FCC Commissioner Copps
Addresses Regulation of Communications |
4/26. Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) Commissioner Michael Copps
gave a speech
[PDF] to the U.S.
Conference of Catholic Bishops in Dallas, Texas. He
addressed universal service subsidies, the FCC's public
interest standard, media consolidation, regulation of
broadcast speech, and other issues.
Copps stated that "Communications technologies can
enlighten minds, convey powerful ideas, educate, enable, and
lay a solid foundation for economic growth and human
development. Or, they can twist minds, dumb down the exchange
of ideas, coarsen the national dialogue and unbalance both
economic and human development. The decisions we will make in
the next years immediately before us will have much to do with
which path is taken."
He praised Instructional Television Fixed Service (ITFS), and
the FCC's e-rate program.
Broadband Internet Access as Universal Service. Copps
also addressed other FCC run universal service subsidies. He
said that "Each and every citizen of this great country
should have access to the marvels of communications." He
characterized this as "a civil right". He said that
"Today, that means broadband".
Public Interest Standard. Copps also defended the
public interest standard. "Not only do I find the concept
attractive personally, but Congress made it the foundation of
our communications statutes. In fact, the term ``public
interest´´ appears 112 times in the Telecommunications
Act". He did not, however, offer an explanation of its
meaning.
Media Consolidation. Copps also discussed media
consolidation at length. He said that "We have
experienced a great wave of mergers and acquisitions over the
past half dozen years. Many formerly independent broadcast
stations are now parts of huge ownership groups comprising
hundreds of outlets. This consolidation has no doubt created
efficiencies ... But this consolidation also presents us with
serious questions of public policy."
He continued that "our people have always harbored a deep
suspicion of excessive industrial consolidation, and they have
always wanted sentinels at the gate to guard against it. Each
proposed industry combination needs to be looked at on its
merits -- some are good, some are not -- but the public
interest test must be rigorously applied to every one of them.
This is exactly what I have attempted to do in my first year
at the Commission."
He concluded that "One of our most important jobs at the
FCC must be the preservation of a bustling marketplace of
ideas, a diversity in sources of content in each community,
and a multiplicity of voices to stir discussion and debate
throughout the land. This is what nurtures our
democracy."
Regulation of Speech. Copps also stated that media have
a "responsibility to act in the public interest".
"Broadcast and cable programming, in addition to being
entertaining, should enhance our democratic discourse and
educate our children", said Copps. "It is incumbent
upon us at the FCC ... to ensure that that the bottom line
does not displace the public interest as broadcasters' driving
force."
"It is up to us at the FCC to make sure that there
continue to be outlets for independent programming. We need to
ensure that local broadcast stations continue to carry
programming that serves the needs of the local community,
covering local public affairs and serving the needs of all
aspects of the community. In order to ensure that local
communities are adequately served, there must be diverse
sources of programming in each community -- not just a variety
of programming formats but true diversity, providing a variety
of voices and viewpoints."
Program Related Entities? Commissioner Copps also
discussed the obligations of "program related
entities". He said that "Right now broadcasters'
only affirmative programming obligations are to serve their
communities and to provide some programming that serves the
educational needs of children. They need to do more. So do
other program related entities. In the area of Public Service
Announcements, cable programmers, local cable system operators
and satellite providers -- not subject to the same public
interest obligations as broadcasters -- nonetheless have
obligations to be good corporate citizens. These programming
providers, like broadcasters, have the ability to deliver
targeted messages to specific audiences, and thereby to serve
the public."
Copps also addressed efforts to regulate indecency. |
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FTC Commissioners Comment
on Hollings' Online Privacy Bill |
4/26. All five Commissioners of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
wrote letters to Sen. John
McCain (R-AZ) in response to his request to them for
comments on S 2201,
the Online Personal Privacy Act (OPPA), a bill to regulate the
information collection and dissemination practices of web site
operators and ISPs. Three Commissioners offered criticism of
online privacy legislation. Two supported legislation.
Sen. McCain is the ranking Republican on the Senate Commerce
Committee. Sen.
Ernest Hollings (D-SC) is the sponsor of S 2201 and
the Chairman of the Committee.
FTC Chairman Timothy Muris wrote in his letter
that he has five concerns about the bill. First, he wrote that
as attempts to implement the financial privacy provisions of
the Gramm Leach Bliley bill have demonstrated, "Drafting
workable legislative and regulatory standards is
extraordinarily difficult." Second, "Whatever the
potential of the Internet, most observers recognize that
information collection today is also widespread offline.
Legislation subjecting one set of competitors to different
rules, simply based on the medium used to collect the
information, appears discriminatory." Third, "We
have insufficient information about costs and benefits."
Fourth, "the online industry is continuing to evolve
rapidly." He cited recent progress in privacy related
practices identified in a report
[PDF] prepared for the Progress
and Freedom Foundation titled "Privacy Online: A
Report on the Information Practices and Policies of Commercial
Web Sites". And fifth, Muris wrote that "there is a
great deal the FTC and others can do under existing laws to
protect consumer privacy".
Commissioner Orson Swindle wrote in his letter
that "there has been no market failure that would justify
the passage of legislation regulating privacy practices
concerning most types of information. Even if such a market
failure exists, I am not persuaded that the benefits of such
legislation, including the proposed Online Personal Privacy
Act, exceed its costs." He added that "the best
means of protecting consumer privacy without unduly burdening
the New Economy is through a combination of industry self
regulation and aggressive enforcement of existing laws that
are relevant to privacy by the FTC and other appropriate
regulatory agencies."
Commission Thomas Leary wrote in his letter
that "I do not believe it is my place to advise Congress
on the bottom line issue of whether it is or is not a good
idea to legislate on privacy issues." Nevertheless, he
went on to criticize the bill at length.
In contrast, Commissioner Mozell Thompson wrote in his letter
that "Online privacy legislation is needed". He
wrote that S 2201 "addresses many of the most
delicate problems associated with a legislative privacy
framework. First, it contains the fair information principles
and allows for flexibility and change. The OPPA avoids a
"one size fits all" approach to the notice
requirements and provides a reasonableness test for access.
The OPPA is also more reflective of a "real world"
consumer environment because it employs a sliding scale that
affords more protection to more sensitive information."
"Second, by preempting state law, the OPPA will prevent
the possibility of multiple standards that could
"Balkanize" e-commerce and prove overly burdensome
to business and too confusing for consumers. Finally, in
granting the FTC rulemaking authority, the OPPA will permit
strong enforcement, with special sensitivity to industry and
consumer needs, while also providing a means for state
participation."
Commissioner Sheila Anthony wrote in her letter
that the Hollings bill "provides long awaited, strong
protection measures for consumers in the online world. My only
concern with this proposed legislation is its limited reach.
In my view, federal legislation is necessary to protect the
privacy of personally identifiable consumer information in the
offline as well as online commercial realms." |
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PFF Report Condemns
Government Online Tax Preparation Services |
4/25. The Progress and Freedom
Foundation (PFF) released a report
[PDF] titled "Online Tax Preparation: Beyond the Bounds
of E-Government". It states that "While the
application of new technologies to the provision of government
services is clearly a good thing, it should not be a mechanism
for expanding the role of government into new areas better
left to the private sector. One area where governments may
well be moving beyond their proper role is the provision of
online tax preparation services for their residents."
The report, which was written by Thomas Lenard and James
Harper, argues that "The entry of government into the
online tax preparation business raises significant privacy,
security, and conflict of interest issues. The privacy and
security of taxpayers' deliberations about tax filing are
likely to be eroded by online government tax preparation
programs. And, there is an inherent conflict of interest
between government in its roles as both a ``preparer´´ of
tax returns and an ``enforcer´´ of the tax laws. It is
inappropriate for the government, which is the enforcer, to be
looking over the shoulders of taxpayers as they prepare their
tax returns."
The report elaborates that while governments collect much
information in tax filings, "tax preparation information
is an additional set of information beyond the information
filed with a completed tax return. Tax preparation information
concerns citizens' deliberations about what will be included
on forms, how expenses will be characterized, what individuals
and entities will report what information, and so on."
It states that tax preparation information "will become
more and more attractive information for auditors and other
government investigators" and "the existence of a
growing network of government databases creates an unseemly
set of incentives for criminal investigators." |
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Bush Asks Senate to Pass
TPA Bill |
4/27. President Bush gave a radio
address in which he advocated passage of trade promotion
authority (TPA) legislation. He stated that "The Senate
should pass the pending trade legislation without delay. Trade
promotion authority would give me the flexibility to negotiate
with other countries to open their markets and get the best
deals for American producers and workers. Congress would still
have the final up or down vote on any trade agreement."
Bush also stated that "I recognize that some American
workers may face adjustment challenges as a result of trade. I
support helping these workers by reauthorizing and improving
trade adjustment assistance programs that will give workers
impacted by trade new skills, help them find new jobs quickly,
and provide them with financial assistance."
The House passed its TPA bill, HR 3005,
on December 6. The Senate
Finance Committee approved its version of the bill later
in December. Sen. Tom
Daschle (D-SD), the Senate Majority Leader, has yet to
schedule the bill for consideration by the full Senate. |
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GAO Reports on DTV Deadline |
4/26. The General Accounting
Office (GAO) released a report
[PDF] titled "Telecommunications: Many Broadcasters Will
Not Meet May 2002 Digital Television Deadline".
The report concluded that "at least 24 percent of all
commercial television stations are broadcasting a digital
signal. At least 113 of the 119 broadcast stations that were
mandated to be broadcasting a digital signal by 1999 are doing
so. In addition, at least 185 of the remaining 1,121
commercial television stations that are to be broadcasting in
digital by May 1, 2002, are on the air with a digital
signal."
The report also found that "Once on the air, 74 percent
of current DTV stations reported providing some amount of high
definition content -- an average of 23 hours per week for
those stations showing some high definition content. However,
current DTV stations reported that they perceive little
interest in DTV among consumers in their viewing areas at the
present time."
The report also referenced DTV and the Internet. It stated
that "Another advantage of digital television is that
``digital compression´´ technologies allow for more
efficient use of the radiofrequency spectrum than analog
technologies. Using digital compression, broadcasters will
have the opportunity to use the 6 megahertz of spectrum
required to broadcast one analog television show to transmit
four or five different digital ``standard definition´´
television shows simultaneously." The reported noted that
"The idea of broadcasters as ``multichannel´´ operators
could make broadcast television more competitive with cable
and satellite television providers. A transition to digital
technology also opens doors to future links between television
sets and computers and the Internet, possibly making
television viewing more of an interactive experience."
The report was prepared at the request of Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA),
the ranking Democrat on the House Commerce Committee's
Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet. |
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7th Circuit Affirms
Convictions of ELF Antenna Saboteurs |
4/26. The U.S.
Court of Appeals (7thCir) issued its opinion
in USA
v. Urfer, affirming the convictions of two
people who sawed down poles that support an antenna for the
U.S. Navy's Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) system for
transmitting signals to its submerged ballistic missile
submarines.
ELF. The U.S. Navy's ELF
Communication System enables communications with submerged
submarines. Radio signals attenuate rapidly when they pass
through water. Submarines on patrol tend to be deep under the
water, because traveling at or near the surface are more
likely to be located by hostile parties. However, the rate of
attenuation varies with radio frequency, with low frequency
signals attenuating more slowly. The U.S. Navy sends messages
to submerged submarines around the world using the frequency
of 76 Hz. Generating a radio signal requires an antenna, the
necessary length of which is inversely proportional to its
frequency. Extremely low frequency transmissions require
extremely long antennas. The U.S. Navy has strung several of
these transmitting antennas to wooden poles located on federal
land in the states of Wisconsin and Michigan. The antenna at
issue in this case is 28 miles long and resembles a power
line.
The defendants in this case, seeking to disable the U.S.
Navy's nuclear missile submarine capability, sawed down a
series of poles supporting an ELF antenna.
District Court. Defendants were prosecuted in U.S.
District Court (EDWisc) for willfully injuring federal
property in violation of 18
U.S.C. § 1361 and § 1362.
They asserted in defense, among other things, that they had
been advised by an attorney -- one Anabel Dwyer
-- that sawing down these antenna poles would be legal. The
District Court allowed this attorney to testify. It also
instructed the jury on a "defense of counsel"
defense; it instructed the jury that it could not convict the
defendants if they "honestly believed their attorney's
advice and acted in honest ignorance of their legal
duties". The jury nevertheless returned verdicts of
guilty. Defendants appealed on the grounds that they were not
permitted to present evidence on "dangers to world
peace".
Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals held that
"The only error committed at trial was in the defendants'
favor. No advice of counsel instruction should have been
given. There is no such thing as an ``advice of counsel´´
defense."
Judge
Richard Posner, who wrote the opinion of the Court, noted
that "There are almost a million lawyers in the United
States. Not all of them are competent; not all are
honest." He added that "the lawyer's advice to these
defendants was indeed unreasonable".
Posner also concluded that "It would be especially
bizarre to suppose that antiwar activists have a right to
disable the United States from using nuclear weapons when many
other nations, not plagued by such activists, possess these
weapons." |
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AT&T Fined for Antenna
Violations |
4/25. The Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) released two Notices of
Apparent Liability (NAL), finding AT&T and SpectraSite Communications
liable for forfeitures in the amounts of $153,000 and
$111,000, respectively, for violation of 47
U.S.C. § 303(q), and FCCs rules, relating to antenna
structure construction, marking, and lighting.
Section 303(q) provides that the FCC shall "Have
authority to require the painting and/or illumination of radio
towers if and when in its judgment such towers constitute, or
there is a reasonable possibility that they may constitute, a
menace to air navigation." The NALs were adopted by the
FCC on April 18, and released on April 25. See, AT&T
NAL, SpectraSite
NAL, and FCC
release.
Urfer and Sprong (see preceding story) sawed down poles
supporting ELF antennas, in an attempt to shut down the U.S.
Navy's ability to send messages to its submerged submarines,
and compromise national security. They received light
sentences and were ordered to "pay restitution of several
thousand dollars". In contrast, AT&T and SpectraSite
were fined $264,000 for failure to "paint antenna
structures, and failure to replace lights" on antennas. |
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People and Appointments |
4/25. The Senate confirmed several judicial nominees: Percy
Anderson and John Walter to be Judges of the U.S. District Court
(CDCal), Joan Lancaster to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court (DMinn),
and William Griesbach to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court
(EDWisc). See, Cong. Rec., April 25, 2002, at S3457.
4/24. Robert
Gebhard joined the Palo Alto office of the law firm of
Gray Cary Ware &
Freidenrich as of counsel to the firm's bankruptcy and
insolvency practice. Gebhard was previously the Assistant U.S.
Trustee in San Jose, California. See, GCWF
release.
4/19. Frederick
Graefe joined the Washington DC office of the law firm
of Hunton & Williams'
as a senior member of its Government Relations Team. He was
formerly a partner in the Washington DC office of the law firm
of Baker & Hostetler. His practice focuses on several
legislative and regulatory issues, including
telecommunications and tax. See, H&W
release.
4/22. Marc Brown, Mark Wine, Charles
Rosenberg and Cynthia Lock joined the Los Angeles
office of the law firm of McDermott
Will & Emery as partners in the intellectual property
practice. Brown was previously a partner in the Los Angeles
office of the law firm of Oppenheimer Wolff &
Donnelly. He counsels and represents clients in the
procurement, evaluation and enforcement of high tech patents,
software copyrights, software development and internet
agreements, and trade secret disputes. Wine focuses on patent
litigation and matters involving trademarks, trade dress,
proprietary rights and trade secrets. Lock focuses on patent,
trademark, trade dress and copyright infringement, right of
publicity, false advertising, dilution, antitrust and unfair
competition. Rosenberg litigates complex commercial and
intellectual property cases, especially high tech patent
cases. See, release.
4/23. John
Creighton joined the Seattle office of the law firm of
Preston Gates &
Ellis as of counsel in the firm's Emerging
Business Practice Group. He previously worked for the law
firm of White & Case. He focuses on representing public
and private companies in capital markets transactions, private
placements, mergers and acquisitions, venture capital
financings, loan transactions, corporate formation, reporting
and disclosure, and general corporate matters. See, PGE
release.
4/24. McLeod USA
announced a new management team. Chris Davis is the new
Chairman and CEO. Steve Gray continues as President. Ken
Burckhardt is the new CFO. Clark McLeod will
retire. See, McLeod
release.
4/25. Sun Microsystems
announced that CFO Michael Lehman "has decided to
retire from full time duties" and that Steve McGowan
will be the new CFO. See, Sun
release. |
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Monday, April 29 |
The House will meet in pro forma session at 2:00 PM.
The Senate will meet at 1:00 PM and resume consideration of
motion HR
3009, the Andean Trade Act.
The Supreme Court will go on recess until May 13.
9:30 AM. Phil Bond, Under Secretary of Commerce for
Technology, and others, will hold a press briefing on
Secretary of Commerce Donald
Evans' trip to Asia on April 21-25; they will also address
other Technology
Administration (TA) activities. See, TA notice.
Location: U.S. Department of Commerce, Room 4813, 1401
Constitution Avenue.
10:00 - 11:30 AM. The Federal
Communications Commission's (FCC) Office of Engineering and
Technology (OET) will hold a tutorial titled Security
of Wireless Networks. David Wagner, Assistant Professor in
the Computer Science Division at the University of California
at Berkeley, will discuss security issues associated with
802.11 wireless networks. See, FCC
release.
12:15 PM. The FCBA's
Cable Practice Committee will host a luncheon. Rick Chessen,
head of FCC's DTV Transition Task Force, will discuss Chairman
Powell's proposal for accelerating the transition to digital
television. The price to attend is $15. RSVP to wendy @fcba.org. Location:
Mintz Levin, 9th Floor, 701 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.
2:00 PM. The House
Ways and Means Committee's Subcommittee on Social Security
will hold a field hearing titled "Protecting the Privacy
of Social Security Numbers and Prevent Identity Theft".
See, W&M
release. Location: Lake Worth, Florida. |
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Tuesday, April 30 |
The House will meet at 12:30 PM for morning hour and 2:00 PM
for legislative business. No votes are expected before 6:30
PM. The House will consider a number of bills under suspension
of the rules.
The U.S. Chamber of
Commerce will host an event titled Beyond Broadband:
Policy and Business Strategies for Next Generation
Applications and Services. FCC Chairman Michael
Powell will give the keynote luncheon address at about
1:00 PM. The price to attend ranges from $275 to $500. For
more information, contact Liza Ratana at 202
463-5500. Location: 1615 H Street NW.
12:30 - 2:00 PM. The Advisory Committee to the Congressional Internet Caucus
will host panel discussion titled Digital Rights
Management: Whose Rights are Being Managed? RSVP to
Danielle Wiblemo at rsvp
@netcaucus.org or 202 638-4370. Lunch will be served.
Location: Cannon Caucus Room, Cannon Building.
Deadline to submit reply comments to the FCC in response
to its notice of proposed rulemaking regarding its unbundling
analysis under § 251
of the Communications Act and the identification of specific
unbundling requirements for incumbent local exchange carriers.
This is CC Docket No. 01-338. See, notice
in the Federal Register.
Deadline to submit requests to the USPTO's to speak
at its May 16 public hearing on its proposed plan to eliminate
the paper patent and trademark registration collections from
its public search facilities, and to transition to electronic
patent and trademark information collections. The USPTO is
seeking public comment on issues related to this proposed
plan. The USPTO is also seeking input on whether any
governmental entity or non-profit organization is interested
in acquiring the paper patent and trademark registration
collections to be removed from the USPTO's public search
facilities. See, notice
in Federal Register. |
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Wednesday, May 1 |
The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business.
9:30 AM - 4:00 PM. The Antitrust
Division of the Department of Justice and the FTC
will hold another in their series of hearings on antitrust and
intellectual property. This event is titled "The
Strategic Use of Licensing: Is There Cause for Concern about
Unilateral Refusals to Deal?" The speakers will be Ashish
Arora (Carnegie Mellon University), Jonathan Gleklen (Arnold
& Porter), Paul Kirsch (Townsend Townsend & Crew),
Benjamin Klein (UCLA), Jeff Mason (University of Michigan),
Douglas Melamed (Wilmer Cutler & Pickering), Carl Shapiro
(UC Berkeley), Christopher Sprigman (King & Spalding),
Mark Whitener (General Electric), and John Wiley (UC Los
Angeles). The DOJ requires that attendees provide their name
and date of birth 24 hours in advance to Kathleen Leicht at kathleen.leicht
@usdoj.gov or 202 514-7018. Location: Great Hall,
Department of Justice, Main Building, 950 Pennsylvania Ave.,
NW.
10:00 AM. The House
Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight and
Investigations will hold a hearing on titled "Oversight
and Management of the Government Purchase Card Program".
Location: Room 2322, Rayburn Building.
10:00 AM. The House Financial
Services Committee's Subcommittee on Capital Markets will
hold a hearing titled "Corporate Accounting Practices: Is
There a Credibility GAAP?" Location: Room 2128, Rayburn
Building.
11:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The USTrade
Coalition will hold a press conference regarding trade
promotion authority legislation. For more information,
contact Kitty Brims at 202 637-3074 or ustrade @nam.org. Location:
Room 215, Dirksen Building.
11:00 AM. The Cato Institute
will host a panel discussion titled A Progress Report on
the HDTV Transition. The scheduled speakers are Mark Cuban
(HDNet), Thomas
Hazlett (Manhattan
Institute), Rick Chessen (FCC), David Donovan (Association for Maximum Service
Television), Michael Calabrese (New America Foundation),
and Richard Wiley (Wiley Rein
and Fielding). See, agenda and
online registration page. Location: 1000 Massachusetts
Avenue, NW.
12:00 PM. The FCBA will
host a luncheon. The speaker will be Charlie
Ergen, Ch/CEO of Echostar. The price is $45 for FCBA
members, $35 for government and student members, and $55 for
non-members. There will be a reception at 12:00 NOON. The
luncheon will begin at 12:30 PM. RSVP to Wendy Parish at wendy @fcba.org by Friday,
April 26. Location: Capital Hilton, 16th & K Streets.
1:30 - 1:30 PM. The FCC's World
Radiocommunication Conference 2003 (WRC-03) Advisory
Committee, Informal Working Group 7 (Regulatory Issues and
Future Agendas) will hold a meeting. Location: FCC, 445 12th
Street, SW, Room 7-B516 (7th Floor South Conference Room).
Deadline to submit comments to the USTR
regarding U.S. negotiating objectives and the work program
launched at the Fourth Ministerial Conference of the WTO
in November at Doha. See, USTR
release and notice
in the Federal Register.
Extended deadline for submitting comments to the Treasury Department regarding
its study of information sharing practices among financial
institutions and their affiliates. See, notice
in Federal Register. |
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Thursday, May 2 |
The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business.
8:30 - 10:00 AM. The American
Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host a press breakfast
titled "Telecommunications and Media Issues" with
former FCC Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth and other AEI
scholars. RSVP to Veronique Rodman at telephone 202 862-4871
or vrodman @aei.org.
Location: AEI, 1150 17th Street, NW, 11th Floor Conference
Room.
9:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Antitrust
Division of the Department of Justice and the FTC
will hold another in their series of hearings on antitrust and
intellectual property. This hearing is titled "Patent
Settlements: Efficiencies and Competitive Concerns". The
speakers will be George Cary (Cleary Gottlieb), Steven Stack
(Dechert), Thomas Barnett (Covington & Burling), Joseph
Brodley (Boston University School of Law), Robert Cook
(Drinker Biddle & Reath), Richard Feinstein (Boies
Schiller & Flexner), Phillip Proger (Jones Day), and Carl
Shapiro (University of California at Berkeley). See, agenda.
Location: Room 432, FTC, 600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.
9:30 AM - 12:30 PM. The NIST
will hold a proposers' conference for its Advanced Technology Program
(ATP). See, notice
in Federal Register. Location: Gaithersburg Hilton, 620 Perry
Parkway, Gaithersburg, MD.
10:00 AM. The Senate
Appropriations Committee will hold hearings on homeland
security and the FY 2002 supplemental appropriations request.
Attorney General John Ashcroft
is scheduled to testify at 2:30 PM. Location: Room 192,
Dirksen Building. |
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Friday, May 3 |
The House will not be in session.
9:30 AM. The U.S.
Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in Trans
Union v. FTC, No. 01-5202. Judges Edwards, Henderson and
Garland will preside. Location: 333 Constitution Ave., NW.
9:30 AM - 3:30 PM. The FCC will host a
public forum and technology expo on Telecommunications
Relay Service. Location: FCC, 445 12th Street, SW, Room
TW-C305 (Commission Meeting Room).
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM. The FCC's Consumer
and Governmental Affairs Bureau will host a public forum and
technology expo on the Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS).
Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room (Room TW-C305), 445
12th St., SW.
Extended deadline to submit comments to the FCC in response
to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking titled "In the
Matter of Appropriate Framework for Broadband Access to the
Internet over Wireline Facilities". This is CC Docket No.
02-33. See, Order
[PDF] extending deadline from April 15 to May 3. See also, original
notice in Federal Register. |
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