3/29. The Fair Labor Association (FLA) released a report on March 29, 2012, regarding conditions at three Foxconn plants located in the People's Republic of China (PRC) that manufacture electronic devices for Apple, including iPad, iPhones, iPods, and computers.

The report covers plants in Ghengdu, Longhua, and Guanlan operated by the Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd., which also known a Foxconn. See, FLA web page with hyperlinks to report and appendices.

The report addresses compensation, hours worked, working conditions, safety, communications and relations between Foxconn and its workers, worker satisfaction, and other issues.

The body of the report [13 pages in PDF] states that "After growing criticism during 2011 about the working conditions at Foxconn, including those conditions that led to deadly accidents, Apple agreed to allow FLA to conduct a thorough investigation of those suppliers, beginning with three factories at Guanlan, Longhua, and Chengdu in China. Much more than an audit for compliance, this investigation is best described as an in-depth, top-down and bottom-up examination of the entire operation."

The FLA found "serious and pressing noncompliances with FLA's Workplace Code of Conduct, as well as Chinese labor law". (Footnote omitted.)

The report documents the low level of compensation of workers. It recommends compensating workers for such things as time spent at company meetings, and for training. However, the report makes no recommendations, and neither Foxconn nor Apple make any commitments, regarding raising wages.

The report documents the long work hours per week. However, it also provides survey evidence that most workers are either happy with the number of hours, or want more. That is, they report that they want to work more to earn more.

The report also discloses some business and demographic information about the three Foxconn facilities. The Ghengdu facility employs 38,393 workers and makes iPad components and assembles devices. The Longhua facility employs 66,680 workers and makes iPads and Macs. The Guanlan facility employs 73,004 workers and makes iPhones and iPods.

About two thirds of the workers in each plant are men, and the average age at each is just over 23. There is also high turnover.

While the focus of the report is on working conditions, worker compensations, safety, and other work related issues, the report also addresses environmental issues.

Foxconn also has manufacturing facilities in countries other than the PRC. Also, Amazon, Dell, HP and other companies have contracts with Foxconn. The report states that it is the "largest private employer" in the PRC.

Apple's web site contains no release or statement regarding this report.

Health and Safety. The report states that "The investigation revealed that a considerable number of workers felt generally insecure regarding their health and safety. The issue of aluminum dust was of particular concern, as this was the cause of an explosion at the Chengdu facility last year."

The report and appendices contain numerous specifics regarding health and safety risks, along with recommendations for remediation.

However, the report contains no data on deaths, suicides, work related injuries, accidents, or health problems at Foxconn facilities.

Communications with Workers. The report states that "Investigators found that workers were largely alienated, in fact or in perception, from factories' safety and health committees and had little confidence in the management of health and safety issues. The assessment also suggests that if workers had more involvement with developing and monitoring health and safety procedures, many of the problems with implementation could be avoided.

It also states that "factories' communications are almost entirely top-down."

Work Hours. This report discloses that workers work long hours, and that Foxconn violates the law with respect to work hours, but that workers are not complaining about work hours.

It states that "During peak production, the average number of hours worked per week at Foxconn factories exceeded both the FLA Code standard and Chinese legal limits. This was true in all three factories. Further, there were periods during which some employees worked more than seven days in a row without the required minimum 24-hour break. The root causes include high labor turnover, which undermines efficiency, and gaps in production and capacity planning."

The report finds that all three Foxconn facilities violated both the FLA Code Standard (which is 60 hours per week for the total of regular and overtime) and the Chinese legal limit (which is of 40 hours per week and a maximum of 36 hours overtime per month).

The report states that worker survey responses "indicated average weekly working hours of 56 hours, average maximum weekly working hours of 61 hours, and occasional long periods without a rest day".

However, the survey responses also indicate that this is not the workers' major concern. It states, "When asked in the survey how they feel about working hours, 48% thought that their working hours were reasonable, and another 33.8% stated that they would like to work more hours and make more money. 17.7% of the respondents felt that they worked too much."

Yet, the report also contains some analysis of multiple statistics. "Correlating the views of employees on hours of work and contentment levels from the survey suggeststhat after a certain number of hours, employees are not more content if they work additional hours."

Pay. The report discloses that workers are paid on time, but that workers are not paid for all of their work. Moreover, compensation is low, and this is the primary complaint of workers.

The report states that "While Foxconn wages are above the Chinese average and the legal minimum, the assessment found that 14 percent of the workers may not receive fair compensation for unscheduled overtime. The assessors discovered that unscheduled overtime was only paid in 30-minute increments. This means, for example, that 29 minutes of overtime work results in no pay ..."

Pay is a major issue with workers. The states that "wages are paid on time and are above the applicable legal rates. The legal minimum wage in Shenzhen is RMB1500, while the starting wage at Foxconn is RMB1800. After the probation period, wages go up to about RMB2200. Sick leave payments are higher than the local law requirement, with workers compensated 70% as opposed to the minimum law requirement of 60%. Overtime hours were also paid at the appropriate premiums."

Renminbi, or RMB, is the official currency of the PRC. The primary unit is the Yuan. 1500 Chinese Yuan per month is about $238 per month in US Dollars, or $2,856 per year.

In comparison, the price in the US of Apple's latest version of the iPad ranges from $499 to $829. See, Apple iPad sales page.

The report states that "With respect to satisfaction with wages, 64.3% of workers thought that their salary was not sufficient to cover their basic needs. The discontent with salaries was more pronounced in Chengdu where the legal minimum wage is lower; 72% of workers at Chengdu said their salaries did not cover basic needs. (According to the survey respondents, the average monthly salary in Chengdu was 2,257 RMB, compared to 2,687 RMB in Longhua and 2,872 RMB at Guanlan.)" (Parentheses in original.)

The report states that Foxconn has agreed to deal with "unscheduled overtime and work-related meetings outside of regular working hours" and "workers will be paid for overtime in units of 15 minutes and for work-related meetings outside regular hours will be compensated".

However, Foxconn has not agreed to raise salaries. Moreover, the report states only that the "FLA recommends a follow-up study to document spending patterns and the actual costs of the components of a basic needs wage".

4/3. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a Public Notice regarding the work of its Technical Advisory Board for First Responder Interoperability. It will hold its first meeting on April 26, 2012, at 8:30 AM - 12:30 PM at the FCC. It will issue its report by May 22, 2012.

April 13, 2012 is the deadline to submit requests to make presentations at the April 26 event. April 20 is the deadline to pre-register to attend the event.

Title VI of HR 3630 [ LOC | WW], the spectrum bill enacted into law in February, provides for reallocation of the D Block for an interoperable public safety broadband network. It also provides for the creation of this Interoperability Board. This bill is now Public Law No. 112-96.

Section 6203 of this act provides that "Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Interoperability Board, in consultation with the NTIA, NIST, and the Office of Emergency Communications of the Department of Homeland Security, shall -- (A) develop recommended minimum technical requirements to ensure a nationwide level of interoperability for the nationwide public safety broadband network; and (B) submit to the Commission for review in accordance with paragraph (3) recommended minimum technical requirements described in subparagraph (A)."

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski appointed the members of this Interoperabilty Board on March 22. See, Public Notice.

For more on this bill, see stories titled:

• "House and Senate Negotiators Reach Agreement on Spectrum Legislation", "Summary of Spectrum Bill", and "Reaction to Spectrum Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,339, February 17, 2012.
• "House and Senate Pass Spectrum Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,340, February 18, 2012.
• "Obama Signs Spectrum Bill into Law" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,345, March 23, 2012.

4/3. The European Commission (EC) announced in a release that it has "opened two formal antitrust investigations against Motorola Mobility Inc." regarding whether this recent acquisition of Google "has abusively, and in contravention of commitments it gave to standard setting organisations, used certain of its standard essential patents to distort competition".

4/4.Yahoo announced in a release that "approximately 2,000 people will be notified of job elimination or phased transition".

4/2. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) published a notice in the Federal Register (FR) that sets comment deadlines for its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding interoperability in the 700 MHz bands. Initial comments are due by June 1, 2012. Reply comments are due by July 16, 2012. The FCC adopted and released this NPRM on March 21, 2012. It is FCC 12-31 in WT Docket No. 12-69. See, FR, Vol. 77, No. 63, Monday, April 2, 2012, at Pages 19575-19589. See also, stories titled "FCC Adopts NPRM on Interoperability in 700 MHz Bands" and "Reaction to FCC NPRM on Interoperability in 700 MHz Bands" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,353, March 22, 2012.

4/2. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced in a release that it will open the Patent Law School Clinic Certification Pilot Program to admit ten more law schools for the Fall 2012 academic year.

4/2. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced in a release the start of its After Final Consideration Pilot (AFCP). The USPTO stated that the AFCP "authorizes a limited amount of non-production time for examiners to consider responses filed after a final rejection. USPTO seeks to determine if authorizing this time will increase the number of applications that are allowed at that point in prosecution and reduce the number of Requests for Continued Examination (RCEs)."

3/30. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report [75 pages in PDF] titled "Airborne Electronic Attack: Achieving Mission Objectives Depends on Overcoming Acquisition Challenges". This report pertains spectrum based warfare. It addresses the capability of US drones and aircraft to disrupt enemy communications and air defense systems, not the capability of foreign actors to dispute US systems.

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The House will not meet on the week of Monday, April 2, through Friday, April 6, or on the week of Monday, April 9, through Friday, April 13, except for pro forma sessions.

The Senate will not meet on the week of Monday, April 2, through Friday, April 6, or on the week of Monday, April 9, through Friday, April 13, except for pro forma sessions.

Day two of a three day conference and exhibition titled "Federal Office System Exposition" (FOSE). There will be numerous panels and workshops on April 3 and 4 pertaining to mobile government, cyber security, and cloud computing and virtualization. See, schedule. Location: Washington Convention Center, 801 Mt. Vernon Place, NW.

9:00 AM - 4:30 PM. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative's (OUSTR) Industry Trade Advisory Committee on Small and Minority Business (ITAC-11) will hold a partially closed meeting. The meeting will be open to the public from 9:00 - 10:30 AM. The committee will discuss the Small Business Administration (SBA) State Trade and Export Promotion Grants Process. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 47, Friday, March 9, 2012, at Page 14459. Location: Room 1412, Herbert C. Humphrey Building, 1401 Constitution Ave., NW.

10:00 AM. The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) will host an on site and teleconferenced event for reporters titled "Analysis of Cybersecurity Legislation". The speakers will include Leslie Harris and Greg Nojiem. The call in number is 877-643-6951; the participant code is 95 66 82 45#. A light breakfast will be served. Location: CDT, Suite 1100, 1634 I St., NW.

10:00 AM - 3:00 PM. The Department of Health and Human Services' (DHHS) Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology's (ONCHIT) HIT Policy Committee will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 52, Friday, March 16, 2012, at Pages 15760-15761. Location: Washington Marriott, 1221 22nd St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:00 PM. Proskauer and Lazard will host a webcast seminar titled "Considering an IPO for your Company -- A Webinar for Issuers and Sponsors and Their Portfolio Companies". The speakers will be Graham Powis (Managing Director, Head of U.S. Equity Capital Markets, Lazard), Julie Allen (Proskauer), and Stuart Bressman (Proskauer). See also, web page titled "Proskauer's Online Events".

12:30 - 2:00 PM. The American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) will host a webcast presentation titled "ITC Proceedings and Beyond". The speakers will be James Altman (Foster Murphy Altman & Nickel) and Bert Reiser (Latham & Watkins). CLE credits. CD, MP4 download, archived webcast, and other formats available. Prices vary. See, registration page.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding the consent agreement in its administrative proceeding titled "In the Matter of Western Digital Corporation", regarding Western Digital's proposed acquisition of Viviti Technologies Ltd., formerly known as Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Ltd. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 48, Monday, March 12, 2012, at Pages 14523-14525. See also, Complaint, Decision and Order, and FTC web page with hyperlinks to other documents. This proceeding is FTC Docket No. C-4350.

Day three of a three day conference and exhibition titled "Federal Office System Exposition" (FOSE). There will be numerous panels and workshops on April 3 and 4 pertaining to mobile government, cyber security, and cloud computing and virtualization. See, schedule. Location: Washington Convention Center, 801 Mt. Vernon Place, NW.

8:00 AM - 6:00 PM. Day one of a two day meeting of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Advisory Committee for Mathematical and Physical Sciences. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 53, Monday, March 19, 2012, at Page 16076, and forthcoming correction notice. Location: NSF, Room 1235, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA.

9:00 AM - 5:15 PM. Day one of a two day meeting of the Department of Commerce's (DOC) Science Advisory Board (SAB). See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 53, Monday, March 19, 2012, at Pages 15996-15997. Location: Washington Plaza Hotel, 10 Thomas Circle, NW.

9:00 AM - 6:00 PM. Day one of a two day meeting to the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Advisory Committee for Mathematical and Physical Sciences, the scope of which includes computer science. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 57, Friday, March 23, 2012, at Page 17102. Location: Room 1235, NSF, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Picture Patents v. Aeropostale, App. Ct. No. 2011-1558. Panel J. Location: Courtroom 203.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The National Economics Club (NEC) will host a lunch. Andrew Sherman (Jones Day) will give a speech titled "Harvesting Intangible Assets: Making the Most of Intellectual Property Management". Open to the public. Prices vary. Location: National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), Suite 200, 1201 F St., NW.

1:00 - 2:30 PM EST. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast panel discussion titled "Willful Infringement Before and After Powell v. Home Depot". See, November 14, 2011, opinion of the U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) in Powell v. Home Depot. The speakers will be Shawn Cage (Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney), Alissa Lipton (Finnegan Henderson), and Edward Mathias (Axinn Veltrop). Prices vary. CLE credits. See, notice.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGAB) regarding whether certain docketed FCC proceedings should be terminated as dormant. See, February 15, 2012, Public Notice (DA 12-220 in CG Docket No. 12-39), and notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 44, Tuesday, March 6, 2012, at Pages 13322-13323.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) regarding jurisdictional separations, the process by which incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) apportion regulated costs between the intrastate and interstate jurisdictions. The FCC once again proposes to extend the current freeze, through June 30, 2014. This item is FCC 12-27 in CC Docket No. 80-286. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 56, Thursday, March 22, 2012, at Pages 16900-16902.

Good Friday.

Passover begins at sundown.

8:00 AM - 3:00 PM. Day two of a two day meeting of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Advisory Committee for Mathematical and Physical Sciences. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 53, Monday, March 19, 2012, at Page 16076, and forthcoming correction notice. Location: NSF, Room 1235, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA.

9:00 AM - 3:00 PM. Day two of a two day meeting to the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Advisory Committee for Mathematical and Physical Sciences, the scope of which includes computer science. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 57, Friday, March 23, 2012, at Page 17102. Location: Room 1235, NSF, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA.

9:15 AM - 2:30 PM. Day two of a two day meeting of the Department of Commerce's (DOC) Science Advisory Board (SAB). See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 53, Monday, March 19, 2012, at Pages 15996-15997. Location: Washington Plaza Hotel, 10 Thomas Circle, NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Wi-Lan v. LG Electronics, App. Ct. No. 2011-1626. Panel K. Location: Courtroom 201.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Apple v. Samsung, App. Ct. No. 2011-1105. Panel L. Location: Courtroom 402.

10:00 AM - 12:00 PM. The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) will host an event titled "A Conversation with Six Former USTRs: Taking Stock and Assessing Priorities for the 2012 Trade Agenda". The speakers will be Susan Schwab, Charlene Barshefsky, Michael Kantor, Carla Hills, Clayton Yeutter, and William Brock. See, notice. Location: CSIS, 1800 K St., NW.

5:00 PM. Deadline to submit comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) regarding (1) potential revocation of competitive need limitations (CNL) waivers, (2) possible de minimis CNL waivers, and (3) possible redesignations of articles currently not eligible for GSP benefits because they previously exceeded the CNL thresholds. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 52, Friday, March 16, 2012, at Pages 15839-15841.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division (CSD) regarding its draft SP 800-53 Rev. 4 [375 pages in PDF], titled "Security and Privacy Controls for Federal Information Systems and Organizations".

Easter.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host an on site and teleconferenced panel discussion titled "Navigating the Landmines of Data Security Breaches: Practical Lessons Learned in Unearthing, Disarming, and Avoiding Cyber Threats and Digital Disasters". The speakers will be Lucy Thomson (CSC), Kimberly Peretti (Price Waterhouse Coopers), Robin Campbell (Crowell & Moring), and David Bodenheimer (Crowell & Moring). The price is $15. No CLE credits. See, notice. Location: Crowell & Moring, 1001 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

Deadline to submit comments to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in response to its request for comments regarding its practice guide for the proposed trial rules to advise the public on the general framework of the proposed regulations, including the structure and times for taking action in each of the new proceedings. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 27, Thursday, February 9, 2012, at Pages 6868-6879.

Deadline to submit comments to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking regarding rules of practice to implement the provisions of the Leahy Smith America Invents Act that provide for trials before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 27, Thursday, February 9, 2012, at Pages 6879-6914.

8:30 AM - 5:00 PM. The American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA), Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO), and American Bar Association (ABA) will host an event titled "USPTO Design Day". Free. See, notice and registration page. Location: Madison Auditorium, USPTO, 600 Dulaney St., Alexandria, VA.

1:00 - 2:30 PM EST. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast panel discussion titled "Piracy Update: IPR Center Strategies and Successes". The speakers will be Lev Kubiak (Director of the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center) and Alexandra Darraby (The Art Law Firm). Prices vary. CLE credits. See, notice.

CANCELLED. 6:00 - 7:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Commendations and Acknowledgements and Young Lawyers Committees will host an event titled "Mentoring Panel and Networking Reception: Reflections on a Career in Communications Law". Location: Drinker Biddle & Reath, 2nd floor, 1500 K St., NW.

Deadline to submit comments to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking regarding creation, pursuant to the Leahy Smith America Invents Act, of a new derivation proceeding to be conducted before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 28, Friday, February 10, 2012, at Pages 7028-7041.

Deadline to submit comments to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking regarding creation, pursuant to the Leahy Smith America Invents Act, of a new inter partes review proceeding to be conducted before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 28, Friday, February 10, 2012, at Pages 7041-7060.

Deadline to submit comments to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking regarding creation, pursuant to the Leahy Smith America Invents Act, of a new post grant review proceeding to be conducted before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 28, Friday, February 10, 2012, at Pages 7060-7080.

Deadline to submit comments to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking regarding creation, pursuant to the Leahy Smith America Invents Act, of a new transitional post grant review proceeding for covered business method patents to be conducted before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 28, Friday, February 10, 2012, at Pages 7080-7095.

Deadline to submit comments to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking regarding regulations for determining whether a patent is for a technological invention in a transitional post grant review proceeding for covered business method patents. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 28, Friday, February 10, 2012, at Pages 7095-7108.

12:00 NOON - 6:00 PM. Day one of a two day meeting of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Advisory Committee for Engineering. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 61, Thursday, March 29, 2012, at Page 19036. Location: NSF, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1235, Arlington, VA.

12:30 - 2:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Homeland Security and Emergency Communications and Engineering and Technical Practice Committees will host a brown bag lunch titled "An Interoperable Public Safety Broadband Network: The Challenge of Standards Development". The speakers will be Dereck Orr (NTIA's Public Safety Communications Research Program), Jeffrey Bratcher (NTIA/PSCRP), Jesus Trujillo Gomez (Cisco Systems), Jean-Paul Emard (Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions), Thomas Hengeveld (Harris Corp.), Ajit Kahaduwe (Nokia Siemens Networks), and Vint Cerf (Google). For more information, contact Gina Harrison at 202-482-2695 or rharrison at ntia dot doc dot gov. Location: National Association of Broadcasters, 1771 N St., NW.

12:30 - 2:00 PM. The DC Bar Association's Media Law Committee will host a closed brown bag lunch meeting to discuss media and communications law developments. Free. No CLE credits. Reporters are barred from covering this event. For more information, contact the DC Bar at 202-626-3463 or Kurt Wimmer (Covington & Burling) at kwimmer at cov dot com or Jim McLaughlin at mclaughlinj at washpost dot com. See, notice. Location: Covington & Burling, 1201 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

6:00 - 9:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host an event titled "Open Source Licensing: Legal Strategies and Risks". The speakers will be Victoria Hall (solo practice), Daniel Berlin (Google), and Jay Westermeier (Finnegan Henderson). CLE credits. The price to attend ranges from $89 to $129. See, notice. For more information, call 202-626-3488. The DC Bar has a history of barring reporters from its events. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, 1101 K St., NW.

Deadline for communications carriers, handset manufacturers, and operating system developers to respond to letters sent by House Commerce Committee (HCC) Democrats regarding regarding what they are doing to combat theft of smart phones, and protect consumers from theft of personal and financial information. See, story titled "House Commerce Committee Democrats Question Companies Regarding Smart Phone Theft" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,356, March 25, 2012.