INTERNET REGULATION
Election Regulators Clear the Way for
Online Debates (CyberTimes)
Spamming: The E-Mail You Want To Can (House)
Activists Decry Bills On 'Digital Signature' (WP)
High-Tech Landscape Shifting (AP)
In Europe, Surfing a Web of Red Tape (WSJ)
TELEVISION
Study Has Little Praise for Chicago TV News (ChiTrib)
Commerce Sec Daley urges Congressional Action on
Satellite Home Viewer Legislation (NTIA)
TELEPHONY
Local Phone Competition (Senate)
New Bell Atlantic Wireless Calling Plan Targets Families,
Challenging
AT&T (WSJ)
INTERNET REGULATION
ELECTION REGULATORS CLEAR THE WAY FOR ONLINE DEBATES
Issue: Politics & the Internet
The Federal Election Commission (http://www.fec.gov) cleared the way
Thursday for non-partisan organizations to host debates for political
candidates on the Internet. "The important part of this is, there are a lot
of organizations that would like to use the Internet to improve the
electoral process," said Tracy Westen, president of the Democracy Network
(http://www.dnet.org), the Los Angeles-based group that asked the FEC to
rule on the issue. "It's an important acknowledgment that the online world
has something to offer." The FEC also took the first step toward
establishing broad guidelines for regulation of Internet campaigning,
issuing a formal call for public comments in a 35-page document that raised
questions including whether some Internet publications and links should be
treated as contributions under election laws, and what types of online
publications qualify as news media, exempting them from the rules governing
such contributions. [Hey, does that mean us?] The call for comments begins a
formal rulemaking procedure that will probably last until after the 2000
election.
[SOURCE: CyberTimes, AUTHOR: ]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/10/cyber/articles/29campaign.html)
SPAMMING: THE E-MAIL YOU WANT TO CAN
Issue: Internet Regulation
Wednesday, November 3, 1999 10:00 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn House Office
Building The Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade, and Consumer
Protection hearing on Spamming: The E-Mail You Want To Can. The hearing will
focus on the following bills: (1) H.R. 3113, the Unsolicited Electronic Mail
Act of 1999; (2) H.R. 2162, the Can Spam Act; and (3) H.R. 1910, the E-Mail
User Protection Act.
[SOURCE: House of Representatives]
(http://www.house.gov/commerce/schedule.htm)
ACTIVISTS DECRY BILL ON 'DIGITAL SIGNATURE'
Issue: Legal
Two proposals to give electronic versions of contracts and records the
same legal standing as traditional ink-on-paper versions have raised
concern among activists and lawmakers who argue that the bills would
undermine consumer rights. The Senate bill is titled the Millennium
Digital Commerce Act. The House bill titled the Electronic Signatures in
Global and National Commerce Act, has already passed scrutiny by the
Commerce and Justice committees and is nearing action by the full House.
Opponents argue that the so-called "digital signatures" bills establish a
lower standard of consumer protection for electronic versions of
contracts and records than laws for contracts in print, pre-empting state
laws that try to protect consumers. Opponents of the bills include the
National Conference of State Legislatures and the National Consumer Law
Center. Consumer groups say the proposals do not require proof that the
consumer can actually receive an electronic copy of a bill or record, nor
do they set sufficient standards to ensure that the documents are not
forged or tampered with. Republicans on the Senate banking committee also
warned that the bills might conflict with provisions of the Uniform
Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) related to online banking. The UETA,
proposed by the National Conference of Uniform State Laws, will be
adopted by many states as the standard setter for electronic commerce.
Sen. Spencer Abraham (R-Mich.)is the chief sponsor of the Senate version.
Abraham's staff says the bill provides a strong measure of consumer
protection--most notably, an "opt-in" requirement that keeps companies
from making their notices and contracts electronic without the customer's
explicit consent.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E3), AUTHOR: John Schwartz]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/daily/oct99/digital29.htm)
HIGH-TECH LANDSCAPE SHIFTING
Issue: Legal
In the year since the antitrust trial opened against Microsoft
Corporation, the landscape of the nation's high-tech industry has changed.
A few of the nation's largest computer makers are selling some machines
without Microsoft's Windows software already installed. It all begs the
question: Can the slow wheels of justice keep pace in "Internet time,"
where four years is roughly the equivalent of a generation? U.S. District
Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson's decision in the case, which could come as
early as today, is the first step toward a final verdict and is expected
to serve as a barometer for whether the judge believes the company broke
antitrust laws. However, legal experts anticipate the landmark case will
wind through appeals courts for as long as two years. The appeals process
could delay possible punishments against Microsoft. "How do you write a
prescription that the patient is ultimately going to take 24 months later
in an industry that moves this fast?" said William Kovacic, an antitrust
expert at George Washington University. "It's a terrible problem."
Assistant U.S. Attorney General Joel Klein said the fast pace of the
Microsoft trial "demonstrates that both the Department of Justice and
the court system can move in Internet time."
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Ted Bridis]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/breaking/ap/docs/1020687l.htm)
IN EUROPE, SURFING A WEB OF RED TAPE
Issue: E-Commerce
In Europe brick-and-mortar trade regulations have everything to do with
online commerce. Despite the initiatives to convert Europe to borderless
commerce, online shoppers are finding that the cultural bases for each
nation's pricing strategies are directly affecting their online
purchasing options. Germany and several other European states allow
price regulation of booksellers by publishers. For the online shopper
this means that a book available for $26.99 (U.S.) on Amazon.de can sell
for 40% less through the UK's (unregulated) Amazon.co.uk. Similarly, if one
lives in England and wants to buy a car, it would be worth buying from a
Belgian car dealer's Web site, then paying the shipping charges
or picking it up yourself. Books and cars are not the only items
affected: computers, cameras and software are all subject to disparate,
local, culturally-based pricing and tax schemes.
Ricardo.de, a German auction site, was sued for not complying with
a 100-year old law requiring auctioneers to obtain a permit for each
auction and then make the goods available for public viewing. European
online shoppers are finding their own ways around these restrictions.
Software, purchased from a U.S. .com
can be downloaded directly, avoiding all value-added taxes.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Neal E. Boudette]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB941153102786663385.htm)
TELEVISION
STUDY HAS LITTLE PRAISE FOR CHICAGO TV NEWS
Issue: Journalism
The second annual study conducted by the Project for Excellence in
Journalism finds that although Chicago's local TV news might be improving,
it still does not stack up well against other markets. Chicago's ABC
affiliate received a B grade, up from a C last year, and ranked the best
news in the area -- but finished just 19th out of the 59 stations examined
in the national study. The NBC owned and operated station ranked 51st and
the CBS affiliate came in 53rd. The results were based on taped newscasts
from 19 markets on four total weeks during February and April and were
judged on such things as topic range, story focus, number of sources used in
stories and local relevance. None of the other Chicago newscasts was
studied. According to the study, stations at the lower end of the quality
scale were "twice as likely to be failing commercially as succeeding." Crime
remains the #1 topic on local newscasts, but was the subject of fewer
stories than a year ago. The top three ranked stations are...[drum roll,
please]...WEHT-TV, the ABC station in small-market Evansville, Ind., WTVJ,
the NBC station in Miami, and KRON-TV, the NBC station in San Francisco. The
Project for Excellence in Journalism affiliated with the Columbia University
Graduate School of Journalism.
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune (Sec 3, p.3), AUTHOR: Jim Kirk]
(http://chicagotribune.com/business/printedition/article/0,2669,SAV-99102900
83,FF.html)
COMMERCE SEC DALEY URGES CONGRESSIONAL ACTION ON SATELLITE HOME VIEWER
LEGISLATION
Issue: Satellites/Broadcasting
From Press Release: Commerce Secretary William M. Daley has urged a
Senate-House Conference Committee to quickly resolve outstanding issues
relating to a proposed bill that would give consumers in remote areas
greater access to network television programming and to local television
signals. In separate letters to key members of the Conference Committee,
Daley noted that the proposed bill should be designed to ultimately enhance
consumer choice and promote competition in the multichannel video
marketplace. The Conference Committee is comprised of members from the House
and Senate Judiciary and Commerce Committees. "The Administration believes
the viewing public's interest should be of paramount importance during the
conference
Committee's deliberations," Daley said. "The Administration is particularly
concerned that broadcast carriage issues be decided in a way that promotes
greater access to local television signals for all Americans and enables
satellite service providers to offer services comparable to cable and thus
spur competition," he said.
[SOURCE: NTIA]
(http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/press/shva102799.htm)
TELEPHONY
LOCAL PHONE COMPETITION
Issue: Competition
Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Committee on Commerce, Science,
and Transportation, and Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT), Chairman of the
Communications Subcommittee, announced a hearing on local phone competition.
Members will examine how best to increase consumer choice in local telephone
markets. The Full Committee hearing will be on Thursday, November 4, at 9:30
a.m. in room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building. Senator Burns will
preside. Witnesses will be announced at a later time.
[SOURCE: US Senate]
(http://www.senate.gov/~commerce/press/106-119.htm)
NEW BELL ATLANTIC WIRELESS CALLING PLAN TARGETS FAMILIES, CHALLENGING AT&T
Issue: Telephony
Bell Atlantic's new wireless calling plan is aimed at getting entire
families signed up for a household plans, challenging AT&T Corporation's
Family Plan. Bell Atlantic's plan, called Share-A-Minute enables families
and businesses to share monthly air-time allocations for a flat fee. The
plan, aimed at putting "a cell phone in the hands of every family member,
including elementary school kids," lets families put multiple phones on
one bill. Bell Atlantic's plan differs from AT&T's in that it allows
users to share a certain amount of minutes bundled together with one
monthly fee for joint access by multiple phones. The plan has appeal
according to Wall Street because most consumers typically don't use all
of their air time.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B8), AUTHOR: Nicole Harris]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB941153251123731914.htm)
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...and we are outta here. Enjoy your weekend (if that is possible without
baseball).