June 2011

The Federal Communications Commission's controversial net neutrality regulations are now in the hands of the Office of Management and Budget.

On Thursday the FCC submitted the regulations, designed to prevent anticompetative behavior online, to the OMB and the Federal Register for final review. The Federal Register is expected to to publish a required Paperwork Reduction Act estimate next week, triggering a 30-day comment period.

Once the comment period ends and the OMB approves the regulations, they will be published in the Federal Register and become effective 60 days later.

Earlier this year a lawsuit by Verizon and MetroPCS was thrown out because the rules had not yet been published in the Federal Register. The companies are expected to relaunch their legal challenge once the rules are official.

Is the FTC investigating Twitter again?

Amazon is calling California's legislation mandating sales-tax collections by Web retailers "unconstitutional and counterproductive." The web retailer plans to pull contracts with California affiliates who put ads for Amazon on their websites, and then get compensation when shoppers click through and buy items.

The popular jihadist al-Shamukh forum appears to have been taken down by a fairly sophisticated cyberattack.

Does the White House counterterrorism strategy ignore the Internet?

After complaints from trade partners, China has changed a policy that gave Chinese makers priority in government tech purchases,

PC Mag may be the only reviewers who like the HP TouchPad ; everyone else hates it.

Isaac "Biz" Stone is leaving Twitter, just five years after co-founding the microblogging site.

World's largest "botnet" controls computers in 172 countries.

AT&T unveils Facebook phone.

Cyberattacks on Gannet publications expose information on military personnel.

Perhaps sensing the political winds, Google's latest social network effort emphasizes privacy.

Silicon Valley is more secretive than ever.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp sells off MySpace.

Top members of the Senate Commerce and Judiciary committees on Wednesday called on congressional appropriators to preserve funding for Federal Communications Commission efforts to prevent anticompetitive behavior online.

Included in a House funding bill for 2012 is language that bars the FCC from using any funds to enforce so-called "net neutrality" rules, which prohibit Internet service providers from blocking certain websites. Republicans have criticized the rules as a government takeover of the Internet and have introduced and passed measures to overturn them.

In a letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday, 10 senators, including Commerce Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., Commerce Communications, Technology, and the Internet Subcommittee Chairman John Kerry, D-Mass., and Judiciary Privacy, Technology and the Law Subcommittee Chairman Al Franken, D-Minn., said the FCC's rules are appropriate and should be allowed to go into effect.

"Some members of Congress have decided that they know better what is good for the Internet than the people who use, fund, and work on it," the letter states. "We side with the agency of expertise and supporters of the rule and urge you to reject any proposals that will prevent the FCC from implementing or enforcing its net neutrality rules."

September is the earliest likely date the net neutrality regulations would take effect.

Companies are tracking your every move, hackers are stealing your personal information, and online advertisers know what you had for lunch. Time for the government to step in, right?

Wrong, says Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa. At a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on Wednesday, Toomey questioned the need for sweeping national legislation to protect online privacy and prevent data breaches, at least immediately.

"I'm not sure we've considered the unintended consequences that would come from this legislation," he said.

And Toomey's reservations were backed up by Thomas Lenard, president of the Technology Policy Institute, who testified that there is not enough information to determine what kind of legislation is needed.

"Without substantially better data and analysis, there is no way of knowing with any confidence whether proposals currently under consideration will improve consumer welfare," Lenard told the committee.

For more on Wednesday's hearing and the debate over privacy legislation in Congress, visit our Tech page.

While the House is loosening its rules on Internet teleconferencing software, the popular program Skype is still restricted in the Senate.

The difference largely stems from the fact that the Senate doesn't offer a public Wi-Fi network, unlike the House. Because of cybersecurity concerns, the House limits the use of Skype to its public Wi-Fi network.

"The Senate does not have a public Wi-Fi network, but it does allow desktop video-teleconferencing for offices both internally and externally through its own secure system, not through Skype," said Jean Bordewich, staff director for the Senate Rules Committee.
That hasn't stopped members of the Senate from using Skype.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, for one, encourages his staff to Skype. "We use Skype. And I've used it in my music," he said in an interview Tuesday.

A coalition of public advocacy groups is asking that the Federal Communications Commission hold field hearings on the proposed merger of AT&T and T-Mobile.

In a letter sent to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski on Tuesday, seven organizations, including Free Press and Public Knowledge, say that such hearings would increase public interaction and awareness.

"Your testimony makes it clear that the FCC has become a leader in providing online tools that allow the agency to communicate to the public and the public to communicate to the agency," they write. "But as the Commission realizes, online participation is not enough--particularly when millions of Americans do not have adequate broadband services."

The groups urge the agency to hold a series of hearings before September. "These hearings, and the direct input from the public they will provide, will help the Commission and each Commissioner come to a clearer understanding of the issues at stake," they say in the letter.

Field hearings on mergers are relatively rare. Genachowski held one workshop in Chicago during the review of the Comcast/NBCUniversal merger.

AT&T spokesman Michael Balmoris said the public record is already clear.

"The FCC has received extensive public comment on this transaction as well as more than a million pages of documents," he said in a statement. "The enormous public record amassed demonstrates unequivocally that wireless competition will remain fierce and that the merger will result in tremendous public interest benefits."

Free Press and other opponents of the merger have organized a website to allow people to easily comment about the merger on the FCC's website. That, and others efforts, has flooded the system with thousands of comments.

In addition to Free Press and Public Knowledge, Tuesday's letter was signed by Consumers Union, the Future of Music Coalition, Media Access Project, the National Hispanic Media Coalition, and the New America Foundation's Open Technology Initiative.

Both the FCC and the Justice Department are reviewing the proposed merger between AT&T and T-Mobile.

The Supreme Court says bans on violent video games are illegal. But how much do we really know about the link between video games and violence?

Facebook hires an (in)famous hacker.

Hacker group LulzSec's farewell note swearing off mischief carried a final insult- malware.

Google says 500,000 Android devices are activated each day.

Microsoft enters the cloud computing market.

Google is hit with an anticompetitive claim in France. Meanwhile, Google's Schmidt says he's not surprised by antitrust probes.

Spending on technology is expected to increase this year.

PCMagazine reveals which wireless networks are the fastest.

Is it OK to be tracked by your smartphone? The FCC is holding a forum today - you can watch the webcast.

The Supreme Court's decision on Monday to strike down California's ban on selling violent video games to children didn't go over well with groups that say the law would have given parents more control.

"An overwhelmingly high percentage of parents would support a bill that would prevent their kids from walking into a store and buying the most ultra-violent and sexually violent of video games," said Common Sense Media CEO James Steyer. "That decision should be in the hands of parents, not kids or video game vendors, and certainly not the video game ratings board."

Rep. Joe Baca, D-Calif., agreed. He has sponsored legislation that would require video games to feature warning labels similar to those on tobacco products.

"While I am not surprised by the Supreme Court's decision to overturn California's ban on the sale of violent video games to children, I am disappointed the multi-billion dollar video game industry will continue to go unchecked in its ability to profit from selling heinous depictions of violence and sex to minors," Baca said.

But civil liberties advocates said it comes down to First Amendment rights. The Supreme Court is fact allowed parents, rather than the government, to be responsible for what their children see, said Adam Thierer, senior research fellow at George Mason University's Mercatus Center.

"Violently-themed media is as old as literature itself, the Court noted today," he wrote in a blog post. "As has been the case with previous forms of violent content, parental responsibility is the better way to regulate access to potentially objectionable media."

Baca and Steyer, however, warned that the fight isn't over. "Today, the multi-billion dollar video game industry is celebrating the fact that their profits have been protected, but we will continue to fight for the best interests of kids and families," Steyer said.

For more on Monday's ruling, visit our Tech page.

Google disclosed on Monday that law enforcement agencies in the United States requested user data from the company more than 8,000 times last year.

As part of its Transparency Report feature, which also tracks requests to remove information, Google noted that it had processed 8,888 government requests in the United States. Of the 4,601 processed in the last six months of 2010, the company fully or partially complied with 94 percent of the requests.

"The number of requests we receive for user account information as part of criminal investigations has increased year after year," Google said in the online posting. "The increase isn't surprising, since each year we offer more products and services, and we have a larger number of users."

Of the countries listed, the U.S. government by far requested the most data. Google also complied with American requests more than those of any other government.

The next highest country was Brazil, with just over 4,200 requests total. Google said it complied in 76 percent of the cases in the last half of the year. In at least one country, Hungary, Google reported that it complied with none of the 68 requests for user information.

"We review each request to make sure that it complies with both the spirit and the letter of the law, and we may refuse to produce information or try to narrow the request in some cases," the post states.

The numbers include requests for both Google, and YouTube, the company's video website. Google did not report how many, if any, the company received from China, among other countries.

It's not often you get references to Dante, dime store novels and Snow White in a Supreme Court ruling. Justice Antonin Scalia did just that in telling California it can't regulate sales of even the grossest video games to kids. The Supremes also agreed to hear cases about indecency and police use of GPS tracking devices on their last Read more here.

Nevada starts down road to driverless cars, courtesy of Google?

Some experts see echoes of the Microsoft antitrust case in the probe of Google.

The Associated Press breaks down the Pentagon's new cyberwar rules.

With Verizon starting to charge for data, how do you avoid going over on data usage?

Sprint and AT&T launch 3D smartphones.

Amazon wants to make a deal on online taxes.

Facebook adds Netflix CEO to board. Meanwhile, a day after dropping their suit aimed at overturning their settlement with Facebook, the Winklevoss twins are pushing ahead with a separate lawsuit against the social networking site.

Groups representing major tech companies applauded broad patent reform legislation passed Thursday by the House of Representatives.

The Coalition for Patent Fairness, which represents companies like Google, Apple and Dell, called the bill a step forward in the effort to reform the American patent system.

IBM urged the House and Senate to quickly reconcile their bills.

"Now is the time to act to ensure the America Invents Act will modernize our nation's patent system, stimulate innovation and strengthen U.S. competitiveness around the world," the company said in a statement.

The bill also won plaudits from a string of higher education associations, including the Association of American Universities and American Council on Education.

"Our universities and medical colleges are this nation's principal source of the basic research that expands the frontiers of knowledge," they said in a statement. "This bipartisan legislation represents a thorough, balanced effort to bring the U.S. patent system into the 21st century"

David Kappos, director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office joined Eli Lilly, the Business Software Alliance, and others, in praising the bill.

"The effort to reform our nation's patent laws began a decade ago, and House passage today brings patent reform a significant step closer to becoming law," Kappos said.

Not everyone was impressed. The Innovation Alliance, which represents tech companies such as Qualcomm, opposed the bill over last-minute changes to a how PTO fees are controlled.

"The Innovation Alliance is disappointed that the House of Representatives has approved legislation that will not end permanently the diversion of user fees from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office," the group's executive director, Brian Pomper, said.

The House Appropriations Committee has waded into the controversy surrounding LightSquared's efforts to deploy its wireless broadband network and concerns that it will interfere with the use of global positioning systems used by both the government and private sector.

The committee Thursday adopted an amendment to the fiscal year 2012 appropriations bill for the Federal Communications Commission that would bar the agency from allowing LightSquared or any other broadband provider to move forward with a service that would interfere with GPS services.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee held a hearing on the issue Thursday to examine concerns that LightSquared's proposed service will interfere with GPS systems used by the Coast Guard, Defense and Transportation departments and others.

"We must ensure that before any final approval is granted those concerns of possible harmful interference to GPS are completely addressed," Rep. Steve Austria, R-Ohio, who authored the amendment to the appropriations bill, said in a statement. "This amendment does not prohibit expanding broadband services, but ensures it is done in a responsible manner and does not interfere with existing GPS technology that we depend on each day."

The bill including the amendment must still pass the House and it's unclear whether the Senate will include a similar proposal in its version of the spending bill.

Google's critics Thursday were cheering a report that the Federal Trade Commission is poised to issue subpoenas against the Internet search giant as part of a possible antitrust probe.

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that the FTC is expected to seek more information from Google signaling the possible launch of a formal investigation into allegations the company has used its dominance of Internet search to favor its own products and services over rivals.

Neither the FTC nor Google would confirm the report. However, a source told Tech Daily Dose that the FTC has solicited information from some third-party companies in relation to their concerns about Google's behavior. The European Commission launched an antitrust probe of Google in November based on complaints from some competitors that Google manipulates its search rankings.

Among those who praised the possible FTC probe was the Fair Search coalition, which is made up of some of the firms that opposed Google's acquisition of travel software maker ITA Software such as Expedia Microsoft and Travelocity.

"Google engages in anti-competitive behavior across many vertical categories of search that harms consumers by restricting the ability of other companies to compete to put the best products and services in front of Internet users, who should be allowed to pick winners and losers online, not Google," the group said. "Google's practices are deserving of full-scale investigations by U.S. antitrust authorities, and are already the subject of reviews by the European Commission, and the Texas Attorney General."

The American Consumer Institute and Consumer Watchdog, a frequent Google critic, also applauded a potential antitrust probe of Google. "The time for an antitrust probe is long past due, and I'm optimistic the FTC investigation will lead to necessary remedies that will ensure competition in the market," Consumer Watchdog's John Simpson said.

The Senate Judiciary Committee also has been examining concerns over Google's dominance of Internet search. The committee's antitrust panel plans to hold a hearing on the issue before the August recess and has asked Google to send CEO Larry Page or Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, who stepped down as CEO in April, to testify. So far, Google has refused, a subcommittee spokeswoman said Wednesday, but she added that the two sides are continuing to discuss the matter.

In the House, Rep. Albio Sires, D-N.J., Thursday urged the FTC to move forward with an antitrust probe. "Over time, complaints have increased regarding Google's anti-competitive behavior, in particular the use of its market power in search to push consumers to its own services. The time has come to seriously look into this issue," Sires said.

Boston University Law Professor Keith Hylton said if the FTC files a formal complaint, which it would do after studying information from Google and others, it would likely do so under Section 5 of the FTC Act, which bars "unfair methods of competition," and was the same law it used in its antitrust case against Intel, he said.

Google becomes the first website to reach 1 billion visitors a month.

Can Internet use physically change the structure of your brain?

Who is (are) Anonymous?

The hacker group LulzSec grabs headlines -- and enemies.

After seven years, Winklevoss twins end appeal over Facebook.

And a Utah man puts Facebook to good use during a standoff with police.

Internet providers may join the anti-piracy fight.

Verizon to start charging for usage.

If Samsung wants a look at the Apple's iPhone 5 and iPad 3, it's going to have to buy them, a U.S. judge ruled Tuesday.

"You want to appreciate the moment, you want to capture it for as many folks who are listening as there will be, I'm sure," Chris Ferguson, who will command the last-ever scheduled shuttle mission, said Tuesday, two weeks before the shuttle Atlantis takes off for the last time..

Check out more e-Reads here.

Delays and more delays -- floor debate on the House patent bill has been delayed until Wednesday evening and could get pushed back even more. A spokeswoman for Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., said a final vote is now expected on Friday. Read full coverage of why here.

The Senate Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee is pressuring Google to send either CEO Larry Page or Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt to testify at an upcoming hearing on competitive issues related to Internet search, but Google appears to be resisting.

"Google is the preeminent provider of Internet search, and a hearing on this important topic would be incomplete without the direct perspective and views from one of Google's top executives, each of whom has played a prominent role at the company throughout the last decade," Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman Herb Kohl, D-Wis., and ranking member Mike Lee, R-Utah, said in a June 10 letter to Page and Schmidt. Schmidt stepped down as CEO in April.

The senators noted that while Google has offered to send Chief Legal Officer David Drummond, they want either Page or Schmidt to testify at the hearing because it will explore "fundamental questions of business operations" and not just legal issues. The panel is aiming to hold the hearing before the August recess.

The panel also warned that it would prefer to work out its request by agreement "rather than needing to resort to more formal procedures." A subcommittee spokeswoman wouldn't say what those more formal procedures would include, but the full committee does have subpoena power. The spokeswoman would only say that the two sides are continuing to talk.

"We're in talks with the subcommittee, and we'll send them the executive who can best answer their questions," a Google spokeswoman said.

Frequent Google critic Consumer Watchdog called on the Judiciary Committee Wednesday to use its subpoena power to require Page or Schmidt to appear at the hearing.

No privacy for you, the NY Times reports.

Regulators will look at AT&T's spectrum claims; hackers threaten more attacks and Comcast takes complains seriously in today's e-Reads....

Microsoft hires a new top PR executive, The Hill reports. Microsoft announced it is hiring former Bush administration official Suhail Khan as director of external affairs . He will work to build relationships between the software giant and think tanks, advocacy groups and political organizations.
The Hill also says Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) said his chief of staff had his data stolen during the recent cyberattack on Citi.

NPR examines how regulators will consider AT&T's claims that it needs more wireless spectrum to avoid dropped calls and to satisfy its customers' growing hunger for data.

Sony Corp. shareholders aren't too sure about growth prospects, the Wall Street Journal reports (subscriber).

The LulzSec group of rogue hackers is threatening to steal classified information from governments, banks and other high-ranking establishments. "Government hacking is taking place right now, behind the scenes," LulzSec said in a message posted on Twitter.

Comcast Corp. plans to shorten its cable repair and installation windows in all markets from as much as four hours to two hours or less by 2012 after a consumer website last year voted it worst company in America.

ICANN, the California-based group that decides who gets a domain name, has approved a controversial plan to extend the dotcom universe. AP reports that Canon Inc., the camera and printer company, already plans to apply for ".canon." ICANN will start taking applications Jan. 12 so you have time to get yours ready. You can read our full story here.

Rather than fight any more over whose fault it is that its signals interfere with GPS, LightSquared has just agreed to start out on a new part of the spectrum. Read more here.

The musical chairs continued Friday at the Federal Communications Commission. Chairman Julius Genachowski announced that he has appointed Zachary Katz as his new chief counsel.

Katz, who currently serves as Genachowski's legal adviser, will replace Rick Kaplan, who now heads the agency's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau. Genachowski also announced that current legal advisor Sherrese Smith will become senior counsel, while Amy Levine was tapped to be a legal adviser.

"I am delighted that these outstanding professionals will take on new roles and responsibilities as we continue advancing the Commission's vital agenda to generate jobs, innovation and economic growth on behalf of the American people," Genachowski said in a statement. "Each of them brings unique, deep and diverse strengths to our work."

Katz joined the FCC in 2009 after working in the White House Counsel's Office. Before beginning at the FCC, Smith was general counsel for Washington Post Digital, and Levine came from the office of former Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va.

Republican FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell also announced a staff addition Friday. Erin McGrath, who currently works in the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau's Mobility Division, will join McDowell's staff as acting legal adviser for media issues.

The Interior Department's new logo - whatever it ends up looking like - will be a product of crowdsourcing enabled by new technology unheard of when the agency's current seal was developed nearly 100 years ago.

The famous seal featuring an American bison won't be going anywhere. Rather, the Interior Department is seeking a cheaper, simpler logo to be used on hats, T-shirts and other doodads.

In its quest for an updated logo, the department turned to Chicago-based crowdSPRING, a company that sets up an online contest for anyone to submit designs. More than 600 entries were filed online before the contest closed on Wednesday.

Next Wednesday, some lucky designer may get $1,000 for the winning logo, with two runners-up receiving awards of $250 apiece.

But the crowdsourcing doesn't stop there. "More specifically, the logo must appeal to the 70,000 employees of Interior, as well as (in alphabetical order) cattlemen/ranchers, coal miners, conservationists, farmers, fishermen, historians, hunters, Native Americans & tribal entities, offshore oil and gas producers, recreation enthusiasts (boaters, hikers, campers) and others," the agency wrote in its official call for entries.

Al Jazeera has an interactive map of cyberattacks in the United States.

Oracle is suing Google for billions of dollars in a patent dispute over the Android operating system.

Facebook may be finally jumping on the iPad bandwagon.

Cyberattacks have spawned a new generation of security experts.

Homeland Security officials fear bugs planted in Chinese-made software could compromise security.

The Federal Communications Commission announced on Thursday it had slapped $11.7 million in fines on four telephone companies accused of scamming their customers with unauthorized charges.

So-called cramming occurs when a company charges consumers for unauthorized expenses.

"Cramming attacks consumers in the pocketbook, where it really hurts," said Michele Ellison, chief of the FCC's Enforcement Bureau. "The Enforcement Bureau takes today's actions to protect thousands of consumers who appear to have been hoodwinked into paying for services they never wanted, ordered, or used."

According to the Bureau's investigation, the companies apparently charged thousands of customers for long-distance services they had not ordered.

The agency ordered Main Street Telephone; VoiceNet Telephone, LLC; Cheap2Dial Telephone, LLC; and Norristown Telephone, LLC; to pay fines ranging from $1.5 million to $4.2 million each. Each company has up to 30 days to respond. They can choose to pay or contest the fines.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., has pushed for tighter regulation. He said he was pleased with the FCC action but that it doesn't go far enough.

"I don't believe it will be enough to stop the problem," Rockefeller, who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, said in a statement.

"For the past year, my Committee has examined cramming and third-party billing on telephone bills. What we've found is troubling. We know that the telephone companies' voluntary guidelines have failed to stop mystery fees. We know that additional disclosure requirements on telephone bills haven't fixed the problem."

Rockefeller said he plans to hold a hearing and release a report on the issue soon.

The Consumer Electronics Association is calling on the Federal Communications Commission to wrap up its deliberations of AT&T's proposed merger with T-Mobile USA before the end of the year, saying that dragging it out longer would create too much uncertainty for businesses that rely on the wireless services provided by the two firms.

CEA President and CEO Gary Shapiro said his group is not taking a position on whether the mergers should be approved, noting that both AT&T and T-Mobile are CEA members.

"Rather, we urge the commission to decide the merger's fate in 2011," he wrote in a letter to the FCC. "Delay beyond this calendar year is unreasonable and puts the companies, their competitors and consumers in limbo and serves no countervailing interest."

Many stakeholders have said the review of the merger, which is being examined by both the FCC and the Justice Department, could take as long as a year, which would put it into early 2012. Many point to the FCC's review of the Comcast-NBC Universal merger, which took more than a year before it was approved with conditions in January.

"In the AT&T/T-Mobile situation, a fixed and preferably short period of consideration is especially important given the national importance of wireless spectrum and the role that ubiquitous broadband plays in our national innovation strategy, including the rapidly evolving demands for wireless use for everything from health care to education," Shapiro wrote.

"Accordingly, CEA appropriately asks our government to use a 21st century timetable rather than one from last century, even recognizing the ambiguities in the law that the commission must use to assess the proposed merger."

The merger has generated intense lobbying on both sides, with more than 38,000 comments so far to the FCC.

Supporters say combining the No. 2 wireless provider AT&T with No. 4 T-Mobile USA will help provide a short-term solution to the nation's growing demand for spectrum for wireless services. Critics argue that if regulators approve the deal, it will likely lead to further consolidation in the wireless industry, which will stifle innovation and drive up prices for consumers.

Reporters on a conference call hosted by the AT&T-backed Internet Innovation Alliance on Thursday got an earful about how rural America could benefit from more access to high-speed Internet.

But representatives from some of the featured groups needed a little help remembering to promote AT&T's proposed merger with T-Mobile as the best way to provide more broadband.

Leaders from diverse groups like the Alabama Rural Health Association and the Center for Business, Education and Arts in Kanab, Utah, described at length how the Internet can improve life in the backwoods of America. But at the end of at least two speeches, IIA's honorary chair, former Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., had to jump in and remind the speakers to put in a plug for the controversial merger.

"Wireless access is a must for farmers because if they can't compete they're going to lose in the global marketplace," said Chris Studer, communications and marketing director for the South Dakota Farmers Union. He said increased access to wireless services could help keep the next generation of farmers and ranchers interested in working the land.

But while there is little dispute over the benefits of wireless technology, especially in rural areas, there is far less agreement on whether the AT&T/T-Mobile merger is needed to expand coverage.

"If AT&T wants to bring service to rural areas, it is free to do so now without any constraint," Public Knowledge president Gigi Sohn told the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights in May. "There are no spectrum shortages in rural America. AT&T is planning to spend $39 billion on this merger -- money that could instead be spent investing in its network and bringing better service to more Americans."

Boucher countered that view on Thursday, arguing that it's common sense to assume that AT&T's acquisition of T-Mobile will help expand coverage.

In his former congressional district in Virginia, he said, there are "many small communities with no broadband access... and it's simply too expensive to deploy. It's much more economical to serve those areas with wireless broadband." Combining T-Mobile and AT&T will free up more spectrum to build in underserved areas, Boucher said.

Hackers target the Senate's website again.

Was an alleged attack on the CIA's website actually a hoax?

The maker of your beloved Blackberry reports earnings today and they are unlikely to be good.

No surprise here but Pew finds social networking is growing, and bringing us all closer.

And users of social media are more likely to vote.

Is Facebook looking to take on Apple's App Store?

AT&T's CEO says merger is still on schedule.

The Federal Communications Commission granted LightSquared's request for an extended deadline for filing preliminary research on potential interference, just hours before the highly anticipated report was due on Wednesday.

A mass amount of new data forced LightSquared to ask federal regulators to extend the deadline by two weeks, a company spokesman said. The report will spark the next stage of debate between LightSquared and opponents who worry the company's plan could block global positioning systems.

LightSquared wants to build a nationwide broadband network, but the GPS industry says the new system could interfere with GPS receivers. LightSquared was due to submit preliminary research on potential interference to the FCC by midnight Wednesday.

But much of the data was submitted to the company late Tuesday and was still coming in on Wednesday, giving LightSquared staff little time to process and analyze the information, a spokesman said. LightSquared asked the FCC to extend the deadline to July 1st.

"All parties have been working diligently towards the goal of having a final report ready in time for a June 15 filing," said Jeffrey Carlisle, LightSquared vice president for regulatory affairs, in a formal request filed with the FCC. "However, despite the group's best efforts, it has been unable to produce a complete report in time."

In the filing, LightSquared said it decided that extra testing was needed, further delaying the report.

Preliminary tests by outside groups have indicated that LightSquared's network will indeed interfere with GPS units, and this formal report is expected to confirm those findings.

On the same day that a House Energy and Commerce panel held its third hearing on the issue, top Democrats Wednesday on the Senate Commerce Committee waded into the data security debate with their own bill.

Senate Commerce Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chairman Mark Pryor, D-Ark., and Senate Commerce Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., introduced a bill that would require companies that possess personal information to take "reasonable" security measures to safeguard the information and notify consumers when their data has been accessed or stolen. It also would require firms to provide consumers with free credit reports and credit monitoring services for two years.

Meanwhile in the House, an Energy and Commerce subcommittee held a hearing to examine a draft bill crafted by the panel's chairwoman, Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Calif., that also is aimed at providing consumers with more protections when a data breach occurs.

House Republicans are not giving up on their quest to block the Federal Communications Commission from implementing its open Internet rules.

The House Appropriations Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee is set to take up a fiscal 2012 spending bill on Thursday that includes language barring the FCC from using any of its funding to put into effect the rules, which bar broadband providers from discriminating against Internet content, services or applications.

The appropriations bill also would cut funding for the FCC by $17 million over the fiscal 2011 level and would provide $40 million less than what President Obama asked for in his budget request.

While many supporters of net neutrality complained that the FCC's rules didn't go far enough, they have opposed congressional Republican efforts to kill the commission's open Internet order. Republicans say the rules amount to government control of the Internet and say the administration has colluded with advocates.

"Even much of the telecommunications industry, including AT&T and the cable industry, has accepted the rather weak rules the commission approved," Public Knowledge President Gigi Sohn said in a statement. "That the committee majority would reopen this debate through back-door legislative tactics only adds insult to the injury of the attack on the fundamental concept of an equal-opportunity Internet."

House Republicans added similar language blocking the FCC from using any funding to implement its open Internet order, also known as network neutrality, to their version of the 2011 spending bill approved earlier this year .

Even if the House passes the bill with the defunding language still in it, it will likely be blocked by Senate Democrats or President Obama, who supports the FCC's open Internet rules.

Working for one of the world's largest tech companies can have its perks, and Microsoft's new K Street crib is chock full of high-tech gadgets.

The company showed off its shiny new Washington offices on Wednesday with an open house that featured flashy displays of, among other things, 3-D colonoscopies.

Also on display was the new Innovation Center, which includes three 103-inch plasma touch screens as well as four additional touch screens embedded in movable glass panels. Visiting technocrats can challenge each other in the office's Xbox Lounge, which features the body-tracking technology Kinect.

Microsoft had limited D.C. resources when it was hit with a federal antitrust lawsuit in the 1990s. But as technology issues gain prominence on Capitol Hill, companies have upgraded their Washington presence from basic staff offices to swankier facilities designed to impress. Perhaps learning from Microsoft's missteps, Google opened a 31,000-square-foot office on New York Avenue in 2008.

Microsoft's 26 (give or take a few) Washington staff members moved into the new digs in March, but parts of the office were under construction until late May. The new space at 901 K Street NW is more than 20,000 square feet, making it double the size of the earlier office at 1401 I Street NW.

At Wednesday's event, Microsoft researchers showcased some of their latest technology, including a system for virtual colonoscopies that help patients dodge the embarrassing and uncomfortable real thing.

Larry Irving is leaving Hewlett-Packard to return to consulting, the company said Wednesday.

Irving, the company's vice president of global government affairs, has been with HP since 2009 and oversaw the company's government affairs office in Washington, D.C. During the Clinton administration, Irving headed the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

Irving is moving back to consulting and his first client will be Hewlett-Packard starting July 1.

"Larry's unique perspective on business, technology and government has been invaluable to HP," Michael Holston, HP's executive vice president and general counsel, said in a statement. "I fully expect that HP will continue to seek his counsel, especially in the area of federal technology policy, in years to come."

Holston said John Schultz, HP's vice president and deputy general counsel for litigation, will handle Irving's duties until a replacement is found.

In other personnel news, Courtney Sanders, who handles press issues for Senate Commerce ranking member Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, also is departing Capitol Hill for a job at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Wednesday is her last day on the committee. Hutchison is retiring from the Senate when her term expires at the end of 2012.

The White House will host a meeting Thursday with public safety representatives and other federal officials on creating a national public safety broadband network.

Vice President Biden will deliver remarks at the event. Other Obama administration officials slated to attend include White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, Attorney General Eric Holder, and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano as well as Gov. Martin O'Malley, D-Md., and New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.

Public safety officials have been pushing policy makers to re-allocate a chunk of spectrum known as the D-block to them for the creation of a national broadband network, saying they do not have enough spectrum for such a network now. The network is aimed at ensuring that first responders can communicate with different agencies and utilize the latest technologies.

The Senate Commerce Committee approved legislation last week that would reallocate the D-block to public safety instead of auctioning it for commercial use as required by current law and establish a process for the creation of the network. President Obama came out in favor in February of reallocating the D-block to public safety officials and the White House will release a report at Thursday's meeting providing more details on its proposal to create and deploy a national public safety network.

At the end of last week's markup on his bill, Commerce Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., praised the help he had gotten from the White House on moving the bill along, noting in particular Biden's role.

The bill, however, still faces hurdles. Key Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee have been resistant to reallocating the D-block to public safety officials.

Rockefeller is pushing to get his bill passed before the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, which exposed deep problems with communications systems used by emergency first responders. He said Tuesday that he hopes the White House meeting will provide additional momentum to get his bill to the Senate floor.

"My hope is that this meeting and efforts by other leaders on this will help get the Public Safety Spectrum and Wireless Innovation Act to the Senate floor for a vote," Rockefeller said in a statement. "For the men and women who risk their lives running into burning buildings and chase down criminals each day without hesitation, we need to get this done."

Facebook announced Tuesday that it has hired former White House Press Secretary Joe Lockhart as vice president of global communications -- a major addition to the tech company's official presence,

Lockhart was press secretary during President Bill Clinton's second term.

"Joe's arrival brings new skills and greater depth to our incredibly busy team," Facebook vice president Elliot Schrage said in a statement. "His experience building and running a press office at the White House gives him particular appreciation for the demands of a global 24-hour news cycle and the challenges of responding effectively to intense scrutiny. His experience launching and scaling a communications firm will help us as we seek to build our team and continue to offer great opportunities for growth and professional development."

Lockhart, who starts July 15, will manage Facebook's Corporate, Policy and International communications teams. After leaving the White House, Lockhart founded the Glover Park Group, a strategic communications firm in Washington, D.C., where he represented a range of tech companies, including Yahoo and Microsoft.

In a parting statement to his colleagues at GPG, Lockhart said is proud of what he accomplished and he expressed mixed emotions about the move.

"I'm sad because I won't get to come to work here every day. I'm excited because it's a great, and new, opportunity for me personally," he wrote in the statement, obtained by Tech Daily Dose.

A Facebook spokesman said Lockhart is a natural fit for the company, which faces 24/7 scrutiny. The social network has been beefing up its Washington efforts, and was reportedly wooing former Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs, but the talks fell through.

Facebook is under increasing scrutiny by Congress, federal regulators and the media over privacy concerns.

Seeking to close the so-called "digital divide" between the haves and the have-nots, Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., introduced a bill Tuesday that would subsidize Internet services.

Low-income Americans need access to affordable high-speed internet as much as anyone, Matsui said. She first introduced the bill in 2009.

"Income should not hinder the ability of hard-working American families to attain broadband services that have become a necessity, not a luxury in our technologically driven economy. If you don't have it, you are simply at a competitive disadvantage," Matsui, a member of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, said in a statement.

It's not enough to have the option to buy Internet access, she argued. "To close the digital divide, we must address the affordability of broadband services for lower-income households. Although these households may have some options for broadband access, they are underserved if these options are not affordable."

The Broadband Affordability Act of 2011 directs the Federal Communications Commission to establish a program to subsidize Internet services. The program would be similar to current subsidies for telephone service.

The National Cable & Telecommunications Association praised the proposal for being competitively neutral.

Is Facebook losing steam?

And Mark Zuckerberg is engaged! Or not.

Established tech companies battle sexier startups for new talent.

Did Palin's Paul Revere gaffe reveal Wikipedia's weakness?

The New York Times describes it as being like something right out of a spy movie: a group of young, techie ideologues in a generic Washington office, stuffing suitcases full of "internet-to-go" kits. Read more here, on our Tech page.

Congress will take another look at the growing fight between the GPS industry and LightSquared over the wireless company's plan to build a broadband network.

Two subcommittees of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee announced a joint hearing to examine potential interference between LightSquared's technology and GPS systems on aircraft. Witnesses will include government officials and industry representatives, according to the announcement.

GPS companies, as well as some federal agencies like the Defense Department and Federal Aviation Administration, worry that LightSquared's planned wireless broadband network will overpower GPS receivers.

The hearing of the Subcommittee on Aviation and Subcommittee Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation is scheduled for June 23.

Former Federal Communications Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth is heading up a new think tank dedicated to free-market Internet policies.

The Center for Economics of the Internet was launched by the Hudson Institute Friday. As founder and director, Furchtgott-Roth will oversee production of analysis and research at the Center.

"Federal agencies are currently addressing policy decisions based on a theory of 'Internet exceptionalism,' where ordinary principles of economics do not apply," said Furchtgott-Roth, who served as a Republican member of the FCC from 1997 to 2001.
"Unfortunately, this arrangement only serves to harm consumers and weaken our businesses. The Center for Economics of the Internet will dispel the myth that regulating one part of the Internet ecosystem can be walled off from impacting other parts of the ecosystem."

Before heading to the FCC, Furchtgott-Roth helped oversee passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 as chief economist for the House Commerce Committee. He has since worked as a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and founder of Furchtgott-Roth Economic Enterprises.

Spain nabs three people suspected of hacking Sony.

Five Facebook privacy settings you should check now, via USAToday.

California wades into the AT&T merger.

And AT&T has donated to groups that support the deal.

Could Sprint get the iPhone next?

Internet music website Pandora is taking advantage of the booming tech IPO market.

The Internet makes for misquote after misquote.

Online advertising is nowhere near to providing media outlets the revenue they need, according to a report released Thursday from the Federal Communications Commission.

The agency's highly anticipated report on the media market confirmed what many media companies already knew: while the Internet has provided new ways to communicate, it has also undermined revenue for many traditional news outlets.

"It is a myth that local newspapers suffered because they did not grow traffic online," the report finds. "From 2005 to 2009, newspapers' online traffic skyrocketed--from 43.7 million unique monthly users to 70 million, from 1.6 billion monthly page views to 3 billion page views. But in financial terms, that growth was shockingly meaningless."

In that same period, online advertising revenue for newspapers grew by $716 million, while print advertising plummeted by $22.6 billion, according to the report.

All that loss has reduced the quality of local journalism, the agency's researchers found. But the Commission was divided about how big a role the government should play in preserving and open and vibrant media. For more on the debate, visit our Tech page.

Facebook is facing new scrutiny over its decision to automatically turn on a new facial recognition feature aimed at helping users identify their friends in photos.

The new feature, which the social networking service has been rolling out in many countries in the last several months, allows Facebook users to automatically tag their friends using facial recognition software when they or one of their friends uploads a new photo. What's causing concern, however, is that Facebook has turned the feature on by default and requires consumers to opt out if they don't want to use it.

"Requiring users to disable this feature after they've already been included by Facebook is no substitute for an opt-in process," Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., co-chairman of the Bipartisan Congressional Privacy Caucus, said in a statement Wednesday. "If this new feature is as useful as Facebook claims, it should be able to stand on its own, without an automatic sign-up that changes users' privacy settings without their permission."

Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Calif., chairwoman of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade, also has some concerns with the new feature and has called on Facebook to answer several questions. They include whether there are any other possible uses for the software other than suggesting potential tags to friends; how many people have opted out of the service and is the feature totally turned off when they do so; and does the company have concerns that the technology could be abused.

"While facial recognition technology has exciting possibilities - and is already being utilized to some extent by Google and Apple - there are some obvious privacy concerns as well, and we intend to examine them as part of the broader online privacy debate," Bono Mack's office said in a statement.

European data protection regulators are reportedly investigating the controversy, according to several news reports.

Facebook has found itself in hot water a number of times in recent years for making changes that have raised privacy concerns. Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

House Energy and Commerce Communications Subcommittee ranking member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., is recovering after undergoing an appendectomy Tuesday at Stanford Hospital.

Her office said Wednesday in a statement that there were no complications from the laparoscopic procedure and that she is making a full recovery. The statement added that Eshoo will be working from home the rest of the week. No word yet on whether she'll be well enough to return to Washington next week when the House resumes work after a week-long break.

Looks like Rush Limbaugh can breathe a sigh of relief. The Federal Communications Commission has agreed to comply with a House GOP request to once and for all kill the fairness doctrine.

The doctrine requires broadcasters to air opposing points of view but the FCC ruled in 1987 that it would stop enforcing it. Republicans in recent years, however, have voiced concern that the FCC may try to revive the rule in some way and possibly use it to curtail conservative talk radio.

House Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., and Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., wrote FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski last month to urge him to formally remove from the Code of Federal Regulations the fairness doctrine and rules allowing for those who are attacked by a broadcaster's editorial to respond on air.

Genachowski has repeatedly said in the past that he does not favor reviving the fairness doctrine. He wrote the lawmakers Monday to say he expects the FCC staff will recommend the deletion of the fairness doctrine and related provisions as part of his effort to comply with President Obama's call for agency's to eliminate unnecessary regulations

"I fully support deleting the fairness doctrine and related provisions from the Code of Federal Regulations so that there can be no mistake that what has been a dead letter is truly dead," Genachowski wrote.

While praising Genachowski's pledge to finally kill the fairness doctrine, Upton and Walden aren't satisfied yet. They sent Genachowski a new letter Wednesday requesting -- by Friday -- additional information on when the FCC will act on its commitment.

"We are heartened by your continued opposition to the Fairness Doctrine because of its chilling effects on free speech and the free flow of ideas," Upton and Walden wrote. "When precisely will you eliminate the Fairness Doctrine and related regulations?"

In the latest in a string of cyber attacks on the company, Sony notified about 37,500 customers of its film unit that their personal information may have been stolen by hackers.

A Federal Communications Commission report to be released Thursday on ways to help struggling media companies is not expected to call for any major proposals, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Facebook has rolled out a new facial recognition feature but has introduced it as a default setting.

Happy IPv6 Day! It's the day when Internet leaders hope to bring attention to need for users around the world to begin to transition to the next generation Web address system.

Legendary Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers, which has helped fund such companies as Amazon.com and Google, likes the proposed AT&T/T-Mobile merger.

Read more about who likes it -- and who doesn't -- here.

As expected, Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., announced Tuesday that he plans to introduce cybersecurity legislation that mirrors a bill in the House.

The Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2011 calls for more research and development for federal networks as well as more collaboration between the government and the private sector.

"Espionage, corporate sabotage, or attacks against this country must be taken seriously, even if these crimes are committed using a computer," Menendez said in a statement. "That's why I'm introducing this bill and working with my colleagues in the House to ensure we develop the world's highest caliber cyber security systems and develop iron-clad, 21st century network security safeguards."

Reps. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, and Dan Lipinski, D-Ill., are planning to introduce an identical bill in the House.

The legislation gives the National Institute of Standards and Technology the authority to set security standards for federal computer systems; creates R&D grant programs; establishes a task force of government, academic and industry resources; and creates scholarship programs to educate more cybersecurity professionals.

Bloomberg plans to move forward with its threat to file a complaint later this month with the Federal Communications Commission against Comcast, accusing the cable provider of keeping Bloomberg TV in a bad neighborhood.

Greg Babyak, Bloomberg's head of government affairs,says he is not happy with a letter Comcast sent out Monday to address the spat over where Bloomberg Television appears in Comcast's lineup for subscribers.

Bloomberg accuses Comcast of failing to comply with one of the conditions the FCC imposed when it approved the merger with NBC Universal in January. IComcast was required to include Bloomberg Television in the same "neighborhood" on its cable systems as other news stations, including Comcast's CNBC channel.

Bloomberg says that instead of complying with the order, Comcast is maintaining it does not need to do anything different unless and until it creates new "neighborhoods".

Comcast argues that Bloomberg wrongly assumes it even has neighborhoods for news or business news networks. Comcast says Bloomberg is seeking to enlist the FCC to get it better placement on Comcast's network.

"Nothing in the Comcast letter is new," Babyak said in an interview Tuesday. "It still creates for us a rather straightforward question of whether Comcast intends to comply with the order."

Babyak asks if the FCC fails to enforce such a straightforward condition as this one, how willing will it be to enforce any future merger conditions.

Bloomberg is not the first organization to raise concerns about Comcast's commitment to complying with the merger conditions. The public interest group Free Press issued a report last month that complained that Comcast had done a poor job of complying with its pledge to expand the amount of Spanish language local content.

Would Sprint be the biggest winner if the AT&T/T-Mobile merger goes through?

Official Chinese media slams Google over the company's response to a recent email attack.

The Wall Street Journal says Chinese-based hackers are targeting the Chinese government as well.

Companies may be embarrassed to report hack attacks

China calls Google a "tool". And not in a good way.

New attacks discovered over the weekend on Sony and Nintendo websites in Europe, Bloomberg reports.

A good year for broadband?

Where are the potholes in Boston? And when is that next bus coming? Mobile phone services are growing, NY Times reports.

What's going on out West?

House Republicans continue to question how the Federal Communications Commission developed and passed rules designed to prevent anticompetitive behavior online.

Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., criticized what she called "collusion" between the FCC and the advocacy group Free Press on Friday. On Thursday the conservative group Judicial Watch released emails between Free Press employees and Democratic FCC Commissioner Michael Copps and his staff.

"I am deeply disturbed by the revelations of collusion between the FCC and Free Press on the net-neutrality issue. The FCC has moved against the will of the people, the wisdom of Congress, and the order of the courts, to nationalize our most productive marketplace," Blackburn said in a statement sent to reporters. She has vocally opposed the so-called "net neutrality" rules.

In the emails, Free Press offers to help Copps write an opinion piece to place in a newspaper. Copps declined the offer but Free Press helped place a commentary that Copps and his staff eventually wrote.

In response, Free Press President Craig Aaron dismissed the emails as standard procedure for lobbyists on any issue.

"As you can see from even a cursory glance at these emails, there is nothing unusual or controversial in what Judicial Watch 'uncovered,'" Aaron said in an email statement. "This is what activists do: they contact policymakers and ask them to act in the best interests of the activists' constituents. In the case of Free Press, our constituents are the American people who want better media for a better democracy. The emails don't reflect anything more than that."

Free Press also strongly criticized the final rules for not being strong enough.

House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., has questioned whether the White House helped write the controversial net neutrality rules, which were enacted in December.

But in a written response to Issa in February, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said the law does not prohibit "communications between commissioners and commission and staff and members of the administration."

House Republicans have voted to overturn the rules, which continue to be a sticking point in many telecommunications debates.

A T-Mobile subsidiary was among the groups that formally asked federal regulators to place conditions on a proposed merger between T-Mobile and AT&T.

In a petition to deny filed with the Federal Communications Commission this week, Iowa Wireless Services expresses concern about the potential effects of the merger. T-Mobile and its parent company, Deutsche Telekom, indirectly own 54 percent of Iowa Wireless.

"Iowa Wireless does not ask the Commission to deny AT&T's application on an absolute basis," according to the filing. "Rather, Iowa Wireless requests that the FCC also require AT&T to agree to certain commitments to foster the continued provision and expansion of wireless services in rural areas, should the FCC determine that the transaction is in the public interest."

Iowa Wireless asked the FCC to require AT&T to maintain networks, roaming services, and other existing agreements until Iowa Wireless is ready to shift, as well ensure that the smaller company can still gain access to the latest devices.

The company says AT&T's plan to upgrade to next-generation wireless could undermine investments made by Iowa Wireless as others.

Outgoing Federal Communications Commissioner Meredith Attwell Baker worked with the agency's general counsel to make sure she followed ethics rules while negotiating for a new job with Comcast/NBCUniversal, according to a letter from FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski.

Genachowski explained the process in a written response to questions from House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who sought more information about Baker's controversial decision to leave for a lobbying job.

"Based on the public statements of both Commissioner Baker and the FCC, it does not appear that she violated any of her legal or ethical obligations in accepting a position with Comcast," Issa wrote in a letter on May 18th. "Nevertheless, because only a short time has passed since the Comcast-NBC Universal merger, it is imperative that the public can trust the integrity of the process."

Genachowski's letter included responses from the agency's general counsel, and largely mirrored statements previously made by Baker and the general counsel, but the letter revealed some details, including exact dates.

On April 13, Baker asked the FCC's general counsel what procedures to follow in discussing potential employment, the letter states. And on April 18, Baker recused herself from "matters that would have a direct and predictable effect on either NBCUniversal or Comcast."

Baker will be prohibited from lobbying the FCC for two years, as well as from lobbying many other political appointees for as long as President Obama is in office.

Baker has said she plans to leave the FCC Friday.

China denies it had any role in the latest hacking incident involving Google, while media companies are facing growing cyber threats of their own.

Are we in another tech bubble?

USAToday takes a look at Microsoft's new Windows 8.

Test confirms fears LightSquared's system may mess up GPS.

House Republicans see broadband as a jobs issue.

Sony's PlayStation coming back up after mega-hack.

An unborn baby gets a Facebook page.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee released an agenda Wednesday of how it plans to examine privacy issues this Congress, saying it will focus first on data security and the risk posed to consumer data from security breaches.

The committee's Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittee has already held a hearing on data breaches, which focused on Sony's recent security breach involving its PlayStation Network and a breach by e-mail marketer Epsilon. The subcommittee is set to hold a second hearing Thursday on the issue and will feature representatives from Sony and Epsilon. The companies declined to testify at the panel's hearing last month on the issue.

Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittee Chairwoman Mary Bono Mack, R-Calif., has said she plans to reintroduce data breach legislation soon. Her panel has primary jurisdiction over privacy and oversees the Federal Trade Commission, the federal government's top privacy enforcer. The committee's Communications and the Internet Subcommittee has jurisdiction over the Federal Communications Commission and would deal with any privacy issues related to that agency.

After addressing data security, the committee said it will then turn its attention to broader electronic privacy issues and growing concerns about the collection of data from consumers as they surf the Internet.

"As cyber attacks become more frequent, our first step must be to strengthen data security to ensure protection of information that consumers choose to have collected and stored," Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., said in a statement. "Only when basic data security is addressed can we move forward to address the more complex questions about individual privacy in the digital era."

The Commerce Department and some tech companies such as eBay, Microsoft and Intel have joined privacy advocates in calling on Congress to pass baseline privacy standards, saying they will provide consumers with more trust in e-commerce.

Senate Commerce Communications Subcommittee Chairman John Kerry, D-Mass., and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., introduced legislation in April that included many of the recommendations made by the department.

"Clearly, American consumers need better safeguards when it comes to protecting their information online," Bono Mack said. "E-commerce is a vital and growing part of our economy. We should take steps to embrace it and protect it - and that starts with robust cyber security."

What a difference a year makes. For its 2010 analysis of global Internet traffic, Cisco didn't include any projections for the nascent tablet computer market. This year, it's estimating that tablets, such as Apple's iPad (introduced in January 2010), the Blackberry Playbook and the Motorola Xoom, will fuel a surge in Internet traffic.

"Sixty percent of `net traffic by 2015 will be generated by tablets," said Suraj Shetty, vice president of worldwide service provider marketing for Cisco, during a Wednesday news conference on the company's latest forecast. The sudden rise in popularity of tablets "was definitely a big surprise," he added. Cisco also predicts that in four years, the number of network-connected devices will surpass 15 billion, twice the world's population. Online video also will be a major driver of Internet, accounting for two-thirds of Internet usage four years from now.

Cisco held its briefing as the House Energy and Commerce Communications Subcommittee convened a hearing on encouraging television broadcasters to voluntarily relinquish spectrum that would be auctioned to mobile service providers. While Cisco is on record urging Washington to free up more airwaves for wireless broadband, Shetty said the company plans to announce a technology breakthrough next week that would "optimize" broadband networks so they can better accommodate the increased demand.

Nevertheless, he warned: "That's not going to take away the need for more spectrum." For complete coverage of Cisco's global Internet projections, click here

Analysts at an influential financial counseling firm say there were few surprises in petitions filed on Tuesday at the Federal Communications Commission asking the agency to block AT&T's proposed takeover of T-Mobile.

"The opposition filings largely amplify arguments that were previewed in the press and congressional testimony, with an emphasis on arguing that the merger would create a tipping point for a wireless duopoly and challenging AT&T's core claim that they need to acquire T-Mobile in order to resolve capacity constraints," researchers for Baltimore-based Stifel, Nicolaus & Company wrote in an analysis released Wednesday.

The firm identified a series of demands made by critics of the merger, including a need for spectrum divestitures, regulation of wireless roaming, special access, and handset access.

Officials at AT&T are delighted that a wide range of groups have come out in support of the $39 billion deal. Among the supporters are labor and education groups; advocates for minorities and people with disabilities; a string of state governors; companies like Microsoft and Corning; and the Sierra Club.

Stifel Nicolaus cautioned that the most influential parties may be responding confidentially to the Department of Justice.

A coalition of African American groups filed comments Wednesday with the Federal Communications Commission in support of AT&T's proposed takeover of T-Mobile USA, saying the deal would help blacks compete for business opportunities and better jobs.

"The merger of AT&T and T-Mobile will mean more diplomas, better jobs and healthier African American families," National Coalition of Black Civic Participation's President and CEO Melanie Campbell said in a statement.

"A combined AT&T-T-Mobile also will help achieve the federal government's goal that our organizations share: 'Connecting every part of America to the digital age."

Other minority groups that support the deal released filings on Tuesday, the deadline for comments from opponents of the deal. About 28,000 filings were registered with the FCC Tuesday.

"AT&T has been among the highest ranked in the telecommunications industry for its commitment to diversity in terms of procurement, philanthropy, promotion and hiring at the federal, state and local levels," NAACP Senior Vice President, Hilary Shelton said.

"Wireless broadband is an integral tool in promoting civic engagement and as such is crucial to voter empowerment. We are hopeful that this acquisition will further advance increased access to affordable and sustainable wireless broadband services and in turn stimulate job creation throughout our country."

Top human rights officials from four international organizations called on governments Wednesday to do more to respect freedom of expression on the Internet.

The declaration was issued by rapporteurs who deal with human rights and freedom of expression issues from the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Organization of American States, and the African Commission on Human Rights and Peoples' Rights.

"Freedom of expression applies to the Internet, as it does to all means of communication. Restrictions on freedom of expression on the Internet are only acceptable if they comply with established international standards, including that they are provided for by law, and that they are necessary to protect an interest which is recognized under international law," according to the declaration released at a news conference in Budapest, Hungary.

The document outlined other principles including protection from liability for Internet service providers and other intermediaries for content they have no control over; support for network neutrality; and opposition to the blocking or filtering of Internet content or websites.

Last week at the eG8 forum just before the G8 summit in France, French President Nicolas Sarkozy called for greater government regulation of the Internet and protection of intellectual property.

Sarkozy's comments were criticized by Internet freedom groups and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google Executive Eric Schmidt, who were among several tech executives who attended the eG8 forum.

"Freedom of expression on the Internet must be fully protected," Agnes Callamard, executive director of ARTICLE 19, a London-based human rights and free expression group that helped draft the declaration, said in a statement. "These principles provide important guidance for national governments to meet their obligations."

The group was one of many critical of Sarkozy's comments and of the Internet document issued by the G8, which ARTICLE 19 said did not go far enough to recognize the obligation countries have to protect freedom of expression on the Internet.

Does the world need a cyber non-proliferation treaty?

Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt admits Google missed out on making friends.

And here's the whole Q and A - Google's secret to being safe? Use a Mac and Chrome.

How AT&T pre-bought its support, in The Washington Post.

Bloomberg reports that Microsoft has asked chipmakers that want to use the next version of Windows for tablet devices not to work with more than one computer manufacturer.