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Intelligence
Work Continues On Spying Bills Despite Veto Threats
by Chris Strohm and Andrew Noyes
Democrats and Republicans in both chambers clashed Thursday in a blizzard of activity over bills that would restrict the Bush administration's spying powers, even as the White House lobbed veto threats against the measures.
By press time, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee had successfully amended a bill approved by the Senate Intelligence Committee last month to overhaul the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act while defeating Republican efforts to change the bill. The committee was expected to continue working on the bill Thursday afternoon, including a debate about immunity for telecommunications companies that reportedly helped the Bush administration spy on terrorism suspects without warrants.
House Democrats, meanwhile, moved their FISA bill back to the floor and successfully adopted a "closed rule" for debate that prohibits Republicans from offering changes. House debate on the bill also is expected to resume later Thursday.
Over objections of Republicans and the White House, Senate Judiciary Democrats changed the first title of the Intelligence Committee's bill. On a party-line 10-9 vote, substitute language drafted by Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and other Democrats was approved.
"What we've done in this substitute is try to add critical protections and make the job of the FISA court meaningful," Leahy said. The White House issued a letter late Wednesday vowing to veto the bill over the substitute language. Leahy said the White House objections mainly referred to language from last week, which he said was changed.
But Judiciary Republicans complained that Democrats' new language was not circulated until late Wednesday. "It's a little hard to review something in depth that's 55 pages long and immediately crank out a letter in response to that," said Jon Kyl, R-Ariz. "This substitute was not put together in consultation with members of the minority."
Democrats also approved an amendment that would require all FISA revisions to expire in four years. They approved another amendment that would clarify that the administration can only conduct warrantless surveillance against someone reasonably believed to be outside the United States when the "significant purpose" is to collect foreign intelligence information.
Partisan debate also erupted in the House. Disagreement over the debate rules showed that the bill is no less divisive than it was several weeks ago. Republicans could offer a procedural motion to recommit the bill to committee, which previously divided Democrats and derailed the bill.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., and Intelligence Committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, unveiled substitute language Wednesday aimed at addressing those concerns. But the White House said it would veto the new bill.
Rep. Rush Holt, D-N.J., said the reworked bill "will ensure that it is the courts -- and not an executive branch political appointee -- who decides whether or not the communications of an American citizen can be seized and searched, and that such seizures and searches must be done pursuant to a court order."
Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., criticized Democrats for not giving the minority a chance to offer input on revisions to the measure in the weeks since it was last on the floor. Their "take-it-or-leave-it strategy on this bill is dangerous and is destined to fail," he said.
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Lobbying
Techies, Web Activists Challenge Telecom Immunity
by Heather Greenfield
The technology industry and online activists were closely watching Thursday as the Senate Judiciary Committee began wrangling over the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
A close vote is expected over whether to grant retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies, which may have broken the law in giving customer records to the Bush administration. No vote had occurred by deadline.
The companies are now targeted in 40 lawsuits from consumer advocates. Telecom firms say they need the immunity because they will have difficulty defending themselves when the government spying program allegedly involves state secrets.
The online activist group MoveOn.org and others are lobbying against immunity and say having the lawsuits go forward may be the only way American citizens can ever learn about the scope and extent of the government spying program. The tech industry is lobbying, sometimes quietly, for middle ground -- no immunity but a cap on legal damages that telecoms could face.
The tech industry wants legal certainty to respond to all requests, from local sheriffs to the National Security Agency, for access to their customers' information. "Before this administration, there was a pretty clear bright line: There needed to be a court order" to get customer data, said Ed Black, president of the Computer and Communications Industry Alliance.
Tech companies resent being made agents of the government, but they also are reluctant to talk publicly about their opposition to immunity because of their close relations to telecom companies. CCIA is saying publicly what others will only say privately -- no immunity.
"Regardless of the merits, the precedent it sets is we the government can tell you to break the law and we'll take care of you later," Black said. "It strips from companies a bright, clear legal line to stand behind."
Bloggers have been engaging in their own activism against immunity, with writers at Daily Kos and Firedoglake, among others, encouraging readers to call Senate Judiciary Committee members.
The ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, has been pursuing a compromise that would let telecoms be sued but make the government pay any judgments against them. Both liberal blogs like Americablog and conservatives oppose the effort. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said taxpayers should not have to pay for the lawsuits.
But a tech industry source who did not want to be identified said telecom reaction to such a compromise deal will show whether their immunity plea is really about money -- or the nation learning more about how laws allegedly were broken and privacy compromised.
Once Americans know the extent to which telecoms and the government cooperated, the source said, the knowledge could also call into question whether telecoms have received favorable rulings by the Bush administration in recent years -- and whether their cooperation was a factor.
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Antitrust
Critics: Martin Doesn't Meet Media-Ownership Demands
by David Hatch
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin is trying to satisfy two key prerequisites demanded by lawmakers and watchdogs for agency action on modifying media-ownership rules -- but critics say his efforts fall short.
They have called on Martin to complete a proceeding examining the amount of locally originated programming aired by broadcasters and to move forward on adoption of rules promoting ownership of media outlets by minorities and women.
The Republican chairman is under pressure from Congress and advocacy groups to delay a planned Dec. 18 vote on easing the ban prohibiting one entity from owning a newspaper and broadcast station in the same market. On Thursday, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell, D-Mich., and Edward Markey, D-Mass., the panel's Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee chairman, became the latest members to seek a delay, which they said is necessary to allow for sufficient public input.
But Martin's comments during a Tuesday conference call with reporters suggest he is moving on a fast track. He has circulated among his four agency colleagues a localism report accompanied by proposed rules designed to increase the amount of community news and civic-minded fare on local television stations.
"I anticipate us taking action on that either before or at the same time as we're doing anything on ownership," he said.
Meanwhile, government and industry sources said Martin has added an item to the agenda of the agency's tentatively scheduled Nov. 27 public meeting that would let digital broadcasters lease ancillary channels to eligible minorities, women and small businesses. The affected stations would be guaranteed cable carriage.
Brian Dietz, the spokesman for the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, complained that the arrangement would broaden the must-carry rules governing cable carriage of broadcast signals when the FCC has previously rejected any expansion.
Discussing efforts to improve paltry minority ownership numbers, Martin said he wants additional proposals from outside groups brought to a vote.
Martin's efforts appear aimed at satisfying demands from Sens. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and Trent Lott, R-Miss., among others, for the agency to complete several media-related proceedings before tackling a larger ownership review.
But these and other members want Martin to go even further. Dorgan has introduced legislation requiring the agency to complete action on localism under a 90-day comment window and create an independent panel on strengthening female and minority ownership before considering changes to the ownership rules under an additional 90-day comment period.
The senator's spokesman did not have an immediate reaction to Martin's plans.
Emphasizing that it is difficult to comment on initiatives he has not seen, Craig Aaron, the spokesman for the watchdog Free Press, said it appears that Martin's approach is insufficient.
"The bottom line is, when it comes to [strengthening] minority media ownership, you have to deal with consolidation," he said, adding that the increased concentration sought by the chairman undermines opportunities for minorities. Aaron echoed the concern that the public is not being afforded enough time for feedback.
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Net Governance
Participants At Brazil Forum Hail Its Open Process
by Andrew Noyes
The second annual Internet Governance Forum closed on a high note Thursday, with participants at the assembly commending one other for a productive week and emphasizing the usefulness of the forum's collaborative, treaty-free structure.
Representatives from several sectors in the United States and other nations expressed concerns leading to the Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, meeting that a handful of delegations wanted to turn the U.N.-sponsored group into a policymaking body.
But as the forum closed, Vint Cerf, who recently ended his tenure as chairman of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, called the forum, a "strikingly useful mechanism" for governments, industry and civil society to congregate.
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More Net Governance Coverage
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ICANN, which manages the Internet's addressing system, makes policy decisions and "that is sometimes very difficult," Cerf said during the session that was webcast. But the forum's "non-negotiating climate" allows for free-flowing dialogue.
"Many different points of view are offered; sometimes people don't agree, and that's okay," Cerf said. Those discussions "help inform other processes in other organizations, including ICANN, that do have to reach specific conclusions," he said.
Juan Carlos Solines, a private-sector delegate from Ecuador, characterized the conference as "a civilized confrontation of ideas and positions." The follow-on to the 2006 inaugural gathering in Athens, Greece, involved various new constituencies and "dealt with concrete topics clearly related to governance," he said.
Progress made on the general themes of access, diversity, openness, security and critical Internet resources over the past few days is "not enough," he warned. "The main challenge is not to stop -- we have to move forward constantly."
Cisco Systems' Art Reilly called the gathering "one of the few places in the U.N. system" where all stakeholders can "work together on an equal footing." The structure, agreed to at the World Summit on the Information Society, "reflects the real world of the Internet."
He said he believed it was premature to evaluate lessons learned in Rio because "the full impact has not been realized." Further evaluation should occur during open, public consultations early next year, he said.
Alun Michael, a member of the British Parliament, argued that the forum does "not yet live up to its multi-stakeholder ambition." He said he hoped that at the 2008 meeting in New Delhi, India, there would be greater involvement by "mainstream industry, [nongovernmental organizations] and parliamentarians."
The Australian government's international communications chief, Colin Oliver, agreed that private-sector participation from developed and developing nations "could be better" at future gatherings.
Michael and Oliver both cited a need for the body to go beyond basic information-sharing and said that could be done without crafting Internet policy. Michael suggested that a space be made available on the forum's Web site for delegates to post voluntary "commitments."
Officials from Britain, for example, have agreed to establish a United Kingdom spin-off of the forum to discuss key issues domestically. A working group "to cut crime and nuisance online" will be part of that effort, and Michael plans to "report substantial progress" on that front in New Delhi.
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Education
Experts Say Leaner Laptops May Change Education
by Aliya Sternstein
Stripped-down versions of laptop computers for school students have the potential to transform learning worldwide, and the office, technology experts said Wednesday.
During a webcast organized by the Consortium for School Networking, eWeek Chief Technology Analyst Jim Rapoza said, "It's just common sense and the way technology works" that Americans in the market for a standard laptop in the next couple years will see some of the same capabilities currently exclusive to ultra-light, inventive devices.
Rapoza was joined by school technology leaders at a presentation on the quest for a $100 device. He recently tested a few of the cheaper, smaller laptops that have debuted, including the XO laptop from the One Laptop Per Child project. Commonly referred to as "the $100 laptop," it really costs $200 and is for the most part only available to school children in developing countries for now.
"It's unfortunate that so much of the focus has been on the price" with the XO because "it is one of the most innovative PC systems that I've seen in years," Rapoza said. Some of the features are not yet even in cutting-edge business systems, like those from Lenovo, he added.
The display can run on a tenth of what a typical laptop of its size would require. Under direct sunlight, the screen turns black and white for easy viewing. Inside, the screen reverts to color. The kid-proof keyboard can withstand spills and water. And a Linux-based, open-source operating system called Sugar lets schools add and share educational software.
The downside, Rapoza said, is that XO only runs on Sugar, so it does not support some of the commercially popular learning tools. Robert Tinker, CEO of the nonprofit educational R&D group Concord Consortium, also noted that the XO does not run Java, a programming language that many Web applications require to interact with computers.
While the XO is more creative, Tinker said, Intel's new ClassMate laptop may be more practical for some schools. The product runs Windows XP or Linux, supports Java-based programs, and is generally much better at supporting a wide range of applications.
In California's Lemon Grove School District, where 68 percent of students are on free or reduced-price lunches, traditional laptop initiatives are too expensive, so the district invented its own device.
Darryl LaGace, the district's information services director, said the e-Pad is designed to "really take a crack at the digital divide." It contains built-in, free access to the high-speed Internet for home use, meaning parents can log in, too.
It has a local operating system but no hard drive. Without a hard drive, there is less of a chance the computer will break if dropped, so repair costs are low. Still, the device comes with textbooks that are embedded on a chip. The books "talk" to the students in English or Spanish and also play streaming video, LaGace said.
All software is stored at a data center to contain tech support expenses. When students log on, their programs are instantly updated.
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E-Government
New Official Will Help Review Mine Communications
by Aliya Sternstein
A 16-year Labor Department veteran and previous mine-rescue team member has been selected to head a new agency charged with holding mines accountable for safety, and as such he is likely to be a key voice in discussions about emergency communications.
Charles Thomas, former health chief at the Mine Safety and Health Administration's coal-mine safety and health office, has begun serving as the first director of the mine agency's accountability office, Labor officials announced Tuesday.
After internal probes into fatalities over the past two years at two coal mines in West Virginia and one in Kentucky, Labor formed the office to assess the mine agency's safety enforcement and ensure compliance with changes recommended by the probes. One problem area identified during the probe was emergency-response operations at the Sago mine in West Virginia. The review recommended exploring the availability of advanced communications equipment.
The new office was announced in June, before another mine tragedy in Utah, where a lack of underground communications and tracking technology also complicated rescue.
Thomas has held supervisory roles in the administration's roof control and electrical divisions; worked as a field office supervisor and acting district manager; and participated in four fatal accident investigations. As accountability director, he will conduct field audits, analyze mine data and monitor corrective actions. Thomas will be assisted by two compliance specialists. The office's positions will demand extensive travel to agency field offices and mines.
But Aaron Albright, a spokesman for the House Education and Labor Committee, said on Thursday that the new office "will do little to improve the serious problems the agency faces. That is why we approved comprehensive legislation last month to reform the federal mine health and safety law."
The bill, H.R. 2768, would mandate independent investigations of major accidents and accelerate deployment of post-accident communications systems. It also would grant the agency authority to retain expertise it otherwise would lose through retirement.
However, Alexa Marrero, the spokeswoman for the committee's minority Republicans, said the "establishment of the office of accountability and the naming of its director are welcome signs of the reforms taking place to strengthen mine safety."
As the agency continues with safety fixes mandated by a 2006 mining law, she added, "this office should play an important role in the effort to develop new technologies and ensure strong safety standards."
Michael Enzi of Wyoming, the ranking Republican on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said he wants to see the government, academia and industry work together "so that we get the technology we need, sooner. Our role is to be sure nothing stands in the way of continued collaboration and innovation."
He said he supports the effort through the new office to tighten "quality control."
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Today's Feature:
State Roundup
New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine this week conditionally vetoed a measure to lure digital media companies into the Garden State with tax breaks.
Every Thursday, read the State Roundup by Michael Martinez.
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E-briefs
Porn: Legislation aimed at punishing those who possess and distribute illegal child pornography passed the House on Wednesday evening on a 409-0 vote. The bill, sponsored by Kansas Democrat Nancy Boyda, would close a jurisdictional loophole that allowed a man in her home state who was convicted of possessing child porn to escape punishment. H.R. 4120 was one of several Internet-related bills approved by the chamber this week. The House is scheduled to vote on a remaining child porn-fighting bill, H.R. 4136, on Thursday. That measure, sponsored by Rep. Chris Carney, D-Pa., would change U.S. law to improve the efficiency in prosecuting child porn cases by including money laundering as a prosecution tool. The bill also would expand the code to make it easier to prosecute those who knowingly and repeatedly view such content.
Security: The Homeland Security Department may be investing too much time and money on technologies that may not be effective in protecting the nation in the long term, David Wu, D-Ore., chairman of a House Science and Technology Committee panel, warned Thursday. At a hearing on legislation aimed at improving the department's research and development planning for border security, Wu, who heads the Technology and Innovation Subcommittee, said the department was willing to award contracts for technologies even though basic research had not determined their effectiveness, CongressDaily reported. He said he was troubled that Homeland Security's approach might be "leading us to wasted research." Wu added that the advisory committee was focusing too much on one issue, improvised explosive devices. Eric Kapos, the executive director of the Homeland Security Science and Technology Advisory Committee, said the group will reach a conclusion on IEDs by February, and then move on to another topic.
E-Government: A Democratic senator urged one of her Republican colleagues this week to withdraw an amendment she believes is blocking the passage of a bill that would require lawmakers in her chamber to file campaign finance report electronically. Dianne Feinstein of California, the chairwoman of the Senate Rules Committee, said in a letter to Nevada Sen. John Ensign that an amendment he has offered to require organizations filing ethics complaints to disclose their funding sources is not germane to the underlying legislation. The bill, S. 223, has been held up by procedural maneuvers and secret holds for months. Feinstein said to Ensign that his amendment has triggered adamant opposition from a diverse group of liberal and conservative organizations. She proposed holding a committee hearing on his amendment to allow Ensign and other interested parties to testify on his proposal.
Television: Republican FCC members Robert McDowell and Deborah Taylor Tate are seeking more information about data that Chairman Kevin Martin, also a Republican, has used to justify a finding that the cable industry has achieved market dominance. Martin based the assessment on statistics issued by the newsletter publisher Warren Communications, which determined that more than 70 percent of households subscribe to cable television. "As you are aware, over the past three years, our report [on video competition] has found that cable subscribership hovers around 60 percent," the regulators wrote, adding that due to the growth of satellite and phone-delivered video services, "most large cable operators report a decline." They said it was "surprising' to learn that Warren reported a 71.4 percent threshold when two major independent research outlets settled on lower figures. Warren said Wednesday that its data isn't "well suited" for the basis of policy changes. The commissioners requested more details on how the statistics were collected.
Telecom: The next project of the FTC's Internet Access Task Force is to examine competition and consumer protection issues raised by the transition from "plain old telephone service" to Internet-based telephony, FTC Chairwoman Deborah Platt Majoras announced Thursday. She told the American Bar Association's antitrust law fall forum that issues surrounding voice-over-Internet protocol provide a good opportunity for the agency to build on its June broadband report. In it, the task force addressed so-called "network neutrality" regulation. The year-old group's new assignment is to study the obligations of marketplace rivals to carry each others' data traffic and the effects of voice, video, and data bundling of services, which break down traditional market and regulatory boundaries, she said. Majoras also noted that the FTC is working on a report with the Justice Department's antitrust division to address challenges associated with types of "single-firm conduct," which may violate the Sherman Antitrust Act.
E-Government: Open-government advocates are applauding the technology agenda that Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama released at a visit to Google on Wednesday. During a conference call Thursday, former FCC official Julius Genachowski, who was at Google for Obama's announcement and who could be an FCC nominee in an Obama presidency, said Obama's plan shows his commitment to open government and to 21st-century infrastructure. Stanford University law professor Larry Lessig said the plan calls for government information, campaign donations and lawmakers' calendars to be available online in standard formats. He added that it is critical for engaging more people in government. "Technology is harnessed not just for economic innovation but to actually do government," New York Law School Professor Beth Noveck said.
Campaigns: The first round of voting on the top 10 questions to ask presidential candidates has ended at 10Questions.com. The question receiving the most Internet votes is one on net neutrality and has held the top spot for a few weeks. The question receiving the most votes overall, more than 8,700, asks the candidates whether they would impose their own religious views if elected. Other questions focus on warrantless wiretapping, campaign reform and government transparency. The net neutrality question is one the liberal group MoveOn.org appealed to its members to support. The 10th, proposed by blogger and e-strategist Patrick Ruffini, asks, "How much would you pledge to reduce the size of government in your first term in office?" It squeaked into the last spot with more than 2,000 votes after Ruffini, who consulted for Republican Rudy Giuliani, made an Internet appeal at conservative blog sites for support.
Security: Chinese spying in America represents the greatest threat to U.S. technology, according to a congressional advisory panel report issued Thursday that urges the financing of counterintelligence efforts to stop China from stealing U.S. manufacturing expertise. AP reports that the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission also said in its annual report to Congress that small- and medium-sized U.S. manufacturers "face the full brunt of China's unfair trade practices, including currency manipulation and illegal subsidies for Chinese exports." China's economic policies create a trade relationship that is "severely out of balance" in China's favor, said the commission, which Congress created in 2000 to investigate and report on U.S.-China issues. Commission Chairwoman Carolyn Bartholomew said, "China's interest in moving toward a free-market economy is not just stalling but is actually now reversing course." China denied spying and stressed the importance of healthy economic ties with the United States.
Business: Federal regulators on Thursday eliminated a rule requiring foreign companies with U.S.-traded shares to explain their financial results in line with U.S. accounting standards. AP reports that the move, a push toward acceptance of a global accounting standard, has raised objections from investor advocates and some key lawmakers, who say that investors will lose an important source of information for making decisions and that it will be harder to compare the results of companies that use different standards. At a public meeting, the four members of the Securities and Exchange Commission agreed that foreign companies no longer need to "reconcile" their financial results with U.S. standards known as generally accepted accounting principles. Foreign public companies, which already comply with international financial reporting standards, argued that the mandate was burdensome and costly.
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Editor in Chief -- Louis Peck, 202-739-8481
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Special Correspondent -- Chris Strohm (bio)
Staff Writer -- Michael Martinez
Senior Business Affairs Manager -- Chris Hamby
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