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Editor's note: This is the first in a series of articles on the technology policy views and technology uses by presidential candidates.
Campaigns
Top Democratic Candidates Push Tech Policy Issues
by Sarah Myers
The leading Democratic presidential candidates are building substantial technology policy platforms to match their strong support from leading players in the tech sector. Though low-tier candidates may be experimenting more with using the Internet to campaign, the frontrunners maintain more robust tech policy platforms and tend to be more knowledgeable of those issues.
Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York has incorporated technology into almost every aspect of her policy platform -- from using information technology to overhaul health care to likening her plan to build a national, high-speed Internet system to the wiring of America after the development of the telephone and electricity.
Former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina has come out in strong support of network neutrality, a term that describes efforts to ensure equal treatment of broadband content. He is also the only candidate to write the FCC and ask commissioners to use the upcoming spectrum auction to make the Internet more affordable and accessible.
Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois wants to focus on expanding Internet access in rural areas and inner cities, and he has a plan for granting vouchers to low-income households for converter boxes to help them transition from analog to digital television broadcasts.
Those frontrunners also have received endorsements from leading tech companies and players.
Edwards has the support of Sega Gameworks co-founder Skip Paul, while Obama has received donations from Netscape co-founder Mark Andreessen, Netscape executive Peter Currie, and Google's chief Internet evangelist Vinton Cerf, among others. Clinton has received support from Cisco General Counsel Mark Chandler and Oracle President Charles Phillips, who hosted separate Silicon Valley fundraisers for Clinton during the first quarter of this year. (See previous coverage )
Less prominent candidates tend to take less mainstream stances on tech-related issues. Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, for instance, would combat the outsourcing of jobs to other countries by replacing the current H-1B visa system for highly skilled workers. His plan also includes the withdrawal of the United States from the World Trade Organization and repealing the North American Free Trade Agreement to encourage companies to keep jobs in the United States.
Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico differs from most Democratic candidates in insisting that partnerships with Asia are necessary to ensure U.S. success. "The United States can play a useful balancing role in Asia in the decades ahead, reassuring all parties that no single Asian power will become dominant," Richardson said in a speech on U.S.-Asian relations.
Former Sen. Mike Gravel of Alaska, meanwhile, would use the Internet to change the entire legislative process.
"In order to realize the full potential of the Internet, the legislative powers of government must be redistributed to permit the people to make laws in a parallel partnership with their elected legislators," Gravel said in response to a white paper by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. and Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va. Those two are co-chairman of the Congressional Internet Caucus.
Some of the other Democratic candidates have tackled tech issues in the past.
Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware authored legislation to combat piracy early in the decade by punishing Internet file-sharers. And Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut sought to tackle immigration issues in 2003 by reforming the H-1B and L-1 visa programs. His effort to protect U.S. jobs never made it to the Senate floor.
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Spectrum
FCC To Enforce Wireless Rules On Competition
by David Hatch
The FCC is vowing to "vigorously" enforce its new rules requiring some wireless carriers to make their airwaves open to competing devices and software.
The open platform arrangement, championed by Chairman Kevin Martin, was approved by the agency July 31 following months of rancorous debate by industry stakeholders and congressmen. It serves as the cornerstone of rules governing the upcoming auction of spectrum to be relinquished by television broadcasters as they segue to digital signals in early 2009.
In the 352-page text of its auction rules released Friday afternoon, the agency said consumers or companies concerned about violations can file formal complaints, to be acted on within 180 days. Once a complaint is filed, the "burden of proof" will be on the licensee to "demonstrate that it has adopted reasonable network standards," the FCC stated.
The agency also pledged to "monitor the ability of consumers, device manufacturers and application providers" to use or develop technologies that would operate on licensees' networks.
Nevertheless, the FCC said there is no need to strengthen enforcement to ensure compliance, as some watchdog and smaller industry players had wanted. It also emphasized that it is not green-lighting unrestricted use of "any" device or application on the impacted networks. There are "legitimate technical reasons to restrict particular non-carrier" technologies to ensure the "safety and integrity" of networks, the order explained.
"We're obviously pleased that they are going to rule on complaints in 180 days," said Art Brodsky, a spokesman for Public Knowledge, a consumer advocacy group. He also is encouraged that when disputes arise, the burden of proof will fall on licensees and not complainants.
But he expressed concern about language buried within the document stating that when a wireless system is built according to consensus industry standards, the FCC "would afford the restrictions a presumption of reasonableness."
"The enforcement mechanisms are the ones that exist for all other rules," said Chris Guttman-McCabe, vice president for the wireless group CTIA, which opposed open access on the grounds that it is unnecessary for fostering competition. It is possible that some CTIA members will opt to bid on the open-designated frequencies despite the association's stance, he added.
On a related note, the order alleges that wireless carriers "appear" to have required equipment manufacturers to disable some capabilities in mobile devices, including Wi-Fi, a form of wireless Internet access available through localized "hotspots" for free or for a fee.
Incorporating Wi-Fi in the next generation of wireless handsets "could improve the consumer experience by providing faster broadband data rates in the vicinity of Wi-Fi hotspots and reducing network congestion," the order said.
"For each large carrier, there are at least two Wi-Fi devices," responded Guttman-McCabe, emphasizing that the capability is one of several services now offered. He expects more Wi-Fi-enabled handsets to enter the market next year.
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Labor
Trade-Related Relief For Tech Workers Is On Radar
by Aliya Sternstein
Technology workers left jobless due to international trade agreements could get assistance from House legislation expected to be introduced this fall. The Senate also recently proposed a bill that would expand a federal program to cover service sector workers. It currently only provides income support and retraining to manufacturing employees.
In June, the House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing on the Trade Adjustment Assistance program, which aids workers that are involved in the production of an "article." Most technology troubleshooters, programmers and other information technology professionals are excluded from the program -- even though their jobs also are being outsourced abroad.
The committee plans to introduce trade assistance legislation that would include service workers when it returns from summer recess, committee spokesman Matthew Beck said Monday. He described the anticipated proposal as an "overhaul" of TAA.
On July 23, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, introduced legislation, S.1848, that would expand eligibility to workers in services industries, create new opportunities for workers in rural and distressed communities, and make benefits available to workers affected by trade with any country. The bill also aims to strengthen the program by increasing training funds, making enrollment easier and improving healthcare provisions.
The Computing Technology Industry Association recently released a position statement that calls for extending TAA redress to "service workers in general and IT service workers in particular." The organization has been canvassing Capitol Hill, think tanks and association members with that message.
It's "no secret" that the Ways and Means Committee leadership is interested in doing something this year, CompTIA U.S. Policy Director Roger Cochetti said Monday. The current workforce assistance program sometimes includes software production workers but "still leaves a huge gap in the IT industry," he said.
On April 4, workers at Dallas, Ore.-based circuit board producer TTM Technologies, formerly known as Tyco Electronics, were certified as eligible to apply for the program. In June, the Labor Department also awarded a $1.3 million grant to offer services not covered under the program, such as career counseling, case management and job-placement assistance.
But Cochetti said, "There are large areas that are not covered and large areas that are kind of gray." CompTIA is not seeking to restructure the entire program, but rather make it relevant to the 21st century, he added.
"This updating of Trade Adjustment Assistance really goes hand-in-hand with our support of free trade," Cochetti stressed. "They are mutually supportive. They address the same phenomena: increased U.S. exports and increased U.S. imports."
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E-Government
E-Voting Controversy Surfaces Early In 2008 Race
by Michael Martinez
Primary elections in the 2008 presidential race are still months away, but e-voting already has become a touchy issue in the contest.
Problems with optical-scan machines this past weekend delayed the results of a Republican straw poll in Iowa. Party officials were forced to recount roughly 1,500 votes because of difficulties with the Diebold Elections Systems devices that were used there.
Activists who have endorsed Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, tried to get a federal court to block the machines from being used in the unofficial poll, which was won by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Their request for an injunction was denied this week.
Concerns about different types of e-voting machines have been mounting throughout the summer. California Secretary of State Debra Bowen recently decertified several of the platforms used in her state, including touch-screen devices made by Diebold. Researchers in Florida also recently concluded that the optical-scan machines deployed there are flawed.
Congress is considering multiple proposals to mandate paper audit trails in elections. More than two dozen states already have such a requirement in place.
The plaintiffs in the Iowa lawsuit, which was supported by the Ohio-based group Citizens for a Fair Vote Count, claimed the machines used in the straw poll were susceptible to fraud. On its Web site, the group also claims that voter fraud in the Iowa straw poll helped to derail the 1996 presidential campaign of Republican commentator Pat Buchanan.
Paul spokesman Jesse Benton said the campaign had nothing to do with the lawsuit or the plaintiffs and suggested that they may have just been looking to make a statement about e-voting by capitalizing on Paul's grassroots momentum. Benton said the campaign was satisfied with how the poll was administered but acknowledged that the machine problems were frustrating.
"I don't think anyone was thrilled with it," Benton said.
Several presidential candidates already have staked out their positions on election overhaul. Benton said Paul is sympathetic to many of the goals in a pending House bill that would require paper receipts for electronic votes but has not yet endorsed the proposal because he is concerned about the costs it may impose on states, among other things.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who finished second in the Iowa straw poll, authorized legislation in 2005 requiring e-voting paper trails. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a Democratic candidate, signed a law last year moving his home state to a paper-based system.
Other Democratic candidates also have been active on voting-related issues. Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio has authored a bill that would require the use of paper ballots in presidential elections. Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York also has introduced election reform legislation and has endorsed the concept of mandating paper trails. Sen. Barack Obama, meanwhile, has offered a proposal to curtail deceptive campaign tactics and voter intimidation.
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Civil Liberties
California Appeals Court To Review Spying Cases
by Andrew Noyes
A California appeals court will examine two cases this week that could impact the federal government's high-tech surveillance of Americans. The Wednesday hearings come after a new law that broadens intelligence officials' eavesdropping power.
The Bush administration wants the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to dismiss the lawsuits, contending that they could jeopardize highly sensitive "state secrets." Because the privilege prevents litigants from obtaining classified data, the cases lack standing, the Justice Department argued.
The Supreme Court ruled in 1953 that the executive branch could bar evidence from court if it was deemed a national security threat, senior agency officials told reporters Monday. When the material in question is scrubbed from a case, the complaint may or may not fall apart, they said.
"We're not arguing that this means the judges should look at classified material secretly and rule in favor of the government on the merits of the claims," one staffer said. The government is simply pushing for "a decision that the case can't be litigated in light of national security interests involved."
In one case, the Electronic Frontier Foundation accused AT&T of collaborating with the National Security Agency in illegal spying on millions of customers. In the other, the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation alleged that the government illegally wiretapped calls between the charity and its lawyers.
In the AT&T case, EFF claims that the telecommunications firm provided the NSA a "dragnet" that collects "all or substantially all of the communications of U.S. citizens," a Justice official said. The second claim pertains to the alleged preservation of AT&T customers' call records.
U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker ruled in July 2006 that there was "sufficient" grounds to let the lawsuit move forward, after the government intervened in the case. He held that the administration cast too wide a net over information it argued deserved state-secrets protection.
Al-Haramain's challenge is focused on the terrorist surveillance program, a once-secret eavesdropping tool whose existence President Bush confirmed in December 2005 after it was exposed by The New York Times.
The group, which the government believes has ties to the al Qaeda network, argued that it is not a terrorist organization and sued for damages relating to past surveillance as well as injunctive relief. Justice also wants that case dismissed under the stat-secrets privilege.
"At issue here is whether the courts have any meaningful role to play in protecting Americans' privacy from executive branch abuses of its surveillance powers," EFF Legal Director Cindy Cohn said in a statement.
If the government's state-secrets claims are allowed to impinge on litigation, "the courts will never be able to exercise their constitutional duty to hold the White House accountable for illegal and even unconstitutional abuses of power," she said.
Justice has not filed paperwork with the appeals court on how or if a new law that alters the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act would impact either case, officials said. The change, which expires in six months, allows the national intelligence director and attorney general to authorize certain spying activities without first getting warrants from the secret FISA court.
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Civil Liberties
Lawyers Are Wary Of Expanded Wiretapping Powers
by Andrew Noyes
The expansion of the government's ability to eavesdrop on U.S. citizens' telephone calls and e-mails was a prominent discussion topic at the American Bar Association's annual meeting, which attracted about 9,000 attorneys to San Francisco over the weekend.
ABA President Karen Mathis kicked off the conference on Friday by calling on Congress to roll back a week-old law expanding that power. Lawmakers should "move at once" upon reconvening after Labor Day, she said.
The mandate, which expires in six months unless Congress extends it, lets the director of national intelligence and the attorney general authorize the spying without first getting warrants from a secret court created by the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
"With today's technology and government having almost limitless power to secretly probe the most private communications of Americans, the ABA is concerned that this power is too great to be held in the hands of any one authority," Mathis said. History has shown that when government agents bypass judges, abuses occur, she said.
Although revisions to FISA are being sought because of new technological and security threats, the original law's principles "are tireless and timeless," Mathis said. "In an age of instant electronic communications, our government must protect our security and our constitutional freedoms."
The ABA's House of Delegates recognized in 2006 that surveillance of U.S. citizens should face judicial scrutiny to the maximum extent possible, Mathis recalled. Any wholesale changes in FISA should be approved only after a thorough congressional review, including evidence of how that law is inadequate, she said.
The same ABA policymaking body is slated to vote on a proposal to address government "state secret" claims, which are currently a key factor in a pair of spying cases. Courts should "make every effort" to avoid dismissing civil suits based on the doctrine, the recommendation states.
The Justice Department has cited the privilege in an attempt to get a California federal judge to toss out claims of civil liberties violations against telecommunications firms reportedly involved in a National Security Agency wiretapping program. (See separate story)
In a separate case, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a lower court's ruling in favor of the American Civil Liberties Union, which had challenged the NSA program. The court found that the group lacked standing without having access to classified government data.
The ABA House of Delegates also was scheduled to vote on a proposal to conduct a study of and make recommendations concerning the appointment, retention and dismissal of U.S. attorneys. Congress is currently investigating whether the Bush administration fired nine U.S. attorneys for political reasons.
A number of prominent figures -- including Supreme Court Justices Stephen Breyer and Anthony Kennedy; former U.S. Solicitor General Kenneth Starr; and "Jurassic Park" author Michael Crichton -- planned to speak at the conference, which ends Tuesday.
Several members of Congress also were slated to talk about key actions of the 110th Congress, and an impressive roster of tech experts was featured in discussions about privacy and security in the Internet age.
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Lobbying
The Future Of Tech Lobbying Without Bill Archey
by Heather Greenfield
AeA CEO Bill Archey is spending the August congressional break fighting for more visas for high-tech workers.
With his retirement just over a half-year away, Archey seems determined to see remedies to a broken system, which he says all but forces companies to go overseas for highly skilled workers. "The H-1Bs are all gone the first day of the fiscal year," Archey said.
When Archey came to AeA in 1994, he had served as an assistant Commerce secretary and had been a chief lobbyist for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
The Korn Ferry has had a first round of interviews and plans more in its search to replace him. In a letter seeking applicant recommendations, the executive search firm said the new CEO will need to oversee multiple offices across the world, member services, a lobbying strategy for federal, state and local government, and be a lead spokesman for the tech industry.
Archey said it isn't his place to say what kind of qualities he hopes the new president has. He said only that "it's time for a change."
AeA lobbyist John Palafoutas said a strong manager is needed. "Because we're not just a lobby shop, we need someone who can manage the state side and the federal side," Palafoutas said.
Less than half the trade association's revenues come from dues from member companies. AeA offers health insurance plans for members, hosts one of the largest financial conferences for the high-tech industry every November, and also has programs and smaller conferences in 18 cities.
AeA made no secret that it was interested in merging with the Electronic Industries Alliance before EIA's board voted last month to close and divide its assets among its four member associations and the Consumer Electronics Association, which split from EIA about six years ago.
The four member associations, the Electronic Components, Assemblies and Materials Association; the Government Electronics and Information Technology Association; the JEDEC Solid State Technology Association; and the Telecommunications Industry Association still could merge with other associations. But a source involved in past merger talks said it is unclear what would motivate such a marriage once the associations get their share of EIA's assets, including a building valued at $25 million to $40 million.
Speculation had begun about a possible merger for EIA when its longtime leader, former Oklahoma Rep. Dave McCurdy, left in January.
The lack of a CEO is seen as a good time for association boards to consider mergers. But the pending retirement of AeA's CEO has not triggered the same level of merger rumors.
While some, including Phil Bond, CEO of the Information Technology Association of America, have said the 17 tech associations makes it a challenge to speak with a unified voice, the arrangement works for others.
A tech lobbyist speaking on background said the tech industry is more diverse than the Motion Picture Association of America and the various associations are effective -- especially when partnering to lobby on specific issues.
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Today's Feature:
Issue of the Week
Republicans are unified these days in opposing a renewed "fairness doctrine," a rule rescinded two decades ago that required broadcasters to air opposing viewpoints about controversial topics.
Every Monday, read the Issue of the Week by the Technology Daily staff.
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