Broadband
House Telecom Bill Stalls Over 'Network Neutrality'
     Legislation to grant Bell telephone companies quick entry into the pay-television market did not go to the House floor this week as planned. The House Judiciary Committee sought a referral of the bill, particularly for its "network neutrality" language. The delay is likely to work to Judiciary's advantage. Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., and ranking Democrat John Conyers of Michigan have drafted their own version of net neutrality legislation. "Judiciary has requested jurisdiction on it, and the parliamentarians are getting ready to wade in," said Kevin Madden, an aide to Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio. The House leadership wants to "let these kind of events play out first." Congressional and industry sources said Republican leaders are worried that voting against a network neutrality amendment -- one that would keep dominant Bell and cable companies from charging competitors more to transmit high-speed Internet content -- could be a political liability.

Telecom
Rep. Markey Authors Solo 'Net Neutrality' Bill
     Rep. Edward Markey introduced a stand-alone "network neutrality" bill in an effort to highlight the issue as broader telecommunications legislation moves closer to the floor. The issue has emerged as the most hotly contested subject in pending telecom measures. The broader House bill contains neutrality safeguards, but critics contend that they are too weak to prevent companies such as AT&T, Time Warner and Verizon Communications from acting as Internet gatekeepers. The Markey bill contains stricter language. AT&T said the measure seeks to solve an imaginary problem and would force companies to adopt rigid business models. Markey introduced his measure less than 24 hours after a working draft of sweeping Senate telecom legislation was filed. That measure contains neutrality provisions viewed as less regulatory than the House approach, requiring only that the FCC study the matter.

Privacy
FTC Sues Web Firms For Selling Phone Records
     The FTC launched a nationwide crackdown on operators of Internet sites that sell confidential telephone records by filing civil actions against five companies. The firms and individuals backing them are located in California, Florida, Maryland, Virginia and Wyoming. The enforcement action comes as Congress is rapidly moving bills that aim to deter the practice, which the commission said already is illegal under federal law. The House last week passed a bill to create criminal penalties for the fraudulent sale or solicitation of phone records. But this week, the chamber pulled from the agenda another measure that would expand communications companies' responsibilities to safeguard customer information. An Energy and Commerce Committee spokesman said the Intelligence Committee has concerns about the bill's potential impact on intelligence gathering.

Broadband
FCC Reaffirms Deadlines For Internet Wiretaps
     The FCC reaffirmed its deadline for high-speed Internet and Internet telephone providers to comply with a law requiring wiretap-friendly telecom equipment. In addition to affirming the May 2007 deadline, the FCC refused to intervene in the standard-setting process for telecommunications and declined to help fund compliance. "I remain committed to ensuring that these providers take all necessary actions to incorporate surveillance capabilities into their networks in a timely fashion," FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said. The unanimous decision came two days before a federal appeals court on Friday considers a lawsuit challenging the FCC's authority to extend the wiretapping law to broadband and other services over the Internet.

Security
House Rejects Call For New Program Of Port Grants
     The House voted 421-2 to pass a maritime security bill. The vote came after Republicans and Democrats, in a rare show of bipartisanship, rallied to defeat a Bush administration-backed attempt to eliminate the creation of a $400 million grant program for U.S. ports. Senior members of the House Homeland Security Committee pushed for defeat of language to kill the program. The amendment was rejected by voice vote. Many House Republicans and Democrats say a dedicated funding stream for U.S. ports is critical, but the administration believes it would duplicate other funding programs. In the Senate, meanwhile, the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved a bill that would require the Homeland Security Department to move toward scanning all cargo containers at foreign ports before they are shipped to the United States. A day earlier, the department said it will do more testing on an advanced container-scanning system at the Port of Hong Kong.

E-Commerce
Abramoff's Past Noted In Vote Against E-Gambling
     Disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff is no longer working the halls of Congress for his clients, but he may still be influencing debate on one bill he tried to defeat. After trying since 1997 to pass a bill that is designed to curb Internet gambling, Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., said all the publicity surrounding Abramoff has helped spur new interest in his legislation. The House Judiciary Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security Subcommittee approved the bill by voice vote. Goodlatte noted that Abramoff, who has pleaded guilty to fraud and other charges, worked to defeat the Internet gambling legislation in the past. "It's become very apparent that he had a very large side operation to deceive members of Congress about" the bill, Goodlatte said. The measure would update a law that deals with gambling over telephone lines to specifically prohibit gambling online or via other new technologies.

Health
Experts Scold Industry Over Push For Health IT
     The technology industry needs to do more to drive the rollout of health information technologies, an industry expert said during one of several policy discussions at the World Congress on Information Technology in Austin, Texas. The forum is held every two years in different countries. Louis Burns, the vice president and general manager of Intel's Digital Health Group, said the industry is "all hat and no cattle," as they say in Texas. Translated, he said the technology industry is not doing enough to advance health IT. He said industry's current focus on health IT is "what it should have been doing for the last decade." Former Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson also displayed frustration with the rate of health IT adoption in the United States. Thompson said the lack investment in technologies is a result of no uniform standards, an inefficient reimbursement scheme and few government incentives.

Intellectual Property
China, Russia Top U.S. List For Infringements
     The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has identified China and Russia as the top violators of U.S. intellectual property rights. In its annual review of IP enforcement by U.S. trading partners, which was released April 28, the office identified 48 countries as having inadequate protections. The report typically emphasizes reducing copyright infringement on compact discs and digital videodiscs, but this year it also highlighted issues like Internet piracy and government software use. Last month, China announced that it would require government agencies to purchase computers with pre-installed, licensed software. In all, 24 countries have taken similar steps. Still, China keeps its place at the top of the "priority watch list" for IP infringement and remains subject to trade sanctions. USTR also cited "serious" concerns about greater production of pirated optical discs in Russian plants, particularly in government-owned facilities.