| 4th Circuit Rules in
Cybersquatting Case |
| 7/12. The U.S.
Court of Appeals (4thCir) issued its
"unpublished" opinion
in Domain
Name Clearing Company v. FCF, a cybersquatting
case. The Appeals Court affirmed the District Court decision
which held that DNCC had violated the 1999 Anticybersquatting
Consumer Protection Act by registering the domain name
Clarins.com. |
|
|
| Sen. Edwards Introduces
Location Privacy Bill |
7/11. Sen. John Edwards
(D-NC) introduced S
1164, the Location Privacy Protection Act of 2001. The
bill was referred to the Senate Commerce
Committee, of which Sen. Edwards is a member. Sen. Edwards
stated in the Senate that under this bill, "any company
that monitors consumers' physical location will be prohibited
from using or disclosing that information without express
permission from the consumer. And third parties that gain
access to the information cannot use or disclose it without
the individual's permission first." He continued that
"Our cell phones, pagers, cars, palm pilots and other
devices will enable companies to constantly track where we go
and how often we go there. ... But these new technologies also
raise serious privacy issues. Location information is very
private, sensitive information that can be misused to harass
consumers with unwanted solicitations or to draw inaccurate or
embarrassing inferences about them. And in extreme cases,
improper disclosure of location information to a domestic
abuser or stalker could place a person in physical
danger."
See also, HR
260, the Wireless Privacy Protection Act of 2001,
introduced in the House on January 30, 2001, by Rep. Rodney
Frelinghuysen (R-NJ). |
|
|
| GAO Issues Report on Legal
Obstacles to Telecommuting |
7/12. The GAO released a report [PDF]
titled "Telecommuting: Overview of Potential Barriers
Facing Employers." The report concludes that state and
federal laws and regulations present potential barriers to
telecommuting. These include state tax laws that could expose
employers and employees to additional state taxes and federal
workplace health and safety laws and regulations that could be
applied to telecommuters' home offices.
The report also states that "many telecommuting
proponents believe that significant obstacles to increased use
of telecommuting involve internal management concerns related
to (1) assessing whether the employer has the types of
positions and employees suitable for a telecommuting program,
(2) maintaining security over sensitive company data while
monitoring the actions of remote workers, and (3) ensuring
that telecommuting activities do not adversely affect
profits." The report was prepared at the request of House
Majority Leader Dick Armey
(R-TX). |
|
|
| New Documents |
Lofgren:
HR
2472 IH, the Protect Children From E-Mail Smut Act of
2001, 7/11 (HTML, TLJ).
Edwards:
S
1164, the Location Privacy Protection Act of 2001, 7/11
(HTML, TLJ).
Stearns:
HR
2421, the Jurisdictional Certainty Over Digital Commerce
Act, 6/28 (HTML, LibCong).
USCA:
opinion
in Domain Name Clearing Company v. FCF, a cybersquatting case,
7/12 (HTML, USCA).
GAO:
report
on legal obstacles to telecommuting, 7/12 (PDF, GAO). |
|
|
| Microsoft Announces Changes
Following Court Ruling |
| 7/11. Microsoft announced that it "is offering computer
manufacturers greater flexibility in configuring desktop
versions of the Microsoft Windows operating system in light of
the recent ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia." In particular, Microsoft stated
that OEMs
will be able "to remove the Start menu entries and icons
that provide end users with access to the Internet Explorer
components of the operating system". Microsoft also
stated that is will also allow OEMs to put "icons
directly onto the Windows desktop." Finally, Microsoft
stated that "Consumers will be able to use the Add-Remove
Programs feature in Windows XP to remove end-user access to
the Internet Explorer components of the operating
system." See, Microsoft
release. |
|
|
|
| House Holds Hearing on
Internet Gambling |
7/12. The House
Financial Service Committee's Oversight and Investigations
Subcommittee held a hearing on Internet gambling. Rep. John LaFalce
(D-NY) stated that he will shortly reintroduce two bills to
prohibit the use of credit card debt to place bets over the
Internet, and to prohibit the placement of ATMs close to
gambling sites. See also, HR
4419 (106th Congress), sponsored by Reps. Leach and
LaFalce. Rep. Jim Leach
(R-IA) stated that the Financial Services Committee has
jurisdiction over the only effective enforcement enforcement
mechanisms. Sen. Jon Kyl
(R-AZ) and Rep. Bob
Goodlatte (R-VA) have sponsored legislation in the
previous two Congresses to ban many forms of Internet
gambling. These bills include attempts to enforce the ban at
the ISP level. No Internet gambling bill has yet been enacted
into law.
Subcommittee Chairman Sue
Kelly (R-NY), said in her opening
testimony [PDF] that "the most serious offenders in
the Internet gambling arena are the virtual casinos operating
offshore, beyond the reach of U.S. law." She also stated
that she would "work with the legislative Subcommittees
under this Committee to support appropriate legislative
action". Committee Chairman Mike Oxley (R-OH) did
not advocate any specific legislative solutions in his opening
statement [PDF].
John Suarez, of the state of New Jersey, complained that off
shore gambling sites are advertising in New Jersey, and
allowing minors to gamble on their sites. He suggested that
Congress "declare that any credit card or other wager
placed via the Internet is illegal and therefore uncollectable
in the United States." Sebastian
Sinclair, of Christiansen Capital Advisors, did not dispute
the problems associated with online gambling, but cautioned
the Subcommittee to "keep your friends close, and your
enemies closer." For example, he stated that making
credit card gambling debts uncollectable would simply drive
online gamblers to use foreign banks and third party payment
mechanisms, such as PayPal.
See also, prepared statements of witnesses in PDF: John
Suarez (New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement), Sebastian
Sinclair (Christiansen
Capital Advisors), Keith
Whyte (National
Council on Problem Gambling), Valerie
Lorenz (Compulsive Gambling Center), Frank
Fahrenkopf (American
Gaming Association), Bill
Saum (National Collegiate Athletic Association), Mark
MacCarthy (VISA), Sue
Schneider (Interactive
Gaming Council), Penelope
Kyle (Virginia Lottery), Greg
Avioli (National
Thoroughbred Racing Association). |
|
|
| House Committee Holds
Hearing on Whois Database |
7/12. The House
Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Courts, the
Internet, and Intellectual Property held a hearing titled The
Whois Database: Privacy and Intellectual Property Issues.
Rep. Howard Coble
(R-NC), Chairman of the Subcommittee, said in his opening
statement that "It is my hope that as the Internet
grows and these policies develop, the public can count on the
availability of a robust and dynamic Whois Database." Rep. Howard Berman
(D-CA), the ranking Democrat, said in his opening
statement that "For web sites conducting e-commerce,
why should they have a privacy right to keep their place of
business and controlling owner a secret? ... however, a person
who has a website for purely personal reasons, pictures of his
cat, perhaps, or political complaints against a Member of
Congress - shouldn't that person be able to do his personal
business without everyone knowing who he is and how he can be
found? And isn't political speech worth protecting by
redacting the personally identifiable contact information for
the website owner?"
See also, prepared statements of witnesses: Jason
Catlett (Junkbusters), Lori
Fena (TRUSTe), Stevan
Mitchell (Interactive Digital Software Assoc.), and Timothy
Trainer (International Anti Counterfeiting Coalition). |
|
|
| Collocation Rules |
| 7/12. The FCC adopted
rules concerning collocation requirements of incumbent local
exchange carriers (ILECs). The FCC did not release the rules.
It did release a press
release. The USTA, which
represents ILECs, criticized the rules. See, USTA
release. |
|
|
|
| People and Appointments |
7/12. SEC Acting
Chairman Laura Unger named Stephen Cutler Acting Director of
the Division of Enforcement. Cutler has been the
Division's Deputy Director since January 1999. He replaces Richard
Walker, who recently announced his intention to leave the
SEC. See, SEC
release. Cutler worked at Wilmer
Cutler and Pickering from 1987 until being appointed to
the SEC in 1998.
7/12. The FCC announced
the appointment of new federal and state members to the Federal
State Joint Board on Universal Service. FCC
Commissioners Kathleen
Abernathy and Kevin Martin
were appointed as federal representatives, replacing former
FCC Commissioners Susan Ness and Harold Furchtgott-
Roth. Commissioner Lila Jaber of the Florida Public
Service Commission and Commissioner Thomas Dunleavy of
the New York Public Service Commission were appointed to serve
as state representatives, replacing Pat Wood, former
Chairman of the Texas Public Utility Commission, and the late Laska
Schoenfelder, former Commissioner of the South Dakota
Public Utilities Commission. See, FCC
release [PDF]. |
|
|
| Friday, July 13 |
| 12:30 PM. FCC Commissioner Gloria
Tristani will address the Alliance for Community Media on
public, educational, and governmental access channels in an
era of consolidation and technological change in the cable
industry. Location: Renaissance Hotel, 999 Ninth St, NW,
Washington DC. |
|
|
| Monday, July 16 |
| 1:00 PM. The Senate
Commerce Committee's Science, Technology, and Space
Subcommittee will hold a hearing on security risks for the
e-consumer. Location: Room 253, Russell Building. |
|
|
| 8th Circuit Rules in
Trademark Case |
| 7/12. The U.S.
Court of Appeals (8thCir) issued its opinion
in National
Association for Healthcare Communications v. Central Arkansas
Area Agency on Aging, a case brought under the
Lanham Act and state law to determine which party has the
superior right to use the service mark "CareLink" in
Arkansas. |
|
|
| Crime on the Internet |
7/12. The U.S. Court
of Appeals (1stCir) issued its opinion
in USA
v. Brunette, a criminal case involving the
validity of search warrants used to seize evidence of child
pormography located on computers and in other locations.
Affirmed.
7/12. The U.S. Court of
Appeals (7thCir) issued its opinion
in USA
v. Bautista, a criminal case involving
sentencing for traveling in interstate commerce with the
intent and for the purpose of engaging in sexual acts with a
minor, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2423(b). Defendant had
communicated in an Internet chat room with an undercover
police officer posing as a 13 year old. The Appeals Court
vacated the sentence on the grounds that it was too light. |
|
|
| More News |
7/12. Napster settled
the lawsuit filed against it by rock band Metallica for copyright
infringement. See, Napster
release and Metallica
release.
7/10. The House
Judiciary Committee issued Report
No. 107-125, regarding HR 2215, the 21st Century
Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act.
7/11. Rep. Jim Turner
(D-TX) and others introduced HR 2458, a bill to enhance the
management and promotion of electronic government services and
processes by establishing a Federal Chief Information
Officer within the Office of Management and Budget. |
|
|
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