| News Briefs: February 2000 |
2/29. USTR Barshefsky gave a speech in New York in support of China's WTO accession, and granting permanent normal trade relations status. "It can serve as a foundation for the rule of law within China, and as a precedent for willingness to accept and abide by international standards of behavior in many other fields."
2/29. The USPTO announced the Trademark Electronic Search System. TESS allows the public to search and retrieve on the Internet the 2.6 million plus pending, registered, abandoned, cancelled or expired trademark records found in PTO's X-Search system. See, release.
2/29. Rep. Chris Cox (R-CA) introduced HR 3709, a bill to make permanent the moratorium enacted by the Internet Tax Freedom Act as it applies to new, multiple, and discriminatory taxes on the Internet.
2/29. Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) gave a speech in the Senate on WTO's ruling that U.S. Foreign Sales Corporations are illegal export subsidies.
2/29. The Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Criminal Justice Oversight and the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Crime held a joint hearing on Internet Denial of Service Attacks. See, opening statements of Sen. Thurman (R-SC), Sen. Leahy (D-VT), and Rep. McCollum (R-FL), and testimony of Eric Holder (DOJ).
2/29. The Senate Year 2000 Committee disbanded. The Senate agreed to S. Res. 264, congratulating and Sen. Bob Bennett and Sen. Chris Dodd for their leadership. See, statement of Sen. Bennett (R-UT): "The record is fairly clear that had we, as a Nation, not focused on this issue and dealt with it, we would have had very significant problems."
2/29. The CDT, the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, Consumer Action, GLAAD, and the ACLU filed an Additional Statement of Facts and Grounds for Relief with the FTC alleging that DoubleClick's privacy practices constitute unfair trade practices.
2/28. Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), the ranking minority member of the House Commerce Committee, wrote a letter to the U.S. Customs Service regarding Internet pharmacies. He wrote that "we have been investigating a number of issues relating to this problem over the past year-and-a-half, including what actions the Federal Government is taking or should take ..."
2/28. The U.S. International Trade Commission extended the target date for completion of its investigation of semiconductor memory devices by 45 days, or until May 11, 2000. The investigation was instituted after a complaint by Micron Technology, Inc. (Inv. No. 337-TA-414.) See, ITC notice.
2/28. The Consumers Union
2/28. NTIA chief Greg Rohde named William Hatch, Kelly Levy, and Becky Burr Associate Administrators, and Kathy Smith Chief Counsel. Hatch will handle spectrum management. Levy will handle domestic telecom and information policy, FCC filings, and Congressional relations. Rhode did not announce Burr's new responsibilities, but stated that she has handled international affairs and been a Senior Advisor on Internet policy, international telecom and information policies; she has been a member of an interagency working group on e-commerce; and she chairs the interagency working group on domain names.
2/28. FCC Chairman William Kennard gave a speech to the CTIA in New Orleans. "I believe we will look back and remember this as the time when the Internet migrated out of clunky, cumbersome machines called PCs and into a wide array of handheld wireless devices." He also stated that "we need to encourage secondary markets for underused spectrum."
2/28. The FTC announced that it is seeking public comment on a plan by PrivacyBot.com to issue a "seal of approval" indicating that web sites that comply with its provisions meet the "safe harbor" requirements of the FTC's Children's Online Privacy Protection Act rules. See, release.
2/28. Bill Clinton said he would nominate Daniel Marcus to be Associate Attorney General at the Department of Justice. The AAG oversees ATR, CIV, CRD, ENR, TAX, and other offices.
2/24. Sen. Ernest Hollings (D-SC), ranking minority member of the Senate Commerce Committee, addressed online privacy in a Senate speech. Quote: "I look forward to working with my colleagues on the Commerce Committee to draft legislation in this area ..." See also, TLJ Summary of Online Privacy Bills.
2/24. Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT) introduced S 2097, a bill to authorize loan guarantees in order to facilitate access to local TV broadcast signals in unserved and underserved areas.
2/24. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) introduced S 2092, a bill regarding the use of pen registers and trap and trace devices, and regarding fraud and related activities in connection with computers.
2/24. The NSA sent a letter the U.S. House of Representatives regarding recent allegations about its SIGINT operations. Quote: "We want to assure you that NSA's activities are conducted in accordance with the highest constitutional, legal, and ethical standards, ... [but] we can neither confirm nor deny the existence of specific operations." (Link is to the Federation of American Scientists web site.)
2/24. The FTC released its proposed regulations (46 pages in PDF) for implementing the financial privacy provisions of the Gramm Leach Bliley Act. The act restricts when financial institutions may disclose nonpublic personal information about consumers to nonaffiliated third parties. See, release.
2/24. Secretary of Commerce William Daley gave testimony regarding the FY 2001 budget for the Commerce Dept. before the Senate Appropriations Committee's CJS Subcommittee. Quote: "To fully exploit the Internet's potential, everyone needs to be plugged into the revolution. So we are seeking $175 million to help narrow the digital divide ..."
2/24. The SEC filed suit in U.S. District Court, SDNY, against two people for sending numerous unsolicited e-mail messages to fraudulently manipulate the stock price of thinly traded companies. See, release.
2/24. The Senate Government Affairs Committee held the first of two days of hearings on day trading.
2/24. The WTO Appellate Body confirmed that U.S. foreign sales corporations constitute subsidies to exports in violation of WTO rules. the EU filed the complaint. See, the EU release and USTR Barshefsky's statement.
2/24. The Senate Judiciary Committee put off markup of S 577 (a bill affecting Internet alcohol sales) until Thursday, March 2.
2/23. Sen. Fred Thompson (R-TN) said "federal agencies continue to use a band-aid approach to computer security rather than addressing the systemic problems which make government systems vulnerable to repeated computer attacks." He also announced the Government Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on, S 1993, the Government Information Security Act, on March 2. See, release. See also, Feb. 22 statement by Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT).
2/23. Sen. Robert Torricelli (D-NJ) gave a speech in the Senate on online privacy, and S 2063, the Secure Online Communication Enforcement Act of 2000, which he introduced on Feb. 10.
2/23. The Joint Economic Committee held a hearing on Cyber-Threats and the US Economy. Vint Cerf and other industry representatives testified. Sen. Bob Bennett (R-UT) presided.
2/23. Two committees of the European Parliament held two days of hearings on Internet privacy and data protection. Members of Congress and EPIC Executive Director Marc Rotenberg spoke. See Rotenberg testimony. See also, TLJ story.
2/23. The BSA, SIIA, IIPA, MPAA, and other groups representing large intellectual property owners wrote an open letter in support of Congressional approval of PNTR status for China. They wrote that China's failure to live up to its commitments under the 1995 U.S. China Intellectual Property Rights Agreement should not disqualify it.
2/23. SBC and the Texas PUC both filed comments with the FCC in support of SBC's §271 application to provide long distance service. See, PUC comments and SBC release. On Feb. 14 the DoJ opposed the application. See, DOJ release. (CC Docket No. 00-4.)
2/23. Microsoft hired Edward Tobin. He will oversee federal, state and local government relations activities; the Microsoft political action committee; participation in industry groups and trade associations; community affairs and employee volunteerism programs. He is now US WEST VP for public policy. He once worked for Mass. Gov. William Weld. See, release.
2/23. The CEA and the NCTA announced an agreement on digital TV standards which details the technical requirements that permit the direct connection of digital TV receivers to cable TV systems, specifying the signal levels and quality as well as video formats. It also provides for the carriage of PSIP data. See also, statements by Kennard and Ness.
2/23. BroadVision settled its patent infringement suit against Art Technology Group, Inc. See, BV release.
2/23. Microsoft announced that it filed software piracy five suits against companies in Alabama and Mississippi. See, MSFT release.
2/22. Commerce Secretary William Daley gave a speech on critical infrastructure security. Quote: "We don't want some new form of government regulation. That could stunt or skew the technological change that is driving our new economy. We want the Internet to remain open."
2/22. Bell Atlantic and GTE filed their reply comments with the FCC regarding their proposal to restructrure GTE's Internet business. They state that "the Internet backbone and related data business of GTE Internetworking would be transferred to a public corporation that is owned and controlled by third party shareholders and operated independently of the merged Bell Atlantic-GTE." See, BA release.
2/22. Microsoft and the Department of Justice made their final oral arguments to Judge Robert Jackson regarding conclusions of law.
2/22. The SEC sued All-Tech Direct and Investment Street Co., and nine people, for allegedly violating the margin lending provisions by providing loans in excess of legal limits to day trading customers. See, SEC release. All-Tech Direct, of Montvale, NJ, will likely contest the suit. The suit comes two days before the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee's Investigations Subcommittee is scheduled to hold a hearing on the day trading industry. (Thursday, 9:30 AM, Room 342, Dirksen Building.)
2/22. The town of Holland, Michigan, held a referendum in which it voted 4,379 to 3,626 against installing filtering software in its public libraries.
2/21. Blaine Merritt will succeed Mitch Glazier as Chief Counsel of the House Courts and Intellectual Property Subcommittee. Merritt is now Asst. Counsel. Glazier is moving to the RIAA.
2/21. Microsoft critic Ralph Nader announced his candidacy for the presidential nomination of the Green Party. See, Nader campaign web site.
2/20. Gov. George Bush addressed the library filtering referenda which is on the Feb. 22 ballot in Holland, Michigan. He stated "there ought to be filters for Internet services that exist in public places." Both Sen. McCain and Alan Keyes previously stated their support.
2/18. U.S. District Court in Norfolk VA granted summary judgment to DSL provider Covad in a patent infringement suit brought by Bell Atlantic. See, Covad release.
2/18. AT&T filed a comment with the FCC arguing that the "merger between MCI WorldCom and Sprint must be denied unless Sprint is required to divest its Internet assets." See, AT&T release and FCC summary of the proceeding. (CC Docket No. 99-333.)
2/18. The FCC issued an Order in which it ruled that ISPs are not entitled to obtain leased access under 47 USC 532 to cable facilities for the purpose of providing Internet access or any service other than video programming. See, TLJ story.
2/17. FTC Chairman Robert Pitofsky gave a speech titled "The Nature and Limits of Restructuring in Merger Review." He addressed the "factors the FTC should rely upon in deciding whether and to what extent restructuring can save an otherwise anti-competitive transaction."
2/17. Wayne Madsen (Senior Fellow at EPIC) wrote an article published in Cryptome on recent DDoS attacks in which he stated: "The hype associated with the recent Internet flooding is outrageous and serves the agendas of the military and intelligence communities regarding new vistas for bloated Pentagon and espionage budgets. ... The whole so-called Internet "hack" smells of a perception management campaign by the intelligence community."
2/17. Lt. Gen. Michael Hayden, USAF, Director, National Security Agency, gave a speech at American University which covered the NSA's signals intelligence operations. Quote: "there are times when a government needs to collect information about its citizens. ... [but] there are rules governing NSA activities."
2/17. Rep. Bliley (R-VA), Sen. Burns (R-MT) and Rep. Markey (D-MA) announced a deal on satellite privatization. They have agreed to draft a bill that mandates a pro- competitive privatization of INTELSAT and Inmarsat, ending their cartel like structure, ends COMSAT's monopoly over INTELSAT access in the U.S., ends the privileges and immunities from law of INTELSAT and COMSAT; and eliminates the outside ownership cap on COMSAT. See, Bliley release and COMSAT release.
2/17. The House Telecom Subcommittee held a hearing on FCC spectrum management, the FCC's LPFM order, and HR 3439, the Radio Broadcasting Preservation Act. Rep. Bliley stated that "New technologies, such as Internet radio, reach targeted audiences." See, statement.
2/17. NTIA head Greg Rohde gave a speech to the Federal Comm. Bar Assoc. "The distinctions between cable, broadcast, telephone, and computers are becoming more and more blurred. Indeed, perhaps one of the biggest regulatory challenges is simply defining services and determining what is or is not a telecommunications service."
2/17. Commerce Secretary William Daley and Argentina's Secretary of Science and Technology Caputo signed an initiative pledging to work together to promote e-commerce. See. DOC release. See also, speech by Daley to the American Chamber of Commerce in Buenos Aires.
2/17. The EPA shut down its web site just prior to a House Commerce Committee hearing on EPA computer security. Chairman Bliley said: "The EPA computer system contains hundreds of millions of dollars of sensitive and confidential information that was at severe risk because of a complete lack of attention to cyber security by the Agency." The GAO issued a report (PDF) on Feb. 1 which "found serious and pervasive problems that essentially render EPAs agencywide information security program ineffective."
2/17. House Speaker Denny Hastert picked Rep. J.C. Watts (R-OK) to chair the House GOP's new Cyber Security Team. The other member are Robin Hayes (NC), Don Sherwood (PA), Brian Bilbray (CA), John Shimkus (IL), Tom Davis (VA), Steve Horn (CA), Charles Bass (NH), Heather Wilson (NM), Bob Goodlatte (VA), Jim Rogan (CA), David Dreier (CA), Pete Sessions (TX), Vern Ehlers (MI), Steve Kuykendall (CA), and George Nethercutt (WA). See, Dreier release.
2/17. AT&T said in commments filed with the FCC that Bell Atlantic and GTEs proposal to spin off GTEs interexchange Internet backbone facilities is a sham transaction and should be denied. See, ATT release.
2/16. The SEC said that Carmine DeSantis and Lawrence DeMonte agreed to settle SEC charges that they engaged in insider trading in advance of IBM's takeover of Lotus. Both agreed to pay trading profits and penalties. On May 26, 1999, the SEC charged DeSantis, DeMonte, and 23 others. See, SEC release.
2/16. The SEC filed a complaint in U.S. District Court (SDNY) charging defendants with artificially inflating the value of Wellness Universe Corp.'s stock by disseminating fraudulent press releases over the Internet. See, SEC release.
2/16. The House appointed conferees on electronic signatures bills (HR 1714 and S 761): Bliley, Tauzin, Oxley, Dingell, and Markey.
2/16. Rep. David Dreier (R-CA) and Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) introduced HR 3680, a bill to reduce the review period for export controls on high-speed computers from 6 months to 30 days.
2/16. The House Agriculture Committee approved HR 3615, the Rural Local Broadcast Signal Act, by a vote of 41-0. The committee also approved an amendment offered by the sponsor, Rep. Goodlatte.
2/16. Jodie Bernstein, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection stated that FTC "staff is conducting a routine inquiry of DoubleClick, Inc., to determine whether it has engaged in unfair or deceptive practices in violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act." See, release. (EPIC filed a complaint with the FTC about DoubleClick on Feb. 10. See also, TLJ story.)
2/16. DoubleClick issued a statement. Quote: "DoubleClick has been a leader in protecting consumer privacy and is committed to providing consumers with notice and choice."
2/16. Bill Clinton said at a press conference that one of his two nominees for the FEC, Brad Smith, "hates campaign finance law". He said that he picked him on the recommendation of Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS). (The FEC is conducting an inquiry into how it might regulate political speech on the Internet.)
2/16. The House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing on the ascension of China to the WTO. John Chen, CEO of Sybase testified that "As part of the WTO accession package, China has promised to come into compliance with the TRIPS Agreement immediately, without any delay or transition period. That commitment gives us a powerful tool in combating software piracy in China." See, Chen's testimony, USTR Barshefsky's testimony, and links to other witness testimony.
2/15. The SEC obtained a preliminary injunction from the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts against against Nancy Cheal and Richard Birmingham for Internet stock fraud. The complaint, which was filed on Jan. 31, stated that defendants raised more than $1.5 million in an investment fraud perpetrated over the Internet. See, SEC release.
2/15. Rhythms NetConnections, a DSL provider, asked the Georgia Public Service Comm. to investigate BellSouth for alleged unlawful discriminatory practices. See, Rhythms release.
2/15. The House passed HR 2086, the Networking and Info. Technology Research and Development Act. It authorizes about $5 Billion in funding for IT research over 5 years, provides for an NSF Internet privacy study, and makes permanent the R&D tax credit. This bill has not been introduced in the Senate.
2/15. U.S. District Court Judge Middlebrooks dismissed portions of lawsuits filed by Comcast and Advanced Cable Communications challenging Broward County's open access requirement. The decision was based on the court's finding that plaintiffs lacked standing, not the underlying merits of their claims. See also, OpenNET release.
2/15. Secretary of Commerce Daley issued a statement in support of permanent normal trade relations status for China. "Opponents of PNTR have tried to confuse the issue by falsely claiming that some form of periodic review of NTR status would be consistent with our WTO obligations. That is simply not the case."
2/15. Bill Clinton met at the White House with e-commerce execs, security experts, interest groups leaders, and cabinet officials to discuss recent DDoS attacks on major web sites. See, State Dept. summary.
2/15. Bill Clinton held a press conference on Internet security. Quote: "The only contribution the government made to the Internet was the early research over 30 years ago, now, I guess, is when it started -- '69. And there may be more work for us to do in research here. But I think that, insofar as we can, we ought to stay with what brought us here." Source: White House Press Office.
2/15. The Pennsylvania House Consumer Affairs Committee voted 15-8 to table a measure to impose open access regulations on cable operators.
2/15. The FCC approved VoiceStream's acquisition of Omnipoint. Both are wireless carriers. See, FCC release, and Furchgott-Roth statement condemning FBI and DOJ "hijacking" of FCC license transfer proceedings.
2/14. FCC Commissioner William Kennard gave a speech to the New York City Bar Association on the Telecom Act of 1996 and competition in New York.
2/14. FCC Commissioner Susan Ness gave a speech to the NTCA on universal service, e-rate, broadband deployment, and §706.
2/14. The Justice Department said that the FCC should deny the SBC's application to provide long distance service in Texas. See, DOJ release. The USTA expressed disappointment in the DOJ, and stated that the FCC "should give great deference to the local Texas regulators who know first hand the extent of local competition in their home state." See, USTA release.
2/14. Bill Clinton had this to say about Internet taxes: "I don't think that there should be any access or any other kind of discriminatory taxes, from my point of view, ever on the Internet. The tough question is the whole question of what happens to sales that if they were not on the Internet would be subject to state and local sales tax." Source: White House Press Office.
2/14. NTIA Chief Greg Rohde gave a speech to the NAB in which he said "there indeed are many challenges facing the future of local broadcasting: consolidation, expensive conversion to digital, or video streaming over the Internet, broadcasters should embrace the future and use it."
2/14. NTIA Chief Greg Rohde announced that the NTIA will host a public roundtable on March 2 on ways TV viewers in rural and other under served parts of the country can get local news and information through new technologies. See, release. The NTIA also seeks written comments. See, Federal Register Notice.
2/14. The FCC said that Blaise Scinto has been named Dep. Chief of the Policy Division of the Wireless Bureau. Before joining the FCC in 1995 she worked for the law firm of Winston & Strawn. See, release (MS Word).
2/11. FCC Chairman William Kennard stated that "The regulatory formula for successful deployment of broadband services should be to promote market entry and technology based competition through multiple platforms," in comments filed with the EU. See, release.
2/11. The Federal State Joint Conference on Advanced Services announced its Field Hearing Schedule. See, FCC Notice (MS Word). See also, FCC Oct. 8. announcement (html) and Order (txt) regarding the formation of the FSJCAS.
2/11. The RIAA hired Mitch Glazier as its SVP of Gov. Relations and Legislative Counsel. He was previously Chief Counsel to the House Courts and Intellectual Property Subcomm. See, release.
2/10. Sen. Bill Frist (R-TN) and Sen. Spencer Abraham (R-MI) introduced S 2067, the American's Math and Science Excellence Act. The bill authorized the National Science Foundation to award grants to train teachers in the use of information technology.
2/10. Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) introduced HR 3643 IH, the American Telecommuter Protection Act. See, TLJ summary of bills pertaining to OSHA regulation of teleworkers.
2/10. Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) introduced HR 3615, the Rural Local Broadcast Signal Act, a bill to improve access to the signals of local TV stations by MVPs in rural areas. See, release. The bill has 104 cosponsors. See also, witness testimony: Rep. Emerson (R-MO), James May (NAB), B.R. Phillips, (NRTC), Christopher McLean, (Ag. Dept.), John Hutchinson (Local TV on Satellite).
2/10. Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) gave a speech in the Senate on the lack of local TV via satellite in rural areas. "The loan guarantee program ... was regrettably stripped from the Satellite Home Viewer Act in the 11th hour of the last session. I say, let's put it back in in ..."
2/10. Sen. Slade Gorton (R-WA) gave a speech in the Senate decrying the DOJ and EU persecutions of Microsoft. "We have simply opened up to European competitors the opportunity to cripple or destroy one of the most innovative and progressive of all U.S. corporations ..."
2/10. BSA CEO Robert Holleyman wrote a letter to the members of the House in support of granting China PNTR (permanent normalized trade relations) and its accession to the WTO.
2/10. The SEC filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court, SDNY, against E4online.com, Inc. and Arthur Alonzo charging them with making false and misleading statements to investors while offering and selling the common stock of E4online, a purported development stage Internet retailer. See, release.
2/10. Rep. Frelinghuysen entered a statement about HR 3560, the Online Privacy Protection Act, in the Congressional Record.
2/10. Sen. Torricelli (D-NJ) introduced S 2063 a bill to provide for the applicability to web site operators of restrictions on the disclosure or records.
2/10. Microsoft filed suits in Massachusetts against four software distributors for selling counterfeit software. See, MS release.
2/10. FTC Chairman Robert Pitofsky gave a speech on e-commerce in which he addressed online privacy at length. "There may soon come a point when the business community will have to decide whether it prefers a single comprehensive federal rule, or a situation in which a variety of state rules create difficult to follow mandates."
2/10. The U.S. Court of Appeals ruled against NextWave Telecom. FCC Chairman Wm. Kennard hailed the ruling. "The decision brings us another step closer to auctioning this spectrum to give consumers more choice in advanced wireless communications, including greater and faster access to the Internet." See, Kennard statement.
2/10. The ITAA urged the FASB to reconsider its proposal to eliminate the pooling of interests accounting method for business combinations. See, release.
2/10. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) announced the formation of a bipartisan Congressional Privacy Caucus. See, Shelby release.
2/10. Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) introduced S 2068, a bill to prohibit the FCC from establishing rules for the operation of low power FM radio stations. See, Judd speech. See also, FCC LPFM page.
2/10. Sen. Frank Murkowski (R-AK) introduced and spoke in the Senate about S 2057, the Motorists Privacy Act, a bill to prevent the use of EMUs to monitor the radio stations people listen to on car radios. See, speech.
2/10. Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO), a member of the House Commerce Comm., made a statement on the Telecom Act of 1996. Quote: "The sooner there is more competition in ... the Internet industry, the better it will be for all consumers."
2/10. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) placed a hold on, and gave a speech against, the nomination of Bradley Smith to be an FEC Commission.
2/9. Clinton said that he would nominate Danny McDonald and Bradley Smith to serve as Commissioners on the Federal Election Commission.
2/9. Commerce Secretary William Daley made a statement about government efforts regarding recent Denial of Service (DoS) attacks.
2/9. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) introduced S 2045, an H1B visa bill. See, TLJ summary of bills pertaining to visas for high tech workers. See also, TLJ story about S 2045.
2/9. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) said he is "drafting legislation to address some of the threats to the integrity of the Internet both on the security and privacy fronts", and that the Judiciary Comm. will hold a hearing on recent DoS attacks. See, release.
2/9. Sen. Bill Frist (R-TN) introduced S 2046, a bill to reauthorize the Next Generation Internet Act. See, floor statement by Sen. Frist.
2/9. The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio approved the merger of GTE and Bell Atlantic with conditions. See, PUCO release.
2/8. The US International Trade Commission said it will conduct a patent infringement investigation of several Taiwanese computer chip companies following a complaint from Intel. See, USITC release.
2/8. The House Rules Committee adopted a special rule for HR 2086, the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Act.
2/8. U S WEST made filings to begin the process of securing long-distance entry support from all remaining state commissions in its 14-state region. See, release.
2/8. Rep. James Rogan (R-CA) introduced HR 3598, a bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code to allow a credit against income tax for businesses which provide free public Internet access.
2/8. Rep. Tom Campbell (R-CA) introduced HR 3588, a bill to provide that the OSH Act will not apply to employment performed in a workplace located in the employee's residence unless it involves hazardous materials.
2/8. The FCC Office of Plans and Policy released a report titled Telecommunications @ the Millennium (PDF). It reviews changes in telecommunications and Internet services in the last four years.
2/8. FCC Chairman William Kennard gave a speech at the National Press Club. "Because of the vision of Vice President Al Gore, ..." said Kennard, "we have the e-rate program."
2/8. NTIA chief Greg Rohde wrote a letter to FCC Chairman Kennard regarding access charge reform. See also, NTIA release.
2/8. U.S. District Court Judge Donald Ziegler issued a preliminary injunction barring iCraveTV.com from web casting TV broadcasts. He had issued a TRO on Jan. 28.
2/8. USTR Charlene Barshevsky testified to the House Ways and Means Committee in support of permanent normal trade relations status for China. See, excerpts of testimony.
2/7. IBM sued Informix (a database management system provider) in the U.S. District Court in Delaware alleging patent infringement. See, Informix release.
2/7. The FCC named Carol Mattey Deputy Chief of the Common Carrier Bureau. Her responsibilities include universal service and the e-rate. She has previously worked for the law firm of Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering. See, FCC release (MS Word).
2/7. The Justice Department seeks a big increase in funding for its Antitrust Division. See, DoJ budget proposal (PDF).
2/7. The Commerce Department announced its FY 2001 budget request. See, release, Daley speech, Budget in Brief (huge PDF file), and Annual Performance Plan (huge PDF).
2/7. The Commerce Department announced the FY 2001 budget request for the Technology Admin. (including NIST). See, NIST release.
2/7. Roy Neal, CEO of the USTA, stated that the FCC "has continually passed on the opportunity to remove regulatory barriers that keep millions of Americans off the Internet." See, release.
2/7. The NCTA said it is creating a new communications department to be headed by David Beckwith, who previously worked for VP Dan Quayle, Sen. Kay Hutchison (R-TX), EDS, and George W. Bushs presidential campaign.
2/7. The FCC named Jonathan Nuechterlein Deputy General Counsel. He will focus on litigation. He previously worked in the DoJ's Office of the Solicitor General. See, release.
2/4. USTR Charlene Barshefsky speech to the National Conf. of State Legislators in support of permanent normal trade relations status for China.
2/4. Commerce Secretary William Daley gave a speech in Washington e-commerce, which touched on privacy, consumer protection, commercial law, standards, and the "digital divide".
2/4. Commerce Secretary William Daley said he will request from Congress $28 million from the Department's FY 2001 budget to "maximize and spur minorities interest in the fields of science and technology." See, release.
2/4. The USPTO announced the upgrade of its Revenue Accounting and Management (RAM) system to allow financial transactions over the Internet. PTO customers can now pay maintenance fees by credit card. See, release.
2/3. NTIA chief Greg Rhode gave testimony to the Senate Agriculture Committee regarding the "digital divide" in Internet access.
2/3. ITAA President Harris Miller wrote a letter to Labor Sec. Herman recommending that she appoint a high tech policy advisor. He referenced two recent missteps: an advisory opinion that home offices are regulated by OSHA, and an advisory opinion regarding employee stock options. See, TLJ teleworker summary.
2/3. AT&T filed a registration statement with the SEC for the initial public offering of AT&T Wireless Group tracking stock. This tracking stock is designed to reflect the economic performance of all of AT&T's wireless services businesses. See, release.
2/3. Sen. Slade Gorton (R-WA) made a statement in the Senate regarding the Microsoft antitrust case. Quote: "The best solution for both the administration and the courts is to retire from the field ..."
2/3. U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan (SDNY) issued his Opinion (PDF) regarding the preliminary injunction in Universal Studios v. Reimerdes. This opinion explains his Jan. 20 decision enjoining defendants' providing a computer program on their web sites that permits users to decrypt and copy plaintiffs' copyrighted DVD movies.
2/3. The FTC said it will conduct an online privacy survey this month. It will visit U.S. commercial web sites to see if they are collecting personal data and implementing fair information practices (notice, choice, access and security). See, release.
2/3. The FTC named Al Gore aide David Thomas Director of the FTC's Office of Congressional Relations (OCR). See, release.
2/3. The FCC released its Report and Order [MS Word] establishing news rules for broadcasters and cable operators regarding hiring on the basis of race and gender. The FCC's previous rules where held unconstitutional in Lutheran Church v. FCC. See, 4/16/98 TLJ story.
2/3. The Business Software Alliance stated that the City of Issaquah WA agreed to pay $80,000 for using unlicensed software on its computers.
2/2. National Security Advisor gave a speech on China's entry into the WTO and permanent normal trade relations status with the U.S.
2/2. The Clinton administration released a statement on the "digital divide."
2/2. Rep. Bruce Vento (D-MN) announced that he will not seek re-election. See, release.
2/1. The RIAA wrote a letter to Rep. Coble (R-NC) and Rep. Berman (D-CA) asking the Courts and Intellectual Property Subcommittee to hold a hearing on sound recordings as works for hire under the Copyright Act.
2/1. The Intellectual Property Org. elected six new members to its board of directors: Jeffrey Brandt (Walker Digital), Stephen Fox (HP), Mark Kesslen (Chase Manhattan), Ed Levine (Alcoa), Michael Lynch (Micron Technology), and Marcia Pintzuk (FMC).
2/1. The FEC began publishing in its web site agenda documents for its open public meetings, and requests for advisory opinions, in PDF. See, release.
2/1. The SIIA filed an amicus curiae brief (HTML) in support of the DOJ in the Microsoft antitrust case.
2/1. Harvard Law Prof. Lawrence Lessig filed an amicus curiae brief (PDF) in support of the DOJ in the Microsoft antitrust case.
2/1. The DOJ formally closed its antitrust investigation of Network Solutions Inc. See, NSI release.
2/1. The USPTO adopted interim rules for accepting complaints about invention promoters, and making those complaints available to the public. See, PTO release.
2/1. The Commerce Department announced new control levels for export of high performance computers (HPC). See, release and "fact sheet".
2/1. The Commerce Department published a notice in the Federal Register that it is seeking public comments and suggestions concerning policies, laws or regulations that might create barriers to e-commerce. See, DOC release.
2/1. The FCC asked for comments on Bell Atlantic's and GTE's January 27 filing in the FCC's merger review proceeding (CC Docket No. 98-184). See, FCC notice.
2/1. The FTC announced the results of a "surf" of Internet sites that advertise college scholarship services. The FTC found 37 web sites with suspect claims, and sent those sites a warning letter. See, FTC release.
Go to News Briefs from January 2000.