edition. (Subscription required)

Key Democrats on the Senate Commerce Committee introduced legislation Thursday that would require businesses and nonprofits to take steps to secure personal consumer information from potential data breaches.

The bill, offered by Senate Commerce Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chairman Mark Pryor, D-Ark., and Commerce Chairman John (Jay) Rockefeller, D-W.Va., would require businesses or nonprofits that own or possess data containing personal information such as credit card numbers, to establish "reasonable" security policies and procedures to protect that data. Under the bill, these entities would be required to notify those individuals whose information was obtained or accessed as a result of a data breach within 60 days and to provide them with credit monitoring services for two years.

"An estimated 9 million Americans have their identities stolen each year, resulting in destroyed credit ratings and legal troubles," Rockefeller said in a statement. "Consumers are placed at risk of identity theft, fraud, and other harm when bad actors get access to their personal information as a result of security breaches. Companies and other entities who collect and maintain data on individuals should keep this information safe and notify consumers if it is compromised."

A spokeswoman for Pryor, who is the chief sponsor of the bill, said the committee will likely hold a hearing on the measure but no date has been set yet.

Sens. Tom Carper, D-Del., and Robert Bennett, R-Utah, introduced a data breach security bill last month that would require businesses to do more to safeguard sensitive consumer data. There bill also would require these entities to notify consumers when there is a "substantial" risk of identity theft or fraud because of a security breach involving their sensitive information.

The United States should look at its own policies before criticizing countries such as the United Arab Emirates for banning BlackBerry e-mail, Web and messaging services for security reasons, according to one digital rights advocacy group, Nextgov.com reported.

The United Arab Emirates is blocking BlackBerry services because local officials cannot monitor messages, which are encrypted and routed overseas, for illegal activity or abuse. Pakistan already has a similar ban in effect and other countries -- many in the Middle East -- have threatened to do the same.

The State Department recently said it would seek clarification on why the United Arab Emirates decided to block BlackBerry services. But Gwen Hinze, international director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, noted U.S. officials cannot expect other countries to support a free and open Internet when federal laws at home require a degree of regulatory control over citizens' digital information for security and law enforcement purposes.

"It is going to become increasingly difficult for the U.S. government to put pressure on other countries to protect their citizens' civil liberties, and the free and open Internet while the U.S. does not lead by example," Hinze said, echoing an Aug. 2 statement by United Arab Emirates Ambassador to the United States Yousef Al Otaiba. To read more, click here.

Six privacy groups have called on the Senate and House Commerce committees to examine whether the latest version of Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser makes it easier for firms to track a consumer's Web surfing habits for advertising purposes.

In a letter Thursday to the leaders of the Senate Commerce and House Energy and Commerce committees, the privacy groups called on the panels to not only investigate claims included in a recent Wall Street Journal investigation of Internet Explorer but to examine online surveillance in general. The Journal investigation found that Internet Explorer 8 requires users to turn on the feature that blocks tracking by Web sites and to activate that setting every time they launch the browser, the groups said. Internet Explorer is the most widely used Web browser, they noted.

"A powerful complex of data collection companies and interactive marketing
techniques pose a grave privacy threat to U.S. consumers," according to the letter signed by the Center for Digital Democracy, Consumer Action, Consumer Watchdog, the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, Privacy Times, and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. "We respectfully call on the committee to investigate these serious charges, as well as hold hearings that can inform the public."

The Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing last month on online privacy and some lawmakers asked about the issue of tracking Web users surfing habits for advertising purpose, a practice known as online behavioral advertising. The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection also held a hearing last month on proposed privacy legislation from subcommittee Chairman Bobby Rush, D-Ill., and a separate draft measure from Communications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va.

Updated: Microsoft spokeswoman Christina Pearson said the company is still reviewing the letter. She added that the Center for Democracy and Technology, which has advocated for greater privacy controls and has received funding from Microsoft and other tech companies, issued a report last year that compared the privacy settings of Internet browsers. She said the report "demonstrates the strengths of the protections provided by" Internet Explorer.

"People want online services that are personalized to meet their needs and assurance that their privacy will be protected," Pearson added. "Microsoft designed Internet Explorer 8 to offer people a variety of privacy protections."

Any deal on net neutrality that does not preserve the openness of the Internet will not be acceptable, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said Thursday at the commission's monthly public meeting, CongressDaily reported.

His comment came in response to questions from reporters about news of a possible deal between Verizon and Google on Internet traffic management. Some stakeholders on both sides of the debate over network neutrality, the idea that broadband providers should not be allowed to discriminate against Internet content, have been meeting behind closed doors with FCC officials on the issue.

Both Google and Verizon Thursday strongly denied one the latest reports claiming the two firms are close to a deal. The New York Times reported that Verizon and Google are "nearing an agreement that could allow Verizon to speed some online content to Internet users more quickly if the content's creators are willing to pay for the privilege." Some of the mobile phones offered by Verizon Wireless use Google's Android operating system.

Verizon spokesman David Fish said in a blog post that the Times' story "regarding conversations between Google and Verizon is mistaken. It fundamentally misunderstands our purpose. As we said in our earlier FCC filing, our goal is an Internet policy framework that ensures openness and accountability, and incorporates specific FCC authority, while maintaining investment and innovation. To suggest this is a business arrangement between our companies is entirely incorrect."

And Google issued a comment on Twitter earlier Thursday that also denied the Times' story, saying, "We've not had any [conversations with Verizon] about paying for carriage of our traffic. We remain committed to an open internet."

Meanwhile, public interest groups have issued a series of statements in recent days blasting any potential deal, saying the FCC should not bless any agreement that would allow broadband providers to discriminate against Internet content. The latest salvo came from the Center for Democracy and Technology, which has received donations from both Google and Verizon, along with numerous other tech and telecom companies and foundations.

"The goal of Internet neutrality is to prevent gatekeepers and ensure a level playing field. Any negotiation that begins and ends with two companies threatens to undercut that goal," CDT Presidents Leslie Harris said in a statement. "Companies are free to make proposals. But at the end of the day, regulators and policymakers must make Internet policy decisions based on the public interest in ensuring that the Internet remains open innovative and free."

To read more, click here. (Subscription required)

A media-shield bill pending in the Senate to protect journalists from being forced to disclose confidential sources will be revised to exclude the WikiLeaks site that posted leaked documents from the war in Afghanistan last month, the bill's sponsor said Wednesday.

CongressDaily reported that Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said he is already drafting new language for his bill that would ensure that WikiLeaks is not shielded from prosecution for unauthorized disclosures of government information.

Schumer said he and Senate Intelligence Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., are consulting with the newspaper industry while drafting new language for the shield bill that was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee last December.

A bill President Obama recently signed requires the Office of Management and Budget to disclose on a public Web site contractor integrity information housed in a new vendor performance database, reversing a recent decision by the Defense Department to block public access to the entire database, Nextgov.com reported.

The supplemental appropriations bill (H.R. 4899), enacted on July 29, contains a provision mandating OMB to post all information in the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS), except for past performance reviews. The rider amends the 2008 Clean Contracting Act, which established the internal online system.

Open government groups and taxpayer advocates had long sought access to the contents of the system to hold contractors accountable. Industry groups had raised concerns that some of the information in the system is proprietary and vendor reviews could be misinterpreted without additional context

Meanwhile, the final version of the supplemental spending bill did not include a provision rescinding some broadband stimulus funding as an earlier version of the measure called for to offset the costs of the legislation. The version of the supplemental first passed by the House would have rescinded $602 million in unused funds from the $7.2 billion allocated under the 2009 economic stimulus bill to help spur broadband access and adoption. That provision, however, did not make it into the final bill.

To read more, click here.

Amid reports that Verizon and Google have reached a deal to settle their differences over the issue of network neutrality, several public interest groups called on the FCC to take action on the issue to preserve the openness of the Internet.

The deal would inhibit Verizon from slowing Internet content that travels over its wires, but the same restrictions would not apply to Internet use over mobile phones, Bloomberg reported and a source confirmed to Tech Daily Dose.

Neither Verizon nor Google would confirm the reports. Verizon spokesman David Fish would only say that the companies are still engaged in a negotiation process led by the FCC. "We are optimistic this process will reach a consensus that can maintain an open Internet and the investment and innovation required to sustain it," he said.

Such a deal is aimed at heading off FCC regulation on the issue. After an April federal appeals court ruling undermined the commission's authority over broadband, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski proposed reclassifying some aspects of broadband as a telecommunications service. It would give the agency more authority over broadband providers, who staunchly oppose the plan.

"If reports are accurate, such a deal would effectively create two Internets where application and content innovators have to ask Verizon and Google for permission to reach mobile Internet customers," Free Press President Josh Silver said in a statement. "It would mean that mobile consumers would no longer be able to access the same websites, applications and software as anyone else on the Internet."

Free Press and several other public interest groups issued a joint statement calling for the FCC to reject a deal and to move forward with regulation. Google had publicly supported net neutrality regulation.

"We call on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to abandon its 'negotiations' with Google, Verizon and other large companies," the groups said. "Instead, the Commission should move ahead with legally enforceable, binding rulemaking that would govern not only the open Internet, but also ensure the Commission's authority to reform Universal Service, and to make policy in cybersecurity, privacy, device compatibility and other critical issues involving broadband services."

Broadband providers and others have been engaged in closed-door meetings with FCC officials and industry stakeholders to determine future policies for regulating the Internet. The potential side deals, the pubic interest groups say, will benefit business and harm consumers.

In the face of rising concern and scrutiny about privacy issues, Facebook will make some of its privacy controls available from any mobile device through m.facebook.com, the company announced Wednesday.

"We are committed to delivering the best privacy experience possible and this commitment extends to people who want the flexibility to access Facebook from mobile devices," Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes said. "Of the more than 500 million people that actively use Facebook, more than 150 million of them currently access the site through their mobile devices."

The following options will now be available from any Web-enabled device:

- Selecting who can see the content users post by setting the simple control for sharing on Facebook to "friends," "friends of friends" or "everyone."

- Fully customizing users granular settings, such as "block lists," and having them take effect instantly.

- Reading Facebook's comprehensive privacy guide, formatted for mobile devices.

Facebook Mobile Product Manager Michael Eyal Sharon has more details on the company's blog.

Partisans on both sides of the issue Wednesday questioned whether the FTC's settlement of its lawsuit against Intel Corp. will achieve its aim of enhancing competition in the computer chip market.

The Association for Competitive Technology, which lists Intel as one of its five "sponsors," and the Technology Policy Institute, which is supported by Intel and other technology and telecom companies, both criticized the FTC's decision to launch its case against Intel, which was accused of stifling competition.

Technology Policy Institute President Thomas Lenard questioned whether the settlement of what he described as a "questionable" lawsuit from the FTC would actually help consumers. "It is understandable that both the FTC and Intel would want to settle this case and avoid protracted litigation," he said. "However, because the FTC's initial complaint was questionable, it is questionable whether this settlement helps consumers or promotes competition."

ACT President Jonathan Zuck said the settlement would put "an end to an unwelcome distraction for an important segment of the tech industry." However, he also criticized the FTC's use of its Section 5 authority of the FTC Act to launch its lawsuit against Intel, which the commission said is "broader than the antitrust laws and prohibits unfair methods of competition and deceptive acts and practices in commerce."

Critics including former Justice Department antitrust official Robert Litan argued earlier this year that by using Section 5 instead of relying solely on Section 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act the FTC was pursuing an "extreme legal" theory that is backed up by thin case law.

A coalition of public interest, industry and consumer groups Wednesday called on state attorneys general from five states to investigate the potential impact that Comcast's proposed merger with NBC Universal may have on competition and programming in local media markets.

The Coalition for Competition in Media wrote to the attorneys general of California, Florida, New York, Oregon and Washington, as well as the National Association of Attorneys General, urging them to closely review a merger the coalition claims would lead to higher prices for consumers and limit access to programming.

"The merged entity will be the largest provider of cable and Internet services in the nation, as well as the owner of vast amounts of content up and down the cable dial, on the Web and in other entertainment sectors," wrote the coalition, which includes public interest groups such as Free Press, financial news provider Bloomberg, the National Coalition of African American Owned Media, and the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association.

"This broad horizontal and vertical integration will give Comcast unprecedented means and incentive to engage in anti-competitive behaviors that would be fundamentally harmful to consumers, competitors and workers."

The letter is just the latest in a flurry of correspondence in recent weeks to the FCC and others who have a role in evaluating the deal in which Comcast will take a majority stake in NBCU.

A group of House members from New York wrote the FCC this week to urge the commission to move swiftly to approve the deal, while House Energy and Commerce Communications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va., told the FCC last week that the merger should be cleared without conditions.

Comcast argues that it has pledged to make numerous commitments aimed at ensuring it will continue to compete fairly, promote independent programming and diversity.

Updated: In response to the coalition's call for a probe of the merger, Comcast Vice President of Government Communications Sena Fitzmaurice highlighted the support the deal has received from local officials and groups. "We're proud of the over 1,000 elected officials and diverse organizations across the country that have expressed support for this transaction," Fitzmaurice said in a statement. "We are confident reviews will find this deal to be pro-competitive and in the public interest."

Agricultural Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Wednesday his department was providing $1.2 billion to help fund 126 projects across the country aimed at promoting broadband access and adoption, while also spurring economic development and job creation.

This is the second round of broadband projects announced by the Agriculture Department funded by the $7.2 billion in stimulus funding for broadband access and adoption included in the 2009 economic stimulus package. The broadband stimulus funding was split between Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service and the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration

These projects, "will give rural Americans access to the tools they need to attract new businesses, jobs, health care and educational opportunities, Vilsack said. "Bringing broadband to rural America provides a gateway for businesses and key anchor institutions--such as libraries, schools, public safety and community centers."

Thirty-eight states and Native American tribal areas will benefit from the new projects. The full list of recipients, many of them regional telephone companies, can be found here. The funds will help support the construction of fiber optic cable and fixed wireless service to expand high-speed Internet access.

The FTC announced Wednesday that it has settled its antitrust lawsuit against Intel that alleged the firm illegally stifled competition in the market for computer chips.

The settlement "gives certainty to those in industry, including Intel," FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said at news conference announcing the settlement. And "because the relief begins right now, we will begin to see a more a competitive landscape."

Leibowitz added that while the FTC was prepared to take the case to court, he said litigation could take two to three years. "At that point [when the litigation had concluded], much of relief might not be relevant," given how fast the high-tech industry changes, he said.

Among the practices Intel is alleged to have engaged in according to the complaint filed in December by the FTC include that Intel had threatened to cut off access to its chips if manufacturers used rival chips and paid some manufacturers or offered incentives not to use rival chips. The FTC also claimed that Intel designed its compilers, which are used to translate software, so that its competitors' products such as those made by its chief rival Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) ran slower than Intel's products.

Leibowitz said Intel made it appear as if it "was AMD's fault," which made manufacturers and software vendors less inclined to use AMD's or other competitors' products.

The settlement applies to Intel's central processing units (CPUs) and graphics processing units (GPUs). It bars Intel from using threats, bundled pricing or other offers to exclude or hamper competition or take other steps to "unreasonably inhibit" the sale of rival CPUs or GPUs and also bars Intel from taking steps that would deceive manufacturers about the performance of competitors' CPUs or GPUs.

Intel also has agreed to modify its intellectual property agreements with rivals AMD, Nvidia and Via so that they have more freedom to consider mergers or joint ventures with other companies without being sued by Intel for patent infringement; maintain its interface on the PCI Express Bus for at least six years so that it will not limit the performance of rival GPUs; and disclose if Intel's compilers discriminate between Intel computer chips and rival chips. In addition, Intel has agreed to establish a $10 million fund that would be used to reimburse customers who relied on Intel's statements regarding its compilers for the costs related to "recompiling their software using non-Intel compiler or library products."

"This agreement provides a framework that will allow us to continue to compete and to provide our customers the best possible products at the best prices," Intel Senior Vice President and General Counsel Doug Melamed said in a statement. "The settlement enables us to put an end to the expense and distraction of the FTC litigation."

A panel chartered by Congress to review long-term threats to the United States has reopened a hotly contested debate on how the government should counter cyber attacks by calling for the Defense Department to expand its authority by defending all federal and key commercial computer networks, Nextgov.com reported.

The recommendation, included in a report released July 30 by the Quadrennial Defense Review Independent Panel, encroaches on the Homeland Security Department, which has responsibility for overseeing cybersecurity at civilian agencies. The panel, chaired by former Clinton administration Defense Secretary William Perry, said, "[Defense] should be given clear authority to support DHS for cybersecurity of both the .gov and .com domains so that DHS does not have to replicate the capabilities now resident in U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency."

Perry discussed the report at a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee last week and at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, where he raised the possibility of a key role for Defense in protecting networks operated by its commercial suppliers.

Because the mission-critical systems that Defense relies on are designed, built and often maintained by private contractors and 80 percent of military logistics requirements are handled by commercial firms, the report said, "it is vital that the Department of Defense ensure the networks of our private sector partners are secured."

But the report added, "the U.S. government remains poorly organized and prepared" to defend itself against cyber attacks and observed the United States still lacks legal authorities for the Information Age, and capabilities and responsibilities are misaligned within government. To read more, click here.

All but three of the 11 New York lawmakers who sent a letter to the FCC recently urging the commission to approve Comcast's merger with NBC Universal received money this election cycle from Comcast's political action committee, and/or individuals who work for the company.

Reps. Joseph Crowley, D-N.Y., and Dan Maffei, D-N.Y., received the most with $6,000 each. Not far behind were Reps. Scott Murphy, D-N.Y. and Chris Lee, R-N.Y., who took in $5,500 and $5,000, respectively. Reps. Yvette Clark, D-N.Y., Michael McMahon, D-N.Y. and Mike Arcuri, D-N.Y. raked in $2,000 each and $1,000 went to Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., according to figures compiled by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.

Those lawmakers who signed the letter but have not received campaign cash from Comcast this election cycle include Democratic Reps. Eliot Engel, Steve Israel and Edolphus (Ed) Towns.

House Energy and Commerce Communications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va., who sent a letter Monday to the FCC in support of the merger, received $7,500 from the media giant.

Comcast spreads its support widely. Since 2008, 385 members of Congress have received contributions from the company's PAC or employees - nearly three quarters of Congress. The top recipients of these donations were Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter, who represents Comcast's home state of Pennsylvania and hauled in more than $106,000, and Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, home to NBC Universal. Schumer has received more than $38,000.

The Electronic Privacy Information Center said Tuesday that documents it has obtained show that the body scanners being used at federal courthouses can store and record the images of those scanned with the devices.

As part of a settlement of its Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the U.S. Marshals Service, EPIC obtained more than 100 images of undressed individuals from the scanning devices used at federal courthouses

EPIC has filed two other lawsuits against the Department of Homeland Security related to the use of body scanners. The first FOIA lawsuit is aimed at obtaining more information about the use of body scanners in U.S. airports, including 2,000 images it says DHS has refused to release. A second petition against DHS, filed last month, seeks to obtain an emergency stay against the use of the scanners in U.S. airports.

EPIC said documents it has obtained from DHS show the machines used by the department's Transportation Security Administration at some U.S. airports also can record and store images from the body scanners even though they are slightly different from the scanners used at federal courts. When asked if TSA has stored any images from passengers, EPIC staff counsel Ginger McCall said TSA claims it has not stored such images, but EPIC believes that statement is false.

She said the airport body scanners are not secure enough and voiced concern that the images stored on them could be transferred to an external device such as a USB flash drive.

"In complying with our Freedom of Information Act request, the Marshals Service has helped the public more fully understand the capabilities of these devices," EPIC President Marc Rotenberg said in a statement. "But the DHS continues to conceal the truth from American air travelers who could be subject to similar intrusive recorded searches in U.S. airports."

Updated: A TSA spokesman disputed some of EPIC's claims, saying some of the scanning units at the agency's Transportation Security Lab can store images but only for training and testing purposes. Body scanners used at airports cannot "store, print or transmit images," he said.

Senate Commerce Chairman John (Jay) Rockefeller, D-W.Va., is urging the FCC to move promptly to overhaul the program that subsidizes telecommunications service in low-income and rural areas, even as a key House lawmaker works to have Congress take the lead in making changes, CongressDaily reported.

In a letter Monday to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski and the commission's four other members, Rockefeller said the need to revamp the Universal Service Fund was underscored in April by the communications difficulties that plagued rescue workers who responded to the explosion at West Virginia's Upper Big Branch mine, which killed 29 miners. The lack of wireless phone service hampered rescue efforts, Rockefeller said. To read more, click here. (Subscription required)

The Transportation Department on Tuesday launched an online community where its employees can share and collaborate on new ideas, Nextgov.com reported.

The network - called IdeaHub - will enable the department to take employee engagement and innovation to the next level by allowing workers to do something they've never fully been able to do before - share ideas and collaborate with their 55,000 DOT colleagues across the country, according to a post by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood on the department's Fast Lane blog.

Employees can offer suggestions on ideas, and once an idea is posted, the employee community can vote it up or down. As ideas attract more votes and generate comments, they will advance to the department's IdeaHub liaisons and innovation council where they are evaluated and may get put into practice.

The online community also will allow the department to post challenges to employees as a way of getting people to think about specific questions or problems. The first of those challenges asks, "How can DOT help you do your job more effectively?"

Transportation follows the Department of Homeland Security in launching an interactive tool exclusively for its employees. DHS announced in October 2009 plans to expand the Transportation Security Administration's IdeaFactory across the entire department, and the agency rolled out the online network to all employees in January. To read more, click here.

Nearly a dozen members of New York's congressional delegation are urging the FCC to approve Comcast's proposed merger with NBC Universal, saying concerns about the deal have been addressed and that the review process should not "drag on indefinitely."

The letter sent late last week by the New York lawmakers comes one day after House Energy and Commerce Communications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va., called on the FCC to approve the merger without "net neutrality" conditions that would bar broadband providers from discriminating against Internet content.

The New York-area lawmakers noted that there already have been six congressional hearings on the merger including two field hearings. "It is obviously important to scrutinize a merger of such large companies," according to the letter signed by both Democratic and GOP House members from New York, which his home to NBC Universal.

They added, however, that the FCC also has held a field hearing on the merger and has given stakeholders five months to comment on the merger and two more months for reply comments. "With this large record of information, we hope you will conclude the regulatory review process in a timely manner and approve the merger," they wrote.

The merger is staunchly opposed by consumer and public interest groups and some media and cable firms who claim the transaction will lead to higher prices, fewer choices and less competition.

A key House lawmaker sent letters to the FCC and Justice Department today urging the agencies to approve the merger of Comcast and NBC Universal by December 1 without "net neutrality" conditions aimed at maintaining the Internet's openness.

House Energy and Commerce Communications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va., asked the agencies, which by law must weigh whether to let the merger proceed, not to impose any conditions prohibiting restrictive or discriminatory network management practices that would compromise network openness.

"That consideration is best left to the multiparty negotiations, legislation and commission proceedings of general applicability," Boucher said.

He added that if current discussions on Capitol Hill are successful, "Congress will soon take up legislation that will apply a uniform set of network openness principles to all broadband providers."

The proposed $30 billion merger of Comcast and NBC Universal has sparked concern from a variety of groups about the effects the deal may have on competition, media diversity and consumer choice.

Read the full story in Congress Daily

Phoebe Yang will serve as a senior advisor on broadband to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski the commission announced on Monday.

Yang will lead the high-profile work of managing the agency's broadband priorities as established by the ten-year plan, released last March, to bring high-speed internet into every American home. In her new role, Yang will serve as the commission's representative to the Executive Branch inter-agency working group tasked with implementation of the broadband plan.

Previously, Yang served as General Counsel of the Omnibus Broadband Initiative at the FCC. In that capacity, she chaired the Broadband Steering Committee.

"Phoebe has played an absolutely critical role in creating the National Broadband Plan," Genachowski said. The chairman is "delighted" that she is staying with the FCC to help him with this work.

Advertisers and companies are tracking individuals' behavior on the Internet in significantly more depth and detail than most people are aware of, a new study conducted by the Wall Street Journal found.

On average, the nation's 50 top Web sites installed 64 pieces of tracking technology onto the computers of visitors, often with no warning. Dictionary.com, Comcast.net and MSN.com installed more than 100 tracking tools each during the Journal's test. Small programs and files known as "cookies," "flash cookies" and "beacons" do the tracking work.

The data about individuals' Web habits is funneled to a growing data-gathering industry that sells profiles to commercial interests. BlueKai, which describes itself as the largest auction marketplace for all audience data, is one such firm. The information allows advertisers to 'follow' people around the Internet with tailored marketing messages.

The study comes at a time when the FTC is contemplating the creation of a 'do-not-track' list (see related story -- subscription required).

The Defense Business Board wants to put the central Defense Department network and computer outfit on the chopping block as part of a series of proposals to save the Pentagon $100 billion over the next five years.

Continue reading on NextGov.com

Meetings between FCC officials and industry stakeholders may be nearing an agreement on net-neutrality regulations, according to an analyst report by Stifel Nicolaus. The meetings are part of talks aimed at finding a compromise on Internet regulation in lieu of the FCC's proposal to reclassify parts of broadband as a telecommunications service. Such as reclassification would grant the FCC more regulatory authority over broadband providers. The goal of the talks, whose tempo has increased lately, appears to be to reach an agreement early this month, the report says.

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