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Broadband
Backers Of Net Neutrality Appeal To FCC For Action
by David Hatch
Digital rights advocates are urging the FCC to crack down on media giants such as AT&T, Comcast and Verizon Communications that allegedly have acted as content gatekeepers in violation of FCC guidelines promoting a neutral Internet.
Pending before the agency are two petitions filed by public-interest groups and universities requesting stronger regulation after recently reported incidents.
In an ironic twist, however, organizations that have championed network neutrality amendments in Congress are focusing on the FCC right now and rejecting the idea of amending legislation -- at least if the choice is adding language to bills on "broadband mapping."
The underlying legislation is designed to improve FCC data collection on subscriptions to high-speed Internet service. The public-interest advocates are concerned that such amendments might scuttle the measures, considered essential to fostering broadband deployment. Sources were unaware of any neutrality amendments being planned.
"We are not advocating any net neutrality amendments" on the mapping bills, said Art Brodsky, the spokesman for Public Knowledge. Craig Aaron, a spokesman for the watchdog Free Press, added that his group wants the legislation to stay "as clean as possible."
At the FCC, Free Press and Public Knowledge filed a Nov. 1 complaint alleging that Comcast is degrading access to file-sharing applications such as BitTorrent that enable Web surfers to share movies and other video programming. They argue that Comcast has an economic incentive to interfere with technologies that compete with its own services.
"Comcast does not, has not and will not block any Web sites or online applications, including peer-to-peer services, and no one has demonstrated otherwise," David Cohen, executive vice president of Comcast, said in a statement. "We engage in reasonable network management" that is consistent with FCC policies, he added.
Separately at the FCC, a broad coalition of academics, Internet advocacy groups and watchdogs filed a Nov. 1 request for a "declaratory ruling" clarifying that intentional degradation of an Internet application violates "reasonable network management." Signatories to the filing include Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet and Society, the Consumer Federation of America, Free Press, the Media Access Project and Public Knowledge.
In addition to Comcast's activities, the groups are concerned that an AT&T webcast censored lyrics sung by Pearl Jam that criticized President Bush and that Verizon censored pro-abortion wireless text alerts. Both companies previously have apologized for the incidents, but spokesmen with AT&T and Verizon were not immediately available to comment on the filing.
The FCC previously launched a "notice of inquiry" to review whether network neutrality violations are occurring and whether regulatory action is warranted. The inquiry, however, has been criticized for lacking rulemaking authority.
In an Oct. 26 letter, North Dakota Democrat Byron Dorgan and Maine Republican Olympia Snowe urged Hawaii Democrat Daniel Inouye, chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, to hold hearings on net neutrality. A source said scheduling issues could delay such action until early next year.
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Taxes
Computer Services Face Md. Tax To Close Budget Gap
by Michael Martinez
Maryland lawmakers are considering a new tax on computer services as part of a plan to reduce the state's $1.7 billion budget deficit.
The state General Assembly began a special session last week to consider a plan by Gov. Martin O'Malley to solve the shortfall. The chamber approved the tax proposal on Friday. It has now been sent to the state House.
Under the bill, the computer-services tax would not apply to individuals participating in home-school programs for elementary and secondary children. The legislation also would extend the sales tax to videogame machines at arcades.
O'Malley unveiled a package of proposals in October to address the budget deficit. He did not suggest extending the sales tax to computer services but instead called for raising the corporate income tax, doubling its senior income-tax exemption and modernizing the sales tax so that it is in line with neighboring states.
None of the states immediately surrounding Maryland tax computer services. Florida and Pennsylvania enacted similar taxes, only to repeal them later.
The governor also is pushing for the legalization of slot machines as a means for boosting revenue. The state Senate on Thursday approved legislation that would allow voters to decide on a slots referendum next year.
A Senate Tax and Budget Committee aide said chamber leaders have been making a push to get their tax package on the House floor as soon as they can. The aide said state senators are hopeful the General Assembly can finish the deficit reduction package by early next week.
Some state officials and policy experts are concerned about how extending the computer services tax would affect small businesses in Maryland. State Comptroller Peter Franchot, a Democrat, said in a letter to state House Speaker Michael Busch on Thursday that adding a tax provision of this magnitude at the last-minute without meaningful public input would send a bad message to Maryland's business community.
"This latest unintended consequence of the 2007 special session may, in turn, undermine our ability to compete effectively in the global marketplace," Franchot wrote.
Karri Bragg, the state government affairs manager of Americans for Tax Reform, said in a telephone interview that the entire special session appears to be a "Hail Mary pass" by O'Malley. She also said she is particularly frustrated that lawmakers have tried to move the computer-services tax issue and left the public little time to respond to the proposal.
"It's an awful idea," she said. "And nobody was expecting it to happen."
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Intellectual Property
Royalty Fight Set For Judiciary Hearing Next Week
by Andrew Noyes
Lobbyists for broadcast radio and the recording industry are ramping up their rhetoric in advance of a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday, which could be a key battlefield for musicians' crusade for AM and FM radio to pay performance royalties.
Artists have not been paid for traditional radio airplay because of the long-held idea that analog transmissions do not constitute duplications. Broadcasters claim that the two entities have enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship -- free music for free promotion.
But the musicFirst coalition, which is backed by the Recording Industry Association of America, the royalty collector SoundExchange and other industry groups, argues that its campaign is focused on fairly compensating those who make the music played on radio.
National Association of Broadcasters President David Rehr sent an e-mail to members on Wednesday. warning of what could become a long "battle of will and perseverance" over the music labels' desire for what he called "a performance tax on local radio."
California Democrat Howard Berman, who chairs the House Judiciary Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property Subcommittee, has such a bill in the works, and a sponsor for a Senate companion measure also may have been secured, Rehr said.
Berman's legislation could include exemptions for certain broadcasters "as a way to diffuse opposition" to the bill, Rehr said, but "if your company falls under the exemption, your relief will be very short-lived."
NAB's allies in the House, Republican Mike Conaway and Democrat Gene Green, both of Texas, have launched a "pro-radio legislative offensive" that has the backing of more than 60 members thus far, Rehr said.
The group also sent an e-mail to reporters Thursday pointing to a flurry of radio-oriented accolades from artists who took home honors at the Country Music Awards the night before. In her acceptance speech, female vocalist of the year Carrie Underwood thanked stations for playing her single "like crazy."
"Throughout history, artists, record label executives and Congress have recognized the enormous promotional value of America's hometown radio stations," and labels "should know better than to bite the radio hand that feeds them," NAB spokesman Dennis Wharton said.
MusicFirst spokesman Tod Donhauser responded by accusing NAB of "hiding behind an outdated copyright law" and said the hearing "will demonstrate how unfair the current law truly is." Country crooner Lyle Lovett will testify on behalf of his organization.
On Friday, musicFirst tried to leverage a recent FCC radio study that showed massive consolidation and increasing advertising rates in the business. The campaign argued that "radio is making billions of dollars off the backs of hardworking artists without compensating them."
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Net Governance
U.S. Wants To Maintain The Nature Of Internet Policy
by Andrew Noyes
A pair of high-ranking telecommunications officials from the U.S. government this week emphasized the importance of maintaining the true multi-stakeholder nature of Internet policy talks in anticipation of a global conference that begins Monday in Brazil.
The second installment of the Internet Governance Forum will be a significant place to "share experiences and visions that support the continued evolution and expansion of the Internet," John Kneuer and David Gross said in a joint statement.
Kneuer, who just announced that he is leaving as head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, and Gross, the State Department's international communications and information policy chief, hope the event will foster "constructive discussions" about economic and social development.
Internet industry representatives from the United States and other nations, as well as some Western government officials, worry that a handful of delegations like China and Russia are trying to turn the U.N.-sponsored forum into a policymaking body.
Preserving the current framework makes the organization a "unique environment for an honest and frank exchange of ideas without the pressure of negotiating output discussions or conclusions," Kneuer and Gross said.
Markus Kummer, the U.N. official who heads the forum's secretariat, told Technology Daily on Friday that "more traditional" governments are not used to attending an event like the forum without it ending in a treaty or concluding document.
"Some are uncomfortable with this format," Kummer said. "We break down old barriers and force ministers to sit next to representatives of civil society." That worked "remarkably well" at the inaugural Internet Governance Forum in Athens, Greece, last year, he said.
Conference themes include access, diversity, openness, security and a new element, "critical Internet resources." "There's not a one-size-fits-all model, but different ingredients make good Internet policy and that's what we're trying to achieve here," Kummer said.
Guiding principles ensure that the 1,600-plus attendees from government, industry and the nonprofit arena have "equal footing," he said. "That model really is the essence of the IGF." Reaching consensus on pressing issues, however, is complicated by that structure, he added.
At the Rio de Janeiro meeting, Gross said in an interview that he will urge everyone to discuss progress made by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the entity that manages the Web-addressing system.
A forthcoming review by NTIA is part of an agreement the agency and ICANN signed last year to continue transitioning the coordination of the technical functions of the Internet to the private sector. Public comments are being accepted through Feb. 15.
Gross also said he is particularly eager to engage in discussions about freedom of expression and free flow of information on the Internet. "I want to hear what's going on around the world with regard to content creation and access to information," he said.
Remote participation in many main sessions of the event also is being made possible via webcast, with opportunities for viewers to e-mail questions and comments in four different languages. There will be a live chat function for online discussion, organizers said.
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Health
Confusing Terms Prompt Call For E-Health Glossary
by Aliya Sternstein
A "cacophony" of competing and confusing definitions, with terms often used interchangeably, is hampering progress toward a nationwide health information network, according to the National Alliance for Health Information Technology and the Health and Human Services Department.
On behalf of the alliance, HHS on Tuesday called for help in defining key health IT words, such as "electronic medical record" and "electronic health record." The alliance is working with HHS to compile a glossary by March 2008.
They want volunteers from the technology industry, employers, advocacy groups, academia and other fields active in health information exchanges to get involved. Volunteers will meet biweekly via teleconference starting Nov. 30 until a final report is published in March.
Michael Westcott, the chief medical information officer at Alegent Health, which operates hospitals in Nebraska and southwest Iowa, said the task ahead will be hard but pivotal.
There are "a lot of segments of medicine. It's hard to change to have a national compromise," said Westcott, who tried and failed to reach agreement across Alegent's nine campuses on a set of general health terms five years ago.
"It's always been dangerous if you have a car accident in New Jersey and you're from Nebraska," he said, explaining the need for standard medical definitions. The word "attending physician" in one hospital's data system could refer to a role entirely different from the attending physician field in another state's database, he said.
"If we're going to improve our nation's healthcare, we have to make this work," Westcott said. "This is just one step in that process."
Christine Bechtel, of the nonprofit eHealth Initiative, suggested that the project add "health record data bank" to its list.
The concept, also called a "health record trust," is described differently by many groups. For example, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation recently issued a report that described it as a system where multiple data banks compete to manage digital health records for patients, who have full control and ownership of their health information. "There is no consensus because no one agrees on what it is," Bechtel said.
Bechtel also noted that some use the term "electronic health records" to refer to what most others would call a "personal health record." EHRs usually refer to documentation created by healthcare providers, while PHRs are created by patients.
A potential hang-up during the collaboration process may be business interests, she said. "Some stakeholders have made real investments in particular terminologies," in their marketing materials and elsewhere, "so defining terms can have real business impacts."
Scot Silverstein, a physician, consultant and former director of Drexel University's Institute for Healthcare Informatics, said he does not see useful consensus being reached anytime soon, partly because of power plays over such issues.
Also, there is no authority to offer clarity on terminology -- like what the National Library of Medicine has done with its Unified Medical Language System, which is aiding the development of computers that behave as if they "understand" the meaning of biomedicine and health jargon.
"Attempting to define terms in a volatile, competitive industry or field is not an easy task," Silverstein said.
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Politics
Web Experts Debate Which Party Is More Innovative
by Heather Greenfield
Joe Trippi, a political strategist who pioneered online strategy for Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean in 2004, offered his theories about why Republicans are behind online at a recent Internet forum. He blamed President Bush.
Trippi said having an incumbent for the 2004 presidential race meant Republicans did not need to invest in emerging Web tactics because they did not face a primary. With nothing to lose and everything to gain, he said, Democrats just experimented more online -- and still do.
"We were innovative, entrepreneurial, try anything," Trippi said.
Cyrus Krohn, who now leads e-strategy at the Republican National Committee, prefers to focus on the future, saying that Republicans are gaining new friends on the Facebook social network and that a future president is probably a kid on Facebook with lots of friends.
Michael Turk, who led e-strategy for President Bush in 2004, disagreed with Trippi's characterization. "The fact is the Bush campaign was doing things in 2004 that nobody on either side of the aisle was doing in 2004 or is doing in 2008," Turk said.
"We freed our supporters to get involved on their terms at a time of their choosing," he said. "It wasn't a matter of, 'Show up at headquarters this Saturday and you can make calls in a dimly lit building.' It was, 'Take 15 minutes after the kids go to bed and make calls from the comfort of your living room.'"
Turk also noted that Bush's team offered tools so visitors could send paper letters to voters in target states explaining why they support Bush. Door-to-door visits were mapped online, and the GOP delivered maps and driving directions to polling places via e-mail to their voters.
"I would also argue that our focus on tools to turnout voters was much more innovative than the massive leap the Democrats took with graphical fundraising thermometer technology," Turk said in a poke at visual tools that Trippi recalls fondly about Dean's campaign.
Turk said Democrats have found new ways to package fundraising e-mails by offering personal time with the candidates. "But the only thing really new that they're trying online is new ways of asking for money," he said. "I don't see anyone trying new ways to empower the activists."
Turk and Trippi have a rematch of sorts now. Turk is consulting for Republican Fred Thompson, and Trippi is a strategist for John Edwards.
David All, a Republican online strategist, said Bush did not have to be as innovative online in 2004, but he was.
All called Dean's efforts in 2004 a "breakthrough" online and said the candidate making a similar leap online this year is Republican Ron Paul. "Ron Paul is starting to represent an open-source candidate," All said. Paul's goal is to raise $12 million online this quarter.
Last month, All launched Slatecard, the Republican response to the Democratic fundraising site ActBlue, which has raised $31 million for candidates since 2004. Slatecard is the first GOP site where anyone can create a fundraising page. He said it collected $55,000 in its first 31 days.
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On The Hill
Rep. Michaud Moves To Reverse Peru Trade Vote
by Theresa Poulson
After the House voted Thursday to implement the U.S.-Peru trade deal, some Democrats who opposed the measure introduced legislation that would require President Bush to withdraw from the agreement. The bill, H.R. 4124, was one of several technology-related measures filed this week.
Bill sponsor Mike Michaud of Maine said the House failed the American laborer by approving the agreement. Michaud, a one-time mill worker, claimed that his former industry and others suffer from such deals. He said workers do not desire Trade Adjustment Assistance offered when they lose jobs because of trade deals. "They want their jobs back."
The technology industry praised passage of the bill, but debate leading to the vote divided Democrats. Michaud had urged members to vote down the measure, calling for "a new model and a new direction on trade."
He said he will continue to fight for a new model that will "stimulate our economy and protect our jobs while also ensuring America's place as a leader in the global marketplace."
Also on the labor front, a separate House measure, H.R. 4088, would require employers to use the E-Verify system to confirm that workers are in the country legally.
Another bill, H.R. 4106, seeks to encourage telework in federal agencies by allowing employees to telework at least 20 percent of the hours in every two-week period. National Treasury Employees Union President Colleen Kelley praised the legislation on Friday. Kelley this week testified at a hearing on federal telework.
Elsewhere in e-government, Rep. John Carter, R-Texas, introduced a bill, H.R. 4073, that would revamp Social Security cards to include encrypted, machine-readable electronic records. The cards, which would include biometric data and a digitized facial image, would be used to ensure that wages earned illegally are not credited for disability, old-age or survivor insurance benefits.
Under the plan, cards with a distinct color would be issued to unlawful immigrants. An education campaign would inform Americans of the difference between the cards and those given to U.S. citizens, and notify illegal aliens that they would have to obtain them.
A new resolution, H. Res. 800, would express the sense of the House on the issuance of state driver's licenses or other government-issued photo identification to illegal aliens.
In the public-safety arena, H.R. 4094 would simplify requirements for pilot programs testing electronic monitoring units for sex offenders. And H.R. 4120 seeks to provide more effective prosecution of cases involving child pornography.
Other bills introduced this week included:
-- S. 2317, which aims to strengthen the protection of intellectual property (See separate story);
-- S. 2332, which would promote transparency in the adoption of media-ownership rules by the FCC, and investigate how to increase the representation of women and minorities in broadcast ownership (See separate story);
-- S. 2321, which would reauthorize certain e-government programs;
-- S. 2318, which would repeal the individual alternative minimum tax and permanently extend the reductions in income tax rates;
-- And a draft bill that aims to make higher education more affordable.
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Today's Feature:
Executive Summary
Leaders of the House Foreign Affairs Committee this week blasted the Yahoo Internet firm for giving false information to Congress about its role in the arrest of a Chinese journalist.
Every Friday, read the Executive Summary by K. Daniel Glover.
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E-briefs
Taxes: The House on Friday voted to extend the research and development tax credit as part of a broader tax measure. The vote was 216-193. The technology industry has sought to broaden the R&D credit and get it extended longer but applauded the one-year extension. The measure, H.R. 3996, would cover research and development starting Jan. 1 through the end of that year. "R&D is the cornerstone of U.S. competitiveness in our sector," Telecommunications Industry Association President Grant Seiffert said. "The U.S. high-tech industry is employing more people than it has since 2002, thanks in large part to R&D for future technologies and communications services." Marie Lee of the tech group AeA added, "While the U.S. has always maintained a competitive edge in innovation and technology, the global market for R&D is becoming more competitive as countries offer enticing packages for companies to conduct their R&D activities abroad."
People: John Kneuer, chief of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, is stepping down late this month. Kneuer has been implementing a coupon program designed to ensure that Americans do not lose television reception when the switch to digital signals occurs. He was appointed head of NTIA in December. Kneuer told colleagues Thursday he will leave to resume his private-sector career in telecommunications. His departure comes as the NTIA and the FCC face mounting criticism from Congress and watchdogs for a $1.5 billion voucher initiative criticized as confusing and riddled with loopholes. NTIA insists that the program, which begins Jan. 1, is on track. The coupons will lower the cost of converters that millions of Americans will need to keep their analog sets functioning after Feb. 17, 2009. Meredith Baker, who as deputy assistant secretary is the second highest ranking NTIA official, has been tapped as acting administrator.
Television: AT&T could more easily compete in Wisconsin's television market under a bill the state Senate passed with bipartisan support Thursday. AP reports that the proposal would eliminate local franchise agreements for offering cable TV services that have been in place since the 1970s. Instead, a single statewide license would be issued. That would open the door for companies like AT&T to more easily, and more quickly, serve large parts of Wisconsin. Opponents argue that the bill would not increase competition or lower cable rates. They also are worried that AT&T only intends to provide services in high-income areas. Gov. Jim Doyle, a Democrat, generally has supported the bill, which he could sign as early as December.
Courts: A federal judge on Thursday ordered an anti-abortion activist to remove Internet postings that authorities said exhorted readers to kill an abortion provider by shooting her in the head. AP reports that District Judge Thomas Golden granted an injunction seeking the removal of postings on Web pages maintained by John Dunkle. The injunction, sought by prosecutors in August, also bans him from publishing similar messages containing names, addresses or photographs of health clinic staff members. Prosecutors said one posting targeted a former clinician for the Philadelphia Women's Center, and she later stopped providing reproductive health services because she feared for her life. Authorities said the postings violate a law on access to abortion clinics. One posting stated that "while it does not sound good to say, 'Go shoot her between the eyes,' it sounds even worse to say let her alone." Dunkle said the postings have been removed.
Campaigns: Maybe Democrats do have a sense of humor. CongressDaily reports that after Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney asked supporters to sell unwanted items to raise money for the campaign, the Democratic National Committee on Thursday launched an online auction to sell items that represent policy positions Romney has abandoned over the years. The money will be donated to charity. "Unless smooth-talking Mitt Romney was planning on recycling those old tax-raising, pro-choice, pro-gun control, pro-immigrant, pro-gay rights and pro-campaign finance reform positions in a general election, we thought we'd auction them off," DNC spokesman Damien LaVera said.
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President -- John Fox Sullivan, 202-739-8468
Editor in Chief -- Louis Peck, 202-739-8481
Editor -- K. Daniel Glover (bio)
Assistant Editor -- Theresa Poulson
Senior Writers -- David Hatch (bio), Heather Greenfield (bio), Andrew Noyes (bio) and Aliya Sternstein (bio)
Special Correspondent -- Chris Strohm (bio)
Staff Writer -- Michael Martinez
Senior Business Affairs Manager -- Chris Hamby
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