Calendar | Sunday, July 1, 2012

This hearing will allow the subcommittee to hear from all five Federal Communications Commission members, including recently confirmed Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Ajit Pai, and to examine current proceedings before the Federal Communications Commission, the FCC's regulatory process, and the agency's progress in implementing congressional priorities.

The goal of the first process is to develop a code of conduct to provide transparency in how companies providing applications and interactive services for mobile devices handle personal data.

The ANA Digital & Social Media Conference is an event for anyone who is trying to navigate their brands through this ever-changing media landscape.

On July 17, the Center for Technology Innovation at Brookings will host a forum on the growing use and influence of distance learning in transforming American education. A panel of experts will discuss the challenges and positive outcomes of integrating education technologies and distance learning techniques into academic instruction, as well as how these tools are transforming the definition of the American classroom.

Join experts from across the entire industry – policymakers, venture capitalists, bankers, innovators, entrepreneurs, and lawmakers -- to discuss the latest developments in communications policy, telecom reform, and emerging business and financial opportunities in traditional and digital media.

A briefing on how the European Parliament, specifically its major committee on Internal Markets and Consumer Protection, addresses Internet policy issues such as consumer privacy protection, e-commerce, net neutrality and intellectual property. These very same issues continue to challenge Congressional policymaking. Some of these European initiatives may end up driving U.S. tech policy and all of them help provide context for Congressional lawmaking.

Witnesses to be announced.

This planning meeting is to gather input and establish the framework for this symposium.

Marketplace Equity Act of 2011 - Authorizes states to require all sellers making remote sales to collect and remit sales and use taxes with respect to such sales into the state, without regard to the location of the seller, if such states implement a simplified system for administration of sales and use tax collection for remote sellers. Requires such a system to include, at a minimum: (1) an exception for remote sellers with gross annual receipts in the preceding calendar year from remote sales not exceeding $1 million in the United States or not exceeding $100,000 in the state, (2) a single sales and use tax return for use by remote sellers and a single revenue authority within the state with which remote sellers are required to file a tax return, and (3) a uniform tax base throughout the state. Defines "remote sale" as a sale of goods or services attributed to a state with respect to which a seller does not have adequate physical presence to establish a nexus so as to allow such state to require such seller to collect and remit taxes.

“Two decades ago, we passed the Cable Act to empower consumers and provide them with expanded choices at lower rates,” said Chairman John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV. “Our hearing in April demonstrated just how much has changed in the past twenty years. But our goals for protecting consumers have not. We can’t look to the future of video without evaluating the Cable Act’s impact on the modern television marketplace and whether the legislation has achieved Congress’ goals. In particular, I want to take a close look at how we make sure that consumers do not continue to get caught in the crossfire in programming disputes, facing dark screens and losing access to news, sports, and other entertainment programming.”

On July 30 and 31, 2012, the FCC will conduct public online “screensharing” demonstrations of the database it has developed to host the online public inspection file for television broadcast stations.