4/11. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a Public Notice [6 pages in PDF] asking what its broadband internet access service (BIAS) transparency rule means. The FCC promulgated its BIAS transparency rule in its huge Report and Order (R&O) [194 pages in PDF] which contains rules for the regulation of BIAS service providers.

The FCC adopted the R&O on December 21, 2010, and released the text on December 23, 2010. It is FCC 10-201 in GN Docket No. 09-191 and WC Docket No. 07-52. See also, stories in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,186, December 22, 2010, and TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,188, December 24, 2010.

The rule states that BIAS providers "shall publicly disclose accurate information regarding the network management practices, performance, and commercial terms of its broadband Internet access services sufficient for consumers to make informed choices regarding use of such services and for content, application service, and device providers to develop, market, and maintain Internet offerings".

The rules promulgated in December do not state what must be disclosed, or how it must be disclosed. Having imposed a mandate, the FCC in its April 11, 2011 Public Notice begins a process of establishing the requirements of the mandate.

The just released document is titled "Public Notice". It does not state that it is a notice of proposed rulemaking within the meaning of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). It does not state that the FCC will promulgate further BIAS transparency regulations. However, it asks whether BIAS service providers should develop "voluntary standards", or the FCC should impose "mandatory methods or formats"?

Joel Gurin, head of the FCC's Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau Bureau, stated in a release that "This Public Notice will provide a way for internet service providers, the tech community, and the public to help develop clear guidelines".

The FCC asks in this Public Notice (PN) what should be disclosed, how it should be presented, how it should be disclosed, and how often it must be updated, among other things.

The report portion of the December R&O discussed the transparency rule, at paragraphs 51-63. It states that "broadband providers must, at a minimum, prominently display or provide links to disclosures on a publicly available, easily accessible website that is available to current and prospective end users and edge providers as well as to the Commission, and must disclose relevant information at the point of sale. Current end users must be able to easily identify which disclosures apply to their service offering. Broadband providers' online disclosures shall be considered disclosed to the Commission for purposes of monitoring and enforcement. We may require additional disclosures directly to the Commission." (Footnote omitted.)

The R&O further states that "We anticipate that broadband providers may be able to satisfy the transparency rule through a single disclosure, and therefore do not at this time require multiple disclosures targeted at different audiences. We also decline to adopt a specific format for disclosures, and instead require that disclosure be sufficiently clear and accessible to meet the requirements of the rule. We will, however, continue to monitor compliance with this rule, and may require adherence to a particular set of best practices in the future." (Footnotes omitted.)

The R&O also states that "A key purpose of the transparency rule is to enable third-party experts such as independent engineers and consumer watchdogs to monitor and evaluate network management practices, in order to surface concerns regarding potential open Internet violations."

To the extent that this transparency mandate does not state what must be disclosed, how it must be disclosed, or when or how often it must be disclosed, it is itself an example of regulatory intransparency. It imposes a mandate, but does not put service providers on notice as to what constitutes compliance with the mandate.

The deadline to submit initial comments is May 26, 2011. The deadline to submit reply comments is June 16, 2011. This proceeding is CG Docket No. 09-158. Confusingly, the FCC assigns this PN the docket number of a proceeding other than the docket numbers of the proceeding in which it promulgated its BIAS transparency rule. 09-158 is the number assigned on August 27, 2009, to a Notice of Inquiry [33 pages in PDF] in a proceeding titled "In the Matter of Consumer Information and Disclosure Truth-in-Billing and Billing Format IP-Enabled Services".

4/6. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) held a hearing titled "The Electronic Communications Privacy Act: Government Perspectives on Protecting Privacy in the Digital Age". SJC members expressed opinions, and heard testimony from government witnesses. The SJC previously held another hearing for private sector witnesses.

The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), which was enacted in 1986, includes the Stored Communications Act (SCA). The Congress has amended it since, but the ECPA has not kept pace with technological changes. At issue is what standards apply when the government wants to access different types of information or data.

The federal government, and especially representatives of the Department of Justice (DOJ), oppose changes in law that would limit the ease and speed with which the government can access other people's communications and data.

One year ago a coalition named Digital Due Process (DDP) announced a set of four principles which the DPP members argue should be incorporated into the federal statutes that regulate government searches and seizures of stored communications and data.

These DPP principles state, for example, that the "government should obtain a search warrant based on probable cause before it can compel a service provider to disclose a user's private communications or documents stored online" and it "should obtain a search warrant based on probable cause before it can track, prospectively or retrospectively, the location of a cell phone or other mobile communications device".

See also, story titled "Digital Due Process Coalition Proposes Changes to Federal Surveillance Law" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,068, March 31, 2010.

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the Chairman of the SJC, stated in his opening statement that "there is general agreement that ECPA has become outdated by vast technological advances and changing law enforcement missions since the law's initial enactment".

He also stated that "a few core principles should guide our work. Meaningful ECPA reform must carefully balance privacy rights, public safety and security. Reforms must also encourage American innovation and instill confidence in American consumers, law enforcement and the business community."

Sen. Leahy (at right) elaborated that "ECPA is a law that is hampered by conflicting standards that cause confusion for law enforcement, the business community and American consumers alike. For example, the content of a single e-mail could be subject to as many as four different levels of privacy protections under ECPA, depending on where it is stored, and when it is sent. There are also no clear standards under that law for how and under what circumstances the Government can access cell phone or other mobile location information when investigating crime or national security matters."

Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA), the ranking Republican on the SJC, said that "we need to hear from the law enforcement community ... to ensure that we do not create loopholes that make it harder for law enforcement to do their jobs".

He said that "the 86 statute struck a balance between privacy and law enforcement". He added that "there is clearly a tension between the two points", and now the Senate needs to strike that balance again.

The witnesses were Cameron Kerry, General Counsel at the Department of Commerce (DOC), and James Baker, Associate Deputy Attorney General at the DOJ.

Baker wrote in his prepared testimony [12 pages in PDF] that the ECPA is important to criminal and national security investigations. He stated that the Congress "should refrain from making changes that would unduly impair the government's ability to obtain critical information necessary to build criminal, national security, and cyber investigations" and that the "Congress should also recognize that raising the standard for obtaining information under ECPA may substantially slow criminal and national security investigations."

The DOC's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) issued a notice of inquiry (NOI) on April 23, 2010, regarding the nexus between privacy policy and innovation in the internet economy. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 23, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 78, at Pages 21226-21231. See also, NTIA web page with hyperlinks to comments.

On December 16, 2010, it released its report [88 pages in PDF] titled "Commercial Data Privacy and Innovation in the Internet Economy: A Dynamic Privacy Framework". That report concluded that the Obama administration should review the ECPA "with a view to addressing privacy protection in cloud computing and location-based services."

The SJC heard no testimony from information technology and communications companies, law professors or legal experts, or privacy advocates. However, the SJC held a hearing on September 22, 2010 at which it heard from Jim Dempsey (Center for Democracy and Technology and leader of the DDP coalition), Brad Smith (Microsoft), and Jamil Jaffir. See, prepared testimony [16 pages in PDF] of Dempsey, prepared testimony [13 pages in PDF] of Smith, and prepared testimony [15 pages in PDF] of Jaffer.

Neither the DOC, DOJ, nor President Obama have issued any written recommendations for amending the ECPA. Kerry said that "we have been in active discussion", and the DOC is prepared to work with the SJC in drafting legislation. Sen. Leahy said that he wants to see the "administration's recommendations".

Baker said that "we have been working on a whole range of issue", that "we have made substantial progress", but that the administration has more work to do.

Sen. Leahy asked what is the DOJ policy regarding the "legal standard for government to access cell phone location information". Baker said that for accessing GPS data the DOJ needs to obtain a court warrant, but that for cell site location it obtains a court order under a lower standard than for a warrant.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a former federal prosecutor (U.S. Attorney for the District of Rhode Island during the Clinton administration), questioned whether there is a cognizable privacy right under the 4th Amendment in one's location.

Sen. Grassley referenced the proposals of the DDP coalition regarding using the probable cause standard for location information. He asked, "do you support raising the legal standard"? Baker said that "if we raise the standard, it would impact law enforcement", and "it would be more difficult".

Sen. Grassley asked if raising the standard would unduly burden prosecutors and the courts. Baker said, referring to pen register and location information, that "we use that information as the basic building blocks" of an investigation, and to build probable clause for "the more intrusive types of techniques".

Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) suggested that currently under the ECPA "privacy protections are far too weak" in the context of location information.

Sen. Franken (at right) also said that "Minnesota is home to a lot of so called cloud computing businesses". He said that he heard from one of these businesses that informed him that "they are loosing business because they can't definitively tell their prospective customers when and how the government will access their information". He asked "how can we amend ECPA to help businesses" like this one.

Sen. Christopher Coons (D-DE) asked how U.S. law compares to that in Europe under the European Data Privacy Directive.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) discussed the recent Epsilon data breach, and stated that he has asked for an investigation. He asked whether there is a need for more explicit restrictions in sharing information by companies, and whether this should be part of ECPA reform.

The U.S. Court of Appeals (3rdCir) issued its opinion [PDF] in In the Matter of the Applications of the United States of America for an Order Directing a Provider of Electronic Communication Service to Disclose Records to the Government, App. Ct. No. 08-4227, on September 7, 2010. That opinion is also reported at 620 F.3d 304.

The 3rd Circuit held that "the SCA does not contain any language that requires the Government to show probable cause as a predicate for a court order under" 18 U.S.C. § 2703(d) for cell site location information (CSLI) from cell phone calls. It also held that the court may reject the government's application even when it has met the statutory standard.

Kerry wrote in his prepared testimony [11 pages in PDF] that "There have been a series of decisions from district courts and magistrates on this issue, without any consensus about what the law including section 2703(d) of ECPA requires. The Third Circuit was the first appellate court to consider the question. It concluded that a court may refuse to issue an order pursuant to section 2703(d) to enable the government to obtain cell location information, even if the government satisfies the legal standard set forth in that section. At the same time, the Third Circuit articulated no clear standards to guide lower courts' exercise of the discretion it accorded them. Congress should examine ECPA's standards and procedures concerning government access to such information, and ensure that principled reasons continue to support those standards and procedures." (Footnotes omitted.)

Baker wrote in his prepared testimony that "The appropriate legal standard for obtaining prospective cell-site information is not entirely uniform across the country. Judges in many districts issue prospective orders for cell-site information under the combined authority of a pen/trap order under the Pen Register statute and a court order under ECPA based upon ``specific and articulable facts.´´ ... Starting in 2005, however, some magistrate and district judges began rejecting this approach and holding that the only option for compelled ongoing production of cell location information is a search warrant based on probable cause. Courts' conflicting interpretations of the statutory basis for obtaining prospective cell-site information have created uncertainty regarding the proper standard for compelled disclosure of cell-site information, and some courts' requirement of probable cause has hampered the government's ability to obtain important information in investigations of serious crimes. Legislation to clarify and unify the legal standard and the proper mechanism for obtaining prospective cell-site information could eliminate this uncertainty."

He also wrote that "Legislation could address" the 3rd Circuit's "interpretation of § 2703(d), under which a court is free to reject the government's application even when it meets the statutory standard".

On December 14, 2010, the U.S. Court of Appeals (6thCir) issued its opinion [98 pages in PDF] in US v. Warshak, which involves application of the 4th Amendment to the government's ex parte seizure of approximately 27,000 of Warshak's private e-mails. The Court of Appeals held that a subscriber enjoys a reasonable expectation of privacy in the contents of emails that are stored with, or sent or received through, a commercial ISP. The government may not compel a commercial ISP to turn over the contents of a subscriber's emails without first obtaining a warrant based on probable cause. See, story titled "6th Circuit Rules There Is A Reasonable Expectation of Privacy In Stored E-Mail" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,179, December 15, 2010.

Kerry wrote that US v. Warshak "is the law only in the Sixth Circuit, and the U.S. government is determining whether to seek Supreme Court review. Until such time as the Court squarely addresses the issue, the law as to what protection the Fourth Amendment affords to the messages and other customer content transmitted and stored electronically will be unsettled, and the resulting uncertainty will create challenges for consumers, businesses, and law enforcement. As Congress reassesses ECPA, one clear goal should be establishing clear and consistent rules in the area for the new communications marketplace."

Kerry also wrote that "An important subject for legislative consideration is whether there should be identical statutory protections regardless of whether a user stores information on a provider's computer or locally in the user's own computer. In determining whether to modify ECPA's current framework with respect to customer content, Congress should be guided by two overarching considerations. First, there should be a principled relationship between the legal protections and procedures that apply to law enforcement access to electronic information (including both content and customer identification and transactional information) and the legal protections and procedures for comparable materials in the physical world. What those legal protection and procedures are should be determined by reference to a number of factors, including the privacy expectations of the parties involved, who has access to or control of the information, and the reasonable needs of law enforcement and national security."

4/1. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report titled "Combatting Child Pornography: Steps Are Needed to Ensure That Tips to Law Enforcement Are Useful and Forensic Examinations Are Cost Effective".

It states that "The Internet ... has ... changed ... online child pornography" (CP). The main reason is that "Digital cameras and computers have made it easier for offenders to produce and distribute child pornography because they can bypass print shops and upload photos from their cameras directly to the Internet."

The report also suggests that CP is on the increase. However, the main evidence cited in the report is increased arrests, which in turn resulted from an increase in the number of CP investigators.

The 110th Congress enacted S 1738 [LOC | WW], the "PROTECT Our Children Act of 2008". The report notes that the Department of Justice (DOJ) and National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which maintains the CyberTipline for CP tips, have not implemented all of the provisions of the Act.

The report states that the "DOJ has not implemented three provisions -- that address studying the potential danger posed by child pornography offenders, designating foreign law enforcement agencies that can receive reports from NCMEC's CyberTipline, and developing a report on DOJ’s information-sharing structure -- and has not yet established specific plans or time frames for doing so."

The GAO recommends that the DOJ implement the Act.

4/4. A grand jury of the U.S. District Court (EDVa) returned a two count criminal indictment that was unsealed on April 4, 2011, that charges Hong Wei Xian and Li Li with violation of the Arms Export Control Act in connection with their efforts to obtain radiation hardened microchips for export to the People's Republic of China (PRC).

The Department of Justice (DOJ) stated in a release that "neither Xian nor Li applied for nor received a license from the United States to export defense articles of any description; however, from April 2009 to Sept. 1, 2010, the two are charged with contacting a company in the Eastern District of Virginia and seeking to export thousands of radiation-hardened" programmable read only memory (PROM) microchips.

The DOJ added that "Xian and Li knew a license was required, but did not seek to obtain one because it was difficult, time-consuming, and would require them to identify the end user and describe the end use. They are accused of conspiring to break up orders into multiple shipments and designate countries outside of the PRC for delivery to avoid drawing attention to the orders."

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The House will meet at 12:00 NOON for morning hour, and at 2:00 PM for legislative business. Votes will be postponed until 6:30 PM. See, Rep. Cantor's weekly schedule.

The Senate will meet at 10:00 AM. It will consider the nominations of Vincent Briccetti to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the the Southern District of New York and John Kronstadt to be Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

8:00 -10:00 AM. Broadband Census News LLC will host a panel discussion titled "The Costs of Global Intellectual Property Piracy: How Can They Be Empirically Quantified?". The speakers will be Sean Flynn (American University law school), Bruce Lehman (International Intellectual Property Institute), Morgan Reed (Association for Competitive Technology), Stephen Siwek (Economists, Inc.), and Loren Yager (GAO). Breakfast will be served. This is open to the public. The price to attend is $47.12. See, notice and registration page. This event is also sponsored by the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) and the Public Knowledge (PK). Location: Clyde's of Gallery Place, 707 7th St., NW.

10:30 AM. A subcommittee of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (SHSGAC) will hold a hearing regarding "Wasteful Spending in Information Technology". The witnesses will be Vivek Kunda (EOP/OMB), David McClure (GSA), David Powner (GAO), and others. See, notice. Location: Room 342, Dirksen Building.

11:45 AM - 2:00 PM. The Free State Foundation (FSF) will host a panel discussion titled "Regulatory Reform at the FCC: Why Not Now?" The speakers will be Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL), Ed Lazarus (FCC Chief of Staff), James Assey (NCTA), Steve Largent (CTIA), Walter McCormack (US Telecom) and Gigi Sohn (Public Knowledge). This event is free and open tot the public. Lunch will be served. To register, contact Kathee Baker at kbaker at freestatefoundation dot org. Location: Congressional Meeting Room North, Capitol Visitor Center.

1:30 PM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Communications and Technology will hold a hearing titled "Using Spectrum to Advance Public Safety, Promote Broadband, Create Jobs, and Reduce the Deficit". The witnesses will be former Sen. Slade Gorton (R-WA), Charles Dowd (New York Police Department), Coleman Bazelon (The Brattle Group), Mary Dillon (P/CEO of U.S. Cellular), Robert Good (WGAL-TV), Julius Knapp (Chief of the FCC's Office of Engineering and Technology), and Peter Pitsch (Intel). See, notice. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

2:30 PM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will meet to mark up numerous bills. The agenda includes no communications of information technology related bills. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

2:30 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee's (SJC) Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism will hold a hearing titled "Cyber Security: Responding to the Threat of Cyber Crime and Terrorism". The witnesses will be Jason Weinstein (Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the DOJ's Criminal Division), Gordon Snow (Assistant Director of the FBI's Cyber Division), Pablo Martinez (Secret Service's Cyber Crime Operations), Phyllis Schneck (McAfee), John Savage (Brown University), and Stewart Baker (Steptoe & Johnson). See, notice. The SJC will webcast this hearing. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

4:00 PM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on the Constitution will hold a hearing on HR 1433 [LOC | WW], the "Private Property Rights Protection Act". See, notice. This bill is a reaction to abuse of the power of eminent domain, and the Supreme Court's 2005 opinion in Kelo v. New London, 545 U.S. 469. This bill does not expressly address state or local government seizure of patents, copyrights or trademarks. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

Day two of a three day convention hosted by the American Cable Association (ACA). FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn will speak at 10:30 AM. See, convention web site. Location: Hyatt Regency Hotel, 400 New Jersey Ave., NW.

Deadline to submit comments to the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Science & Technology Directorate regarding its data collection forms for the CyberForensics Electronic Technology Clearinghouse (CyberFETCH) program. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 11, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 29, at Pages 7870-7871.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for morning hour, and at 12:00 NOON for legislative business. See, Rep. Cantor's weekly schedule.

8:00 AM. The European Institute will host a roundtable on homeland security. Mary Ellen Callahan, Chief Privacy Officer at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), will address data protection and Passenger Name Records. Location: Cosmos Club, 2121 Massachusetts Ave., NW.

8:40 AM - 3:30 PM. The U.S. China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCESRC) will hold a hearing titled "China's Current and Emerging Foreign Policy Priorities". See, notice in the Federal Register, April 6, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 66, at Page 19188. Location: Room 216, Hart Building, Capitol Hill.

9:15 AM. The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) will hold a news conference to announce the launch of a recycling program for consumer electronics. The speakers will be Gary Shapiro (head of the CEA), Walter Alcorn (CEA) George Sherman (Best Buy), David Thompson (Panasonic and head of the Electronic Manufacturers Recycling Management Company), Mark Small (Sony), Chris Harrington (Toshiba), and Lynn Rubinstein (head of the Northeast Recycling Council). For more information, or to RSVP, contact Rachel Wolf at 202-331-2120 or wolf at newpartners dot com. Location: Best Buy, Tenleytown, 4500 Wisconsin Ave., NW.

10:00 AM. The House Science, Space and Technology Committee's (HSC) Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation will meet to mark up several bills, including HR 1425 [LOC | WW], the "Creating Jobs Through Small Business Innovation Act of 2011". Location: Room 2318, Rayburn Building.

11:00 AM. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (SHSGAC) will hold an executive business meeting. The agenda includes consideration of S 191 [LOC | WW], the "Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Enhancement Act of 2011", a bill to require the DHS to conduct a study and write a report on the uses and capabilities of Amateur Radio Service (ARS) communications in emergencies and disaster relief. See, notice. Location: Room 342, Dirksen Building.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The Phoenix Center for for Advanced Legal & Economic Public Policy Studies will host an event titled "Regulatory Expenditures, Economic Growth and Jobs: An Empirical Study". The speakers will be George Ford (Phoenix), author of a paper with the same title, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), Phil Kerpen (Americans for Prosperity), Jerry Ellig (Mercatus Center), former Rep. David McIntosh (Mayer Brown), and Grover Norquist (Americans for Tax Reform). See, notice. This event is free and open to the public. Lunch will be served. Register at 202-274-0235 or rsvp at phoenix-center dot org. Location: Room 210, Cannon Building.

1:30 PM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Courts, Commercial and Administrative Law will hold a hearing on HR 1439 [LOC | WW], the "Business Activity Tax Simplification Act of 2011". See, notice. Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and former Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA) tried over many Congresses to pass such a bill. See, for example, HR 1083 [LOC | WW] in the 111th Congress. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

2:00 PM. The House Ways and Means Committee's (HWMC) Subcommittee on Social Security will hold a hearing titled "Role of Social Security Numbers in Identity Theft and Options to Guard Their Privacy". See, notice. Location: Room B-318, Rayburn Building.

2:00 - 3:30 PM. The Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division will host a presentation titled "Ain't it "Suite?" Bundling in the PC Office Software Market". The speaker will be Neil Gandal, co-author of a paper [PDF] with this title. For more information, contact Thomas Jeitschko at 202-532-4826 or atr dot eag at usdoj dot gov. Location: Liberty Square Building, 450 5th St., NW.

3:00 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing titled "Judicial and Executive Nominations". The witnesses will be Henry Floyd (nominated to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit), Lisa Monaco (nominated to be Assistant Attorney General in charge of the DOJ's National Security Division), Nelva Ramos (USDC/SDTex), Richard Jackson (USDC/DColo), and Sara Darrow (USDC/CDIll). See, notice. The SJC will webcast this event. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

6:00 - 8:00 PM. There will be a book party for the book [Amazon] titled "The Comeback: How Innovation Will Restore the American Dream" by Gary Shapiro, head of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) will speak. For more information, contact please contact Krista Strum at krista dot strum at 463 dot com or 202-463-0013 x209. Location: Atrium Lounge, Hotel George, 15 E St., NW.

Day three of a three day convention hosted by the American Cable Association (ACA). Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) will speak at 8:00 AM. See, convention web site. Location: Hyatt Regency Hotel, 400 New Jersey Ave., NW.

Further extended deadline to submit reply comments to the Library of Congress's (LOC) Copyright Office (CO) in response to its Notice of Inquiry (NOI) regarding federal coverage of sound recordings fixed before February 15, 1972. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 3, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 212, at Pages 67777-67781. This notice states that the deadline to submit reply comments is December 3, 2010. The LOC web site corrected the reply comment deadline to January 19, 2011. See also, correction notice in the Federal Register, November 18, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 222, at Pages 70704-70705. See also, extension notice in the Federal Register, December 1, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 230, at Pages 74749-74750. See also, further extension notice in the Federal Register, February 24, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 37, at Pages 10405-10406. This proceeding is LOC Docket No. 2010-4. See also, story titled "Library of Congress Issues NOI on Extending Copyright Act to Pre 1972 Sound Recordings" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,150, November 8, 2010.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) [152 pages in PDF] regarding disability access and S 3828 [LOC | WW], the "Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010" (CVAA), signed into law on October 8, 2010, and S 3304 [LOC | WW]. This NPRM proposes to adopt rules implementing the new Section 716 of the Communications Act. The CVAA, at S 3304, Title I, Section 104, gives the FCC sweeping direction and authority to regulate "user equipment, network equipment, and software" to ensure that it is "accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities". The FCC adopted this item on March 2, 20111, and released the text on March 3, 2011. It is FCC 11-37 in CG Docket No. 10-213, WT Docket No. 96-198, CG Docket No. 10-145. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 14, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 49, at Pages 13799-13849.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for morning hour, and at 12:00 NOON for legislative business. See, Rep. Cantor's weekly schedule.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) will meet to mark up HR 1249 [LOC | WW], the "America Invents Act", the House version of the patent reform bill. See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold an executive business meeting. The agenda includes consideration of Bernice Donald (to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit), Virginia Seitz (to be Assistant Attorney General in charge of the DOJ's Office of Legal Counsel), and S 623 [LOC | WW], the "Sunshine in Litigation Act". The SJC rarely follows its published agendas. The SJC will webcast this event. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Appropriations Committee's (SAC) Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies will hold a hearing on the FY 2012 budget request for the Department of Commerce (DOC). Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke will testify. Location: Room 192, Dirksen Building.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host an event titled "Iqbal/Twombly: The Current Trends and Implications for Federal Practice". The speakers will be Thomas Mugavero (Whiteford Taylor & Preston) and Claire Prestel (Public Justice Foundation). See, notice. The price to attend ranges from $15 to $25. For more information, call 202-626-3463. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, 1101 K St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The RTI International will host a panel discussion titled "Patients as Partners in Care: Engaging Patients Through Health IT". See, notice. For more information, contact Lisa Wolfe at 919-316-3596 or lbistreich at rti dot org. Location: National Press Club, Ballroom, 529 14th St., NW.

1:30 - 3:30 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Advisory Committee for the 2012 World Radiocommunication Conference's (WRC-12) IWG-4 (Regulatory Issues) will meet. Location: Rooms TW-C438 and TW-C468.

2:00 - 4:00 PM. The House Science, Space and Technology Committee's (HSC) Subcommittee on Research and Science Education will hold a hearing titled "Nanotechnology: Oversight of the National Nanotechnology Initiative and Priorities for the Future". The witnesses will be Clayton Teague (Director of the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office), Jeffrey Welser ( Semiconductor Research Corporation), Seth Rudnick (Liquidia Technologies), James Tour (Rice University), and William Moffitt (P/CEO of Nanosphere, Inc.). Location: Room 2318, Rayburn Building.

2:00 PM. The House Ways and Means Committee's (HWMC) Subcommittee on Subcommittee on Social Security will hold a hearing on the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) E-Verify program. See, notice. Location: B-318, Rayburn Building.

6:00 - 9:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host an event titled "Preserving Intellectual Property Rights in Government Contracts: A Beginner’s Guide (Part 2)". The speakers will be David Bloch (Winston & Strawn), Richard Gray (Department of Defense, Office of General Counsel), John Lucas (Department of Energy), and James McEwen (Stein McEwen). See, notice. The price to attend ranges from $89 to $129. CLE credits. For more information, call 202-626-3488. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, 1101 K St., NW.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) [71 pages in PDF] regarding changes to the Form 477 data program. The FCC adopted and released this NPRM on February 8, 2011. It is FCC 11-14 in WC Docket Nos. 07-38, 09-190, 10-132, 11-10. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 28, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 39, at Pages 10827-10852.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to the joint petition filed by Cellular South Licenses, Inc. and United States Cellular Corporation requesting that the FCC reconsider its decision amending a rule established by the Interim Cap Order to reclaim high-cost universal service support surrendered by a competitive eligible telecommunications carrier (ETC) when it relinquishes ETC status in a particular state. See, DA 11-507 in WC Docket No. 05-337 and CC Docket No. 96-45, and notice in the Federal Register, March 30, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 61, at Pages 17652-17653.

The House will meet at 9:00 AM legislative business. See, Rep. Cantor's weekly schedule.

Supreme Court conference day (discussion of argued cases, and decision on cert petitions). Closed.

10:00 AM. The House Homeland Security Committee's (HHSC) Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies will hold a hearing titled "The DHS Cybersecurity Mission: Promoting Innovation and Securing Critical Infrastructure". The witnesses will be Sean McGurk (Director of the DHS's NPPD's National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center), Ed Amoroso (AT&T), Jane Carlin (Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council), and Gerry Cauley (North American Electric Reliability Corporation). See, notice. Location: Room 311, Cannon Building.

12:15 - 1:45 PM. The New America Foundation (NAF) will host a panel discussion titled "Should the FCC Ensure Wireless Device Choice and Interoperability?" The speakers will be Michael Calabrese (NAF), Larry Krevor (Sprint Nextel), Joan Marsh (AT&T), Steven Berry (Rural Cellular Association), Parul Desai (Consumers Union), Rob Pegoraro (Washington Post). See, notice. Location: NAF, 4th floor, 1899 L St., NW.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its 2nd Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (2ndFNPRM), regarding broadcasting near tribal lands. This item is FCC 11-28 in MB Docket No. 09-52. The FCC adopted and released this item on March 3, 2011. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 16, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 51, at Pages 14362-14366.

Deadline to submit applications to the National Coordination Office for Networking and Information Technology Research and Development's (NCO/NITRD) to participate in the May 17, 2011, workshop on cyber security research titled "Distributed Data Schemes Provide Security". See, NITRD issue summary and notice in the Federal Register, March 28, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 59, at Page 17158-17159.

Deadline to submit comments to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers' (ICANN) WHOIS Review Team in response to its March 4, 2011, Call for Public Comment.

Passover begins at sundown.

The House will be in recess the week of Monday, April 18 through Friday, April 22, and the week of Monday, April 25 through Friday, April 29.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) [46 pages in PDF] regarding TV band rules and incentive auctions. The FCC adopted and released this item on November 30, 2010. It is FCC 10-196 in ET Docket No. 10-235. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 1, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 21, at Pages 5521-5537. See also, story titled "FCC Adopts NPRM on TV Band Rules" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,168, December 4, 2010.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) [158 pages in PDF] regarding video description rules. This would reinstate and modify the video description rules adopted by the FCC in 2000, and subsequently vacated by the U.S. Court of Appeals, pursuant to S 3828 [LOC | WW], the "Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010" (CVAA), signed into law on October 8, 2010, and S 3304 [LOC | WW], at Title II, Section 202. The FCC adopted this item on March 2, 20111, and released the text on March 3, 2011. It is FCC 11-36 in MB Docket No. 11-43. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 18, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 53, at Pages 14856-14871.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding implementation of S 30 [LOC | WW], the "Truth in Caller ID Act. This statute prohibits caller ID spoofing, but only if the purpose is to defraud or cause harm. See, stories titled "Obama Signs Truth in Caller ID Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,187, December 23, 2010, and "House Passes Truth in Caller ID Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,180, December 16, 2010. The FCC adopted and released this NPRM on March 9, 2011. It is FCC 11-41 in WC Docket No. 11-39. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 23, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 56, at Pages 16367-16375.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding the payment of filing fees by winning bidders in auctions of construction permits in the broadcast services. The FCC adopted this NPRM on February 28, 2011, and released the text on March 3, 2011. It is FCC 11-21 in GEN Docket No. 86-285. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 1, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 63, at Pages 18137-18138.

Passover.

8:00 -10:00 AM. Broadband Census News LLC will host a panel discussion titled "Better Broadband Adoption: What Levers Will Improve Take Rates Nationwide?". Breakfast will be served. This event is open to the public. The price to attend is $47.12. See, notice and registration page. This event is also sponsored by the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) and USTelecom. Location: Clyde's of Gallery Place, 707 7th St., NW.

11:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Advisory Committee for the 2012 World Radiocommunication Conference will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 29, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 60, at Pages 17417-17418. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th St., SW.

2:00 - 3:00 PM. The President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (PNSTAC) will meet by teleconference. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 29, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 60, at Page 17424.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will host an event titled "Information Technology Security Day". See, notice. Location: Gaithersburg, MD.