Intellectual Property
FCC Will Not Seek To Impose Anti-Copying Requirements
by Drew Clark
FCC officials said on Friday that they will not impose anti-copying requirements on electronics companies and broadcasters that transmit digital radio programming, according to attendees of a closed agency meeting. The decision rebuffed a request from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
FCC Media Bureau Chief Ken Ferree convened a Friday meeting with the RIAA, broadcasters, music publishers, technology companies and public-interest groups to discuss the recording industry's concerns about Ibiquity digital-radio technology, numerous attendees said.
FCC officials said they were unconvinced that the threat outlined by the RIAA warrants halting or modifying the timetable for deploying digital radio, also called high-definition or HD radio.
The agency authorized pilot HD-radio transmissions in October. In January, JVC, Kenwood, Panasonic, Onkyo and Visteon announced the first commercial HD radio receivers.
"We appreciate that the FCC called together interested parties to discuss this important issue," said Amy Weiss, senior vice president for communications at RIAA. The association will continue private discussions, she said.
"We were pleased there was an open discussion of issues," said Al Shuldiner, general counsel for Ibiquity. He was pleased that "the rollout taking place right now doesn't present a lot of concerns for people other than RIAA, and the FCC doesn't see a need for action at this time."
RIAA's concern is that the increasing availability of HD radio will lead electronics companies to build radio tuners into computers. That could let consumers program their computer-based radios to digitally search for songs.
"If you want to do what you can do now, fine, no one is trying to prevent that," RIAA Senior Vice President Mitch Glazier said about HD radio at a forum on piracy hosted by National Journal's Technology Daily last month.
"It is quite another to have searching capability where you search every single digital, over-the-air radio station for the Dave Matthews band, record any Dave Matthews song" and create a digital jukebox, he said. "Now I have created for myself an on-demand service, and I never have to go and buy it legally."
RIAA also is worried that copyrighted songs could be pirated on the Internet through peer-to-peer networks. Movie studios and broadcasters raised piracy concerns about digital television in their successful effort to urge the FCC to require TV receivers to look for a "broadcast flag" that aims to halt redistribution of programs over the Internet.
The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) countered that digital radio services have been available for years in Canada and Britain but that consumer copying has not been significant. "We remain to be convinced that there will be any more of a problem in digital than there is now," NAB's Ben Ivins said.
Electronics companies add that a 1992 audio home-recording law specifically permits consumers to make one copy of either analog or digital songs.
"We are just very skeptical of anyone who comes in at the 24th hour and tries to reduce the functionality of consumer electronics devices," said Michael Petricone, vice president of technology policy for the Consumer Electronics Association.
Budget
Bush's Plan Touts Technology-Related Labor Initiatives
by Chloe Albanesius
The $11.9 billion Labor Department budget for fiscal 2005 includes millions of dollars for programs intended to help unemployed workers find jobs faster and bolster the workforce in underserved industries.
The $250 million for employer-focused grant programs would provide funding to community or technical colleges that provide training in industries with labor shortages, such as advanced manufacturing. The intention is to foster partnerships between industry and community colleges, "a powerful economic development tool [with potential that] has not been fully realized," according to the budget summary released on Monday.
President Bush also pushed for "personal re-employment accounts," or PRAs. The $50 million requested for that initiative would enable states to create accounts of up to $3,000 for eligible unemployed workers. The money would be added to regular unemployment benefits, and people who find work within 13 weeks could keep the funds remaining in their accounts.
Recipients could choose whatever training or services, like childcare or transportation, that would enable them to get back to work the fastest. "PRAs will usher in a new era in unemployed worker assistance that emphasizes individual control and rewards moving quickly from unemployment to work," the summary said.
Bush supports congressional passage of the PRA plan in tandem with reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). That bill aims to eliminate redundancies in WIA programs, the administration said. Bush's proposal calls for increased state flexibility by targeting resources more effectively, as well as using untapped WIA formula grants, which this year are expected to exceed $1.4 billion, to relieve state financial crises.
The WIA is important to the tech community because a portion of funds raised through the H-1B visa program for highly skilled workers from other countries is allocated to job-training programs run under the act. A portion of the visa fees paid by employers goes toward programs administered by workforce investment boards across the country.
The president also proposed updates to America's Job Bank, the Labor-supported online database of available jobs and worker resumes. Bush on Jan. 7 announced that the United States would award temporary work visas to non-U.S. citizens when there are no equivalent U.S. workers. The database modernization, the summary said, is to help employers more easily seek American workers before hiring foreign ones.
In addition, the budget requests $5 million to encourage flexible work schedules, including telework options. "We can make better use of technology and flexible work arrangements to help individuals balance the demands of work and family," the summary said.
The administration reiterated its support for changes to rules on overtime pay, which took effect with the January enactment of the omnibus spending law for fiscal 2004. The department's "own investigators have struggled to figure out which workers should qualify" for overtime, the summary said, but the final rules "will mean workers and employers spend more time collaborating in the workplace, not battling for years in court."
The changes, which still face fierce opposition from congressional Democrats, eliminated overtime pay for workers earning more than $65,000 annually.
On The Hill
Science Budget Triggers Outcry From Key Democrats
by Ted Leventhal
Democrats on Capitol Hill criticized the Bush administration's budget plan on Monday, with lawmakers responsible for science and homeland security in particular complaining about the proposed spending in their areas.
Five Democrats on the House Science Committee released a joint statement decrying a lack of funding for assistance to manufacturers, the environment, energy research and space exploration.
"Just as every family knows you have to put something away as an investment for tomorrow, so it is with the nation," Bart Gordon of Tennessee, the panel's new ranking Democrat, said in a statement. Gordon said under the budget proposed by President Bush, overall funding for science and technology programs would fall by 0.4 percent, an approach that he called "a breach of faith with the future."
Gordon specifically criticized plans to eliminate funding for the Advanced Technology Program and "starve" the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) at $40 million, "less than two-thirds of what that program really needs," he said. Bush has targeted the programs for elimination in previous budgets, but this year he requested more MEP funding than in fiscal 2004.
"These two programs at the Department of Commerce are our premier methods for supporting small- and medium-sized firms that bring new ideas to the market and adopt new technologies that allow companies to stay competitive," Gordon argued.
Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, the ranking Democrat on Science's Research Subcommittee, criticized the administration for not requesting funding the National Science Foundation (NSF) in line with the recent reauthorization bill that calls for doubling NSF programs over five years. "We stand $3 billion below the doubling path," she said.
Mark Udall of Colorado, the ranking Democrat on the Environment Subcommittee, opposes the call for 11 percent and 12 percent cuts for science at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency. John Larson of Connecticut, the Energy Subcommittee's top Democrat, challenged proposed cuts to science and conservation research, as well as upkeep for Energy's national laboratories. And Nick Lampson of Texas, the Space Subcommittee's ranking Democrat, attacked budget plans to scuttle the space-shuttle program before a replacement vehicle is available and to cut space-station research activities.
Presidential contender Joseph Lieberman, also the top Democrat on the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, criticized proposed cuts in funding for "first responders" to terrorism and other emergencies, citing a $100 billion shortfall for critical needs.
The request for a 30 percent cut for first responders is "ill considered," Lieberman said, "and the brave men and women working under intolerable circumstances, risking their lives everyday to protect the rest of us, will be hamstrung by it."
Jim Turner of Texas, the top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, urged funding of the Homeland Security Department's assessments of terrorism threats and vulnerabilities as mandated by Congress. The studies will assess "what our true priorities should be, and we must defend essential capabilities required for our first responders before we will know whether we are spending our tax dollars wisely," he said.
Security
Official Urges Strengthening Of Anti-Terrorism Strategies
by Greta Wodele
As the Bush administration implements strategies to fight terrorism, it must strengthen plans that address cyber security, data collection and other fields, a government official told lawmakers on Tuesday.
"We're moving to the implementation stage, and strategies need to be firmed up," said Randall Yim, managing director of homeland security and justice issues for the General Accounting Office (GAO). Yim testified before the House Government Reform National Security subcommittee about a recent GAO report on the seven national strategies the administration issued after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
While he noted that Congress has passed several mandates and President Bush has better defined strategies with recent presidential directives, Yim said "much more needs to be done." He said Congress should consider moving legislation to mandate milestones for the different strategies.
Yim's comments support legislation introduced last year by House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Christopher Cox, R-Calif., and ranking Democrat Jim Turner of Texas to require the Homeland Security Department to meet certain metrics. The lawmakers have said they would push for Congress to pass the bill this year.
The GAO report -- which analyzed the strategies, including those for cyber security and collecting data on critical infrastructure -- found that while the administration accomplished much by quickly developing the plans after the attacks, it needs to strengthen the strategies to enhance their usefulness.
The report outlined several characteristics it deemed as fundamental, such as defining purpose, scope and methodology; assessing risks and threats; defining goals, priorities, objectives and performance measures; integrating and implementing initiatives with other agencies; and tying a strategy to resources, investments and risk management.
While a majority of the strategies partially address the characteristics, no single plan "addresses all of the elements of resources, investments, and risk management or integration and implementation," GAO found.
Yim told lawmakers that those two characteristics are the most critical. He said that without funding incorporated into a strategy, the resources and technology needed to implement the plans would not follow.
Yim also stressed to lawmakers the importance of "good data" on critical infrastructure and financial markets, among other things. He also believes an improved plan is necessary for sharing intelligence among federal, state and local law enforcement officials. He said current technological barriers soon would be dissolved, and then state and local authorities would receive a flood of data. But federal officials need to define which information to share that would not require analytical training.
When asked how quickly the administration would have a plan in place, Yim characterized it as not anytime soon.
GAO also rated the seven strategies from strong to weak, and the administration's cyber-security plan ranked as the most developed. But Yim said some of the strategies understandably are developed in general terms, such as the overall national strategy on homeland security.
E-Commerce
U.S. Official Urges 'Enforcement Cooperation' On Spam
by Nicolas Parasie for Technology Daily
BRUSSELS, Belgium -- Rather than working to harmonize existing legislation against spam, the United States and European Union should improve cooperation in terms of law enforcement, an FTC official said here on Tuesday.
"The major goal ought to be the enforcement cooperation," Howard Beales, the director of the FTC's Consumer Protection Bureau, said while attending a two-day workshop on spam.
One of the key issues during the first day of the workshop on Monday was the different U.S. and EU legislative approaches to spam. The "opt out" approach, which allows unsolicited commercial e-mail unless consumers specifically ask not to receive it, is applied in the United States, while Europe's "opt in" solution bans such e-mails unless consumers agree to receive them.
"We all agree spam is mostly fraudulent and deceptive, so it becomes illegal under either system," Beales said on Tuesday. "The theories for attacking it may differ, but either system has perfectly good ways to do that."
"We are dealing with people who are ignoring the law," Beales added. "If we can't find effective ways to cooperate and to enforce, it doesn't matter what the harmonized law is."
In the future, Beales said, the FTC will continue to work closely with its foreign counterparts through the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which arranged the workshop. "We can't do it without the help of other countries," Beales said.
Hugh Stevenson, associate director of the FTC's International Division of Consumer Protection, demonstrated to a panel how spam can be transmitted over several stations in different countries, delaying the detection process for law enforcement agencies.
One of the most efficient tools against spam is to investigate money flows that are involved in scams, he said. But the real challenge then becomes recovering the money. As an example, Stevenson explained how the British equivalent of the FTC, the Office of Fair Trade, managed to identify and trace the source of some spam but lacked the jurisdiction to recover the money lost as a result of the scams.
Giovanni Butarelli of the Italian Justice Department also indicated that victims of spam generally do not know where to direct their complaints, so he urged more transparency in the process. Butarelli called for a central contact point for facilitating law enforcement against spam, as well for consumers to report spam.
Echoing Stevenson, Butarelli said one of the priorities of both the European Union and the United States should be to clarify the jurisdiction over the problem.
Budget
North Carolina Secures Educational Technology Earmark
by Ted Leventhal
For the third year in a row, lawmakers in the North Carolina delegation to Congress have secured a $250,000 earmark for the North Carolina Electronics and Information Technology Association. The funds go toward an association project that funds five years of information technology expenses in a school that has limited resources.
North Carolina Republican Howard Coble, once the chairman of the House Judiciary Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property Subcommittee, pushed for the funds, which will be awarded to a school in Coble's 6th congressional district.
"In this digital age, it is important that all children have access to the most up-to-date technology no matter where their school is located," Coble said in a statement. "Some rural schools, including those in the 6th district, have not been wired with the latest educational hardware and software. ... All of our children deserve the best education we can provide, and I am pleased to secure funding so one more school can join the digital age."
North Carolina's senators, Republican Elizabeth Dole and Democrat John Edwards, also endorsed the earmark in a letter to Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa.
"Many of our elementary and middle-school children have very little or no exposure to computers and other technologies, at home or in the classroom," said Edwards, who sought $1 million for the earmark. He is now a presidential candidate and is not seeking re-election to the Senate.
"North Carolina ranks 43rd nationally in home-computer ownership and only spends $7.82 annually per student on educational technology in grades K-12, compared to the national average of $113 per student," he added. "Our students, particularly those educated in rural areas, already struggle to compete for higher-paying, skilled positions at in the high-tech workplace."
A spokesman with the association said the funds pay for computer hardware, software, and training for students and teachers through a program approved by the state. The state school technology plans are budgeted over five years, but the schools assisted by the program barely can afford one year's worth of purchases.
"One school we funded still has an original Apple II," said the spokesman for the North Carolina association, which closely monitors how schools perform with the added technology assistance. "Another has an original Apple Macintosh."
"We are trying to demonstrate to local and state leaders the importance of investing in technology in education," the spokesman said. "The state economy has been hit hard over last few years, and we need to invest in technology to have a technology-literate workforce over next several years."
Edwards and Rep. Brad Miller, D-N.C., supported the earmark in fiscal 2003, while Edwards and Rep. David Price, D-N.C., secured the earmark in fiscal 2002. Schools in the districts of Miller and Price received the funding those years.
Today's Feature:
People Column
The director of the National Science Foundation may resign in March from the post she has occupied for the past six years, according to congressional sources. Meanwhile, Rep. Jennifer Dunn, R-Wash., said she will not seek re-election.
Every Tuesday, read the People Column by Senior Writer Ted Leventhal.
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E-briefs
Intellectual Property: The satellite television company EchoStar Communications last week sued the FCC over its September ratification of an agreement between the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) and National Cable Telecommunications Association (NCTA). Attorneys for EchoStar said in a lawsuit filed in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia that the FCC "unlawfully and arbitrarily imposed a set of 'encoding rules' on non-cable, multichannel video program distributions such as EchoStar ... without adequate consideration of the views of EchoStar." Those encoding rules were a compromise between CEA and NCTA members. They permit consumers to make unlimited copies of broadcast programs and single copies of subscription TV shows, but they limit anti-piracy assurances to movie studios by barring cable and satellite companies from disabling certain digital TVs. EchoStar has argued that the limitations on anti-piracy tools "unnecessarily restrict EchoStar's ability to provide greater access to programming."
Security: Law enforcement agencies are doing "extremely well" sharing information with each other, officials told lawmakers on Tuesday. "It's getting better and better and better," Coast Guard Adm. Thomas Collins told the House Judiciary Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security Subcommittee. Collins testified about coordinating efforts among the Coast Guard, Secret Service and immigration agency, all of which were transferred to the Homeland Security Department last year. Michael Garcia, the assistant secretary of immigration and customs enforcement, said coordination through the interagency Terrorist Threat Integration Center and Terrorist Screening Center has "enhanced" law enforcement capabilities to accomplish security missions. The officials also outlined efforts to share information and intelligence with local and state officials. Collins said the Coast Guard has developed a three-tiered system to facilitate the flow of data.
Budget: The Defense Department's fiscal 2005 budget includes $3.09 million for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), an increase of about $250,000. The agency's segment on advanced technology development would receive $1.6 million, $130,000 more than in fiscal 2004, for projects such as network-centric warfare technology, advanced aerospace systems and communications systems. The applied research section would receive $1.3 million, an increase of about $120,000, for projects like computing systems and communications technology, tactical technology, and material and electronics technology. DARPA's basic research would receive an additional $4,000.
Privacy: The Bush administration is attempting to enlist Europe's help in building a computer system for screening airline passengers, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and two European privacy groups charged in a report issued Monday. "Unlike the primitive privacy protections that Americans still live under, European privacy law does not permit its citizens' personal information to be traded willy-nilly," said Barry Steinhardt, director of the ACLU's technology and liberty program. "America should be moving toward Europe -- not forcing them to move toward us." Privacy International released the report in London, and the European Digital Rights Initiative did so in Brussels, Belgium. ACLU offered an addendum to the report, saying that administration's request for European data "goes well beyond what is needed for the airline security purposes it claims to be pursuing and well beyond anything directed by Congress."
Privacy: More than 100 business-travel companies on Monday urged the Senate Commerce and House Transportation committees to hold hearings the new computer-based system to screen airline passengers "and the growing data privacy problems within commercial air transportation." The Business Travel Coalition organized the signers of a letter to the committees, noting that "numerous questions remain unanswered" about the recent release of passenger records from JetBlue Airways and Northwest Airlines to government agencies and private contractors. "There is increasing concern in all corners of the travel industry that there has been insufficient public policy debate regarding the tradeoffs, safeguards and remedies that such a comprehensive data-collection program should require," the coalition said. "Given the awesome new power of linked and mined public- and private-sector databases, personal travel information deserves the same level of congressional scrutiny and debate that medical records and financial information policies were afforded in the past."
Defense: The White House on Tuesday announced a presidential directive to develop a surveillance system to detect and prevent the spread of animal, plant and wildlife disease. "The United States agriculture and food systems are vulnerable to disease, pest, or poisonous agents that occur naturally, are unintentionally introduced, or are intentionally delivered by acts of terrorism," read the directive. The directive requires several government entities, including Agriculture, Homeland Security, FBI and Health and Human Services, to coordinate the plan. It requires the agencies to create systems to track specific animals and plants and connect national laboratory networks for food, veterinary, plant, public health and water quality resources. The directive requires the CIA, FBI and Homeland Security to enhance intelligence operations and analysis capabilities to focus on the agriculture, food and water sectors. President Bush's announcement follows his fiscal 2005 budget proposal unveiled on Monday, which outlined funding for such a project.
Domains: The Internet's oversight body last week requested proposals for groups of Internet addresses dedicated to specific subject matters. The "sponsored top-level domains" would complement domain endings like .aero for the aerospace industry or .museum for museums that already have been approved by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. "ICANN has now moved forward with a program to introduce further competition and choice in the top-level domain markets," ICANN President Paul Twomey said in a release. The deadline to submit proposals is March 15.
E-Government: Virginia-based Orkand Corp. on Monday announced that it has won three Energy Department contracts and one subcontract to provide information technology management and support services. Orkand, a longtime contractor to Energy, is slated to provide services to the Energy Information Administration. In other news, Bantu, a developer of instant-messaging technology, announced on Monday that it has been selected by Northrop Grumman to provide a secure instant-messaging system to the State Department. The new platform will replace the department's current telecommunications and messaging systems.
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