PRIVACY
Government, Internet Industry In Anti-Terror Eavesdropping
Partnership
Microsoft Faces European Commission Inquiry On Privacy Concerns
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
U.S. Court Undercuts Rivals To Baby Bells
New York Green Lights $400Mil Wireless Network
INTERNET
They're Not Treating Webcasters Like Royalty
Lieberman To Visit Bay Area In Push For Broadband Strategy
PRIVACY
GOVERNMENT, INTERNET INDUSTRY IN ANTI-TERROR EAVESDROPPING PARTNERSHIP
Internet and telecommunications companies have been fielding a surge of
requests -- nearly five times pre-Sept. 11 levels -- from law enforcement
officials seeking subscriber information. Privacy advocates are concerned
that the recent passage of the Patriotic Act will harm the civil liberties
of innocent citizens. Al Gidari, a privacy lawyer said, "The trend up to
Sept. 11 was for more privacy protection, greater procedural safeguards,
more sunshine on the process and more notice. I now see all those things
tied up in a box with a little bow on them and forgotten about in the
corner." While authorities stress that the surveillance activities are
extremely targeted, Alan Davidson, associate director of the Center for
Democracy and Technology said, "The fear is that we create a system where
tremendous amounts of information about people are collected and ultimately
used for purposes other than what was originally intended." Prosecutors are
quick to point out that nothing in the Patriotic Act allows surveillance
activities without approval by a judge and proving probable cause.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Associated Press]
(http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/3343587.htm)
MICROSOFT FACES EUROPEAN COMMISSION INQUIRY ON PRIVACY CONCERNS
The European Commission voiced concerns about Microsoft's .NET Passport
system and possible privacy violations. The Passport system stores Internet
users' personal information on Microsoft servers so they do not have to
re-enter the information when moving among programs. Along with the Passport
investigation, the European Commission is also investigating whether
bundling the Microsoft Media Player with Windows is giving Microsoft an
unfair advantage. Erik Meijer, a Dutch member of the European Parliament has
accused Microsoft of passing user information to unknown parties and voiced
fears that if a user fails to log off incorrectly they can accidentally
reveal personal information to other users. In the United States, the
Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) has also expressed concern over
the Passport system saying that Windows XP gives users the impression that
they must open a Passport account to use Windows and the Internet. EPIC has
asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Microsoft for privacy
violations and unfair trade practices.
[SOURCE: The New York Times, AUTHOR: Bloomberg News]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/28/technology/28SOFT.html)
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
U.S. COURT UNDERCUTS RIVALS TO BABY BELLS
A federal appeals court rejected rules forcing major telephone companies to
open their local lines to competitors. In Friday's ruling, Judges Harry T.
Edwards, A. Raymond Randolph and Stephen F. Williams found that the FCC had
shown a "naked disregard of the competitive context" in the area of
high-speed Internet service. They said that the FCC rules failed to
acknowledge that cable companies control 54 percent of the broadband
market-almost double the penetration of the telephone industry's comparable
DSL service. The regional Bell companies, most likely to be affected by
network leasing, contend that the rules force them to provide access at
unreasonably low rates and that they apply regardless of the state of
competition in a given region. Competing phone companies maintain, on the
other hand, that lack of federal rules would preclude local competition for
broadband services. The FCC rules will remain in place until the FCC
rewrites them to comply with the justices' mandate to tailor network leasing
rules for individual markets.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Christopher Stern]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7208-2002May24.html)
NEW YORK GREEN LIGHTS $400MIL WIRELESS NETWORK
The state of New York is planning a statewide wireless network with an
estimated worth of $400 million. The wireless network project is one of two
large information technology projects to make it through the state
appropriations process this year, according to James Dillon, New York's
chief information officer. The state is also planning to integrate the
state's human services network which will affect four agencies: the Office
of Temporary and Disability Assistance, the Office of Children and Family
Services and the departments of Health and Labor.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: William Welsh]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/176763.html)
INTERNET
THEY'RE NOT TREATING WEBCASTERS LIKE ROYALTY
Librarian of Congress James Billington rejected without comment a proposal
for royalty payments by Web broadcasters. But Billington's stay of execution
may only be temporary. Webcasters are still in the peculiar situation of
having to pay fees that no FM radio station pays. Because there were no
records when terrestrial radio started, copyright laws did not include
payment to performers-only songwriters had to paid for their creative
efforts. In 1995 and 1998, however, Congress changed this by passing the
Digital Performance Rights in Sound Recordings Act and the Digital
Millennium Copyright Act. Together, these laws "corrected" the situation
long bemoaned by the recording industry by requiring digital audio
transmission services to compensate performers and their record labels. But
there is a massive exemption in this law: FM and AM stations who also
broadcast over the Internet are not required to pay royalties to artists and
recording labels. Aside from setting a rate high enough to bankrupt most
Webcasters, the royalty rates rejected by Billington essentially amounted to
a special tax on Web radio.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Rob Pegoraro]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8271-2002May25.html)
LIEBERMAN TO VISIT BAY AREA IN PUSH FOR BROADBAND STRATEGY
Sen. Joe Leiberman, D-CT will visit the Bay Area this week to release a
broadband white paper and throw his support behind new legislation to
support broadband deployment. A draft copy of the report stated that faster
transmission of graphics, sound and video will spur economic growth by
transforming the way citizens learn, interact with the government and shop.
The Senator plans to introduce legislation to address various issues in
broadband including tax credits, regulation and research and development.
While 70 percent of consumers have access to broadband, only 11 percent
subscribe to the service. Many consumers cite high prices and a lack of
compelling content as reasons not to subscribe. There has been a great deal
of debate in Washington around increasing broadband deployment and several
bills are already pending that include providing tax incentives to build
broadband networks in rural areas and boosting funding for research and
development.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Heather Fleming Phillips]
(http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/3345247.htm)
----------------------------------------------------------------------