Campaigns
Industry Group Surveys Bush And Kerry On Technology
     President Bush and Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry responded to a survey on technology policy issues released by the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) this week. Kerry said he is "open to examining" legislation to trim digital copyright law, while Bush said he would "take a hard look" at pre-empting state regulation of Internet telephone calls. The responses contained few head-to-head disagreements. On how to stimulate high-speed Internet access, Kerry called for tax credits for deploying broadband technology, but Bush emphasized avoiding regulations and taxes on Internet access, and releasing spectrum for wireless broadband. Kerry, meanwhile, blasted Bush for allegedly neglecting science and technology, saying in an Ohio speech that the administration has lost "more than 800,000 technology jobs, many to China and India." The Bush campaign defended the president's record on that and other tech-related issues in an e-mailed reply.

Broadband
U.S. Drops To 13th Among Broadband Users Worldwide
     The U.S. level of high-speed Internet penetration dropped from 11th to 13th place globally this past year, according a new report by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The news could resurrect a simmering domestic policy debate in the presidential contest. America's further drop in its international rank came despite a 35 percent increase, from 6.9 percent of the population in 2002 to 9.3 percent in 2003, in the total number of broadband subscribers tabulated by the ITU. The statistics were found deep within a 216-page report released at a conference in Asia devoted to wireless Internet mobility. A separate survey by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development put the United States in 10th place among industrialized nations, a rank that held firm in calibrations made in June and December 2003.

Privacy
Agency Proposes Passenger Advocate For Airline Screening
     Travelers who are unfairly flagged in a planned passenger-screening system for airlines could appeal to a passenger advocate to have their names removed from the system, under a plan outlined by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The agency proposed the position as part of its forthcoming system, which is designed to identify potential terrorists before they board airplanes. Privacy advocates have criticized the system. In related news, as the deadline for public comments on the system nears, the Electronic Privacy Information Center is demanding more information about it, with the goal of fostering more informed commentary. But it is unclear whether the information on the Secure Flight system will be disclosed in time for potential critics to react in their letters to TSA.

Budget
Bush Approves $33 Billion For Homeland Security
     President Bush signed legislation to provide about $33 billion for the Homeland Security Department during fiscal 2005. The measure includes $4 billion for state and local assistance programs, $150 million for rail and transit security grants, $8.5 billion for customs services and border patrol, and $340 million for technology to track U.S. visitors. Bush made a campaign stop in New Jersey after signing the measure and touted his security record. In a conference call with reporters, however, Jim Turner of Texas, the top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, criticized the Bush administration for not addressing "critical security gaps" and released a report highlighting those perceived shortcomings. Turner criticized lawmakers for defeating language that would have provided $2 billion more in homeland security funding.

Antitrust
Parties To Microsoft Settlement Voice Compliance Concerns
     The relationship between Microsoft and the parties to an antitrust settlement with the software firm appears to be chilling as Microsoft works on fulfilling the settlement. In a federal court hearing, an attorney for the Justice Department and an attorney representing New York state complained about how Microsoft is providing technical documentation for its communications protocol. They also raised a concern about Microsoft's contracts with licensees of its .Net framework, which is used to build and run applications on the Windows computer-operating system. The agreement requires Microsoft to give licensees of its communications protocol a complete set of technical documentation by the fall. Instead, in the status report filed with the district court earlier this month, the company said it released a test version of the documentation after the last compliance hearing and expects to extend the test to Nov. 15 or even December.

Intellectual Property
Justice Promotes Plan To Curtail Intellectual Property Theft
     As part of a weeklong effort to promote a Justice Department plan to curtail intellectual property infringement, Attorney General John Ashcroft told high-school students in the Washington, D.C., area about the consequences of stealing intellectual property. Piracy can have economic repercussions on people who work in the music, movie or other creative industries, Ashcroft said. The forum began a nationwide campaign to educate young people about the impact piracy has on the arts, artists and society, said James Curtis, an anchor for Court TV. More than $250 billion per year is lost to IP crimes, Ashcroft said. In other news, Motion Picture Association of America President Dan Glickman told the Federal Communications Bar Association that the protection of intellectual property rights is key to U.S. economic success. And recording and movie industry officials sparred again over the future of legislation designed to make it illegal for third parties to "induce" others to infringe upon copyrights.

Health
Experts: Resistance To Change Is Big Obstacle To E-Health
     One of the greatest challenges confronting the electronic healthcare initiative of President Bush may be eliminating resistance to change, an administration official said. David Brailer, the health information technology coordinator at the Health and Human Services Department (HHS), said the department is further along in developing a strategic framework than expected, but the administration also needs to convince people in the healthcare community that the technologies are worthwhile. Brailer outlined priorities that the industry must address as HHS works on the budget, such as the need for a national network of technological tools that can work together. Questions remain over how to build a medical Internet, who would own and operate it, and what role the government would play, he said.

Lobbying
Rep. Markey Offers Strategic Advice To Internet Phone Firms
     Internet telephone companies need to engage in legislative and regulatory debates to secure their futures instead of waiting for technical standards and fighting state or federal oversight, a key lawmaker argued. Rep. Edward Markey of Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee, said if companies that offer voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP) fail to get involved in such debates, they could face the same fate as marginalized or bankrupt telecommunications firms that tried to pry open the networks of the dominant Bell telephone companies and cable providers in the late 1990s. Markey said VoIP technology can spark new services and job growth and lower communications costs. He encouraged VoIP providers to reach a "digital detente" with larger cable and phone companies such as Comcast.