December 2010

Tech Daily Dose will be on vacation until Jan. 3. In the meantime, please check Nationaljournal.com for any major breaking news. Happy Holidays!

The 2011 Defense Authorization Act, sent to President Obama for his signature on Wednesday, calls on the Pentagon to evaluate the capabilities of commercial vendors to provide secure cloud computing services to the federal government, Nextgov.com reported.

Cloud computing replaces the current structure of accessing data and applications locally with a networked system that stores them in remote data centers. On Dec. 9, the Office of Management and Budget released a "cloud first" policy requiring agencies to evaluate the practicality of leasing access to Web-based equipment before buying new hardware or software. It was one of the most sweeping changes in federal computer policy since 1996. To read more, click here.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who has called on federal regulators to block the deal, Thursday blasted FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski's order that calls for approving Comcast's merger with NBC Universal with certain conditions.

In a statement, Sanders called on the FCC to "reverse course" and block the deal. Senior FCC officials revealed Thursday that Genachowski has begun circulating among the agency's four other commissioners an order that recommends approving the deal with certain conditions related to such areas as program access, program carriage and online distribution of content.

The officials, however, provided few details about the conditions related to these areas. Sanders said no conditions would mollify his concerns with the merger, saying the deal does not meet the FCC's required threshold of serving the "public interest."

"If this merger is approved, I have little doubt that Comcast-NBCU will retain hundreds of attorneys and lobbyists to exploit gaps and loopholes in any conditions and regulations," he said in a statement. "Once we allow companies to become this powerful, the FCC does not regulate them. They regulate the FCC."

Consumers Union also called on the commission to reject the merger, but said if it does move forward it must adopt strong, enforceable conditions.

"It's hard to imagine how a cable giant like Comcast owning a content empire like NBC Universal could be a plus for consumers' pocketbooks and competition," Consumers Union Policy Counsel Parul Desai said in a statement. "The FCC appears to have identified the right areas of concern, including program and online access to content, but the devil is in the details."

Updated: 12:40 pm.

Senior Federal Communications Commission officials Thursday said Chairman Julius Genachowski has begun circulating an order that would approve the proposed merger of Comcast with NBC Universal with narrowly drafted conditions.

During a briefing, the FCC officials said the order being circulated among the commission's four other members for comment and deliberation concludes that approval of the deal with the proposed conditions meets the public interest standard that the agency must use to evaluate such mergers. The term deals with such issues as competition, localism and diversity. Comcast and NBCU had to prove that their deal will meet this standard.

The officials did not provide specific details of the order or the proposed conditions but said they deal with such issues as program access, program carriage, and online access to Comcast-NBCU content, as well as broadcast diversity, localism and other issues.

The officials stressed that the conditions were specific to the merger and not aimed at addressing broad policy issues.

How the merger would affect the distribution of content online has been a major area of concern for critics of the merger. The FCC officials were asked whether the conditions would deal with the ability of other online providers to get content from Comcast-NBCU, the ability of Comcast subscribers to reach programming not provided by Comcast-NBCU, and the ability of non-Comcast subscribers to obtain access online to content controlled by the joint company. An FCC official would not provide any details except to say those were areas the agency had examined.

Some online distributors such as ivi TV, which allows consumers to gain online access to a variety of broadcast programming for a $4.99 monthly fee, has argued that Comcast has tried to block ivi's access to programming by pressuring other programming providers not to give other distributors access to their content.

Corie Wright with Free Press, which opposes the merger, told Tech Daily Dose that her group is concerned that the conditions being proposed in the order would only require Comcast to make NBCU programming available online to firms like ivi or other online distributors if other content providers such as Disney or Viacom also provide their programming to these distributors.

Nextgov.com reported that cybersecurity will be a top priority for the Republican-led House in 2011, but it is unknown when Congress will act on legislation to revamp an outdated federal cyber law, say aides to incoming GOP leaders.

Details likely will emerge when Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, the new vice chairman of the Armed Services Committee, speaks early in the next Congress about defending cyberspace, say information security experts. On December 15, House Speaker-designate John Boehner, R-Ohio, tapped Thornberry "to lead an initiative on cybersecurity that cuts across committee lines." Thornberry aides declined to comment on his agenda this week.

Critics of the current federal cybersecurity mandate, the 2002 Federal Information Security Management Act, say it forces agencies to spend time and money documenting efforts to comply with controls instead of executing them. The House in June agreed to reforms that instead would require automated continuous monitoring, demand federal contractors install security features at the start of system development, and empower a cyber czar to recommend the president withhold funding from noncompliant agencies.

The measures were included in a version of the National Defense Authorization Act that the House passed last spring, but a Senate compromise that cleared Congress on Wednesday deleted the FISMA overhaul. To read more, click here.

More than a quarter of U.S. adults used their cell phones to either learn or participate in this year's midterm elections, according to a survey released Thursday by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project.

"Mobile connectivity has become a growing feature in all kinds of communication and information exchanges--including politics--and mobile connectivity is becoming a regular feature of political campaigns," according to the survey's report.

Among those who said they had used their cell phone for an election-related activity, most (14 percent) used it to tell others they had voted, 12 percent used their phone to monitor election or political news, and 10 percent sent text messages related to the election to friends, family members or others. Despite the promise of mobile technology as a new avenue to reach out to voters, only 1 percent used a cell phone app to get updates from a candidate or interest group about the election or to contribute to a candidate or interest group.

Those most likely to use their cell phone to learn about or participate in the 2010 election were between the age of 18 and 29, African American and male. The survey found 29 percent of men surveyed, 39 percent of 18-29 year olds, and 36 percent of blacks used their cell phones for some election-related activity. In addition, the survey found those most likely to use their phone for this activity were also college-educated and made more than $75,000 a year.

While 82 percent of U.S. adults have cell phones, 71 percent of cell owners surveyed said they voted in the 2010 elections. This is a much higher percentage than the overall 40 percent turnout rate reported for the midterm election.

The survey was conducted Nov. 3-24 of 2,257 adults and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

The Federal Trade Commission Tuesday filed a complaint against an Internet enterprise that allegedly lured consumers into signing up for "trial" memberships to obtain information about "bogus" government grants and other money-making schemes.

The FTC claims that I Works, controlled by Jeremy Johnson and nine other individuals, advertised on various websites that they could provide "free" information about fictitious government grants consumers can obtain to pay personal expenses and other money-making schemes. In exchange, consumers were required to provide credit or debit card information to pay a shipping and handling fee of $1.99. Consumers were then charged one-time fees of as much as $129.95 and also were billed monthly fees of up to $59.95 for the grant-making programs and others that consumers say they did not sign up for.

"No consumer should be sucker-punched into making payments for products they don't know about and don't want," said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said in a statement.

In response to these charges, many consumers have sought "charge backs" or a reversal of the charges from their credit or debit cards, prompting Visa and MasterCard to place the defendants on their chargeback monitoring programs that bar them from getting access to credit and debit card billing information, according to the FTC. Once this occurred, the FTC alleges the defendants created new shell companies to keep their scam going.

The FTC has accused the defendants of violating the FTC Act by misrepresenting the availability of the government grants and that they can provide information to help consumers obtain such grants, as well as for failing to tell consumers they would be charged the hefty fees for the monthly plans.

A coalition of public interest, privacy and civil liberties groups released an open letter Wednesday to the Obama administration and lawmakers urging them not to push legislation that might weaken free expression or hamper online freedoms in response to the release of classified documents by WikiLeaks.

In the letter, the groups noted that some critics of the whistleblower website have suggested that the Espionage Act be extended to WikiLeaks for releasing sensitive government documents to the public, which most recently included a batch of U.S. diplomatic cables.

"We urge caution against any legislation that could weaken the principles of free expression vital to a democratic society or hamper online freedoms," according to the letter signed by the American Civil Liberties Union, American Library Association, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Center for Democracy and Technology and others.

The groups were particularly critical of some lawmakers and government officials who have argued against the ability of newspapers and other news outlets to report on the leaked classified documents and of government employees to read such stories. This was underscored by the Air Force's move to block its service members and employees from accessing the New York Times and other news outlets that have reported on the leaked documents from WikiLeaks.

The groups highlighted several legal cases that have upheld the rights of print and online publishers to print "truthful political information" that has been lawfully obtained by a publisher even if the source originally obtained it in an unlawful way.

The groups said it is "especially critical for members of Congress to keep these rights in mind as they consider any future legislation that may impact freedom of expression. In a free country, the government cannot and does not have unlimited power to determine what publishers can publish and what the public can read."

Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., along with Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairman Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., and Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., have introduced legislation targeted at WikiLeaks and its founder Julian Assange that would amend the Espionage Act to make it illegal to publish the names of human intelligence informants to the U.S. military and intelligence community.

"This legislation will help hold people criminally accountable who endanger these sources of information that are vital to protecting our national security interests," Lieberman said in a statement when the bill was introduced earlier this month.

A key Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee said Wednesday that he would fight any efforts by Republicans to overturn the open Internet rules adopted Tuesday by the Federal Communications Commission.

Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., told Tech Daily Dose in an interview that while he has concerns that the FCC excluded wireless broadband from its prohibition on "unreasonable" discrimination, the net neutrality order is a step in the right direction. Rules requiring greater transparency of broadband providers network management practices and barring the blocking of access to lawful content, applications and services would apply to wireless broadband.

While he said he is still considering whether to push to extend all the rules to wireless, "one thing I am going to fight against are any efforts by Republicans to repeal the FCC's order," Rush said, adding that any effort by Republicans to derail this process is off-targeted, ill conceived and needs to be resisted."

Incoming Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., and other key GOP members of the committee said Tuesday after the FCC's vote that they will push to block the FCC rules from going into effect by trying to pass a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act, which gives Congress a limited amount of time after a federal agency approves a rule or regulation to try to overturn it.

Senate Commerce ranking member Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, has said she also will seek to use the same procedure to try to block the net neutrality rules.

Even if Congress were to pass such a resolution, which would be binding on the FCC, Rush said he would strongly urge President Obama to veto it. Obama voiced support Tuesday for the FCC's net neutrality vote.

Despite this, Rush said he will be watching closely to see the impact of the net neutrality rules on wireless subscribers. Polls show that minorities are the biggest users of wireless broadband. Rush voiced concern that rates for wireless broadband will increase.

Meanwhile, Rush said he is still confident that he will be named the ranking member of the Energy and Commerce Communications, Technology and the Internet Subcommittee but does not expect a decision on the issue until January when lawmakers return to Washington for the start of the 112th Congress.

"The way I see it, I am the only ... declared candidate in writing" for the subcommittee, Rush said. When asked about whether Rep. Edolphus Towns who is expected to return to the committee and has more seniority than Rush would bump him for the top Democratic spot on the subcommittee, Rush said the New York Democrat has not given any indication that he would make such a move.

But Rush added that he's a strong advocate of the congressional seniority system and that if Towns were to exercise his seniority and seek the ranking spot on the Communications Subcommittee, "I would have to stand down if he does that."

Comcast said Wednesday that despite its hopes of closing the deal by the end of 2010, a decision on whether regulators should approve the proposed merger with NBC Universal will slip to next year.

"We believe the FCC and the DOJ continue to make substantial process toward approval of our transaction," Comcast Vice President of Government Communications Sena Fitzmaurice said in a statement. "However because of the lead time required to prepare for a close, it now appears that we will not be able to close the transaction with GE relating to NBC Universal by year-end. We have notified our transition teams that there will not be a December 31 closing."

Still, the company said it believes the "regulatory review puts us on track" to close the deal in January. The merger is being closely scrutinized by the Federal Communications Commission and the Justice Department.

According to filings with the FCC, regulators and the two companies are in talks on possible conditions related to the distribution of online video. Several competitors have voiced concern about their ability to access content controlled by Comcast-NBCU after the merger. NBCU controls a major Hollywood studio, the NBC broadcast network and several cable networks.

In a letter filed this week by Comcast, the company said it met Monday with key staffers to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski about "potential conditions under consideration by the commission with respect on the distribution of online video," as well as for how long any proposed conditions would be applied. Comcast noted in approving other mergers, the FCC's conditions were limited to a duration of five years or less.

"We emphasized that, if the commission is trying to craft a condition under which NBC Universal behaves in the online video marketplace as it would have but for the transaction, any benchmarks should focus on the behavior of similarly situated, non-vertically integrated peers," the Comcast letter said.

"We also noted that NBC Universal's current practice is to ensure that, when its content appears on an aggregator's website, other comparable, high-value content is also on that website, and that non-NBC Universal programming makes up a majority of the aggregator's programming. Applicants argued that any condition the commission considers in this area should take that practice into consideration."

The rancor in Washington over network neutrality is about to enter a new phase: all-out political and judicial warfare. Federal Communications Commission approval Tuesday of ambitious new regulations for Internet service has triggered a heated debate over the government's role in regulating cyberspace--providing ample fodder for an empowered Republican Party as it prepares to take control of the House next month.

The rules were adopted on a 3-2 partisan vote, with the agency's three Democrats backing passage and the two Republican commissioners strongly opposed. The regulations are designed to ensure that the Internet is not dominated by major telecommunications and cable companies. They prohibit anti-competitive blocking and degrading of competing online services and are enforceable by the agency.

Dismissing the regulations as an unnecessary government intrusion in the marketplace, Republicans in both chambers vowed to try to block them, while industry and watchdog critics sharpened their legal daggers as they made plans to challenge the rules in court. To read more, click here.

The House cleared legislation Tuesday that would reauthorize the America COMPETES Act, which authorizes basic research, programs aimed at boosting science, technology, engineering and math education and other measures aimed at promoting U.S. innovation.

The legislation will head to President Obama's desk after the House voted 228-130 to adopt the Senate's changes to the House bill. The bill faced an unexpectedly rocky road to congressional passage after the House rejected the measure twice before finally passing it in May.

The bill would reauthorize the National Science Foundation, National Institute of Standards and Technology and the research programs in the Energy Department's Office of Science. In addition to reauthorizing STEM education programs, it also would establish an interagency STEM education coordination committee. To help firms bring innovations to market, the bill would create a Commerce Department program to provide loan guarantees to small and medium-sized manufacturers for the use or production of innovative technologies.

"If we are to reverse the trend of the last 20 years, during which our country's technological edge in the world has diminished, we must make the investments necessary today," House Science and Technology Chairman Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., who has been the bill's leading champion in Congress, said in a statement. The bill was a top priority for Gordon who is retiring at the end of the 111th Congress.

Several industry groups praised the bill, saying it will help boost U.S. competiveness and help American students better compete in the global economy.

"The investments that the America COMPETES Act makes in math and science education will go a long way to helping ensure America has the highly skilled workforce it needs to compete in the global economy," Jessica Herrera-Flanigan, co-executive director of the industry coalition Compete America, said in a statement.

Information Technology and Innovation Foundation President Robert Atkinson highlighted several key provisions in the bill, including language offered by Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., that would direct the Obama administration to develop a national competitiveness and innovation strategy.

"It is welcome news that this critical legislation is finally on its way to the President's desk," Atkinson said in a news release. "In one of the final votes of the 111th Congress, lawmakers affirmed that innovation is not a partisan issue."

Before adopting its controversial net neutrality order, the Federal Communications Commission also approved a proposal to seek comment on a "next-generation" 9-1-1 system that would utilize the latest technologies including text messaging and video in emergency response.

The order, approved on a unanimous vote, asks for comment on a number of issues surrounding the launch of a next-generation 9-1-1 service. They include technical feasibility and limitations of text messaging, video streaming and photos; an examination of consumer privacy issues including the need to protect personal medical data; and development of technical and policy standards.

The FCC said that 70 percent of 9-1-1 calls come from mobile phones. But FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski noted that if you are in an "emergency situation and want to send a text for help you can pretty much text anyone except a 9-1-1 call center."

One real-life example of how this limitation may have hampered law enforcement's efforts to respond to an emergency occurred during the shooting rampage at Virginia Tech University in 2007, according to Genachowski. He said several students had tried to send a text to 9-1-1 seeking help during the rampage but those messages did not go through.

"It is time to bring 9-1-1 into the digital age," Genachowski said. "Broadband-enabled next generation 9-1-1 will revolutionize emergency response."

While expressing support for upgrading 9-1-1 call centers, the FCC's GOP members said the commission should examine ways for local 9-1-1 centers to obtain the funding for such technology advancements.

President Obama weighed in Tuesday in support of the FCC's approval of network neutrality rules, describing the move as an important part of his administration's efforts to advance "American innovation, economic growth, and job creation."

In a statement Tuesday, Obama said the FCC's vote "will help preserve the free and open nature of the Internet while encouraging innovation, protecting consumer choice, and defending free speech."

Obama noted that as a candidate for the White House he campaigned in favor of network neutrality rules "to preserve the freedom and openness that have allowed the Internet to become a transformative and powerful platform for speech and expression. That's a pledge I'll continue to keep as president. As technology and the market continue to evolve at a rapid pace, my administration will remain vigilant and see to it that innovation is allowed to flourish, that consumers are protected from abuse, and that the democratic spirit of the Internet remains intact."

In February, Obama reiterated his support for rules that would bar broadband providers from discriminating against Internet content, applications or services.

"We don't want to create a bunch of gateways that prevent somebody who doesn't have a lot of money but has a good idea from being able to start their next YouTube or their next Google on the Internet," Obama said during a question-and-answer session on YouTube.

But some supporters of net neutrality voiced disappointment with the FCC's order, saying it contains too many loopholes, particularly in not applying all the rules to wireless broadband.

The Progressive Change Campaign Committee went even further, saying that Obama had backed off his campaign pledge to protect the open Internet.

"For the first time in history, the U.S. government approved corporate censorship of the Internet, putting the future of online free speech at risk. Unbelievably, the person leading the charge was Obama appointee Julius Genachowski," the group said in an e-mail alert to supporters. "This also violates President Obama's campaign promise to protect net neutrality."

The Federal Communications Commission approved network neutrality rules Tuesday, with Chairman Julius Genachowski's two Democratic colleagues providing tepid support for his plan aimed at ensuring the Internet remains an open platform.

Genachowki said the order provides a "strong and sensible nonideological framework framework - one that protects Internet freedom and openness and promotes robust innovation and investment."

The order establishes three basic rules: requirements for transparency; a ban on blocking access to lawful content, applications, services, and the connection of devices to the network; and a prohibition on "unreasonable" discrimination. While all three rules apply to wired broadband, the order only applies the transparency and blocking provisions to wireless broadband.

Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Michael Copps "concurred" with the order, meaning they supported it but did not back every detail while the FCC's two GOP members opposed it. While he did not "whole heartedly" support the order, Copps said it was a "step in the right direction."

Net neutrality supporters have been critical of the proposal, particularly its treatment of wireless broadband, saying it contains too many loopholes for big broadband providers.

"These rules don't do enough to stop the phone and cable companies from dividing the Internet into fast and slow lanes, and they fail to protect wireless users from discrimination. No longer can you get to the same Internet via your mobile device as you can via your laptop," Free Press Managing Director Craig Aaron said in a statement.

At the same time, others oppose the order because they believe it goes too far. Senate Commerce ranking member Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, said it's an "unprecedented power-grab by the unelected members" of the commission and vowed to move forward with a resolution of disapproval of the FCC's move.

Other groups praised the FCC's move, saying it provides certainty on a bitterly contested issue. "The FCC decision not only provides the regulatory certainty for our member companies and industry more broadly, but it ensures continued innovation and investment in the Internet so that future generations may benefit from the promise of the Internet as our generation has," Information Technology Industry Council President Dean Garfield said in a statement.

Nextgov.com reported that the federal government's ever-growing social media presence is presenting new challenges for agencies, such as a lack of standards for records management. Those challenges cannot be met at the agency level alone, according to a new report, so it is time for the federal government to lead a move toward uniformity.

"New media brings with it new challenges -- especially for records managers struggling to apply existing records management laws and regulations . . . in a social media world," author Patricia C. Franks, associate professor in the School of Library and Information Science at San Jose State University in California, said in the report. "These new challenges cannot be met at the agency level alone. It is time for the federal government to dramatically transform records management."

Nearly every agency has some social media presence. As of June, 22 of 24 major agencies were actively maintaining a presence on sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, according to the report, published by IBM's Center for the Business of Government. To read more, click here.

Multiple sources have told National Journal that Verizon, the nation's second largest telecommunications carrier, may seek to overturn the historic open Internet rules to be approved by the Federal Communications Commission Tuesday morning. Sources said the option is on the table, but cautioned that no final decision has been made. The company will review the details of the new "network neutrality" rules set for adoption by the agency's three Democratic regulators to gauge its next move.

The new regulations, which seek to prevent broadband providers from degrading or blocking competing online services, will be enforceable and could subject companies to fines, injunctions and forfeiture, senior agency officials told reporters Monday. The initiative is considered vulnerable to a court challenge because Genachowski is seeking to treat broadband as a lightly regulated "information service" even though a federal appeals court in April tossed out this approach. The FCC now says it has developed a more solid legal foundation, with the details to be disclosed today.

Unlike the nation's largest telecom provider, AT&T, which met extensively with agency officials to discuss the regulatory proceeding and endorsed FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski's Dec. 1 announcement of new Internet restrictions, Verizon has largely stayed on the sidelines and issued no endorsement. FCC watchers expect legal challenges both from entities that think the proposal goes too far and those that complain it's too weak.

Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports, announced Monday it sent petitions to the Federal Communications Commission signed by more than 55,000 people opposing the proposed joint venture by NBC Universal and Comcast.

The group claims the deal would give Comcast incentives to monopolize NBC content.

"The companies maintain they can be trusted not to engage in anti-competitive practices, but Comcast has a well-documented history of treating customers poorly," said Parul Desai, policy counsel for Consumers Union. "Comcast routinely hits people with rate hikes and slaps penalties on those who want to switch to another company for better service."

Consumers Union has also recently launched a website as well as a billboard and print and online advertisements attacking the proposed deal.

It's official: the path has been cleared for Tuesday's historic vote at the Federal Communications Commission approving sweeping new "network neutrality" rules designed to ensure that the Internet remains an open platform that doesn't favor dominant telecommunications and cable companies.

Democratic FCC regulators Michael Copps and Mignon Clyburn plan to "concur" on the proposal, meaning they support adoption but don't agree with every detail. Their backing gives FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski the three votes he needs on the five-member commission for passage.

Copps and Clyburn have been fighting for stronger provisions to better protect consumers and smaller competitors. Critics of the regulatory initiative, including the agency's two GOP members, dismiss it as unnecessary government intervention that seeks to correct marketplace problems that do not exist.

But Free Press, Public Knowledge and other advocacy groups that have demanded changes in advance of the vote voiced concerns that some provisions are too weak to protect consumers and bar anticompetitive conduct.

Free Press dismissed the latest compromise as "fake" net neutrality. "We are deeply disappointed that this commission appears to be moving forward with deeply flawed rules that don't live up to the promises of the president or the FCC chairman to protect the free and open Internet," said spokesman Craig Aaron. "These rules appear to be flush with giant loopholes, and the FCC chairman seems far more concerned with winning the endorsement of AT&T and the cable lobbyists than with listening to the millions of Americans who have pleaded with him to fix his proposal."

Echoing those concerns was Public Knowledge President Gigi Sohn, who said the latest iteration of the plan falls "far short" of what could have been. "Instead of a rule that would protect everyone, from consumers to applications developers from predatory practices of telephone and cable companies, the commission settled for much less," she wrote. "Consumers deserved better. The FCC should have fought for consumers, not put the burden on them to fight for their rights."

Parul Desai, policy council for Consumers Union, praised the FCC for taking action, but said her group would continue to push for stricter controls. "From what we know, we would prefer that the commission provide stronger protections for wireless Internet users in addition to wireline users, as more Americans use smartphones and other wireless devices to surf the web," Desai said in a statement.

"If these rules are actually going to protect consumers, the commission must be vigilant in monitoring Internet service providers to make sure they don't try to circumvent the rules and take unfair advantage of the FCC's definition of what constitutes broadband service," she added.

Clyburn's written statement:
"The open Internet is a crucial American marketplace, and I believe that it is appropriate
for the FCC to safeguard it by adopting an Order that will establish clear rules to protect
consumers' access. The Commission has worked tirelessly to offer a set of guidelines that, while not as strong as they could be, will nonetheless protect consumers as they explore, learn, and innovate online. As such, I plan to vote to approve in part and concur in part the Open Internet Order during the FCC's open meeting tomorrow.

"As a Commissioner whose task is to safeguard consumers and the public interest, I will
continue to watch the growth of the Internet and will applaud industry advances and milestones. I will also seek out and facilitate any collaboration between myself, my colleagues, corporate stakeholders, and public interest representatives, as there can be no better path forward than that which is achieved through consensus."

Copps' written statement:
"These past three weeks have been devoted on my part to intensive discussions about ensuring the continued openness of the Internet and putting consumers, not Big Phone and Big Cable, in maximum control of their online experiences. I have been fighting for nearly a decade to make sure the Internet doesn't travel down the same road of special interest consolidation and gate-keeper control that other media and telecommunications industries--radio, television, film and cable--have traveled. What an historic tragedy it would be to let that fate befall the dynamism of the Internet.

The item we will vote on tomorrow is not the one I would have crafted. But I believe we have been able to make the current iteration better than what was originally circulated. If vigilantly and vigorously implemented by the Commission--and if upheld by the courts--it could represent an important milestone in the ongoing struggle to safeguard the awesome opportunity-creating power of the open Internet. While I cannot vote wholeheartedly to approve the item, I will not block it by voting against it. I instead plan to concur so that we may move forward. I do thank the Chairman for his engagement, and I owe a special debt of gratitude to Commissioner Mignon Clyburn for her thoughtful and creative work to improve this item."

The Senate voted to reauthorize the America COMPETES Act Friday, leaving approval of the plan for science and technology research programs to the House.

The legislation authorizes research and education programs at federal science agencies in an effort to boost U.S. competitiveness.

In May, the House passed a similar version of the COMPETES Act, which was originally enacted in 2007.

Left out of the Senate's bill? Any additional funding for the slew of programs designed to increase education and research in the STEM fields: science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. On Thursday, the Senate scuttled a 2011 spending bill that would have given agencies more money to develop the programs.

Despite the lack of new funding, supporters hailed the bill's passage as an investment in "math and science education that will help our nation build such a qualified and highly educated workforce, and we applaud the Senate for its action today."

Retiring House Science and Technology Chairman Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., championed the bill in the House and hailed its passage in the Senate.

"While there have been concessions made, the Senate's amendments preserve the intent of the [U.S. National Academies'] Rising Above the Gathering Storm report and the original COMPETES," he said. "It keeps our basic research agencies on a doubling path, it continues to invest in high-risk, high-reward energy technology development, it will help improve STEM education, and it will help unleash American innovation."

Gordon said he hopes the House will vote to approve the bill this week.

Although the Senate passed the COMPETES Act by unanimous consent, House Republicans continued to criticize the measure for costing too much money.

"While I am glad we were finally able to reauthorize many of the important research and education programs in this bill, the bill that passed today spends too much money, authorizes duplicative programs, and shifts focus away from the bill's original intent," said Texas GOP Rep. Ralph Hall, ranking member of the House Science and Technology Committee.

The Senate approved legislation Saturday that will expand the number of low-power radio stations, a day after the bill passed the House.

The Local Community Radio Act will allow the Federal Communications Commission to issue more licenses to low-power FM radio stations, which established broadcasters feared might interfere with their radio signals.

After intense lobbying by the National Association of Broadcasters, lawmakers included stricter protections to avoid interference.

Supporters called the bill "the first major legislative success for the growing movement for a more democratic media system."

The bill will expand a service created by the FCC in 2000. So far, more than 800 low-power stations operate across the country, most run by non-profit organizations, schools, local governments, and emergency responders.

"Senate passage of the Local Community Radio Act marks a turning point in the long campaign to expand availability of community radio stations," said Media Access Project spokeswoman Kamilla Kovacs. "Enactment of this bill eliminates a final obstacle to adding thousands of new LPFM stations to about 800 stations already on the air."

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski is making progress in narrowing gaps with his two Democratic colleagues over his controversial plan to adopt sweeping new rules for the Internet, National Journal has learned. But with the talks very fluid, and differences remaining, there's still a possibility that the regulatory initiative could be pulled at the last minute from the agenda of Tuesday's commission meeting.

Genachowski needs the support of Michael Copps and Mignon Clyburn to approve his "network neutrality" proposal, which would create enforceable rules designed to protect the openness that is the Internet's hallmark. While both Copps and Clyburn are net neutrality advocates, they've complained that the chairman's framework cuts too many breaks for major telecommunications and cable providers of broadband. The two Republicans on the five-member commission remain staunchly opposed, arguing that the proposed rules amount to unnecessary government regulation of the Internet.

An FCC source familiar with the negotiations said progress is being made in three key areas: addressing concerns about wireless carriers, limiting Internet toll lanes and adding protections for a new online pricing model.

Responding to the complaint that the proposal, announced Dec. 1, would not bar discriminatory blocking of rival applications and services by wireless carriers. Genachowski appears willing to have the FCC monitor the situation over the next two years. Critics have noted that the proposed rules are more stringent for wireline carriers, even though Americans are rapidly gravitating to mobile connectivity.

Wireless carriers have endorsed (albeit grudgingly) the net neutrality plan, offering Genachowski critical industry support that can help dampen congressional criticism. They insist they need maximum flexibility in operating their networks due to capacity constraints, and won't block competitors.

If clear violations emerge, the agency would promulgate new protections down the road, the source said. Genachowski's side has argued during closed-door negotiations that since the wireless market is still developing, tougher rules shouldn't be applied now. Despite the progress, the source said the fate of the net neutrality proposal hinges on details to be ironed out over wireless service.

The FCC chairman also appears willing to limit the creation of toll lanes on the Internet for companies willing to pay for faster transmissions -- a structure known as "paid prioritization." As a result, the agency might specify scenarios under which such lanes would be barred because of concern about harm to consumers or competition. The chairman originally green lighted these arrangements in his announcement, raising worries that entities unable or unwilling to pay for priority treatment would be relegated to slow lanes.

Regarding a new form of Internet pricing that would charge customers based on the bandwidth they use, the chairman also may be ready to give some ground. Usage or metered pricing is allowable now, but most broadband providers have been hesitant to offer it because heavy Internet users would be slapped with higher fees -- a result that could draw brickbats from Washington. Genachowski, who endorsed the model as part of his net neutrality announcement, now appears receptive to placing some limits on it. For example, the FCC would prohibit a broadband provider from imposing exorbitant metered pricing fees on Netflix customers if the goal is to prompt them to switch to its less costly video service.

Step aside Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., and Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore. A fiery new critic of FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has emerged -- and he's a prominent Democrat. Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., delivered a blunt, 3504-word floor speech Saturday that took Genachowski to task over his plan for sweeping new Internet regulations and the agency's expected approval of the massive Comcast-NBC Universal joint venture. Franken wants to eliminate what he and other critics say are industry-friendly loopholes in the chairman's proposed "network neutrality" rules, designed to preserve the Internet's openness. And he doesn't want the commission to announce its Comcast decision over the holidays, when Americans will be distracted.

Franken is not alone among Democrats in criticizing the Internet proposal, announced by the agency just after midnight on Dec. 1. Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., former chairman of an influential House subcommittee that shapes communications policy, and Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., whose district includes a large portion of Silicon Valley, also have called for closing the perceived loopholes. Genachowski, meanwhile, has faced intense criticism from Republicans, but for a different reason: they think his initiative amounts to an unnecessary government takeover of the Internet.

Just days before the FCC's scheduled Tuesday morning vote on net neutrality, Franken blasted Genachowski for offering too many breaks to communications giants. "Let's be clear. This is not real net neutrality," the lawmaker said during the rare Saturday session. "This is the first time the FCC has allowed discrimination on the Internet," he warned, referring to provisions that would let corporations pay for faster transmissions, creating Internet toll lanes.

The proposed rules, he further complained, would allow dominant wireless providers to block access to various applications, such as Google Maps. "I sincerely hope that the FCC will make significant improvements" before the Tuesday vote, he demanded.

The senator also accused Genachowski of "calling the CEOs of companies" his agency should be regulating to seek public endorsements of his initiative. Responding via e-mail, Josh Gottheimer, senior counselor to Chairman Genachowski, categorically denied the claim. "Absolutely not," he wrote.

Nevertheless, Gottheimer emphasized that "responsible governing means speaking to people from across the spectrum, including those affected by any strong and sensible open Internet policy."

"We deal with a broad ecosystem that includes, technology and communications companies, labor, media companies, civil rights groups, and others in the public interest. Input from all sides is essential," Gottheimer added. "We are proud of our process."

Regarding the pending $30 billion combination of Comcast and NBC Universal, now in its final stages of review by the FCC and Justice Department, Franken expressed concern that the commission might issue its decision during the holidays. "It needs to do this in the light of day, not hidden in the middle of Christmas and New Year's. The American people have a right to know about this merger," Franken said.

"I will be supremely disappointed if approval of the merger is slipped through when most of America is unwrapping presents and spending time with their families, not worrying about their cable or Internet bills," he added.

The lawmaker, who reiterated his view that the deal would harm consumers and competition, said some critics have visited his office discreetly to say they're opposed but fear retaliation if they speak out. "That is the definition of a company with too much market share."

Senate Commerce Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., announced Friday that he has been investigating "mystery charges" on telephone bills for several months.

Although the investigation is ongoing, Rockefeller said the practice of third-parties placing charges on phone bills has raised "serious concerns."

According to a statement from the committee, investigators are looking at AT&T, Verizon and Qwest to determine the companies' role in "cramming," which the committee defines as a "deceptive practice that involves placing unauthorized mystery charges on telephone bills."

The committee has been looking at the problem since as long ago as June, when Rockefeller sent the three major phone carriers letters requesting information about third-party companies that are allowed to place such charges.

So far, investigators have determined that many of the companies allowed to charge consumers have faced customer complaints, received failing grades from the Better Business Bureau, and often charge for services that are offered for free or through existing service plans, according to a committee statement.

"Last year, we put an end to an online practice that cost Americans more than a billion dollars in unauthorized charges on their credit and debit cards," Rockefeller said. "I'm continuing this fight -- if unauthorized charges are being placed on consumers' telephone bills, I'm going to put a stop to it."

The committee is now looking deeper into the relationships between major telephone service providers and the companies suspected of "cramming."

The House Democratic Caucus announced ranking members for a dozen committees Thursday, including two panels with a lot of sway over technology issues on Capitol Hill.

Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas was tapped for the top Democratic post on the House Science and Technology Committee while Michigan Rep. John Conyers will lead the minority party on the House Judiciary Committee.

"Our Democratic ranking members stand ready to continue creating jobs and fighting for the middle class in the 112th Congress," said outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. "Each of these distinguished members brings to the table extensive experience and great intellect to work with the new Republican committee chairmen on behalf of the American people."

Retiring Science and Technology Chairman Bart Gordon, D- Tenn., also congratulated Johnson as she joins fellow Texan, Republican Rep. Ralph Hall, the GOP's pick to become the next chairman, in leading the committee.

"I know [Johnson is] looking forward to working with incoming Chairman Ralph Hall," Gordon said in a statement. "I know he'll be a good chairman, and I hope that they will work well together and continue the committee's record of being able to work across the aisle to advance science, foster innovation, and support STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics] education."

Rep. Bobby Rush, who is vying to become ranking member on the House Energy and Commerc Communications, Technology and Internet Subcommittee, went off-script Thursday to assert that the Democratic FCC chairman's plan to ensure Internet freedom does not help low-income communities as much proponents claim.

The Illinois Democrat was addressing a forum sponsored by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies when he delved into the ongoing discussion on "net neutrality," or how to keep Internet providers from engaging in anticompetitive practices.

He concluded that while he supports proposals to ensure net neutrality, it has limited impact on poor and minority communities. The FCC is scheduled to vote Tuesday on a proposal by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski that would give the regulatory agency the power to enforce certain rules barring broadband providers from blocking or slowing certain Web traffic. The proposal also includes language affecting pricing for broadband services that some consumer groups have criticized.

"Even though this issue has been framed in terms of broadband access for poor and minority people to attract people like me to their audience and to add potency to their arguments, the real battle has more to do with which giant can topple or get the best of the other," he told the audience. "It annoys me when people who purport to represent people of color start talking about low-income or poor people, as if they intimately know about their problems and challenges. Unlike those people, I do know and understand."

Rush said the maneuverings by large corporations and government regulators often obscure the impact of such policies on average Americans, and said the debate reminded him of old movies featuring battles between imaginary monsters.

"You know, when I was a child, I grew up watching a lot of old movies where you had these classic battles between King Kong and Godzilla," Rush said. "When King Kong and Godzilla were battling each other they could have cared less about the little guys who got caught in their path."

The congressman said regulators should focus more on increasing the number of minority-owned broadcasting and other media companies.

"In order to achieve the desired outcomes of inclusion, affordability, ubiquitous access to broadband services and more true universal service reform for the unserved and underserved in the most enduring fashion possible, the door to ownership has to swing open far more widely than where it's perched today," Rush said.

The House of Representatives passed a bill Friday that will allow hundreds of low-power, community radio stations across the country.

House members have faced sometimes intense lobbying by the National Association of Broadcasters, which wanted more protections for established radio stations. The bill will allow the Federal Communications Commission to issue more licenses to low-power FM radio stations, which established broadcasters feared might interfere with their radio signals.

In the end, the NAB praised the bill's passage, calling it the "protection and clarity we have long sought." The organization opposed an earlier version of the bill but supported it after a new version was introduced and included language protecting larger stations from interference.

On Friday morning the NAB sent a letter of support to the bill's two sponsors, both members of the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet.

"This bill will allow churches, schools, neighborhood groups, and others to put community-oriented programming on the air - and it will help first responders provide those communities with critical information in times of natural disasters or other emergencies," said Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Penn., one of the sponsors.

The House passed similar legislation a year ago but opposition from industry groups kept the bill "bottled up" until now, Doyle said.

One day after congressional Republicans demanded that Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski release his plan to preserve the Internet's openness, three House Democrats sent the chairman demands of their own.

In the latest letter sent to the FCC Friday, Reps. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., called on Genachowski to include protections for "anchor institutions," including libraries, schools and universities.

The FCC is set to vote Tuesday on Genachowski's proposed "net neutrality" order, which would prevent Internet providers from engaging in anticompetitive behavior.

"Community anchor institutions should be included in the definition of broadband Internet access service and in the non-discrimination protections," the House Democrats said in their letter. "Community anchor institutions should be able to provide their Internet-based services equally to all members of their community, whether at a library, on a school campus, or at home."

Their letter followed one sent Thursday by House Republicans that asked Genachowski to release the details of the plan for public discussion ahead of Tuesday's planned vote.

House Democrats have expressed support for tough net neutrality rules and are pushing Genachowski and the other two Democrats on the panel to enact stricter regulations.

"It is absolutely critical that the general public's access to the Internet through our nation's community anchor institutions is not impeded," the Democrats said in their letter.

After demanding that Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski release his plan to preserve Internet independence for public debate, the incoming chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee promised to hold oversight hearings early next year.

In a statement Friday, Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., announced the committee will "vigorously fight any effort to regulate the Internet, pledging strict oversight of the FCC and hearings early in the 112th Congress."

House Republicans have been critical of Genachowski's plan to protect net neutrality and Friday's announcement sets the stage for a potentially contentious relationship between the Commission and the GOP-controlled committee next year.

Level 3 Communications Inc. took its dispute with Comcast to federal regulators Thursday, asking the government to impose more conditions on the proposed joint venture between Comcast and NBC Universal.

As Comcast is working to close the deal by the end of the year, the cable giant has been in a dispute with Level 3 over increased fees for delivering Level 3's Internet video and other traffic.

Negotiations between the two companies broke down earlier this week when Level 3 objected to the fees. Level 3 sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday, outlining its request for conditions.

Comcast released a statement Thursday saying it is still willing to come to the table and that the dispute should be resolved by company representatives, not the government. It also criticizes Level 3 for not agreeing to a trial period for the fee structure.

"Everyone knows that networks have investments and costs to operate over the longer term; Level 3 effectively demanded unlimited capacity at our cost," the statement reads. "This would be a significant shift of Internet infrastructure and we believe that it is prudent to be thoughtful in any approach given that traffic flows are not well understood without a trial."

Level 3, meanwhile, said only government intervention could prevent Comcast from taking advantage of consumers and other companies.

"Absent governmental restrictions, Comcast and other residential broadband internet service providers have the power to leverage their relationships with broadband consumers to act in an anticompetitive manner," Level 3 said in the letter to the FCC.

President Obama nominated two people Thursday to sit on the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, which is aimed at addressing privacy and civil liberties concerns that may stem from policies aimed at combating terrorism.

Obama named James Dempsey, who currently serves as vice president of public policy for the Center for Democracy and Technology, and Elisebeth Collins Cook, a partner with the law firm of Freeborn & Peters, to the board. Cook served in the Justice Department under President George W. Bush. In 2009, she worked as the Senate Judiciary Committee's Republican chief counsel for Supreme Court nominations.

Dempsey has been with the CDT since 1997. Prior to joining the group, he served as deputy director of the nonprofit Center for National Security Studies and special counsel to the National Security Archive. Before that, he spent a decade working on the House Judiciary Civil and Constitutional Rights Subcommittee.

Dempsey and Cook are Obama's first nominees to the board, while additional nominations are expected.

The five-member board was recommended by the commission that investigated the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and was constituted in 2005. It was revised in 2007 as part of legislation to implement the 9/11 commission recommendations and was made into an independent panel with members confirmed by the Senate.

"The work of this Board is essential to protecting Americans' privacy rights and civil liberties in the digital age," Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said in a statement. "That is why I have worked hard to make sure that the board is reconstituted with the personnel and resources needed to fulfill its vital mission."

House Homeland Security Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., urged the Senate to move swiftly to consider the nominations. "As the White House and Congress move forward with policy changes in national security, the advice and counsel of this board will be invaluable," he said in a statement.

Privacy advocates were skeptical of the proposals outlined in a privacy report released by the Commerce Department Wednesday.

While pleased that the agency is bringing attention to the need to do more to protect consumer privacy online, representatives from five privacy groups said in a conference call that the report's proposed measures are too focused on industry self regulation. It's a "Christmas gift to the data collection industry from the Obama administration," according to John Simpson of Consumer Watchdog.

The department's green paper, which solicits comments that will help form the basis of a final Obama administration policy next year on online privacy, called for the development of a "privacy bill of rights" that will focus on implementation of "Fair Information Privacy Principles." It called for further comment on whether Congress should pass legislation to implement these baseline principles.

Simpson and other privacy advocates, however, argued that Commerce should embrace legislation setting baseline privacy standards. Susan Grant with the Consumer Federation of America said it appears that the "thrust" of the report continues to focus on industry self regulation. "We've tried that and it's clearly inadequate," she said. "We need real privacy legislation."

The Center for Democracy and Technology called the report a "creative and flexible approach to develop enforceable privacy protections for consumers," but also said Congress should pass baseline privacy legislation.

Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., one of the harshest critics in Congress of the Democratic-led FCC, will head the House Energy and Commerce Communications, Technology and the Internet Subcommittee in the Republican-controlled House in the 112th Congress.

The announcement could spell bad news for FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, who can expect blunt questioning and tough oversight from Walden, a GOP firebrand who has previously accused the agency of overstepping its regulatory authority.

In a statement, Walden emphasized that oversight of the $7.2 billion broadband stimulus program, run by the Agriculture and Commerce departments, would be a high priority. "With that much money going out so quickly, taxpayers need to know how it's being spent and what they're getting for it," he said. "We will conduct oversight on those expenditures and will also review the existing regulatory policies and new regulations under consideration by various agencies."

In the fall of 2009, Walden expressed outrage over the FCC's hiring of Mark Lloyd, a civil rights advocate and former professor who was brought aboard to promote media diversity, because of critical views he'd expressed about conservative talk radio and other topics.

"I find this very offensive," Walden said of Lloyd's views during an interview at the time with National Journal. "I hope we don't have a government speech czar in place," he said.

Walden also has accused Democrats of plotting to resurrect the Fairness Doctrine, a long-defunct rule that required radio and television broadcasters to air opposing views. In January, the congressman sponsored legislation with Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., that would prevent the FCC from using its funding to "either reinstate the 'Fairness Doctrine' or enact proposed broadcast localism regulations during the next fiscal year."

"Every member and every subcommittee will be on the frontlines as we take on federal agencies - EPA, HHS, DOE, FCC, you name it - to identify wasteful programs and target areas to immediately cut spending," said incoming House Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., in a related statement.

Walden first reported the news that he'd been tapped via his Twitter feed using Morse Code, which Walden spokesman Andrew Whelan said the congressman chose because he's one of only two licensed amateur radio enthusiasts in Congress. "Old style communications meet new style of communications," Whelan quipped. The congressman and his wife owned and operated a group of local radio stations in Oregon for nearly 22 years.

The Oregonian will succeed Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., who lost his reelection bid, as the subcommittee chairman. Walden was picked over the subcommittee's current ranking member, Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., who also sought to head the panel.

Instead, Stearns was picked as chairman of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee.

He pledged to do a better job than Democrats in providing oversight of the Obama administration. Stearns said the panel "will focus on curbing regulations and mandates that hamper job creation and economic development, including the healthcare law enacted earlier this year."

And perhaps reflecting a different focus, the Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection Subcommittee, which has shared jurisdiction on privacy with the Communications panel, has been renamed the Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade Subcommittee. It will be chaired by Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Calif.

Senate Commerce Communications Subcommittee Chairman John Kerry, D-Mass., Thursday called on Federal Communications Commission and Justice officials to focus on ensuring that consumers are protected and that competition is not hampered as it contemplates possible conditions to attach to the proposed merger of Comcast with NBC Universal.

In a letter to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski and Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Christine Varney, Kerry did not call for blocking the merger as some lawmakers have insisted. Instead, he said he wanted to "reinforce the need for this merger to work for consumers, and enhance innovation and competition. I believe it can, but we count on you to ensure that it does."

He offered praise for Comcast, noting its role as a well-respected employer in his home state, innovator and "an active corporate citizen." He also touted the "meaningful commitments" Comcast and NBCU have made as part of the merger including to "support the production of local news, public affairs and other public interest content going forward."

At the same time, Kerry said regulators should consider offering remedies if the merger would pose a risk to such goals as ensuring consumer access to video content on the Web including programming the merged company will control. In addition, he also noted that the merged company should not "act unfairly as a bottleneck or gatekeeper for critical programming for competing distributors or leverage its distribution network against content that competes with its new property."

Kerry's letter comes a few days after other key lawmakers weighed in on the merger.

Senate Commerce Chairman John (Jay) Rockefeller, D-W.Va., raised concerns about the merger in his own correspondence with the FCC. While incoming House Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., who also will play a key role on telecom and tech issues in the next Congress, urged the agency to complete its review of the merger this year, to focus only on the issues that pertain directly to the merger and not use it as an excuse to deal with other policy goals that could hamper investment and innovation.

Twenty-nine GOP senators are urging FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski not to proceed with his Dec. 21 vote on enforceable "network neutrality" rules barring anticompetitive behavior by communications companies that serve as gateways to the Internet. Among the signatories of a Dec. 15 letter to the agency chief are Senate Commerce ranking member Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., the ranking Republican on the Senate Commerce communications subcommittee, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

"This is an unjustified and unnecessary expansion of government control over private enterprise," the lawmakers wrote. "We strongly urge you to abandon your decision to impose new restrictions on this important and dynamic segment of our economy." Genachowski and his supporters argue that new rules are needed to preserve the Internet's hallmark -- its openness -- from being compromised by companies that might seek to block or degrade competitors.

The letter follows on the heels of analyst reports issued yesterday indicating that Genachowski will align with his two Democratic colleagues, Michael Copps and Mignon Clyburn, to adopt the new rules. Both have pushed for consumer-friendly changes to a compromise proposal recently announced by Genachowski that seeks to strike a balance between industry and consumer interests, but that critics view as making too many concessions to broadband providers.

Other signers of the letter include former Senate Commerce Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., and several current panel members, including Sam Brownback of Kansas, Mike Johanns of Nebraska, Jim DeMint of South Carolina, and David Vitter of Louisiana. Since Republicans will remain in the minority in the Senate, it appears they don't have the firepower to stop the Democratic-led FCC. But next year, GOP members in the upper chamber and the Republican-controlled House are expected to exert more oversight of the agency, and seek punitive steps anyway, to emphasize their discontent.

The Commerce Department Thursday unveiled a green paper on ways to enhance consumer privacy while still enabling online growth and innovation. It recommends the development of "Fair Information Privacy Principles," creation of a privacy office within the agency and consideration of a national data security breach notification law.

While laying out policy recommendations, the report, which was developed by the agency's Internet Policy Task Force, seeks additional comment on many issues, including most notably whether the proposed fair information privacy principles, which it describes as "a privacy bill of rights," should be implemented through legislation. The report says the principles "should promote increased transparency through simple notices, clearly articulated purposes for data collection, commitments to limit data uses to fulfill these purposes, and expanded use of robust audit systems to bolster accountability."

Among the issues it is seeking further comment on in addition to whether "baseline" privacy legislation should be enacted include how the privacy principles should be enforced, whether the Federal Trade Commission should be given authority to issue more detailed rules and whether privacy legislation should include the right for consumers to sue over privacy breaches.

One area where the report does call for the consideration of a legislative solution relates to data breach notifications. A federal data breach notification law, which would be enforced by state authorities and the FTC, could set national standards and pre-empt "inconsistent" state laws, the report says.

"A comprehensive national approach to commercial data breach would provide clarity to individuals regarding the protection of their information throughout the United States, streamline industry compliance, and allow businesses to develop a strong, nationwide data management strategy," the report said.

The Commerce Department will release its privacy report Thursday with policy recommendations aimed at balancing consumer privacy while still promoting online commerce and innovation.

The report from the department's Internet Policy Task Force comes two weeks after the Federal Trade Commission released its own staff report on ways to protect consumer privacy online. The FTC's most high-profile recommendation called for the creation of a "do-not-track" system that would allow consumers to opt out of having their Web activities tracked so that ads can be targeted to them based on their preferences.

U.S. Commerce and Trade officials said Wednesday that China has agreed to revisions to a controversial policy announced earlier this year that favored domestic technologies over those made by foreign manufacturers.

In a joint release, the Commerce Department and U.S. Trade Representative said China has agreed as part of the latest round of talks in Washington on commerce and trade to "significant initiatives" on such issues as intellectual property rights enforcement, open and neutral technology standards, clean energy and government procurement.

The agencies cited progress in particular in addressing concerns over a proposed Chinese policy introduced earlier this year that was aimed at forcing foreign companies to transfer their technology to Chinese partners in order to gain access to China. Commerce and USTR said China has agreed not to discriminate against products in government procurement that include foreign intellectual property or to use "discriminatory criteria to select industrial equipment."

"China agreed to a series of intellectual property rights commitments that will protect American jobs," U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said in a statement. "These commitments will have systemic consequences for the protection of U.S. innovation and creativity in China."

Kirk said the Obama administration expects China to produce "concrete and measurable results," which include an increase in the purchase and use of legal software, steps to eliminate the piracy of electronic journals and "more effective" rules aimed at cracking down on Internet piracy.

He also noted that China has committed to technology neutrality for 3G and future technologies, saying it will "ensure market access for American businesses to one of the world's largest telecommunications markets."

The Business Software Alliance provided additional details on China's pledge to promote the use of legal software. The group noted that China and U.S. officials will be working over the next month to develop a "sustainable way" for verifying China is complying with its commitments. China has announced it would launch a pilot project involving 30 major state-owned companies aimed at boosting the use of legal software.

BSA claims that the value of pirated software in China has nearly doubled since 2005 to $7.6 billion. While praising China's commitments, BSA President and CEO Robert Holleyman said in a statement, "We will know China has made real progress in reducing piracy only when software companies start seeing substantial increases in sales. At the end of the day, that is what we are looking for."

On the same day that Time magazine announced it has chosen Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg as its "Person of the Year," a new study confirms the growing importance of social networking by Internet users around the globe.

The study released Wednesday by the Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project found that Americans are still the biggest users of social media like Facebook and MySpace. The survey, which examined Internet usage in 22 countries, found that 46 percent of Americans polled reported they use social media. Coming in close behind the U.S. in social media users were Poland, Britain and South Korea, where at least 40 percent of Internet users in those countries say they go online for social media.

"In regions around the world - and in countries with varying levels of economic development - people who use the Internet are using it for social networking," according to the report. "And this is particularly true of young people."

Time said it chose Zuckerberg, 26, as its most newsworthy person this year, "For connecting more than half a billion people and mapping the social relations among them; for creating a new system of exchanging information; and for changing how we all live our lives."

Like Zuckerberg, younger adults, those 18-29 years old, are the biggest users of social networking in most countries. Germany's younger adults topped the list. The report found that 86 percent of younger German adults use social networking even though only 31 percent of all Internet users report using social media in that country. The report found 77 percent of younger U.S. adults use social networking.

While Internet usage in some countries remains low, the survey found that among those who do use the Internet, many access social networking sites. "When people use the internet in middle and low income countries, they tend to participate in social networking," the report said.

The report was conducted April 7 to May 8 and had varying margins of error depending on the sample size in each country surveyed.

Announcing the "Great Cup Cake Caper of 2010." Communications policy experts have long surmised that FCC officials feed from the hands of deep-pocketed AT&T lobbyists -- and now we know it's true! The sleuths at Public Knowledge have commandeered AT&T's distribution list for holiday cupcakes at the agency, and it's a mouth-watering orgy of sugary indulgence.

According to the document, marked "AT&T Proprietary (Internal Use Only)," the nation's largest telecom carrier delivered 133 boxes of Georgetown Cupcake treats -- valued at a whopping $3,703 (plus tax and delivery charges) -- to FCC officials. A source said the cakes, featuring AT&T's logo, arrived today. Most of the boxes contained a dozen cakes, with a retail pricetag of $29. Wednesday specials at this gourmet bakery are carrot, chocolate coconut, chocolate hazelnut, cookies and cream, and lemon berry.

The offices of Chairman Julius Genachowski and all four commissioners each received a box of 12, as did the Office of Media Relations. The Office of General Counsel received two cartons (always best to stay on their good side) while the Enforcement Bureau received four boxes and two divisions of the Wireline Bureau pigged out on 54 cupcakes each.

Public Knowledge spokesman Art Brodsky said the list was shared in good fun. "We attach no importance whatsoever" to AT&T's distribution of cupcakes, he quipped. But in a blog posting titled "Cupcakegate?," Robert Quinn, senior VP for federal regulatory at AT&T, accused the digital rights group of promoting an anti-cupcake agenda. "For many years AT&T has provided sweets to policymakers as well as journalists and others, who we work with daily. Used to be cookies, now it's cupcakes," he wrote. "Perhaps Public Knowledge is just upset that we didn't send any to them. Well consider it done. They're on the way."

Full Disclosure: AT&T has sent National Journal a box of cupcakes during the holiday season in the past and claims that another round is on the way. We'll be on the lookout and if we see them, we plan to consume them!

The House cleared two technology-related bills Wednesday including one that aims to crack down on firms that engage in deceptive online marketing tactics.

By voice vote, the House passed a Senate bill known as the Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act. It would prohibit companies from using misleading post-transaction advertisements and require them to clearly disclose the terms of their offers to consumers and obtain credit and debit card information directly from a consumer purchasing the service or product. It would bar online retailers and other websites from passing on consumers credit, debit or other billing information to third-party sellers.

The legislation, offered by Senate Commerce Chairman John (Jay) Rockefeller, D-W.Va., emerged from a Commerce Committee investigation into aggressive online marketing tactics by three firms in particular, Affinion, Vertrue, and Webloyalty.

The committee found that many consumers were deceptively lured to sign up for services offered by these third-party firms with an offer for a discount or reward during the checkout process for an unrelated product or service offered by their online retail partners. As part of their partnerships with the online retail sites, the credit or debit card information was passed onto the third-party firms offering the club memberships who then often billed consumers monthly for services many say they did not use or seek.

"This is a victory for American consumers," Rockefeller said in a statement. "This legislation provides new standards that make sure businesses can't bill online shoppers for services they did not want to buy."

The House also cleared another Senate bill by voice vote that would place new restrictions on caller identification "spoofing," which involves changing the number or name that appears on caller i.d during a phone call.

The legislation would ban the use of the technology for the intention to "defraud, cause harm, or wrongfully obtain anything of value." Supporters say the technology used to deceive a caller's true identity is easily found on the Internet and is being used by scam artists for identity theft and other crimes and in some cases to cause physical harm.

"What disturbs me is how easy it is to carry out caller i.d. fraud," Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., who sponsored the House version of the bill, said Wednesday during floor debate on the Senate bill.

The bill's supporters note there are some legitimate uses for the technology. Domestic abuse shelters sometimes use the technology to conceal their identity to protect abuse victims they shelter. The bill would protect use of the technology in such cases and for other "legitimate business practices," according to Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla.

Both bills will now be sent to the president for his signature.

Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb., said he is seeking a new Democratic partner to work with him to push legislation that would overhaul the universal service fund, which provides subsidies for telecommunications services in rural and high-cost areas.

Terry's longtime partner in recent years in the effort to overhaul the fund, Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., was defeated for re-election in November. As chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Communications Subcommittee, Boucher played a key role in pushing the issue this Congress.

The loss of Boucher "leaves a void" on the issue, Computer and Communications Industry Association President Ed Black said Wednesday during a discussion on tech issues.

Despite the loss of Boucher, Terry, who also sits on the Energy and Commerce Committee, said he plans to take the lead on the effort. He added, however, that he believes it will take a Democratic partner to help move the measure forward, saying "it needs to be bipartisan." He said he has talked with some Democratic members about working with him on the bill but was not ready to reveal any names.

Terry said he has talked with incoming Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., and he indicated he is supportive of the effort but it's unclear where the issue will fall on Upton's priority list.

With Republicans in charge of the House in the next Congress, Terry will be in a stronger position to help push for action on the measure, which would expand the pool of contributors to the fund while also expanding the services covered under it to include broadband support. In addition, the measure introduced this Congress by Boucher and Terry also would place limits on which firms can get support from the fund to provide telecommunications service in certain areas.

The bill enjoyed support from several key telecom firms including AT&T, Qwest, Verizon and Vonage.

At least one critic of FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski's network neutrality proposal believes he may make changes before Tuesday's vote on the measure.

Computer and Communications Industry Association President Ed Black said Wednesday that the measure "could be improved enough so some of the glaring loopholes" in the measure are closed. Still he predicted either way the proposal is likely to face legal challenges. Black would not say whether his group or others critical of the proposal would take action to block it in court if the FCC approves a weak net neutrality proposal.

Black and Center for Democracy and Technology Senior Policy Counsel David Sohn met with reporters to discuss net neutrality and other tech issues being tackled at the FCC and that may come up in the 112th Congress. Neither Black nor Sohn expect Congress will be able to solve the thorny issue of whether to impose rules to ban broadband providers from discriminating against or prioritizing Internet content, saying the ball is in the FCC's court at this point.

Black said he does not believe Genachowski's proposal, which is reportedly based on one floated in September by Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif, goes far enough to protect the openness of the Internet, pointing in particular to its exemption for wireless broadband. Wireless "is such a big part of the future" that it must be brought under what he views as "light-tough net neutrality rules," Black said.

Sohn said he believes there are still legal issues surrounding the commission's authority if it moves net neutrality rules under Title I of the Communications Act instead of Title II. Genachowski proposed in May to reclassify broadband as a telecommunications service under Title II after the FCC's authority over broadband providers was put in doubt by a federal appeals court ruling. The proposal, which was staunchly opposed by broadband providers and many members of Congress, appears to have stalled for now.

President Obama will meet Wednesday with nearly two dozen CEOs from some of the nation's top companies including some tech and telecom executives to discuss among other things ways to keep the economic recovery going.

Among those expected at the closed White House meeting include Motorola co-CEO Greg Brown, Cisco CEO and Chairman John Chambers, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers Partner John Doerr, Intel CEO Paul Otellini, Comcast CEO and Chairman Brian Roberts, and Google Chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt.

"The President wants to hear from them about what they see in the road ahead for the economy, and ideas that they have on continuing our economic recovery," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Tuesday at his daily briefing.

He added that, "I think the president will want to have a discussion about what steps -- I think whether it's something like the business expensing or the research and experimentation tax credit continuity -- that are important certainty for business. And the president will want to know, just as they'll want to know what steps we're taking to ensure that those tax credits are there, that what steps are they going to take as they see an economy get stronger and as demand picks up, how they're going to structure and invest."

A coalition of public interest groups did things the old fashioned way Tuesday when they hand delivered 2 million paper petitions to the FCC calling on the commission to approve more robust net neutrality rules than the proposal put forth by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski.

The commission is set to take up Genachowski's net neutrality proposal at its monthly meeting December 21. Free Press, joined by some of the groups that helped collect the petitions such as Common Cause, Media Access Project, and Public Knowledge, delivered the stacks of petitions aimed at Genachowski's Democratic colleagues, Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Michael Copps, to the FCC's Washington offices. The petition urges the FCC to "fix Chairman Genachowski's toothless rule."

"The public will accept nothing less than real net neutrality," Misty Perez Truedson of Free Press said in a statement. "No almost net neutrality, no half net neutrality and no fake net neutrality. And we hope that while he is considering his proposed rules, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski remembers that millions of people are expecting him to keep his promise to protect the open Internet."

Despite receiving criticism from both net neutrality supporters and critics, the Federal Communications Commission will take up Chairman Julius Genachowski's open Internet proposal at its monthly meeting next week.

The net neutrality proposal is one of two items on the commission's agenda, released Tuesday, for its December 21st meeting. In addition to the net neutrality rules, the other item on the agenda is a notice of inquiry "concerning the transition from the current, voice-only 911 system to a broadband-enabled, next-generation 911 system."

The Consumer Electronics Association plans to push Congress to develop a national policy on recycling of electronic waste.

During a luncheon with reporters Tuesday, CEA President and CEO Gary Shapiro said the group is still working on what that policy should look like but said his group has managed to get industry-wide agreement on the need for a national policy on the issue instead of the piecemeal approach taking place at the state level.

Michael Petricone, CEA's senior vice president of government affairs, said industry players are still working on how to spread the cost of disposing of obsolete electronic equipment.

Unlike the European Union, the United States does not have a broad federal policy dictating how old computers, televisions and other electronic equipment that often contain hazardous materials should be disposed of when they become obsolete.

Another key issue for the group in the 112th Congress will be to push for policies that increase the availability of spectrum for mobile broadband and other new technologies. CEA supports legislation that would authorize the Federal Communications Commission to offer incentive auctions that would give broadcasters part of the proceeds from auctioning off spectrum they voluntarily agree to relinquish.

In addition, Shapiro also said his group will be keeping a close eye on legislation that is expected to be reintroduced in the next Congress aimed at cracking down on online piracy. The bill, approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee last month, would authorize the Justice Department to file a civil action against a domain name linked to piracy or counterfeiting and seek a preliminary order to shut down the domain name.

Shapiro said the bill is "poorly drafted" and would further tilt the playing field in favor of content owners at the expense of innovation.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-VT., Tuesday called on the Justice Department to block Comcast's proposed merger with NBC Universal, saying combining the nation's biggest cable company with a major content provider will drive up cable television prices and hamper competition.

In a letter to Christine Varney, assistant attorney general for antitrust, Sanders said the merger would likely result in "substantially lessening" competition in the video programming market and the cable TV and online distribution markets.

"The proposed Comcast-NBCU merger poses substantial new risks not seen in past transactions because of both its size and the dynamic evolution of distribution models for video content," Sanders wrote. "These risks go above and beyond even the hypothetical ameliorative potential of current [Federal Communications Commission] and statutory protections. We're the merger to be approved I have little doubt that Comcast-NBCU would retain hundreds of attorneys and lobbyists to exploit the gaps and loopholes in current regulations."

Sanders wrote the FCC last month to urge it not to approve the merger, saying it does not meet the agency's threshold of being in the public interest. His letter comes just a few days after Senate Commerce Chairman John (Jay) Rockefeller, D-W.Va., weighed in on the merger, warning in a recent letter to the FCC that the deal could result in higher rates, fewer programming choices, and the blocking of competing online content.

Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., also wrote the FCC late last month to voice her concerns with the merger. In the Nov. 30 letter, Waters, a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee, cited the recent fee dispute between Comcast and Level 3 and an ongoing carriage dispute between Comcast and the Tennis Channel.

Waters said if the merger is approved, it should be "conditioned upon substantive commitments that will promote media diversity, competition, and consumer protections." Other key lawmakers, including House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., also have called for conditions to be attached if the merger is approved.

Comcast has aggressively tried to counter critics, noting that it has made several concessions to independent programmers, minority groups and others.

The merger is supported by some other key lawmakers, including Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., who is likely to be tapped as the ranking member on the Energy and Commerce Communications Subcommittee in the next Congress. He wrote the FCC in October urging the agency to approve the merger saying, it "will promote localism, competition, and diversity, which are at the heart of the commission's public interest analysis."

And incoming House Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., warned in a letter Friday against giving in to partisan influences in the approval process and said further delay would cause economic uncertainty.

"Failing to remain focused on issues directly related to this transaction would create uncertainty for future business transactions, and harm investment and innovation," Upton wrote. "I will be troubled if it appears that the commission is using this transaction to accomplish broader, partisan objectives that it does not have the policy support to impose industry-wide."

Incoming House Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., said Tuesday that he has tapped Gary Andres, a former official under former President George H.W. Bush, to be the panel's staff director.

Andres currently serves as vice chairman of public policy and research for Dutko Worldwide, where his focus includes health care and financial services issues. He also writes a weekly column for The Weekly Standard Online and has written for other publications as well.

Andres served as deputy assistant of legislative affairs during the administration of George H.W. Bush and also served on George W. Bush's presidential transition team. Andres' career also includes stints as vice president for Washington research at Prudential Securities and executive director of federal relations for Southwestern Bell.

His expertise in health care will likely come in handy given Upton's pledge to make repealing the health care bill enacted earlier this year by the Democratic Congress one of his top priorities.

"The nation faces many challenges - whether repealing Obamacare, cutting spending or fighting job-killing regulations, we have monumental tasks on our plate at Energy and Commerce and the American people expect us to deliver," Upton said in a statement. "With so much at stake, there is no one more qualified to serve as staff director of Energy and Commerce than Gary Andres."

Citing the need for Republicans to earn back Americans' trust, Andres said the GOP "must deliver on our pledge to the American people by cutting spending, repealing Obamacare, and helping create new jobs."

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski made a pitch Tuesday to a group of Washington technology high school students for his net neutrality proposal, saying regulators must take action to preserve the openness of the Internet in order to allow future entrepreneurs to develop the latest innovations.

Speaking at McKinley Technology High School during a forum on technology challenges facing teens, Genachowski discussed the importance of developing digital skills to compete in the 21st century.

"The Internet enables anyone anywhere to dream big and bring those dreams to life," Genachowski said, noting how Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg developed the social networking site in his dorm room.

Genachowski added that, "It's essential to move forward next week to adopt the first enforceable rules of the road to protect Internet freedom."

Genachowski did not provide details on what will be in the order that the FCC is set to vote on at its December 21st meeting, but he touted the support the proposal has received from tech firms, venture capital groups, telecom carriers, unions and civil rights groups.

He did not mention the criticism the proposal has drawn from Republican lawmakers and others who say it goes too far and from some public interest groups and Democratic lawmakers who say it doesn't go far enough.

In a letter filed Monday with the FCC, Free Press outlined its concerns with the proposal, particular its exemption for wireless broadband.

"If the commission fails to preserve the openness of wireless platforms, its active choice to close those platforms will ripple into the Internet ecosystem, resulting in more restricted Internet access than we have ever seen before," Free Press wrote. "This policy choice is dangerous and arbitrary, and it has no defensible basis in engineering, law or economics."

Cyber security specialists say the denial-of-service attacks in the aftermath of the WikiLeaks incident show the vulnerabilities agencies face as they shift to cloud computing, Nextgov.com reported.

The online infrastructures underpinning WikiLeaks and the cloud -- where the White House wants to move government information technology systems -- depend on third-parties to stay up and running. This month, Amazon, a cloud provider, kicked the WikiLeaks website off its servers and online payment service PayPal stopped processing funds for the site, after determining the organization's release of troves of classified documents violated acceptable use policies.

While cloud service providers are unlikely to turn off federal users' IT systems, other reliability threats lurk in the cloud that firms formerly associated with WikiLeaks now know all too well. WikiLeaks sympathizers are believed to have unleashed denial-of-service attacks, where hackers inundate a site with useless traffic, to freeze the websites of MasterCard and Visa after the pair reportedly cut off payments to WikiLeaks.

According to cybersecurity specialists, such attacks also can take down the U.S. government's cloud assets, which are shared, Web-based IT that organizations access on demand, rather than on premises.

At least one overseas government already has experienced a denial-of-service attack in the fallout after WikiLeaks released hoards of State Department cables that revealed confidential and awkward details about foreign partners. To read more, click here.

Incoming Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee Fred Upton urged the FCC to impose few or no restrictions on the proposed joint venture between NBC and Comcast.

In a letter sent to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski Friday, Upton, R-Mich., warned against partisan influences on the approval process and said further delay would cause economic uncertainty.

"Failing to remain focused on issues directly related to this transaction would create uncertainty for future business transactions, and harm investment and innovation..." Upton wrote. "I will be troubled if it appears that the Commission is using this transaction to accomplish broader, partisan objectives that it does not have the policy support to impose industry-wide."

Over the weekend a letter from Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.V., surfaced in which he warns Genachowski that the deal could hurt consumers, contrasting with Upton's more rosy view of the proposal.

In his letter, Upton went on to say voters want "investment and innovation, and they do not support interventionist government policies." He urged the FCC to rule on the joint venture by the end of the month.

Read Upton's full letter here.

Backers of a stagnant FCC proposal for finally providing a cutting-edge communications network for emergency responders continue their 11th-hour push, arguing that the plan is the only viable option in today's economic reality.

A coalition of telecom carriers, and now a few police and firefighter organizations, is lobbying the FCC to resurrect its plan to auction off 10 megahertz of communications spectrum known as the "D-block" and use the proceeds to help fund the construction of an emergency network.

To that end, the group, called Connect Public Safety Now brought in former FEMA Director James Witt Monday to call on lawmakers to give the FCC proposal another look.

Supporters of the FCC plan contend that today's fiscal and political landscape makes it impossible for any government, whether federal, state or local, to spend billions of dollars on the technologically complex data network.

The debate over an exclusive communications network for first responders has raged since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina exposed the limitations of current systems, and Witt said every emergency response he organized was plagued by communications problems.

"When you have kids that have cell phones that have more capability than first responders, that's not acceptable," he told a group of industry lobbyists, congressional staff and journalists at a panel discussion Monday. A new data network could give emergency workers the ability to send data, including video, rather than just talk to each other.

But the Public Safety Alliance, a coalition of public safety associations, denounced Monday's event as simply an effort by the telecom companies to "rebrand" themselves as representatives of public safety organizations.

The Alliance objected to what it called the "blatant misrepresentation that 'Connect Public Safety Now' in any way is crafted for the benefit of public safety, or the public it serves," according to a statement from the group.

Connect Public Safety Now includes T-Mobile and Sprint, as well as other carriers who hope to gain access to more frequencies that would likely be off-limits to AT&T and Verizon if the plan were implemented. They claim that commercial development would provide the needed infrastructure and devices for a public safety system, especially in rural jurisdictions.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski originally proposed a plan to raise an estimated $1.5 billion to $3 billion for the system by selling the D-block to commercial telecom companies, then arranging for network to be used by first responders in an emergency.

But implementation of that proposal has been halted by opposition from the Public Safety Alliance, which wants the D-block given exclusively to emergency responders; a plan that has been backed up by legislation from Senate Commerce Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.V.

Opponents of that proposal, however, say cash-strapped governments across the country are in no position to pour billions of dollars into developing the network into a viable system.

The coalition continues to push Genachowski to move forward with his plan as a way to pressure Congress, although Rockefeller's opposition could mean rough sailing in the 112th Congress without significant GOP support.

Proponents of low-power, non-commercial FM radio stations have a circus-themed message for the National Association of Broadcasters: stop clowning around with our future! Community radio activists accuse the powerful lobbying group of quietly pressuring senators to block legislation that has passed the House and is pending before the Senate Commerce Committee that would pave the way for thousands of new low-wattage stations across the country.

In an effort to shame the association, LPFM activists converged on its headquarters at noon today with hula hoops and juggling pins (shaped like radios) to signal they are tired of jumping through hoops and being tossed around by the influential NAB, which is run by former Senate Commerce member Gordon Smith.

NAB spokesman Dennis Wharton said the group's main beef with the legislation is that it doesn't do enough to prevent interference with full-power stations. "It's simply incorrect to suggest that we're trying to quash LPFM," insisted Wharton, whose association is seeking an amendment designed to address its grievance. "Our concerns have always been related to interference." But until the changes it is seeking are made, the NAB opposes the legislation, sponsored in the upper chamber by Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.

In a major blow to the proposed combination of Comcast and NBC Universal, Senate Commerce Chairman Jay Rockefeller - the most powerful voice in Congress on telecom policy -- told the FCC he's worried that the $30 billion transaction could have a detrimental impact on consumers and competition. Using terms such as "worry," "fear" and "concern," the senator warned FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski in a Friday letter (which surfaced over the weekend) that the deal could result in higher rates, fewer programming choices, and the blocking of competing online content. The lawmaker urged the agency to carefully scrutinize the transaction, emphasizing that "a merger of this magnitude has the power to reshape the media landscape."

Rockefeller weighed in at a critical juncture, as regulators with the commission and the Justice Department seek to finalize their regulatory reviews of the pending joint venture, and as lobbying over the transaction reaches a fever pitch. The senator's views represent a huge setback for Comcast and NBCU because both companies have sought to portray the deal as a boon to consumers that would not harm competing providers and unaffiliated programmers. They also have insisted that the dozens of voluntary commitments they've made are sufficient safeguards.

Senate Commerce has direct oversight of the FCC, whose chairman already has ceded to the powerful West Virginian on some critical policy matters. Genachowski recently visited West Virginia to huddle with Rockefeller about broadband deployment issues, a key concern for the senator. The Friday letter follows Dec. 7 missives from House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman to FCC and Justice detailing several recommended conditions.

Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., pulled no punches in a Friday missive to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, warning that the regulator's controversial network neutrality proposal "may do more harm than doing nothing at all." Genachowski's plan for preserving the Internet's openness features several concessions to telecom and cable giants -- loopholes the senator wants eliminated. But if Genachowski strengthens his initiative in advance of a scheduled Dec. 21 vote, he could lose critical support from industry players, fueling further opposition among Republicans and conservative Democrats on Capitol Hill.

Franken, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, outlined his concerns in a six-page letter to the chairman and the agency's four other commissioners. He's worried that the draft would permit the blocking of lawful content on mobile networks, create a two-tiered Internet with fast lanes reserved for deep-pocketed companies and exempt too many players from the proposed rules.

Read the entire letter here.

Also today, a coalition of more than 80 watchdogs, civic groups and technology experts warned the FCC that if "substantial changes" are not made to the current proposal, "Internet service providers will be free to engage in a number of practices that harm consumers, stifle innovation and threaten to carve up the Internet in irreversible ways." Signatories include Common Cause, Daily Kos, Free Press, Media Access Project, MIT Center for Future Civic Media, New America Foundation and Public Knowledge.

The letter is available here.

Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., wrote the FCC today urging the commission to adopt stricter rules on the proposed net neutrality order.

Inslee and Cantwell want the FCC's net neutrality order to include several measures advocated by public interest groups including a ban against paid prioritization, similar regulations for both wireless and wireline, and carefully crafted definitions of broadband Internet access and reasonable network management. With out good definitions, loopholes in the regulations can be exploited, the lawmakers warn.

The letter comes in the wake of FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski's distribution of a net neutrality proposal last week. The draft order aims to enshrine rules that will guard against anti-competitive behavior on the Internet.

The order, which needs a total of three votes to be adopted, will be considered at the commission's monthly open meeting on December 21st. Both Republican commissioners have come out against the proposal leaving its chances of success resting on Clyburn and Copps.

"It is essential to get mobile right," Inslee and Cantwell wrote. "If strong net neutrality rules for mobile Internet access are not put in place today, through the final order, it will become too late to take action once business models become entrenched."

This morning, CTIA Wireless President Steve Largent argued that no new rules, whatsoever, are necessary for wireless. His group represents a broad coalition of wireless carriers.

Incoming Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., announced the addition of 12 new Republicans to the panel on Friday.

The new members, in alphabetical order, are:

Charlie Bass (NH)
Brian Bilbray (CA)
Bill Cassidy (LA)
Cory Gardner (CO)
Morgan Griffith (VA)
Brett Guthrie (KY)
Gregg Harper (MS)
Adam Kinzinger (IL)
David McKinley (WV)
Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA)
Pete Olson (TX)
Mike Pompeo (KS)
Greg Walden (OR)

Read more abut Charlie Bass here

Tech and telecom lobbyists, industry professionals, reporters and public officials alike gathered at the Washington Hilton Thursday for the 24th annual FCC Chairman's dinner.

The dinner, which is hosted by the Federal Communications Bar Association and known for its bad food and wonky crowd, has become an annual rite of passage for the Chairman to give a humorous and self-depreciating speech. Chairman Julius Genachowski delivered on that count receiving a handful of laughs from the attendees with remarks that reflected an awareness of the kind of jokes shared by members of the telecommunications community behind closed doors.

"This is the latest in a series of FCC secret meetings," Genachowski said, poking fun of the closed-door meetings, which everyone knew about and the media reported on, held by the agency with stakeholders over the summer to negotiate a net neutrality deal. Nonetheless, the meetings continued to be referred to as "secret" until negotiations broke down.

Joking about the pressure that the FCC faces from House Republicans, Genachowski said his remarks would be brief because he has to go pick up dry cleaning for Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio.

Genachowski gave a hat tip to Public Knowledge Legal Director Harold Feld, and showed his willingness to take sharp criticism lightly, by joking that his wife Rachel gave him a pair of "man pants" for Hannukah. Earlier in the year, in a hard-hitting blog post, Feld had urged Genachowski to get a pair of "man pants" saying the commissioner needed to do more to intervene in cable fee disputes that left customers without service.

FCBA President Bryan Tramont, who gave introductory remarks, got one of the night's biggest laughs by making fun of his actual prom outfit, which he wore in 1986, the same year that the FCBA Chairman's dinner began. "There was a very unfortunate, and I do mean unfortunate, pink bowtie and cummerbund," Tramont said, and then shared a picture of himself from his high school prom. Later in the evening, Tramont thanked his mom, who sat at the head table, for letting him wear that outfit out of the house.

Guests dined on a bisque and spinach salad to start followed by an entrée of beef tenderloin paired with pan seared barramundi, a white fish. For dessert, a chocolate espresso soufflé and vanilla ice cream was served.

Until next year!

The Office of Management and Budget rolled out more than two dozen information technology reforms Thursday including a "cloud first" policy aimed at taking advantage of potential cost savings from delivering hosted services over the Internet.

OMB proposed 25 reforms including setting an 18-month deadline for underforming projects to either turnaround or be terminated. As part of this effort to reduce the number of troubled projects, the OMB plan also said that funding for major IT prorams will only be approved if they have a dedicated program manager and "fully staffed integrated program team," break large projects into smaller pieces that deliver "usable functionality" every six months, and include specialized IT acquisition professionals

In an effort to reduce costs and increase flexibility, the OMB has proposed using cloud computing technologies where possible. "The three-part strategy on cloud technology will revolve around using commercial cloud technologies where feasible, launching private government clouds, and utilizing regional clouds with state and local governments where appropriate," according to the report crafted by federal Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra.

To begin this effort, OMB is calling on agencies to identify three services that can be moved to the cloud, and move one of those services to the cloud within 12 months and the remaining two within 18 months.

In an interview, former Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., who was closely involved in government IT issues as the former chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said he believes the reforms are "moving in the right direction." Davis, who is now director of federal government affairs for Deloitte & Touche LLP, said the Obama administration is putting some "muscle" behind efforts that many previous administrations have sought.

When asked about the focus on trying to recruit more IT professionals to the federal government, Davis said given the country's high unemployment rate, "a government job looks better." Though he added that government officials could face problems in recruitment down the road if President Obama's proposal for a two-year pay freeze for civilian federal workers is implemented.

Sen. Benjamin Cardin, D-Md., introduced legislation Thursday that would require the development of minimum cybersecurity standards to protect Americans from cyber crime and terrorism.

The bill would require the U.S. government and the private sector to work together to develop minimum Internet and cybersecurity safety standards for users of computers and other devices that connect to the Internet.

Under the legislation, the Homeland Security secretary, in consultation with the attorney general and Commerce secretary, would be required to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of requiring Internet services providers and others to develop and enforce minimum Internet and cybersecurity safety standards. Among the factors the analysis would have to examine is the effect on homeland security, the global economy, innovation, civil liberties and privacy.

"Every computer connected to the Internet, whether a part of our nation's critical transportation or energy infrastructure or sitting in a family living room, is a prime target for cyber terrorists, cyber spies and cyber criminals who want to steal our identities, corrupt our financial networks, and compromise or disrupt key resources," Cardin, chairman of the Judiciary Terrorism and Homeland Security Subcommittee, said in a statement.

A spokeswoman said Cardin plans to re-introduce the bill as soon as possible when the 112th Congress convenes in January and plans to work with Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., on scheduling hearings next year on the bill.

Cardin's bill joins numerous others introduced this Congress aimed at addressing the growing cyber threats facing the government and the private sector.

During a speech today, Democratic FCC regulator Mignon Clyburn -- whose "yes" vote is essential for passage of new agency rules designed to preserve the Internet's openness -- said she's concerned that Chairman Julius Genachowski's proposal doesn't apply stringently enough to wireless service.

"My focus over the coming days will be to ensure that we are thinking through the implications of the wireless piece of the item," she told the Telecommunications Policy & Regulation Institute at its annual policy conference. "While I recognize that there are distinctions between wired and wireless networks, I think it is essential that our wireless networks -- those of the present and future -- grow in an open way just as our wired ones have."

Clyburn argued that uniform regulations are needed as Americans continue "cutting the cord and using wireless devices as their main access point to the Internet." According to telecom policy experts, Genachowski agreed during closed-door negotiations with industry lobbyists to weaker net neutrality safeguards in a bid to win critical industry support that could shield him from some congressional criticism.

"We should ensure that, while there are two kinds of networks, we don't cause the development of two kinds of Internet worlds," she said. Clyburn went public with her concerns after her Democratic colleague, Michael Copps, dished to National Journal Daily (subscription required) about several changes he wants made to the proposal to better protect consumers and competition. Copps, also a Democrat, is widely considered the swing vote who can make or break the net neutrality proposal. The FCC has scheduled a Dec. 21 vote on Genachowski's plan to create enforceable rules barring anticompetitive behavior on the Internet.

A new report released Thursday from the Center for Democracy and Technology analyzing privacy controls on Internet browsers found that while they all offer privacy control features none stand out as a real leader on the issue.

"In general, all five browsers now offer more user controls for privacy than they did when CDT last issued this report in August of 2009," according to the CDT report. "At the same time, however, browsers also present more ways for consumers to transmit personal information, for example by offering precise location-based services and local storage that allow consumers to be tracked in new ways."

Many firms now track consumers when they surf the Web in order to target ads to them based on their preferences.

The report notes that the makers of the two most widely used browsers, Microsoft's Internet Explorer and Mozilla's Firefox, recently announced plans to incorporate some sort of do-not-track mechanism in the latest versions of their browsers. The announcements come after the Federal Trade Commission last week endorsed the idea of a do-not-track mechanism in its staff report outlining ways to improve consumer privacy online.

"If done correctly, the incorporation of a "Do Not Track" feature in the browsers could represent an improvement for consumers who wish to exercise more control over their
information sharing online," the report said.

It added, however, whether implemented through self regulation or legislation, do not track should not be "a replacement for baseline privacy legislation, which is needed to address the full range of privacy issues, not just Web-based behavioral advertising."

"Across the board, browser makers are enhancing privacy controls," Justin Brookman, Director of CDT's Privacy Project, said in a statement. "However, at the same time browsers are incorporating features that create new challenges to privacy, such as allowing new ways for consumers to be tracked."

Chairman of the Senate Commerce Communications Subcommittee John Kerry wrote Democratic FCC Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Michael Copps Thursday morning urging them to vote yes on the agency's December vote on net neutrality.

The open Internet proceeding is "an important effort to enshrine in regulation the concept that the cable or telephone company that delivers broadband service to Americans is neutral on the question of who wins or loses, and who gets to speak or is silenced on the Internet," Kerry wrote. "I am writing to ask you to support it."

The letter comes in the wake of FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski's distribution of a net neutrality proposal last week. The order, which needs a total of three votes to be adopted, will be considered at the commission's monthly open meeting on December 21st. Both Republican commissioners have come out against the proposal leaving its chances of success resting on Clyburn and Copps.

Kerry gently cajoled the commissioners not to let perfect be the enemy of progress.
"Were I a member of the commission, I would support the chairman with some reservations," he wrote. "Given what I know of the order, I would ultimately vote in favor."

The Pew Research Center's first-ever study that exclusively examined Twitter users found that 8 percent of U.S. adults online use the micro-blogging platform.

The survey, released Thursday from the Pew Internet and American Life Project, shows that Twitter users are disproportionately minorities, urban residents and young. Eighteen percent of Twitter users are Hispanic while 13 percent are black and 5 percent are white, according to the survey.

The questions about Twitter usage were asked as part of a post-election tracking survey conducted in November of roughly 2,300 adult Internet users ages 18 and older. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.

Pew said 14 percent of respondents who said they use Twitter are between the ages of 18 and 29; half that amount use Twitter in the 30 to 49 year old category. Internet users who live in the city are roughly twice as likely to use Twitter as rural dwellers.

Separate surveys, conducted in October by Pew's polling partner, Princeton Survey Research Associates International, found that one quarter of Twitter users check in to the site multiple times per day. Pew noted, however, that due to a modest overall sample size, the statistics from these surveys should be "best understood as directional findings with a relatively large margin of error."

The October surveys explored what kind of content users are tweeting and found that 72 percent of users say they post updates related to their personal life, activities or interests.

European Union and U.S. officials are meeting this week in Washington to launch talks on an agreement on how personal data should be treated when the two sides cooperate on terrorism and other crime-related issues.

European Commission Vice President Viviane Reding, who also serves as the commission's Justice minister, and other EU officials are meeting Thursday with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Attorney General Eric Holder on the issue.

"The aim is to ensure a high level of protection of personal data such as passenger data or financial information that is transferred as part of transatlantic cooperation in criminal matters," the commission said in a news release Wednesday. "Once in place, the agreement would enhance EU and U.S. citizens' right to access, rectify or delete data when it is processed with the aim to prevent, investigate, detect or prosecute criminal offenses, including terrorism."

The U.S. and EU have negotiated issue-specific agreements over the exchange of airline passenger data and financial information related to terrorism probes but the talks launched Thursday are aimed at reaching an umbrella agreement dealing with all other transfers of personal data related to EU-U.S. cooperation on criminal and terrorism-related matters. EU officials were quick to note that the agreement would not allow for the transfer of specific data, such information would still require a legal basis for its transfer. Instead, it would address how such data might be treated once a legal basis is found for its transfer.

The commission approved a mandate last week for the negotiations that calls for ensuring an agreement provides a "coherent and harmonized" set of standards for the protection of data that adheres to such principles as retaining a minimal amount of data for the least amount of time. In addition, commission negotiators are urged to ensure that the agreement's standards are in line with the EU's existing data privacy rules.

"I am convinced that working together we can negotiate a solid and coherent agreement with the U.S. that balances credible and enforceable rights for individuals with the strong cooperation we need to prevent and fight terrorism and organized crime," Reding said. "Speedy progress on the comprehensive EU-U.S. data protection agreement will significantly facilitate all data transfers necessary to fight terrorism and transnational organized crime."

The critical swing vote that FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski needs from Democratic Commissioner Michael Copps later this month to adopt sweeping new rules for the Internet is not guaranteed, National Journal Daily reported.

In an extensive interview with National Journal Daily, Copps revealed that he has made no commitments to back the "network neutrality" initiative that Genachowski announced December 1, and could reject it if the final version doesn't sufficiently protect consumers and smaller players.

The proposal to establish enforceable rules aimed at barring anticompetitive behavior on the Internet is scheduled for a December 21 vote before the five-member regulatory commission. With both Republican commissioners expressing strong opposition to what they dismiss as unnecessary regulation, Genachowski needs the backing of Copps and the panel's third Democrat, Mignon Clyburn, for passage.

But Copps, a longtime consumer advocate who has been an FCC regulator since 2001, is signaling that his vote won't come cheap on this historic proposal, which would have lasting implications for the Internet. To read more, click here. (Subscription required)

Many of the companies over which his committee will have jurisdiction praised Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., Wednesday on his selection as the next chairman of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Upton's selection was formally endorsed by the Republican caucus on Wednesday. He will succeed Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., as the panel's chairman when the GOP takes control of the House in January. Upton was selected over current Energy and Commerce ranking Republican Joe Barton of Texas and Reps. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., and John Shimkus, R-Ill.

While announcing he has named Rep. Joe Pitts, R-Pa., as chairman of the Health Subcommittee, Upton said he would be meeting next week with committee members individually before deciding on who will head the other subcommittee posts.

"We must work towards a new era of less government and more jobs. The [Obama] administration's rampant spending and unfettered, two-year assault on the health, energy, and telecommunications sectors is now over," Upton said in a statement.

Several firms praised Upton's selection as chairman of the committee with broad jurisdiction over energy, health, telecommunications and technology issues.

"With his extensive knowledge of telecommunications and his unwavering support for policies that foster investment and job growth, Congressman Upton's leadership will be invaluable in shaping our country's broadband future," AT&T Executive Vice President of Federal Relations Tim McKone said in a statement.

And Verizon Vice President of Federal Relations Peter Davidson said his firm anticipates that Upton "will ensure that federal communications policies are pro-innovation, pro-investment, and pro-consumer, especially with respect to the treatment of 21st century high-speed Internet networks."

National Association of Broadcaster's President Gordon Smith, a former GOP senator from Oregon, said Upton "has served Congress with class and integrity, and has shown a willingness to find meaningful solutions to real problems that confront the American people. We welcome his chairmanship and the opportunity to make the case in his committee for preserving and enhancing free and local broadcasting."

FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell, a Republican, said Upton "brings his deep understanding of communications policy and strong commitment to free market principles to the chairmanship. I look forward to continuing to work with him, and all of his colleagues, on the important communications matters facing our nation."

In the wake of the FCC's announcement about a December vote on a net neutrality order, the bulk of lobbying on the matter has been directed to Democratic Commissioner Michael Copps, a review of disclosure documents conducted by Tech Daily Dose found.

The lobbying behavior reflects the fact that Copps, who has called for stricter policing of behavior on the Internet than FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski's plan offers, is likely to be the linchpin vote. Copps has said he would have preferred reclassifying the Internet as a telecommunications service, an idea that Genachowski abandoned in his proposal.

The two Republican Commissioners have already come out against the proposal and Democratic Commissioner Mignon Clyburn is widely expected to vote in favor of it. Genachowski needs three votes in order to have the order adopted as new regulations.

Out of roughly two dozen instances of meetings and or forms of communications with commissioners, or their staffers, since the net neutrality plan dropped, Copps' name appears more frequently than any other.

The FCC plans to pursue new rules aimed at protecting consumers from blackouts in cable fee disputes, a commission official announced Wednesday.

Although the commission has not formally announced a proceeding, Commerce Communications Subcommittee Chairman John Kerry, D-Mass., released a statement Wednesday applauding the FCC for announcing proposed rules to reform the way broadcasters and cable companies negotiate during carriage fee disputes.

The FCC declined to comment. Kerry's press release came in response to a speech given by FCC Media Bureau Chief William Lake earlier Wednesday.

Lake announced that the Media Bureau will move forward with a notice of proposed rulemaking that "will take a broad look at what more we might do to advance the statutory objectives of allowing retransmission fees [carriage fee negotiations] to be set by market forces while protecting the interests of consumers."

The process aims to bring some clarity to the scope of authority the FCC has to act on this issue.

In the wake of Lake's statement, Kerry said he did not believe it will be necessary for him to introduce legislation on the matter at this time.

The negotiations between broadcasters and cable companies over programming fees has drawn fire this year in the wake of several high-profile disputes that left consumers temporarily without access to some broadcast programming. Kerry recently held a hearing on the issue to examine ways the rules governing these negotiations could be reformed to protect consumers from losing service.

During a bitter dispute between Cablevision and Fox this fall, which caused several million customers in the New York area to miss the first few games of the World Series, Kerry introduced draft legislation that called for greater transparency to the process and called for giving the FCC a more formal role in arbitrating negotiations.

In response to Lake's speech, Corie Wright, policy counsel for the public interest group Free Press, said the commission's move is a good first step, but should go further.

"The only lasting fix will be empowering consumers with information about the prices and terms for carriage of each and every channel in their subscription, as well as giving them the right to opt out of paying for any unwanted channels," Wright said in a statement. "In the event of signals being pulled, consumers certainly should not have to continue to pay for channels that they no longer receive."

A new report analyzing U.S. employment by high-tech firms found that 53 of the nation's top 60 metropolitan areas lost tech jobs in 2009.

The seven cities that did not lose tech jobs during 2009 included Oklahoma City, which added the most tech jobs in 2009 with 900, according to the 2010 Cybercities report from the TechAmerica Foundation. The other six cities that also added jobs included Huntsville, Ala., San Diego, Denver, Albany, N.Y., Palm Bay/Melbourne, Fla., and Buffalo, N.Y.

The report, based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, found that New York City led the nation with the most workers employed by tech companies followed by Washington, D.C., San Jose/Silicon Valley, Boston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle, Philadelphia, and Houston.

Silicon Valley still has the highest concentration of tech industry employees. The report found 30 percent of private sector workers in Silicon Valley are employed by the tech industry.

"Most of the metro areas we examined lost tech jobs in 2009 as the full force of the economic downturn hit the industry," TechAmerica Foundation Vice President of Research Josh James said in a statement. "These are the types of jobs every city wants. They are very well-paid, with 57 of the 60 cybercities having average tech industry wages that are 50 percent higher than the average private sector wage."

Current Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., is likely to retain his spot as the top Democrat on the Energy and Commerce Committee in the 112th Congress when the GOP takes control of the House, according to a House aide.

Waxman was approved as the ranking member Wednesday by the House Democratic Steering Committee. The full Democratic caucus is expected to vote Thursday on whether to ratify the steering committee's vote on Waxman's spot and other committee ranking posts.

Waxman has served as chairman since 2009 when he successfully challenged the panel's longtime top Democrat, Rep. John Dingell of Michigan, for the chairmanship.

In other committee news, Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., said Tuesday that he has informed incoming Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., that he would like to have a leadership role on the committee. Walden wouldn't say whether he has formally asked for the chairmanship of the House Communications, Technology and the Internet Subcommittee, adding that he also has served on the Energy and Oversight and Investigations subcommittees and that he has "enjoyed them all." He said the decision on where he might serve is up to Upton.

As a former broadcaster, Walden said the Communications Subcommittee's "issue set is one I care a lot about."

Meanwhile, Rep. Ralph Hall, R-Texas, has been elected to lead the House Science and Technology Committee. He currently serves as the panel's ranking member. In a statement, Hall said the committee will focus on energy security, space exploration, and improving science, technology, engineering and math education among other issues.

"Advancements in science and technology will create jobs, keep America at the forefront of innovation, and drive economic growth," Hall said. "Smart investments in basic research and development, coupled with proper business and tax incentives, will spur innovation and allow American businesses to commercialize and manufacture technologies here in the United States."

Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, announced Wednesday that he has been picked to chair the House Judiciary Committee in the next Congress.

Smith has served as the ranking member on the committee for the last four years, but this will be his first stint as chairman. Smith said in a statement he would focus on protecting intellectual property, keeping children safe from Internet sex predators, national security and preventing "frivolous lawsuits."

Smith told Tech Daily Dose last week that he planned to revisit an overhaul of the patent system. Smith has worked with current Judiciary Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., and other committee members from both sides of the aisle on the issue in an effort to address their concerns with a Senate patent overhaul bill, which a coalition of high-tech companies opposed after Senate Judiciary leaders announced changes to the measure this spring.

"The Judiciary Committee will support industries that employ millions of Americans by protecting their patents and copyrights," Smith said in the statement

House Democrats are expected to pick some of their ranking members on key committees this week, according to a House aide.

A senior Department of Homeland Security official said Tuesday that the U.S. government is seeing a rise in cyber attacks aimed at taking over control systems that operate critical infrastructure, such as industrial facilities and pipelines, National Journal reported .

"It's certainly a trend," Greg Schaffer, assistant secretary for the DHS Office of Cybersecurity and Communications, told reporters.

Schaffer said the government is tracking more and more cyber attacks that have a greater level of sophistication and are tailored to target specific types of industrial infrastructure, such as power grids.

"These are the kinds of things that do give us pause," he said during an event hosted by the Defense Writers Group.

"It is widely recognized that the cyber ecosystem we have today favors the offense and not the defense," Schaffer added. "It is simply too hard to secure the systems." To read more, click here. (Subscription required)

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., Tuesday urged the Federal Communications Commission to conclude by the end of the year its review of Comcast's proposed merger with NBC Universal and called for imposing four conditions if regulators decide to approve the deal.

"I have concluded that if the merger is approved, it could trigger significant changes in the way consumers access video programming, in the way independent programmers distribute their works, and in the way all video distributors compete for customers," Waxman said in a letter to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski.

The four conditions include ensuring that competing pay television distributors have access to Comcast-NBCU programming on what Waxman called "reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms" that would apply independently of the FCC's program access rules. Regulators also must ensure that Comcast-NBCU is not allowed to block or degrade online distribution of competing content and does not provide a higher quality of service for its own content. As part of this condition, third-party programmers should be able to offer their content online on competing websites, Waxman said.

The third condition would ensure that news, sports and entertainment content is protected against discrimination in channel placement or tiering. And the final condition would "measurably strengthen the creative and economic opportunities of independent writers, producers, and directors," Waxman said.

"These conditions will prevent the proposed combination of Comcast and NBCU from transforming the media landscape in a way that raises costs, degrades service, and reduces consumer choice," Waxman wrote. "I urge you to act expeditiously, but in a manner that assures that the broad public interest is served."

Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., a senior Energy and Commerce member, echoed Waxman's concerns about the merger and called for similar conditions to be imposed if the deal is approved.

Update: 6:25 pm

Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., will be the next Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, his office confirmed.

Upton has been the front runner in the race to take the Committee's gavel for months. The news comes after the GOP Steering Committee met to vote on recommendations for leadership positions Tuesday afternoon. The full Republican conference will meet to ratify the decisions Wednesday morning.

Upton says his top priority in his new position will be "repeal of job-killing Obamacare law." He has already selected Rep. Joe Pitts, R-Pa., to chair the Health Subcommittee.

In his letter to Republican colleagues asking for their support in his quest to lead the E&C Committee, Upton said he has fought to curb indecency in broadcasting. He made no mention of other issues in the tech space, but in the wake of FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski's announcement about a December vote on an Open Internet proceeding, he has been a vociferous opponent of net neutrality.

Contrary to some beltway chatter, Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, will not challenge the Steering Committee's recommendation of Upton to lead Energy and Commerce, a spokesman for Barton confirmed. Barton, currently the ranking member of the Committee, waged an aggressive campaign for the gavel. But according to Republican rules, Barton had hit a term limit and would have needed a waiver, a fact that the Texas Congressman disputes.

Now that the decision has been made, Barton wishes his fellow lawmaker well in the new job.

"I'm going to do everything I know how to make his chairmanship the kind of success that the American people want and expect," Barton said in a statement.

The other two contenders for the position, Reps. John Shimkus, R-Ill., and Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., also offered their support to Upton.

"I fully support Chairman-elect Upton," Shimkus said. Stearns said he looks forward to working with Upton as Chairman next Congress in making the Committee a "dynamic force for improving our economy and expanding employment."

In light of the Steering Committee's decision, Stearns will now seek the Chairmanship of the Communications Subcommittee.

Microsoft announced Tuesday that its next version of its popular Internet Explorer browser will include a feature allowing consumer to add a list of Web sites they do not want to track them on the Internet.

Microsoft's announcement comes less than a week after the Federal Trade Commission called for the creation of a "do-not-track" mechanism, as part of a preliminary report outlining ways to improve consumer privacy online, that would allow consumers to choose whether they want to be tracked as they surf the Web. Many Internet firms track consumers on the Web so they can target ads at them based on their preferences.

Microsoft's new tracking protection feature will be available on Internet Explorer 9 version, which is expected to be available early next year.

The tracking protection feature Microsoft unveiled is different from what the FTC and some privacy advocates have proposed. Microsoft's feature, which consumers will have to turn on, will allow them to create a list of websites that the consumer would prefer not to exchange information with or sites with which they do wish to communicate. Microsoft will not provide such lists but expects that many groups will create lists for consumers to use. The lists will persist even after a user ends their browser session and Internet Explorer will look for updates to the lists automatically.

The tracking protection feature will provide "a new browser mechanism for consumers to opt-in and exercise more control over their browsing information," Microsoft Corporate Vice President Dean Hachamovitch, head of Internet Explorer development, said in a blog post. He added during a Webcast announcing the new feature that it provides a balanced approach between protecting the needs of consumers and the online industry.

The FTC and some privacy groups also have called for a browser-based approach to allow consumers to opt-out of tracking but their proposal would allow consumers to turn on a feature on the browser that would send a signal to websites that the consumer does not want to be tracked. FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz described this approach as an "easy, one-stop shop for consumers to express their choices."

Microsoft officials said while the new Internet Explorer tracking feature could "compliment" other efforts, they noted that one challenge facing the FTC approach is that there is no one definition of what it means to be tracked on the Web.

Susan Grant, director of consumer protection for the Consumer Federation of America, praised Microsoft for taking a "positive step forward" to give consumers more control over whether they want to be tracked. She noted that her group first proposed a list approach when it originally called for a "do-not-track" system in 2007.

But Grant added that she is "concerned the red-list approach is more confusing for consumers than the more simple approach we've been talking about. ... They both have pros and cons. Both rely to certain extent on trust."

She added that "I don't know if it's a better solution than the one we've proposed most recently. At least it's a major commitment from a major player here."

Microsoft's Internet Explorer is by far the most widely used Internet browser, enjoying more than 58 percent of the Internet browser market, according to the latest statistics from Net Applications.

There have been reports that Mozilla also is considering adding some sort of "do-not-track" feature to its Firefox browser, which is the second most widely used. The company did not respond to a request for comment on such reports.

UPDATE: In a statement, Leibowitz said, "Microsoft deserves enormous credit for taking a critical step toward providing consumers with more choice about who can track their online browsing. An option for consumers to limit which sites can track them provides a choice they deserve to have. Just as important, this announcement proves that technology is available to let consumers control tracking. Now others in both the browser and advertising communities need to step up and develop technologies including implementing a Do-Not-Track option."

The Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration will receive an additional $20 million for oversight of broadband stimulus grants, according to a draft of the next proposed continuing resolution Congress is likely to pass.

The 2009 economic stimulus package included $7.2 billion, which was split between NTIA and the Agriculture Department's Rural Utilities Service, to help spur broadband access in underserved and unserved areas of the country.

The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners wrote congressional leaders last month urging them to appropriate funding for oversight of the broadband grants. The extra money is necessary, the group said, to "ensure that projects are completed and implemented on time, on budget and deliver the promised economic and social benefits."

The Obama administration has requested $23.7 million for broadband oversight, according to NARUC.

A group representing smaller and medium-sized cable operators is in Washington this week to press federal regulators to impose conditions if they approve Comcast's proposed merger with NBC Universal.

In a conference call with reporters Tuesday, officials with the American Cable Association said they believe that the Federal Communications Commission and the Justice Department will approve the proposed merger, despite strong concerns that they and other critics have raised about the deal. As a result, the group said it is pressing for "meaningful conditions" to address their concerns about the merger's impact on competition and access to programming, according to Colleen Abdoulah, CEO of WOW! Internet, Cable and Phone and a member of ACA's executive committee.

"They will be huge and will have great market power and power over their competitors," Abdoulah said. She noted that her firm competes with Comcast in Illinois and Michigan.

Abdoulah and executives from two other ACA member companies are in Washington this week to meet with FCC members and lawmakers on Capitol Hill. They met with three FCC members Monday and will meet with a fourth on Tuesday as well as key aides to Chairman Julius Genachowski.

Among the conditions they would like to see imposed if the merger is approved include that programming from NBC stations and regional sports networks be sold on a stand-alone basis and not bundled with carriage of other video programming; that Comcast-NBCU be barred from charging smaller pay TV operators more than 5 percent above the lowest fee paid by other pay-TV distributors for NBC or regional sports network programming; and that a new lower-priced arbitration process be established for programming carriage disputes involving smaller pay-TV distributors.

They argue that without such conditions, the merged Comcast-NBCU will be in a position to drive up the costs of programming for smaller cable operators.

"We're not asking for special advantages," Abdoulah said. "We just want to compete in a fair way."

Abdoulah and other ACA officials said they do not expect the merger to be approved this year but believe it will likely be decided early next year. ACA President and CEO Matthew Polka argued that his group is "not trying to delay deal," but instead just pushing for conditions to be included if it is approved.

At an unrelated event Tuesday on broadband and the economy, Craig Moffett, a senior analyst at Sanford Bernstein, commented on the merger's timeline, saying "There are still sensitive discussions going on right about the conditions of the merger, particularly about online video."

Despite ACA's claims that the conditions are merger specific, Comcast argues that many of the conditions the group is seeking to be imposed are industry-wide issues that it has pushed in several unrelated proceedings in the past, such as calls for programming to be sold on a stand-alone basis and the 5 percent cap on the price of programming for smaller cable providers.

In addition, in a letter last week to the FCC, Comcast also responded to the call by ACA and others for a new arbitration process to be established to remedy concerns with the merger, saying that such a condition is contrary to FCC precedent. "There are only three orders in which the commission adopted a program access arbitration condition, and in none of those orders did it apply such a condition to national cable networks," the letter said.

Forget how and if the Internet should be regulated. If the United States doesn't start reversing economic inequality and improving the nation's education system, Americans won't be able to take advantage of a cutting-edge Internet, experts say.

"I think this country has an education crisis," Michael Powell, former FCC Chairman said at a forum convened by the Internet Innovation Alliance on Tuesday. "You can't be a great knowledge economy empire with a high school dropout rate over 30 percent."

Several industry telecom analysts agreed with Powell's sentiment, and added that income disparity is another principle challenge for expanding broadband adoption.

"Broadband affordability is a bigger problem than broadband availability," said Craig Moffett, an industry analyst at Sanford Bernstein. "We appear to be hitting a wall of [broadband adoption] penetration at 60 percent that's directly related to affordability," he said.

Rebecca Arbogast, telecom analyst at investment firm Stifel Nicolaus, argued that industry won't be able to make investments in broadband infrastructure with a "populous that doesn't have education, jobs, or discretionary income."

As experts mulled over the relationship between the nation's economic well being and broadband adoption, commissioners at the FCC are working furiously to prepare for a December 21 vote on a net neutrality proposal circulated by Chairman Julius Genachowski last week.

The proposal seeks to codify some principles aimed at protecting the openness of the Internet while encouraging investment and innovation at both the core and edge of the web. To the delight of industry and the dismay of some public interest groups, the plan does not call for reclassifying broadband as a telecommunications service. Such a move was proposed by Genachowski last spring to ensure the commission's authority to regulate broadband, but subsequently abandoned after strong backlash from industry a large group of bipartisan lawmakers.

With both of the Republican commissioners vowing not to support it, Genachowski needs Democratic commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Michael Copps' votes to have the order adopted.

When asked if Copps, who has called for stricter net neutrality regulations than the plan offers, will ultimately support it, Powell said he didn't know but would place his bet on Genachowski's ability to get Copps' vote in the end.

At the end of the day, Powell said, Copps will have to ask himself if he wants to be the guy to "blow up" net neutrality, with no prospect of getting what he wants after the fact. "On balance, in there somewhere, is the Chairman getting this done," Powell added.

Moffett noted that some of the horse trading that goes on with the net neutrality order may be intertwined with Comcast's pending acquisition of NBC Universal. The $30 billion merger is currently under review by the FCC and the Justice Department. With Copps' perennial concerns about media diversity and sufficient competition, Moffett's comment suggests that Copps' vote for net neutrality could be bargained for with certain conditions placed on the Comcast-NBC Universal merger.

The group that manages the Internet's domain name system is meeting this week in Catagena, Colombia where its board is expected to take up a controversial proposal that could dramatically increase the number of generic Internet domain names available to users.

The Commerce Department has raised several concerns with the proposal, which would expand the number of generic top-level domains, such as .com and .info, from the current 21 to perhaps hundreds or more.

In a letter Thursday to ICANN, National Telecommunications and Information Administration Secretary Lawrence Strickling voiced concern that ICANN had yet complete a comprehensive study on the economic benefits to consumers of expanding the number of generical top-level domain names compared with the potential costs. He also questioned whether ICANN has met the goal it agreed to meet to provide a "thorough and reasoned explanation" of its decisions, particular when it comes to launching new domain names.

"While I am aware of the desire by some to move forward, the suggestion that the ICANN board could make an informed decision regarding the timing of the launch of the new gTLD program in Cartegena is unrealistic," Strickling wrote.

ICANN agreed to a set of performance goals, such as providing greater transparency and fact-based policy development, as part of an "affirmation of commitments" it struck with Commerce last year. ICANN was chosen in 1998 to take over the Internet's domain name system by the Commerce Department and still operates under the oversight of the U.S. government despite steps taken in recent years to loosen the United States' control over the nonprofit corporation.

Roughly half of Internet users are very satisfied with their broadband service, according to a working paper released by the FCC on Monday.

The new paper, which synthesized results from an April survey the commission conducted last April on consumers' attitudes toward their home Internet service, found that 51 percent of broadband users are "very satisfied" with their service overall and 42 percent are "somewhat satisfied."

The survey also found that broadband users experience "higher levels of satisfaction with the speed and reliability of their service than with the cost of their service."
59 percent of Internet users are "very satisfied" with the reliability of their service whereas 23 percent expressed dissatisfaction with the cost. In the aggregate, though, web users reported that the price tag of their Internet service is fair: 30 percent of users are "very satisfied" with the cost and 44 percent are "somewhat satisfied."

As the FCC prepares to vote on an Open Internet regulation, Verizon and the Consumer Federation of America agreed Monday that Internet users will be the linchpin of any successful effort to govern the web.

"Consumers will be at the center of enforcement," Kathy Brown, a Verizon executive said during an event at the Brookings Institution on Internet policy making.

Mark Cooper, research director of the Consumer Federation of America, agreed, but called for a system to ensure success of the consumer's involvement.

"We need principles from above, a set of structures in the middle, and a crowd on the bottom to do the policing," Cooper said. Such a system would be able to answer questions about who gets to complain, which behaviors are objectionable, what the consequences are for violators, how to register complaints, and then know what actions were taken to address complaints, Cooper said.

On December 21, the FCC will vote on a net neutrality order that will codify some rules of the road on Internet governance aiming to protect consumers while encouraging investment at both the edge and the core of the web.

In response to the proposal, Verizon called on the FCC to let Congress address the matter, saying the commission is "hamstrung by an antiquated communications statute."

When asked why Congress, and not the expert agency, should address Internet governance, Brown declined to elaborate much further than the company statement released last week saying that the commission should follow a draft bill circulated in the House. That bill included a sunset clause that called for letting the regulations lapse in two years. To the dismay of Verizon, the FCC's proposal does not include that provision.

Cooper told Tech Daily Dose that the FCC's net neutrality proposal is a partial victory and that trying to fight for a reclassification of broadband as a telecommunications service is "a fool's mission" in the ongoing stiff opposition to such a measure.

The fiercest advocates of net neutrality assert that the FCC needs to reclassify broadband under Title II of the Communications Act, a stricter regulatory regime applied to telephones, in order to have enough authority to regulate the Internet. Despite calling for such a change in classification last spring, the FCC did not call for it in its net neutrality proposal.

Loopholes in the global aviation system beyond the control of the Homeland Security Department are stymieing steps to bolster screening, several federal officials told lawmakers, NextGov reported.

"Legal and cultural factors sometimes inhibit harmonization efforts" to standardize security measures, said Steve Lord, director of homeland security and justice issues for the Government Accountability Office.

Lord testified Thursday afternoon before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety and Security at a hearing that focused on terrorist threats emanating from aircraft operations overseas. Since December 2009, when a passenger attempted to bomb a Detroit-bound plane by concealing explosives in his underwear, the U.S. government has tried to improve security throughout the global air transportation network.

But deploying more body scanners and raising awareness among international aviation partners did not reveal a November plot to take down cargo planes headed for the United States from Yemen. It was a tip from intelligence officials that alerted President Obama to a credible terrorist threat, according to the White House.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller IV, D-W.Va., chairman of the full committee, seemed particularly concerned about the disconnect between U.S. and foreign data systems. "We've talked about machinery," he said. "We need to talk about information that is about passengers. . . . That can be as important as the machinery itself and can reveal things that the machinery never could, such things as intent."

He noted Europe is not keen on the idea of adopting a passenger data system similar to the one the United States uses. Several bilateral agreements that would improve information sharing on known offenders haven't been signed and some European Union officials now are looking to restrict reviews of data from passenger name records, according to DHS officials. PNRs contain information that passengers give to travel agencies and airlines to book flights.

Read more here.

A group of wireless firms sent a letter Friday to Senate Commerce Chairman John (Jay) Rockefeller arguing on behalf of an FCC proposal that would force national wireless carriers to provide roaming services for customers of regional service providers.

Smaller wireless carriers are concerned that their ability to offer national data plans could be undermined by the two largest wireless providers, AT&T and Verizon, who have a commercial incentive not to allow competitors to roam on their networks or charge unreasonably high prices. AT&T and Verizon dismiss claims that regulations are needed to guard against their competitors' concerns, saying the market is functioning perfectly without government intervention.

Wireless providers Clearwire, Sprint, T-Mobile and others wrote Rockefeller, D-W.Va., seeking his support for the FCC plan. The commission launched a notice of proposed rulemaking on the matter last spring, but it has yet to take further steps. Without the right to data roaming, the firms said, regional carriers' ability to keep investing in building out broadband infrastructure will be threatened. They argue that data roaming also is important to attracting the customers needed to maintain current networks or invest in greater broadband coverage, the letter added.

"If the FCC does not act promptly and mandate automatic data roaming, consumers suffer, jobs will be lost, and the deployment of mobile broadband will be delayed," Rural Cellular Association President Steven Berry said in a statement.

Last month, former House Energy and Commerce Chairman John Dingell, D-Mich., sent a letter to the FCC challenging the commission's authority to implement the data roaming proposal. "Further consultation with the Congress on this and other matters is desperately needed to avoid a glorious mess of litigation," he wrote.

When asked about the FCC's authority on this issue and where it stands, a FCC spokeswoman said "It's an open proceeding, we continue to evaluate the record."

The commission's proposal is "a way for us to have fair and reasonable data roaming rates," Crystal Davis, a Sprint spokeswoman said. "It's good for consumers and it's a way to achieve the national broadband plan."

In a recent document filed with the FCC, AT&T argued that "there is no evidentiary basis for the imposition" of data roaming regulations. The company maintains that industry wide, wireless providers of all sizes "are successfully negotiating appropriate data roaming arrangements on a private carriage basis."

Defeated over the midterm elections, the widely respected lawmaker, Rick Boucher, D-Va., said he is likely to pursue a career in telecommunications after he leaves Congress, but in what capacity has not been decided.

"I have no immediate plans," Boucher said. "My phone is ringing which is a good thing," he chuckled. Most of the conversations he is having now are preliminary and related to jobs in the telecommunications sector, he told Tech Daily Dose.

After serving 14 terms in Congress, Boucher lost to Republican Morgan Griffith in an election year of sweeping victories for the GOP.

When asked about his vote in favor of cap and trade, a market-based approach used to curb pollution that's unpopular with Republicans, Boucher said he "did exactly the right thing," but conceded that it likely hurt him in the election.

Boucher said that while some industry groups--such as the electric utilities and the largest coal mine in his district--understood what he did, some smaller coal operators, who don't have a presence in Washington, "never fully understood [his role] in it."

"Since I effectively rewrote the legislation to enable coal to be used...I had to vote for it," he said. "That's the negotiation process."

The Congressman has no regrets about his choices.

Boucher displayed his characteristic grace by saying his 28 years in Congress was a "rare opportunity to have some effect on public policy and I'll forever remember that as a great period in my life."

FCC Commissioner Michael Copps, one of two critical Democratic votes that agency Chairman Julius Genachowski will need (in addition to his own) to adopt new rules of the road for the Internet, signaled yesterday that his support won't come easy. During a Thursday speech before the Columbia University School of Journalism in New York, Copps made clear that some aspects of Genachowski's proposal to expand and strengthen the agency's network neutrality rules, which are designed to preserve the Internet's openness, don't sit well with him.

Genachowski cut some significant breaks to telecom and cable industries in an effort to win support from key players, including AT&T and the National Cable and Telecommunications Association. A major concessions involves permitting companies to pay for priority treatment on the Internet, a model known as "paid prioritization." According to analysts, the FCC is expected to allow these arrangements as long as there is no competitive harm.

During his speech, Copps panned the idea, insisting that it "cannot be allowed
to supplant the quality of the public Internet service available to us all." Addressing concerns that Genachowski's plan only extends modest safeguards to wireless broadband, Copps said: "Internet Freedom also means guaranteeing openness in the wireless world as well as the wired. As people cut their wired connections, why would we deny them openness, accessibility and consumer protections in the wireless world?"

Copps also said that his preference is for the FCC to move forward with stricter net neutrality rules under a legal framework rooted in Title II of the 1934 Communications Act. This would involve classifying broadband a telecommunications utility subject to heavy regulation. Genachowski prefers a Title I approach that would classify broadband as a more lightly regulated information service - but would stand on shakier legal ground. "If this requires reclassifying advanced telecommunications as Title II telecommunications -- and I continue to believe this is the best way to go -- we should just do it and get it over with," Copps said.

Get ready to celebrate.

The House cleared legislation Thursday evening aimed at preventing advertisers from blaring their TV commercials at volumes much higher than the programs on which they are being aired.

"Consumers have been asking for a solution to this problem for decades, and today they finally have it," Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., sponsor of the bill, said. The Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act "gives consumers peace of mind, because it puts them in control of the sound in their homes."

Specifically, the measure requires the volume of commercials not to exceed the decibel level of regular programming. Under the CALM Act, the FCC, within one year, must ensure that advertisers adopt industry technology which "modulates sound levels and prevents overly loud commercials."

Eshoo called it a simple fix to a huge nuisance.

"Most Americans experience the frustration of abrasively loud television commercials, with advertisers grabbing for our attention through this intrusive practice," said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse D-R.I., who sponsored the bill in the Senate.

The House passed its own version of the bill last year. The Senate passed its bill in September and the House on Thursday agreed to pass the Senate's bill, which now heads to President Obama.

Photo credit - IStockphoto

The selling of FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski's controversial "network neutrality" proposal has quietly begun on Capitol Hill, Tech Daily Dose has learned. On Friday, the agency will conduct bipartisan briefings for Senate and House staffers on the just-announced open Internet proposal, which would establish enforceable rules prohibiting anticompetitive behavior on the Internet.

The outreach comes as Republican lawmakers express outrage that Genachowski has scheduled a Dec. 21 vote on the proposal despite their insistence that new rules are unnecessary and that only Congress should set policy in this area. Genachowski is widely expected to face what's shaping up to be a major backlash in next year's GOP-controlled House.

At the invitation of the Senate Commerce Committee, FCC General Counsel Austin Schlick and top advisers from the chairman's office will brief bipartisan staffers Friday from noon to 1p.m. in room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building. On the House side, the commission will conduct a similar briefing at 2pm in room 2123 of the Rayburn building.

In an effort to soften the impact of the announcement, the commission held a Wednesday morning conference call with House aides from both parties one hour before Genachowski delivered a speech detailing his proposal. Among the talking points emphasized, according to an agency summary of the call obtained by Tech Daily Dose, was a theme that Genachowski highlighted during his speech: the proposed rules are rooted in initiatives spearheaded by two former GOP chairmen of the FCC: Michael Powell and Kevin Martin. That message, however, won't be enough to spare Genachowski from being hauled before the House Energy and Commerce Committee early next year to answer some blunt questions about his net neutrality proposal, a congressional source said.

One day after the Federal Trade Commission endorsed a "do-not-track" mechanism to allow consumers to opt out of being tracked on the Web, the idea got a mixed reaction Thursday during a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing on the issue.

The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection held a hearing on do-not-track after the FTC endorsed the idea in a staff report it released Wednesday on ways to improve consumer privacy online.

Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-Ky., and some other Republicans voiced concern with the idea, questioning the technical feasibility and its impact on advertising-supported content on the Internet. Noting the comparison to the federal Do-Not-Call registry, which allows consumers to sign up with the FTC to opt out of receiving most telemarketing calls, Whitfield said he did not think that model could be applied to the Internet.

In response to this concern, FTC Consumer Protection Bureau Director David Vladeck said the commission is not proposing a registry similar to Do-Not-Call or calling for the government to manage a centralized system. Instead, the agency has proposed a browser-based solution that would send a signal to those firms that track consumers.

Responding to a question from Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., on the impact do-not-track might have on online ad revenue, Daniel Weitzner, associate administrator for the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration, said it would depend on what kind of do-not-track mechanism is implemented. He added, however, that as more companies have implemented some kind of opt out and enhanced notice, there has not been a big reduction in ad revenue as a result.

Information Technology and Innovation Foundation Senior Analyst Daniel Castro also voiced other concerns about do not track including that it would result in consumers receiving more unwanted advertising such as pop-up ads that are not targeted to a user's interests. He also argued in his written testimony that do not track would be difficult to implement and enforce.

Vladeck, however, argued that the commission examined both of those claims. He noted that FTC technologists have determined that it is feasible to implement. On enforcing such a system, Vladeck said trackers leave digital footprints that could be traced back to the company that did the tracking.

Subcommittee Chairman Bobby Rush, D-Ill, is weighing whether to include a do-not-track proposal in privacy legislation he plans to re-introduce in the 112th Congress. Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., announced at the hearing that he would be offering legislation next Congress that would ensure that children are not tracked on the Internet.

Google outlined a series of news steps Thursday it plans to take in the coming months to help curb copyright infringement online.

"As the Web has grown, we have seen a growing number of issues relating to infringing content," Google General Counsel Kent Walker wrote in a blog post. "We are working to develop new ways to better address the underlying problem."

Step number for Google will be acting on reliable copyright takedown requests within 24 hours. Google said it currently follows the rules outlined in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act for dealing with infringement of a copyright holder's content.

To complement Google's effort to take down pirated content quicker, the company said it aims to improve its "counter-notice tools for those who believe their content was wrongly removed and enable public searching of takedown requests"

Other planned actions include excluding terms that are closely associated with piracy from appearing in Google's search function "Autocomplete," improving the company's Ad-Sense anti-privacy review (which prohibits the Ad-Sense program from being used on Web pages that have infringing materials) and trying to make previews of authorized content more readily available.

The Recording Industry Association of America, a leading advocate of stricter copyright enforcement, applauded Google's announcement. "Google deserves credit for proposing a constructive set of reforms and undertaking useful steps to better protect the rights of creators and encourage legal ways to enjoy music," RIAA Chairman and CEO Mitch Bainwol said in a statement.

Motion Picture Association of America President Bob Pisano also praised Google's announcement as good "first steps." He added that the group hopes to work with Google to address another area of concern for the MPAA, Google's "listings and rankings of notorious pirate sites as places to go to get movies that are still only in the cinema and other illegal content."

Pisano noted that Google announced Wednesday that it was changing its algorithms so that unscrupulous merchants will not appear high in its search results. He said he would like to see a similar method also applied to pirated content.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal called on Congress Thursday to pass legislation that would mandate the creation of a "do-not-track" system that would allow consumer to opt out of having their Web activities tracked.

Blumenthal, a Democrat, told Tech Daily Dose he plans to introduce do-not-track legislation when he joins the Senate in the 112th Congress. He was elected in November to succeed retiring Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn.

"Congress should implement the closest possible Internet equivalent of the do-not-call list, enabling consumers to say a simple 'no' to snoopers," Blumenthal said in a statement. "Options may include an opt in, requiring sites to obtain specific permission to track and sell data or buttons on Internet browsers that consumers could push requiring sites not to collect information.

Blumenthal made a brief stop Thursday at a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection hearing on do-not-track and submitted comments to the subcommittee on the issue.

The hearing came one day after the Federal Trade Commission released a staff report on ways to enhance consumer privacy online that included a call for a Web browser-based do-not-track mechanism that would allow consumers to opt out of being tracked on the Internet. Many firms track consumers on the Web in order to target ads to them based on their preferences.

Blumenthal has urged lawmakers to pass legislation that would require the FTC to adopt rules governing the conduct of any entity that collects data that can be directly linked to a specific consumer, computer or other device.

In addition, he said Congress should require entities that collect personal information to notify consumers about what information is being collected and how it is used and obtain their approval for its collection and use for marketing purposes. He said lawmakers also should impose civil penalties and fines for the unauthorized collection and use of personal information that are similar to those imposed for violating the Do-Not-Call registry, which allows consumers to sign up to opt out of receiving most telemarketing calls.

House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said that while he is supportive of the Federal Communications Commission's efforts to protect the open Internet, he needs to take a closer look at the commission's proposed net neutrality order before he signs off on it.

As of late Wednesday morning, Waxman told Tech Daily Dose that he had not had a chance to listen to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski's speech about his net neutrality item. Waxman crafted a draft bill in September that Genachowski has used as a model to inform his proposal on preserving the open Internet. Waxman never introduced his bill because he was unable to attract GOP support for it, but it found common ground between industry and some public interest groups.

"You would think that making sure the Internet isn't censored in anyway would be an idea that's popular among Democrats and Republicans," Waxman said. So far reaction on Capitol Hill shows lawmakers splitting down party lines with Democrats supporting the FCC's proposal and Republicans opposing it.

Updated at 4:23 pm

Bound by law not to distribute the FCC's proposed net neutrality order, Republican FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell is not happy about the lack of transparency.

"The Commission could and should put the proposed rules out for public comment under existing law, but the [FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski] is choosing not to," McDowell told Tech Daily Dose. "Such openness used to be standard operating procedure for the FCC, especially with matters of such sweeping importance like this one. But the commission's transparency has become more opaque in recent years."

Since the proposed order has not been explicitly put out for public comment, the commissioners are barred by criminal law from disclosing it, McDowell added.

As it stands, if the net neutrality order circulated by Genachowski Wednesday morning wins the support of three of the five commissioners, it will be adopted on December 21st and become law once the final language goes into the federal register.

Soon after Genachowski announced the open Internet proceeding, McDowell came out against this "ill-advised maneuver" saying the rules would overturn an international consensus that the Internet is best able to thrive in the absence of regulation.

Genachowski has defended the transparency of his net neutrality proceedings, which has been going on for many months, saying he is "proud" of the way his office has handled the issue. The net neutrality proceeding has included a variety of periods of public comment on the issues at stake.

"The FCC has a very open and transparent process of discussions and dialogues on all the many items that are under review in each of the commissioners offices," a FCC spokesman said. "After the chairman circulates a proposal to other commissioners for their review, those documents are constantly evolving as each commissioner suggest and makes changes. Treating these working circulation documents as confidential has been standard procedure for many years."

During an unrelated House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing, Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb., also criticized the FCC process and the fact that lawmakers so far have not had access to the FCC order. "Doing that [moving forward on net neutrality] on the eve of a new Congress is a message to us that they want to ram it down the public's throats" before GOP takes over, Terry said.

The newly emboldened House Republicans expressed outrage Wednesday over FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski's plans to adopt a proposal later this month that would prohibit broadband providers from blocking or degrading traffic from online competitors.

But they are powerless to stop him and his Democratic majority on the five-member regulatory commission, National Journal Daily reported.

"My hope is that public outrage will help to stop it this month," Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., a House Energy and Commerce Committee member and a staunch opponent of government regulation of the Internet, said Wednesday.

The FCC is "short circuiting the system to cram short-sighted regulations down the throats of the American people," she said in a conference call with reporters. To read more, click here. (Subscription required)

At an unrelated House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing Thursday, Rep. Ed Whitfield, D-Ky., the ranking member on the Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection Subcommittee, said he hoped the "FCC does not move in that direction right now" and instead allows Congress to examine the issue in the 112th Congress.

A coalition opposed to Comcast's proposed merger with NBC Universal is now arguing that the current broken federal process for resolving disputes between independent programmers and television distributors will not be able restrain the new combined company from discriminating against independent cable networks.

In its latest letter Wednesday to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski on the merger, the Coalition for Competition in Media said the incentive Comcast already has to discriminate against independent content that competes with its own will only grow if the cable operator is allowed to merge with a major content provider like NBCU, which owns the NBC network, a major Hollywood Studio and several cable channels. The coalition includes a broad range of groups and companies such as the public interest group Free Press, financial news provider Bloomberg, the National Coalition of African American Owned Media, and the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association,

"Unaffiliated networks often lack the leverage that larger integrated programmers use to secure fair pricing and channel placement--a lack of leverage Comcast has long viewed as a business opportunity," the coalition wrote. "This merger will only enhance those incentives, sharpen the ability and increase the universe of non-Comcast-owned programming that will suffer the consequences. The end result will be decreased consumer choice and less diversity of important content, such as news and information."

The group also argued that the current process for resolving disputes between independent cable channels seeking carriage on cable systems has been unable to resolve some ongoing complaints filed against Comcast by the Tennis Channel and WealthTV.

The current carriage complaint process "provides no meaningful remedy for existing [multichannel video programming distributor] abuse, and would clearly provide no effective remedy to address the enhanced capacity for anti-competitive behavior that a merged Comcast/NBCU will present," the group said.

The coalition added that if the FCC approves the merger, it must impose conditions to "ensure a diversity of voices and to protect independent cable networks, particularly those that compete with Comcast-owned networks, from the threat of discrimination by an ever more powerful Comcast."

Comcast has repeatedly noted the concessions it has made to independent programmers and touted support for the merger it has received from the Independent Film and Television Alliance.

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., praised Amazon.com Wednesday for agreeing to terminate its relationship with WikiLeaks, which has come under fire for its disclosure of thousands of classified and other sensitive U.S. government documents.

According to Lieberman, Amazon.com hosted the WikiLeaks website but the firm has told his staff that it would cut its ties to WikiLeaks after its latest release of thousands of classified U.S. State Department cables. Lieberman said his staff contacted Amazon after learning from news reports that the firm hosted the WikiLeaks website.

"This morning Amazon informed my staff that it has ceased to host the WikiLeaks website," Lieberman said in a news release. "I wish that Amazon had taken this action earlier based on WikiLeaks' previous publication of classified material."

He urged other companies that WikiLeaks is using to disseminate classified U.S. information to also cut its ties with the group, saying its actions have "compromised our national security and put lives at risk around the world." Lieberman said he would be seeking additional information from Amazon about the extent of its relationship with WikiLeaks.

House Homeland Security ranking member Peter King, R-N.Y., who is in line to become the panel's chairman in the next Congress when the GOP takes control of the House, also praised Amazon's move but said it was "unfortunate that it took Amazon five months to terminate its relationships with WikiLeaks, and only after having political pressure applied."

In a statement, he added, "This situation should serve as an example for all private U.S. and international companies that conducting business with WikiLeaks is intolerable and against American interests."

Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Senate has passed legislation aimed at cracking down on deceptive online marketing practices that have led many consumers to unknowningly sign up for products and services they do not want or use.

The Senate on Tuesday passed the legislation, offered by Senate Commerce Chairman John (Jay) Rockefeller, D-W.Va., by voice vote, while also adopting a manager's amendment to the measure.

It emerged from a Commerce Committee investigation into aggressive online marketing tactics by three firms in particular, Affinion, Vertrue, and Webloyalty, that had partnered with some well-known online retail sites to enroll millions of consumers, many without their knowledge, in discount club memberships using tactics that netted more than $1 billion in revenues for these firms and their partners.

The committee found that many consumers were deceptively lured to sign up for services offered by these third-party firms with an offer for a discount or reward during the checkout process for an unrelated product or service. As part of their partnership with the online retail sites, the credit or debit card information was passed onto the third-party firms offering the club memberships who then often billed consumers monthly for services many say they did not use or seek.

Rockefeller's bill would prohibit companies from using misleading post-transaction advertisements and require them to clearly disclose the terms of their offers to consumers and obtain credit and debit card information directly from a consumer purchasing the service or product. It would bar online retailers and other websites from passing on consumers credit, debit or other billing information to third-party sellers like the three companies identified by the committee.

"This bipartisan legislation provides new standards that make sure businesses can't bill online shoppers for services they did not want to buy," Rockefeller said in a statement.

Similar legislation has been introduced in the House but has not seen any action.

The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission announced Wednesday he has scheduled a December 21 vote on a new regulatory initiative designed to preserve the openness that has been the Internet's hallmark since its inception, National Journal reported.

The network neutrality proposal has already split the agency along party lines, with the commission's two GOP members quickly condemning it and setting the stage for a partisan vote that could draw a backlash next year from the GOP-controlled House.

Before Chairman Julius Genachowski finished his announcement, fierce opposition was registered from Republicans on Capitol Hill who insisted his proposal goes too far, and from watchdog groups that dismissed it as too weak. Genachowski hopes to nullify the opposition with solid support from prominent Democrats on the Senate and House commerce committees. To read more, click here.

A key member of the Senate Judiciary Committee urged the Justice Department Wednesday to carefully review Google's proposed acquisition of ITA Software, which provides online travel search software.

Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman Herb Kohl, D-Wis., said in a letter to Christine Varney, assistant attorney general for antitrust, that while he has not taken a "position on the ultimate legality of this acquisition under the antitrust laws," he said it was important for Justice to examine the concerns raised by several online travel firms.

A coalition of travel sites have voiced concern that Google could extend its dominance in search to online travel and could harm competition in the online travel search market. The Fair Search coalition, which includes Expedia.com, Hotwire, KAYAK, Travelocity and others, was launched in October to try to block the deal. Many of the coalition's members use ITA's software.

"As an independent provider of air travel search functionality, ITA currently has the incentive to license its service broadly as it has done since its inception. However, the incentives could change if ITA is acquired by Google," Kohl wrote. "Participants in the on-line travel industry are concerned that Google could refuse to make the key components of ITA software available on reasonable terms to other online travel industry participants by raising the price for a renewed license or refusing to license improvements to the software."

Google, however, has dismissed such concerns. "ITA and Google are not competitors so there will not be less choice for consumers," Google said in a fact sheet on the deal. It added that the deal is aimed at building "tools that drive more traffic to airline and online travel agency sites where customers can purchase tickets. We also believe that giving users better ways to search for flights online will encourage more users to make their flight purchases online, which will create more overall online sales for airlines and travel agencies. Google does not plan to sell airline tickets directly."

While noting that Google has promised to honor ITA's existing software licensing agreements, Kohl also urged the department "to obtain a consent decree to ensure that Google's promise is enforceable and implemented in good faith."

The Federal Trade Commission's staff report released Wednesday on ways to improve online consumer privacy calls for the creation of a "do-not-track" system that would allow consumers to opt out of being tracked when surfing online.

The report, which was the result of round table discussions and other input, said consumers need more streamlined choices on whether information should be collected about them for advertising purposes. Currently, many companies track consumers' Web activities so ads can be targeted to them based on their preferences.

The staff report said consumers should have a "uniform and comprehensive" way to decide whether they want their activities to be tracked and suggested a "do not track" system would provide the most "practical" way to implement this.

"The most practical method of providing such universal choice would likely involve the placement of a persistent setting, similar to a cookie, on the consumer's browser signaling the consumer's choices about being tracked and receiving targeted ads," the report said. "Commission staff supports this approach, sometimes referred to as 'Do Not Track.'"

While a "do-not-track" system has been compared with the Do-Not-Call registry, the FTC staff recommended a different approach. The Do-not-call registry requires consumers to sign up on a list to opt out of receiving most telemarketing calls.

The FTC report, however, recommends that the do-not-track system should be a Web browser-based mechanism "through which consumers could make persistent choices." The report, however, said it wants comment on whether this system should include an option that allows consumers to allow for some information collection about them and to receive some types of advertising.

In addition, the report said a do-not-track system should not "undermine the benefits that online behavioral advertising has to offer, by funding online content and services and providing personalized advertisements that many consumers value."

The report said a do-not-track system could be implemented through legislation or "potentially through robust, enforceable self-regulation." Either way, the report said there must be an enforceable requirement that sites honor" a consumer's choice on whether to be tracked.

Some industry officials have argued that a do-not-call system would be difficult to implement. But David Vladeck, director of the FTC's Consumer Protection Bureau, said at a privacy conference Wednesday morning that the FTC believes such a system is technologically feasible.

The report argues that the current notice-and-choice and harm-based approaches to privacy protection have failed to keep track with technological changes. They said notice-and-choice has led to "long, incomprehensible privacy policies" that most consumers don't read and may not understand.

"While recent announcements of privacy innovations by a range of companies are encouraging, many companies - both online and offline - do not adequately address consumer privacy interests," the report argued. "Industry must do better. For every business, privacy should be a basic consideration - similar to keeping track of costs and revenues, or strategic planning."

A key Federal Trade Commission official provided some details about the commission's staff privacy report that will be released Wednesday, saying that he believed that the technology is available to implement a "do-not-track" system and would provide consumers a simpler way to control their privacy online.

During a conference on consumer protection sponsored by Consumer Watchdog, FTC Consumer Protection Bureau Director David Vladeck would not say whether the agency in its privacy report has recommended the creation of a "do-not-track" system or some other mechanism that would give consumers more choice about how they are tracked.

However, Vladeck said consumers "want control and to go online without being tracked." He said while private sector efforts to give consumers some ways to opt-out of tracking are "laudable," he noted there are many differing approaches that are difficult for consumers to follow. "We have to simplify consumer choice," Vladeck said. "The do-not-track option can achieve that goal."

When asked about industry's claims that a do-not-track would be difficult to implement and might not be technologically feasible, Vladeck said he believes "there are technological means to implement a do-not-track system. I do not think there are serious arguments about technical viability."

While such a mechanism is similar to the idea of the Do-Not-Call registry that allows consumers to sign up to opt-out of receiving most telemarketing calls, Susan Grant with the Consumer Federation of America said a do-not-track system should differ by being a "browser-based solution that would be simple for consumers and trackers to use."

Privacy and security researcher Chris Soghoian, a former FTC technology official, added, "There would be no government registry of consumers that do not want to be tracked. ... We want a generic opt out that is persistent."

Grant said such as system is needed because consumers are being "tracked on the Internet wherever they go, whatever they do, without their knowledge." She noted that the information is being compiled and analyzed primarily to allow firms to target ads at consumers based on their preferences. "But it also can be used to make assumptions about people for employment, health insurance and financial services," Grant added.

Vladeck said he did not think the FTC has the authority to implement such a list on its own and would likely need congressional approval.

Other issues Vladeck said would be addressed in the report include a need to simplify privacy policies, to build privacy into product design and to extend stronger protections for sensitive information such as medical or financial data.

After weeks of speculation, the FCC finally put out its December meeting agenda revealing a proceeding on net neutrality.

The commission will consider an "Open Internet Order" that adopts some rules to preserve the Internet as a "platform for innovation, investment, competition, and free expression."

The agenda did not disclose whether the rule will call for reclassifying the broadband as a public utility but did say that it would "protect consumers' and innovators' right to know basic information about broadband service, right to send and receive lawful Internet traffic, and right to a level playing field, while providing broadband Internet access providers with the flexibility to reasonably manage their networks."

Stay tuned. More to come as the news develops.

Update: 1:15 am

As industry analysts and observers suspected, the rule, according to the New York Times, will not call for reclassifying broadband under the same statute that governs telephones. That decision is a victory for carriers and a large group of bipartisan lawmakers.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski proposed such a change in classification last spring after a court case cast doubt on the agency's authority to regulate the Internet.

Recognizing the fears of consumer advocates about the future of the Internet with no regulations, Genachowski will acknowledge, in a speech delivered Wednesday, that broadband providers have a commercial incentive to "leverage their position as gatekeepers to the Internet," according to prepared remarks obtained by the NYT.

"The record in the proceeding we've run over the past year, as well as history, shows that there are real risks to the Internet's continued freedom and openness," Genachowski plans to say.

The framework will forbid both wireline and wireless Internet service providers from blocking lawful content and allow carriers to charge consumers based on the amount of data they are using.

The proposal will allow companies to experiment with "managed services," the controversial idea of creating non-public broadband routes for special uses such as medical monitoring or the smart grid.

Industry wishing to experiment with managed services will have to justify why their service can't run over the public Internet and won't take away from the investment in the public Internet.

For now, questions remain about whether the order defines the public Internet broadly, as consumer advocates hope. If not, the fear is that when it comes to managed services, the exception will swallow the rule.

In response to the announcement, the consumer advocacy group Public Knowledge offered praise for the Chairman.

"We commend the Federal Communications Commission for tentatively putting open Internet rules on the agenda for the Dec. 21 Commission meeting and for, we expect, circulating a draft order," said Gigi Sohn, president of Public Knowledge.

Despite offering support, the group called for the commission to reclassify broadband as a public utility in the future saying it "would establish a firmer legal foundation, not only for open Internet rules but also for broadband policy generally."