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Tech Law Journal |
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| News, records, and analysis of legislation, litigation, and regulation affecting the computer, internet, communications and information technology sectors | |
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3/15. The House voted 218 to 205 to approve Rep. Zoe Lofgren's (D-CA) motion to instruct conferees on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the Juvenile Justice Reform Act. Most of the debate on this bill pertains to gun control. However, the House version of the JJRA also includes a provision that would require that schools receiving e-rate subsidies use filtering software to protect children from Internet porn. See, TLJ summary of filtering bills. 3/15. Rep. Jim Saxton (R-NJ) introduced H. Con. Res. 285, expressing the sense of Congress regarding Internet security and cyberterrorism. 3/15. Rep. Asa Hutchinson (R-AR) and Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) announced the introduction of a bill to create a bipartisan Privacy Protection Commission. See, Rep. Moran release and copy of bill (PDF). 3/15. The U.S. Dept. of Commerce and the European Commission reached an arrangement on "a safe harbor system which will allow continuing data flows between the U.S. and the EU and ensure privacy protection for EU citizen's personal information." See DOC release and safe harbor agreement documents. 3/15. The FTC released a statement of Richard Parker, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Competition, regarding the FTC's lawsuit to stop the BP Amoco - ARCO merger. "In light of the substantial and constructive proposals made by the defendants, all parties have agreed to seek adjournment of the federal court proceedings in FTC v. BP Amoco and Atlantic Richfield Company in order to conduct negotiations." Also on March 15, Phillips Petroleum announced that it will purchase ARCO's Alaska assets for $7B. See, Phillips release. See also, TLJ story of Feb. 12. 3/15. Sec. of Commerce Wm. Daley gave a speech at the National Press Club on PNTR status for China. 3/15. Rep. David Dreier (R-CA) and Rep Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) introduced another bill, the HI-TECH Act, to increase the annual caps on H1B visas. See, TLJ story and TLJ summary of H1B bills. 3/15. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) gave a speech in the House in which he stated that "the American worker is getting shafted with these H-1B visas." He also addressed PNTR status for China: "Again, a shafting of the American working people in order to grovel before a dictatorship that uses slave labor overseas." 3/15. The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) decided to keep in place the existing antidumping duty order on electroluminescent flat-panel displays from Japan. See, ITC release. 3/14. FCC Chairman William Kennard gave a speech in Peru about broadband deployment. He stated that, "as we link arms with our fellow regulators, there are certain universal truths we must advocate. We know that competition is better than monopoly; that universal service and competition are not mutually exclusive; and that our communications goals require the intervention of a strong, independent regulator ..." 3/14. McAfee, a Network Associates business, announced that its Enterprise SecureCast anti-virus technology has been granted a patent by the USPTO. The patent relates to a method for keeping anti-virus software continuously updated over the Internet. See, NAI release. 3/14. Rep. Bob Portman (R-OH) introduced HR 3916, a bill to repeal the excise tax on telephone and other communication services. See, USTA release and CTIA release. 3/14. Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore signed the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA) into law. Virginia is the first state to enact the act. See, release. 3/14. The SEC filed a Complaint in U.S. District Court, SDNY, against 19 individuals for "an insider trading scheme that was launched in cyberspace". The source, John Freeman, was a part time word processor for Goldman Sachs who distributed information about planned mergers in Internet chat rooms and by instant mail. See, SEC release. 3/13. NCTA CEO Robert Sachs gave a speech in Minneapolis on cable competition. He said: "Unfortunately, some of our competitors are trying to use litigation and government regulation to forestall cable’s broadband deployment. Here in the north central states, you know first hand how U S WEST has sought to stifle competition through litigation and regulation." 3/13. John Richardson, Deputy Head of EU Delegation to the US, gave a speech on the Internet in Fairfax, Virginia. "Now, I know that many people still believe that Europe will eventually succumb to its Pavlovian reflex and over-regulate this new and dynamic sector – nipping it in the bud. I can tell you that nothing could be farther from the truth. I believe that the EU and US agenda’s on internet policy are rapidly converging. The differences are more of semantics than real." 3/13. Commerce Secretary William Daley gave a speech to U. S. Wheat Associates on PNTR status for China. He said: "Frankly, we probably don't have the votes yet in the House -- because we're only in the first quarter of the game. But at the end of the day, I think we're going to win." 3/13. Colorado Governor Bill Owens signed an Executive Order on Computer Software Piracy which applies to all official state agencies, as well as all third parties doing business with the State of Colorado. See, Microsoft release. 3/12. Commerce Sec. Wm. Daley gave a speech to the National League of Cities on the 2000 census and Internet taxes. "One of the big issues that remains is: what about sales and other Internet taxes? Figuring out this has to be the most thankless job in America!" 3/10. U.S. District Court Judge Edwin Nelson dismissed Intergraph's antitrust claims against Intel. Other claims remain. Trial is still set for June 20, but Intergraph has sought a continuance. 3/10. Terminix Corp. and its corporate affiliates abandoned a lawsuit filed last year to shut down a web site operated by Carla Virga which features comments from disgruntled Terminix customers. Terminix earlier had sued Virga for defamation in California, but that lawsuit was dismissed. Terminix then sued Virga in Tennessee alleging trademark violation for using its name on her web page and in meta tags. Virga received a pro bono defense from Public Citizen Litigation Group, and other attorneys. See, Public Citizen release, and brief filed on behalf of Virga. 3/10. Aspect Communications Corp. obtained a temporary restraining order against eConvergent. On March 9, Aspect, a provider of customer relationship portals, sued eConvergent in Santa Clara Superior Court alleging misappropriation of trade secrets. See, Aspect release. 3/10. The FCC approved the merger of U S WEST and Qwest. See, releases of U S West and the FCC. 3/9. The Justice Dept. released a report titled "The Electronic Frontier: The Challenge of Unlawful Conduct Involving The Use of the Internet." It was written by the President's Working Group on Unlawful Conduct on the Internet, chaired by Janet Reno. The report states that the Internet presents law enforcement with several needs, including (1) "real-time tracing of Internet communications across traditional jurisdictional boundaries, both domestically and internationally", (2) "track down sophisticated users who commit unlawful acts on the Internet while hiding their identities", and (3) "trained and well-equipped personnel". The report concludes that "federal procedural and evidentiary laws may need to be amended ..." 3/9. Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) introduced S 2229, the Digital Empowerment Act, a digital divide bill. It would create variety of large and new social programs, authorize funding for those programs, and greatly expand the e-rate program. S 229 would authorize $850,000,000 per year for the Department of Education for a new "National Technology Grants" program; $250,000,000 per year for the Dept. of Ed. for "Teacher Technology Preparation Academies"; $25,000,000 per year for a new "E Corps"; $100,000,000 per year to the Dept. of Ed. for new "Community Technology Centers". S 2229 would also provide for computer centers in public housing. Finally, it would expand the e-rate program by amending Section 254 of the Telecom Act (regarding universal service subsidies) by including "maintenance and repair of technology" and "Head Start Agencies". 3/9. The House agreed to the conference report on the satellite privatization bill, S 376, Open-market Reorganization for the Betterment of International Telecommunications (ORBIT) Act. 3/9. Jeff Bezos, CEO of amazon.com, pubulished an open letter regarding the 1-Click ordering patent. "I now believe it's possible that the current rules governing business method and software patents could end up harming all of us," said Bezos. "Despite the call from many thoughtful folks for us to give up our patents unilaterally, I don't believe it would be right for us to do so." 3/9. Rep. Bob Franks (R-NJ) introduced HR 3871, A bill to establish a Federal Internet Crimes Against Children computer training facility. 3/9. The Senate Judiciary Committee amended and passed S 2045, a bill which temporarily increases annual caps on H1B visas. See, Feinstein amendment, Biden amendment, and bill as amended. See also, TLJ summary of H1B visa bills. 3/9. The House Courts and Intellectual Property Subcommittee held a hearing on the USPTO. Chairman Howard Coble (R-NC) decried the "continuing diversion of PTO funds from the agency to other government programs. More specifically, by the end of the present fiscal year, the agency will have lost more than a half-billion dollars attributable to diversions, rescissions, and other budgetary sleights-of-hand." See, Coble statement. See also, statement of Commissioner Todd Dickenson, and links to statements of other witnesses. 3/9. Commerce Secretary William Daley gave a speech on Internet security. "But one reason the Internet has been so successful is that government has avoided regulation that would have messed things up." 3/9. Commerce Secretary William Daley gave a speech on legislation that would give PNTR status to China. He stated that "We would expect a final vote before the end of May, when Congress recesses for Memorial Day. It is absolutely critical that we move quickly. To be frank, it gets tougher with each passing day, as we get closer to the November elections and the campaign heats up." 3/9. The SIA and financial services firms wrote a letter to Congressional leaders asking that the Congress reconcile and enact pending electronic signatures legislation. See, SIA release. The House passed HR 1714, and the Senate passed S 761, last fall. Meanwhile, Commerce Sec. Wm. Daley said in a speech in Washington DC that "we have some concerns about the House bill. Some targeted changes are needed ..." 3/9. Estee Levine has been named Counsel to SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt. She succeeds Tracey Aronson, who was named Director of the Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs. Prior to joining the SEC in 1997 she worked at the law firm of Baker & Botts. See, release. 3/9. Carol Cayo will open a government affairs office in Washington DC for Vertex, Inc., a provider of state and local tax compliance software and complementary research. She will be at the ITAA until March 10. The new office will open on April 1. 3/8. CALLS filed its Modified Universal Service and Access Reform Proposal with the FCC. This is a plan submitted by major phone companies to reduce access charges and reform universal service. 3/8. Rep. Barbara Cubin (R-WY) introduced HR 3850 IH, the Independent Telecommunications Consumer Enhancement Act of 2000, a bill to give regulatory relief to local exchange carriers with fewer than two percent of the Nation's subscriber lines. 3/8. Net Compete Now announced its formation. It describes itself as "a new coalition formed to promote high-speed Internet access, competition and consumer choice". The group opposes government mandates open access. It will hold a press conference in Santa Clara, CA, on March 14 at 10:00 AM PT, 1:00 PM ET. There will also be a live webcast. 3/8. Sen. Tim Hutchinson (R-AR) introduced S 2215 IS, the Noncommercial Broadcasting Eligibility Act. 3/8. Consumer Electronics Association Chairman Darrell Issa won the Republican nomination for California's 48th congressional district on March 7. Rep. Ron Packard (R-CA) is retiring. 3/8. House Commerce Committee Chairman Tom Bliley (R-VA) announced that he is retiring at the end of this Congress. 3/8. The Electronic Industries Alliance urged Congress "to leave partisan politics aside and swiftly grant permanent normal trade relations with China." See, EIA release. 3/8. Bill Clinton gave at speech at Johns Hopkins in support of granting permanent normal trade relations status to China. "Now, there's no question China has been trying to crack down on the Internet -- good luck. That's sort of like trying to nail Jello to the wall," said Clinton. "In the knowledge economy, economic innovation and political empowerment, whether anyone likes it or not, will inevitably go hand in hand." See, TLJ story. See also, Clinton's legislative proposal. 3/8. Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder submitted testimony (PDF) at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on Internet security. Quote: "The laws under which we are able to identify the origin and destination of telephone calls and computer messages also need to be reviewed. For example, under current law we may have to obtain court orders in multiple jurisdictions to trace a single communication. Obtaining court orders in multiple jurisdictions ... might be extremely helpful, for instance, to provide nationwide effect for trap and trace orders." Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) said this raises privacy concerns. 3/8. Apple announced that it has successfully concluded its iMac trade dress infringement cases against Daewoo and eMachines by securing worldwide injunctions that prevent the two companies from manufacturing, distributing, selling or promoting their E-Power and eOne. See, Apple release. 3/8. The FCC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding conversion to digital TV, and invited public comment. See, FCC release. 3/8. The House Rules Committee reported a Rule waiving points of order against the conference report to accompany S 376 (aka ORBIT Act and satellite privatization bill). 3/8. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce issued a report titled E-commerce Taxation: Issues in Search of Answers (22 pages, PDF). 3/7. The United States filed comments with the European Commission in support of a proposal to mandate the opening of local telephone networks to competitive suppliers of broadband services. See, USTR release. 3/7. Senate Democrats delayed the appointment of conferees on the electronic signatures bills. Last fall, the House and Senate passed differing versions of the bill (HR 1714 and S 761), which would provide for the acceptance of electronic signatures in interstate commerce. 3/7. AT&T accused Bell Atlantic of "inability to fix broken systems that serve competitors" and announced it will ask the FCC "to order prompt remedial action for those systems, and to suspend Bell Atlantic’s authority to provide long distance service in New York until that action is completed." See, ATT release. Bell Atlantic's Tom Tauke responded: "AT&T's statements are wrong. Competition is alive and well in New York." See, release. 3/7. The Commission on Child Online Protection held its organizational meeting at the Department of Commerce. The Commission was created by the Child Online Protection Act in 1998. See, TLJ story. 3/7. The Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Technology, Terrorism, and Government Information held a hearing on identity theft. 3/7. Microsoft quit the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA). The group has been an active critic of Microsoft for years. See also, SIIA statement. 3/7. Rep. Bob Franks (R-NJ) announced that he is introducing legislation to establish the "Innocent Images Online Training Center," an FBI run center to combat Internet crimes against children. See, Rep. Franks' statement. 3/7. SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt named Tracey Aronson Director of the SEC's Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs. She was previously Counsel to Chairman Levitt. She succeeds Susan Wyderko. See, release. 3/7. NCTA announced that Henry Plaster will become Director of Government Relations, effective March 27. He formerly served as Chief of Staff for Rep. John Linder (R-GA). He will report directly to Pam Turner, NCTA’s SVP of Government Relations. 3/6. Microsoft published an essay in support of PNTR status for China. "More than half of the U.S. software industry’s revenues are generated abroad ... A key component of strengthening free trade is the establishment of stable and normal trade relations between the United States and China." 3/6. James Crowe, CEO of Level 3 Communications, Inc., will chair the next term of the Network Reliability and Interoperability Council. He replaces Michael Armstrong. See, FCC release. 3/6. NTIA Chief Greg Rohde announced several appointments. Derrick Owens, a former aide to Rep. Tom Sawyer (D-OH), will be Director of Interagency Affairs. Chanda Garfield, a former aide to Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-NY), will be Asst. Director of the Minority Telecommunications Development Program. Judd Crapa will be Special Asst. for Administrative Affairs. See, release. 3/6. The FCC granted Carolina Broadband's request for a certificate to provide OVS service in North and South Carolina. See, Order (MS Word). See also, FCC's web page on OVS certifications. 3/6. Mary Beth Murphy was named Chief of the Policy and Rules Division of the Mass Media Bureau at the FCC. She previously worked for General Counsel Chris Wright. Before that, she worked for Steptoe & Johnson. See, release (MS Word). 3/6. France's Ministry of Finance has banned the word "e-mail" from official French civil service use. Instead, the French government must use the phrase "courrier electronique". Meanwhile, the search engine of the Ministry's web site lists 189 documents with the word "e-mail", and 50 with the word "email". 3/3. ITAA President Harris Miller wrote a letter to Commerce Secretary William Daley regarding the importance of advertising for free access to web sites. He stated that privacy "regulation could significantly undermine the ability of providers to offer free content and access by encouraging many websites to offer only subscription content and access." See, TLJ story. 3/3. Rep. Tom Bliley (R-VA), Chairman of the House Commerce Committee, gave a speech on electricity competition. He stated: "Competition in electricity, combined with the innovation of the Internet, will transform the way we buy and use electricity." 3/3. Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), the ranking minority member of the House Commerce Committee, wrote a letter to the FTC, and a letter to the Office of Comptroller of the Currency, asking for aggressive enforcement of the consumer privacy provisions of the Gramm Leach Bliley Act. 3/3. Common Cause and the CDT released a study on ICANN election plans. 3/2. DoubleClick CEO Kevin O'Connor released a statement regarding online privacy. He said: "We commit today, that until there is agreement between government and industry on privacy standards, we will not link personally identifiable information to anonymous user activity across Web sites." See, TLJ story. 3/2. House and Senate Conferees completed work on the satellite privatization bill. The Conference Report to S 376, the Open Market Reorganization for the Betterment of the International Telecommunications Act (ORBIT) was completed on March 1. The Senate agreed to the Conference Report on March 2. The House may consider the report as early as March 8. See, TLJ story. 3/2. The California PUC approved the Bell Atlantic GTE merger. 27 state commissions that conducted proceedings on the merger have approved it. The remaining 23 states declined to assert jurisdiction on the merger. The FCC has yet to complete its proceeding. See, CPUC release and GTE release. 3/2. Peggy Binzel, currently SVP for Gov. Relations of News Corp., will become EVP of the NCTA, on March 27. Her duties will include government, regulatory, industry and public affairs. 3/2. The Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing on the AOL Time Warner merger. See, statements of Steve Case (AOL), Gerald Levin (TW), Jerry Berman (CDT), Gene Kimmelman (Consumers Union), and Robert Lande (Am. Antitrust Inst.). (All statement are PDF.) 3/2. The Senate Government Affairs Committee held a hearing on security of the federal gov. information systems. Kevin Mitnick gave testimony. See, links to testimony of other witnesses. See also, statement of Sen. Thompson and statement of Sen. Lieberman. 3/2. High tech executives testified to the Senate Banking Committee against the FASB's proposed changes in accounting rules to eliminate pooling. See, prepared statements of witnesses and statement of Sen. Phil Gramm (R-TX). 3/2. The Senate Judiciary Committee held over consideration of S 2045, an H1B visa bill. 3/2. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved S 577, a bill affecting Internet alcohol sales, with amendment. 3/2. The Census Bureau at the Commerce Department. estimated that U.S. retail e-commerce sales for the fourth quarter of 1999 was $5.3 billion. This is the first official estimate of retail e-commerce sales. The Bureau used a narrow definition of retail sales, which excluded travel, ticket agencies, and financial services. See, release and speech by Sec. Wm. Daley. 3/2. The SEC filed a civil complaint in U.S. District Court in Washington DC against Douglas Colt, operator of the Fast-Trades.com web site, a stock recommendation web site, for manipulating the price of four stocks which he traded. See, release. 3/1. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) introduced HR 3815, the Technology Worker Temporary Relief Act, an H1B visa bill. See, TLJ story. 3/1. Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) introduced HR 3819, a bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code to allow a credit against income tax for expenses incurred in teleworking. See also, statement in the Cong. Record. 3/1. Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) introduced S 2127, a bill to exempt agreements relating to voluntary guidelines governing telecast material, movies, video games, Internet content, and music lyrics from the applicability of the antitrust laws. 3/1. The Senate passed the New Millennium Classrooms Act as an amendment to S 1134, the Education Savings Account bill. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Abraham (R-MI) and Sen. Wyden (D-OR), pertains to tax credits for companies that donate computers to elementary and secondary schools. 3/1. Senate Commerce Committee's Science Subcommittee held a hearing on the President's FY 2001 budget request for the Next Generation Internet and Large Scale Networking programs. See, statements (PDF) of Sen. Bill Frist (R-TN), Rita Colwell (NSF), Bill Stacy (Univ. of Tenn.), and Stephen Tolbert (CSS). 3/1. The FCC announced its draft procedures to be followed by companies involved in FCC antitrust merger reviews and license transfer proceedings. See, Proposed Timeline, Issues Memorandum, and Statement of Gen. Counsel Chris Wright. 3/1. MCI WorldCom and Cable & Wireless have settled their dispute over C&W's purchase of former MCI Communication Corp.’s Internet business at the time of the MCI and WorldCom merger in 1998. See, MCI WC release. 3/1. Bill Clinton gave a speech in Ashburn VA to UUNET and MCI WorldCom workers in support of granting permanent normal trade relations status to China. "The leaders of China ... know if they open these markets, they know if you go in there and everybody gets connected to the Internet that change is coming more rapidly in ways that you cannot control, and people will be able to define their future independent of the government's ability to control it more than ever before -- whether you're talking about religion or politics or personal life choices or anything else." 3/1. FCC Chairman William Kennard announced that the FCC has entered into a consent decree which fines MCI WorldCom for false advertising of long distance telephone services. 3/1. Rep. Harold Rogers (R-KY) placed a statement in the Cong. Record on the Telecom Act. He said "the Telecommunications Act is working. ... our work as a nation is not done--there are still some Americans who need access to better, faster and more affordable means of communication." |
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