Campaigns
House, FEC Delay Action On Web Political Speech
     The Federal Election Commission this week delayed its decision about regulating online political communications. The decision came a day after a House bill to provide an exemption for some Internet speech hit a political speed bump. "The agency is taking a one-week pause on Internet rulemaking and will make a final vote" March 23, FEC Chairman Michael Toner said at a public meeting. And the House Rules Committee removed from the floor schedule a bill, H.R. 1606, that is designed to limit the application of campaign finance law to political Web logs and some online political ads, among other communications. The panel cited time restrictions in concluding debate and a vote on an emergency appropriations bill as reasons for the delay, but sources said opposition to the bill also has increased. An alternative measure, H.R. 4900, that is based on a recent proposal from the Center for Democracy and Technology has won support.

Courts
Justice Department, Google Battle Over Subpoena
     The Justice Department sought to compel the Google Internet firm to provide search queries, Internet addresses and other information from its databases. U.S. attorney Joel McElvain argued in a federal court in San Jose, Calif., that providing the records would neither infringe on Google users' privacy nor harm the company by forcing Google to reveal trade secrets, as the company has argued. Justice subpoenaed search data from America Online, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo in order to defend a law against child pornography rebuffed by the Supreme Court. Justice wants the data to determine whether software filters are effective enough to combat online child porn or whether other legal remedies are required. The other firms provided the requested data, but Google has resisted. In his closing statement, Judge James Ware said he will rule shortly and indicated that he might compel Google to reveal some of the information sought by the government, if not all.

On The Hill
House Judiciary Panel Carves Out Communications Turf
     The House Judiciary Committee took steps toward claiming its turf over communications issues, setting the stage for a possible showdown with the House Energy and Commerce panel. Judiciary Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., is a frequent critic of the Bell companies. He announced plans to hold multiple hearings on communications policy this spring. The first would focus on industry consolidation and the state of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, which critics say is outdated. Judiciary is said to be in the early stages of contemplating major communications that could address "network neutrality," a policy that would keep dominant cable and telecom firms from acting as Internet gatekeepers. Judiciary likely would be far more receptive to net neutrality than Energy and Commerce. Sensenbrenner's panel is flexing its muscle on telecom as Commerce legislation viewed as largely favorable to the big Bell telecom firms.

E-Commerce
House Panel Approves Ban On Internet Gambling
     The House Financial Services Committee approved by voice vote a measure that targets online gambling. The legislation would bar banks and credit-card companies from processing payments for online bets. It also would make it a criminal offense for a gambling business to accept credit cards, wire transfers or any other bank instrument to process payments for illegal gaming transactions. The measure would not apply to state lotteries, tribal gaming and horse racing. It is supported by religious groups and major sports leagues. Bill sponsor Jim Leach, R-Iowa, is counting on the political fallout from the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal to help his bill this year. Abramoff was instrumental in helping defeat an Internet gambling ban on the House floor in 2000, an action that federal prosecutors are investigating as part of an influence-peddling investigation.

Television
Bells, Electronics Industry Strike Internet TV Deal
     The three leading Bell companies announced an agreement with the Consumer Electronics Association that they said will ensure the commercial availability of devices that will attach to Internet-protocol television networks, or IPTV. In an announcement at CEA's Entertainment Technology Policy conference, AT&T, BellSouth and Verizon Communications agreed to create a commercial standard so customers of one IPTV network still could obtain television service from another provider. In order to facilitate video competition between the Bells and cable operators, CEA chief Gary Shapiro said, "consumers must be able to choose from the exciting array of innovative new devices being developed by consumer electronics manufacturers that attach to IP networks to receive vide programming." Also at the conference, CEA announced a voluntary warning label for retailers to place on older, analog-based televisions as the nation transitions to digital signals.

Telecom
Senate Prospects For 'Network Neutrality' Are Unclear
     Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens told reporters that he supports the policy of "network neutrality" on the Internet but does not know if it will be part of his upcoming telecommunications legislation. Stevens said panel members will decide whether to include the policy of preventing telecom and cable giants from acting as gatekeepers on their high-speed Internet networks. Asked whether he would insist on net neutrality language, he responded: "I don't have any priorities. I want a bill." The U.S. Internet Industry Association, meanwhile, issued a report that said a policy of net neutrality would keep broadband costs high, negatively impact the rollout of services and retard the technological sophistication of the Internet.

Crime
Push On Sex Offenders May Stall Over Other Issues
     A child-protection advocate voiced optimism that Congress will enact legislation this year to modernize and coordinate state rules on sex-offender registration and tracking. The House last week passed a bill, H.R. 4472, that includes language with that goal in mind, while the Senate Judiciary Committee approved legislation, S. 1086, with a similar provision in October. "We're confident that they'll work out the differences between the two bills and get something passed this year," said Carolyn Atwell-Davis, director of legislative affairs for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Both bills would mandate better coordination among states to register and track sex offenders and would standardize registration and reporting so that citizens receive consistent information. Those provisions are politically popular and relatively non-controversial. But the House bill contains provisions on issues like DNA collection practices and trial procedures for alleged child pornographers that could slow the swift enactment of a bill.

Civil Liberties
Grassroots Rally Against U.S. Internet Actions In China
     A grassroots movement is rising against U.S. Internet companies that comply with the Chinese government to restrict online information and provide users' personal data. Companies such as Cisco Systems, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo have come under fire for doing business in China, where the government actively monitors Internet use and filters or blocks Web content. Yahoo, for instance, allegedly gave Chinese authorities account information that they used to imprison journalist Shi Tao. The human rights group Amnesty International in January launched an online letter-writing campaign that calls on Yahoo to use its influence to secure the release of Tao. As another form of protest, documentary filmmaker Dan Collins and 13 of his friends are uprooting their online fantasy baseball team from Yahoo's service, which they have used for six years. Student for a Free Tibet also staged a one-day boycott of Google on Valentine's Day.