White House
Clinton Talks Tech In State Of Union Address
     As expected, President Clinton addressed technology issues in his eighth and final State of the Union address to the American people. Clinton highlighted personal privacy on the Internet and stressed the goal of providing a wired world for the nation's children. Clinton also called upon the entertainment industry to design a uniform ratings system for children's entertainment. The tech industry seemed generally pleased by his comments. Earlier in the week, Gov. James Gilmore, R-VA, wrote Clinton, urging him to address the digital divide and position himself against Internet taxation in the speech. Internet taxes ultimately were not mentioned.

Privacy
Torricelli Plans Comprehensive Privacy Bill
     Jumping on the growing privacy bandwagon, Sen. Robert Torricelli, D-NJ, sent a letter to his colleagues to drum up support for a far-reaching Internet privacy bill he plans to introduce this year. According to the letter, the bill would place the burden with companies to protect consumers' personal information and would require them to get consumers' consent, a practice known as "opt-in," before they could release personal information to others, such as direct marketers. "Americans are growing increasingly and genuinely concerned about individual privacy, particularly with the growth of Internet use and e-commerce…In order to ensure the security of personal information, Congress must comprehensively address privacy issues, particularly online privacy," said Torricelli's Jan. 20 letter.

Privacy
Study: Consumers Worried About Med Privacy
     Two health care groups released a study that shows many consumers are concerned about sharing medical information with Internet health sites out of fear that it may be shared with marketers or advertisers, which may be keeping some from seeking medical information on the Web. The online survey, conducted for the California HealthCare Foundation, a charitable group aimed at improving and expanding access to health care, and the Internet Healthcare Coalition, made up of health care information publishers, drug and medical-device makers, consumer advocates, Web sites and others, assessed the concerns people have about using Internet health sites.

Trade
Clinton Sends Letter On China's Trade Status
     Continuing what appears to be an aggressive and early effort to jumpstart the campaign for congressional approval of permanent normal trade relations status for China, President Clinton sent a letter to each member of Congress outlining the case for the China-World Trade Organization trade deal. Landing on congressional desks just as the members arrive for the beginning of this year's session, the letter is intended to demonstrate the president's strong personal commitment to the issue.

Exports
Crypto Firms Wary Of New Chinese Policy
     U.S. encryption firms are growing increasingly concerned about the potential impact of an upcoming requirement mandating that foreign companies that use encryption to register with the Chinese government and apply for permission to use such technology. China released the regulation in October requiring foreign companies to begin registering with the government at the end of January if they use encryption or products containing encryption and apply to gain approval to use them from the government's State Encryption Management Commission. The regulation also may make it difficult for foreign companies to sell encryption products in China.

Business
Davis: Firms Not Responsible For Home Sweet Home
     Rep. Tom Davis, R-VA, introduced legislation to prevent the Labor Department from requiring companies to make sure that their employees who work at home operate in a healthy and safe environment. The bill, H.R. 3518, would amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, the authority under which the Labor Department can impose regulations to ensure the safety and health of workers, to prohibit it from being applied to employees who work at home through the use of "telephone computer or electronic device."

Taxes
Mayors Have Four On The Floor
     The U.S. Conference of Mayors met this week. Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk, NP, said that while the group is divided, it has reached consensus on four issues: no international tariffs on the Internet; no Internet access taxes; eliminating the federal excise tax on telecommunications; and a simplification of state and local sales tax systems.

Campaigns
Study Finds Few Seek Political Info Online
     Although about 40 percent of U.S. households now access the Internet, few are using it to seek out information about political candidates despite the growing use of the technology by politicians, according to a new project aimed at studying and enhancing the use of the Internet in politics. The project was unveiled by the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center along with the Center for Public Integrity and Center for Governmental Studies.