Telecom
House Panel May Debate Telecom Next Week
     The congressional push for telecommunications legislation appears to be nearing a crescendo, at least at the committee level. The chairmen of both the House and Senate panels that oversee telecom law this week hinted at action in the short term. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton, R-Texas, and key committee Democrats agreed in principle on legislation that could be debated next week. And Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, said he wants his panel to finish legislation before Congress' upcoming Easter break. The draft House bill would let regional Bell telephone companies like AT&T offer pay video services through nationwide franchises. The Bells would not have to "build out" those services to all parts of a given geographic area first. Sources said talks are continuing over "network neutrality," a concept that aims to prevent the Bells and cable operators from acting as gatekeepers to Internet content. Senate Commerce will begin assembling telecom proposals this weekend. At a minimum, Stevens said he wants a bill to revise video-franchising rules and to enhance the federal fund for guaranteeing telecom services.

Antitrust
AT&T, BellSouth Merger Could Impact Telecom Debate
     The just-announced merger agreement between AT&T and BellSouth could slow the push for a telecommunications bill, as the cable industry told Congress that regional Bell companies are so big that they need no additional legislation. The $67 billion agreement would be the fifth-largest in U.S. history. The proposal would assemble four of the seven original Baby Bell companies into one corporation. Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., said the plan deserves close scrutiny. Spokesmen for House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton, R-Texas, had no comment. A spokesman for the House Judiciary Committee said he anticipates "that members on both sides of the aisle of the Judiciary Committee are going to want to voice their opinions and ensure that the antitrust laws are being enforced." And the Senate Commerce Committee plans to review the merger. Industry analysts said the deal likely will be approved, and antitrust groups largely agreed but expressed concerns.

Privacy
Panel OKs Bill To Ban 'Pretexting' Of Phone Records
     A proposal to prohibit fraudulent access to telephone records sailed through a House panel with minimal objection. The House Energy and Commerce Committee approved the bill by voice vote. The measure would make it illegal for online brokers to buy and sell individuals' monthly phone records. It would empower both the FCC and FTC to enforce new rules banning "pretexting," the practice of obtaining customers' personal information under false pretenses. The FCC could fine violators up to $300,000 per violation. The maximum penalty for multiple violations would be $3 million. The FTC also could prosecute those who engage in pretexting. The proposal further would prohibit phone carriers from providing detailed consumer information to affiliates without consent. The panel adopted one amendment to let consumers keep their cell-phone numbers out of information directories made available to the public.

Campaigns
Panel OKs Online Exemption For Campaign Finance
     The House Administration Committee approved a bill calling for the exemption of certain online communications from rules for reporting campaign finance activity. The bill, H.R. 1606, was approved by voice vote. Last November, the full House failed to garner the two-thirds majority necessary to pass the bill under expedited procedures. That 225-182 vote kicked the legislation back to committee. Committee Chairman Vernon Ehlers said the committee action would give members "one more chance to prevent the [Federal Election Commission] from regulating the Internet." The commission on March 16 is slated to issue new rules regarding online communications, such as Web logs and advertising that touts federal candidates. "Bloggers shouldn't have to check with a federal agency before they go online" or seek FEC advisory opinions before engaging in political speech, said Ehlers, R-Mich.

Civil Liberties
N.J. Lawmaker Backpedals Over Anonymous Forums
     A New Jersey lawmaker who authored a bill designed to make public Internet forums more civilized is ready to accept that portions of his proposal might be unconstitutional. Republican Assemblyman Peter Biondi conceded that his bill to outlaw anonymous online speech is not likely to withstand legal scrutiny. The measure would require the operators of Web logs and other online forums to gather the legal names and addresses of people who comment on the sites. Biondi wrote the measure after he was referred to heated discussions in local forums on NJ.com, a site that hosts the online versions of several New Jersey newspapers. "It was something I thought maybe I'd be able to try," Biondi said. "Now I don't know. Some legislation flies. Some doesn't. It looks like this one won't be flying at all."

Lobbying
Grassroots Effort Aims To Boost Educational Technology
     Educators and technologists descended upon congressional offices to demonstrate the importance that technology plays in education and U.S. competitiveness. Using the competitiveness agenda of President Bush as a catalyst, the Software Information Industry Association, Consortium for School Networking and International Society for Technology in Education conducted a joint, grassroots lobbying effort. Nearly 200 educators and representatives from the tech industry visited more than 150 congressional offices to discuss federal education policy and resources. The goals of the visits were threefold. The tech advocates discussed the status of the e-rate program for wiring schools and libraries to the Internet; they urged Congress to boost funding for educational technology; and they sought support for instructional software, computer-based testing, online courses and data reporting as tools to improve the education system.

Politics
Laughter Is The Winning Online Strategy
     Web logs and other forms of interactive communication will continue to influence political campaigns, but the most successful messages -- regardless of the medium -- are the ones that make people laugh, a group of experts agreed. Panelists at the Politics Online conference, conducted at George Washington University and co-sponsored by National Journal Group, repeatedly mentioned the subject of humor in campaigns. Dan Gillmor, a former journalist and founder of the Center for Citizen Media Online, also noted that voters increasingly are making their own hierarchy of news by reading blogs and information sites that appeal to their views. Referral engines like Digg.com that list blog entries and news stories by popularity also are gaining favor, Gillmor said. Former New York Times reporter Alex Jones predicted consolidation among the top progressive and conservative blogs and warned that commercialization of them could lead to a deadening of the medium.

Politics
Liberals Launch Politics-Focused Internet TV Effort
     A video-heavy Web site for liberals called PoliticsTV has been launched. Its operator hopes the site will become a major hub of attention during the 2006 election season. The site currently offers four channels: a democracy channel, a candidate channel, a satire channel and a news channel. It also has space for channels dedicated to pundits and Web logs. PoliticsTV President Dan Manatt said the site will do to TV news what blogs have done to print in terms of democratizing the video medium. The operation has three full-time employees and is currently underwritten by the left-leaning Americablog and Advocacy Inc. Online Web experts said they are not aware of any conservative sites currently matching PoliticsTV's model.