Telecom
New House Telecom Plan Offers Video Exemption
     Key House Republicans this week released draft telecommunications legislation that would effectively exempt the regional Bell telecom companies and cable operators from local video franchises. Only one Democrat co-sponsored the draft. Under the proposal, the Bell companies and other new entrants in the video market could be eligible for national franchises. They would have to pay the same fee and provide the same public, educational and government channels as do dominant cable providers operating under local franchises. The bill has no requirement that national franchise holders "build out" their services to all neighborhoods within the areas where they offer service. Cable companies would be eligible for the same national franchise as soon as competitors enter the market for video services in competition with them. The FCC would have a limited role in policing instances of price discrimination by the Bells and cable companies against Internet content firms -- an issue known as "network neutrality."

Telecom
Top Democrats Roil Mostly Smooth House Debate
     Draft telecom legislation to create national video franchises received a generally polite reception from members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, even as leading Democrats punctured a hearing with tough questions about the draft. The bill's core would allow Bell telephone companies to enter the cable television marketplace without the need to obtain local franchises -- language that has support from members in both parties. But the draft's title on "network neutrality," which is an attempt to deal with the prospect that Bell and cable companies could disadvantage unaffiliated Web sites, sparked criticism. Rick Boucher, D-Va., said the draft would not keep major Bell from creating a fast Internet lane for their content and a slow lane for everyone else's. "This dramatic change in the architecture of the Internet -- is real," Boucher said. "It is a risk that is not worth taking." Internet companies and watchdog groups also characterized the "network neutrality" provisions in the bill as weak.

Telecom
Senate Bill To Be Broader Than House Counterpart
     Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens is crafting telecom legislation that is much broader in scope than a House counterpart floated this week. The Alaska Republican, whose panel held a hearing on competition and convergence this week, is targeting the week of April 24 for a committee vote on the upcoming measure. The House bill focuses on video-franchising relief for the Bell telecom firms and "network neutrality" safeguards intended to prevent content discrimination over high-speed Internet pipes. In addition to those issues, the Senate version would tackle reform of the universal service program that subsidizes telecom rates in rural and underprivileged areas. The bill also would let municipalities offer wireless broadband and tap unused broadcast television spectrum to provide broadband service.

Campaigns
Bloggers Applaud Rules For Online Political Activity
     Online political activists are applauding a Federal Election Commission ruling to broadly extend a media exemption from campaign-finance law to the Internet. The commission unanimously voted to largely exempt Web logs from regulation and instead to focus new rules on Internet political advertisements. Under the rules, bloggers who are paid by candidates, political action committees or political parties to advocate for federal candidates would not have to disclose payments to the FEC, nor would they have to post disclaimers when paid by candidates. The rules would expand the definition of "public communications" to include ads placed by individuals, political action committees, labor unions or corporations on another person's Web site for a fee. About a year ago, after a "blog swarm" against the FEC, the agency abandoned tougher rules that would have broadly applied campaign-finance law to bloggers. "The netroots have won," attorney Adam Bonin wrote this week at the blog Eschaton. Two days later, the House abandoned its efforts to pass related legislation deemed moot by the FEC decision. Mike Krempasky, a co-founder of the RedState Web log, applauded the House's move as a "prudent course" for now.

Privacy
Second House Panel Moves To Secure Consumer Data
     The House Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously approved a data-protection bill designed to combat identity theft. The measure would require companies to notify consumers of data breaches if there is a reasonable risk of identity theft, fraud or other unlawful conduct. Consumer groups generally support the legislation, but it is opposed by some business interests. The bill's notification trigger is at a lower threshold than one in a rival bill the House Financial Services Committee approved March 16. The Stearns measure also would allow state attorneys general to enforce the rules, and it would give consumers the right to access and correct information held by data brokers.

Privacy
Senate Panel OKs Bill To Protect Telephone Records
     The Senate Commerce Committee approved a measure that aims to deter frauds from accessing the personal information of communications company customers. The issue gained momentum early this year after news reports about the easy access to mobile telephone records. The measure, S. 2389, would penalize people who seek to fraudulently access and sell consumers' calling records, and it would give the FCC, FTC, state attorneys general and state utility regulators enforcement authority. Violators would be subject to $11,000 penalties for each record accessed, with the total fines capped at $11 million. The bill also would require communications companies to take steps to protect their customers' records.

Security
Bill To Reshape Homeland Security Wins Panel's OK
     A House Homeland Security Subcommittee approved by voice vote a bill intended to overhaul the nation's color-coded threat-alert system and to improve information sharing. The measure would require the Homeland Security Department to implement a new advisory system to disseminate to state, local, tribal and private-sector officials any information on threats and appropriate protective measures. The measure says the department should not use the current color designations as the exclusive means of communicating alerts and, when possible, should issue alerts only for a specific region or economic sector believed to be at risk. The legislation also would establish Homeland Security as the primary entity for disseminating threat data.

Intellectual Property
High Court Ponders What To Do About 'Patent Trolls'
     The Supreme Court wrestled with a question that has confounded Congress for the past year: Do "patent trolls" exist, and if so, how can the court change the law to eliminate them? The case pits eBay against MercExchange over the "Buy It Now" feature at eBay. The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a district judge in Virginia should have stopped eBay from continuing to operate that feature after a jury found that it infringed upon MercExchange's patent. The term "patent troll" refers to patent holders who sue major firms in order to win large settlements. Large companies such as eBay argue that such entities, which often do not make products based on their patents, are abusing the system. "Why should we make a distinction between patent speculators and anyone else," Chief Justice John Roberts asked. "Why should [the inventor] lose the leverage?" But he also called MercExchange's disputed patent on a system for the electronic trading of goods "vague" and "amorphous."