Campaigns
Why Aren't Candidates Talking More About Tech Issues?
     When Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney confused the YouTube video-sharing site with the MySpace social network in a speech about online predators this summer, techie fingers were wagging and Romney found his technology awareness being questioned. Romney's staff soon set the record straight about Romney knowing the difference between the popular sites, but the episode shows how much attention technology is getting in the 2008 race. David All, a Republican media consultant, said candidates' tech savvy is being tested and critiqued more than ever. Unfortunately, he added, they are "pretty pitiful" in proving their knowledge about tech-related topics. "You're not going to find network neutrality on any poll," he said in a reference to one hot-button Internet policy topic of the past two years. That's not to say tech issues have been completely ignored, though. This week's Tech Daily series on tech politics includes detailed issue profiles of both the Democratic and Republican candidates, as well as their trade views.

Budget
Lawmakers Pursue More Money For IP Protections
     Intellectual property protections for U.S. inventors and businesses would get a modest boost in fiscal 2008 if the House and Senate agree to the funding levels proposed for various programs across several agencies and departments. The Patent and Trademark Office would receive $1.9 billion under the House-passed appropriations bill and the measure awaiting a vote in the Senate. The agency got $1.7 billion in fiscal 2007. But the committee reports accompanying the bills indicate that lawmakers are troubled by the growing backlog of patent applications and the time it takes to process them. The story is one of a few this week on technology-related provisions in the annual appropriations bills. Others have covered spending debates over two popular tech programs, a telecom facilities program and nanotechnology research. Stay tuned for more budget stories in the next few PM Editions.

Crime
Telemarketers To Pay $1.2 Million For 'Cramming'
     Telemarketers who allegedly charged hundreds of thousands of small businesses and nonprofit organizations for Internet services that they did not want will pay more than $1.2 million to settle an FTC lawsuit against them. The agency charged a group of defendants in June 2006 with "cramming" unauthorized charges onto victims' telephone bills after allegedly soliciting a purported free, no-obligation, 15-day trial of a Web design product. But the FTC said sellers concocted "verification recordings" that implied that the consumers agreed to be billed for the offer after the trial. Defendants included WebSource Media, BizSitePro, Eversites, Telsource Solutions and some individuals. A federal court in Houston halted the operations and froze assets pending trial. The defendants will be monitored by the FTC. A consumer advocate said the agency's pursuit of crammers has dramatically decreased the prevalence of the scheme since it was the No. 1 reported telemarketing fraud in 1998.

Labor
Trade-Related Relief For Tech Workers Is On Radar
     Technology workers left jobless due to international trade agreements could get assistance from House legislation expected to be introduced this fall. In June, the House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing on the Trade Adjustment Assistance program, which aids workers that are involved in the production of an "article." Most technology troubleshooters, programmers and other information technology professionals are excluded from the program -- even though their jobs also are being outsourced abroad. The committee plans to introduce trade assistance legislation that would include service workers when it returns from summer recess, committee spokesman Matthew Beck said Monday. The Senate also recently proposed a bill that would expand TAA eligibility to workers in services industries, create new opportunities for workers in rural and distressed communities, and make benefits available to workers affected by trade with any country. The Computing Technology Industry Association supports such efforts.

Spectrum
FCC To Enforce Wireless Rules On Competition
     The FCC is vowing to "vigorously" enforce its new rules requiring some wireless carriers to make their airwaves open to competing devices and software. The open platform arrangement was approved July 31 following months of rancorous debate by industry stakeholders and congressmen. It serves as the cornerstone of rules governing the upcoming auction of spectrum to be relinquished by television broadcasters as they segue to digital signals in early 2009. In the 352-page text of its auction rules, the agency said consumers or companies concerned about violations can file formal complaints. Once a complaint is filed, the "burden of proof" will be on the licensee to "demonstrate that it has adopted reasonable network standards," the FCC stated. The agency also pledged to "monitor the ability of consumers, device manufacturers and application providers" to use or develop technologies that would operate on licensees' networks.

Television
FCC's Martin Calls Anew For Per-Channel TV Pricing
     FCC Chairman Kevin Martin made another plug for per-channel television pricing this week, saying the concept would help parents control what their children see on the small screen. During an Aspen Institute keynote, Martin said "parents must have meaningful choices, and choices must have meaningful consequences." Currently, there is no incentive for the marketplace to respond if subscribers pay for channels they do not want, he said. An a la carte scheme would lead to "lower prices across the board," Martin said. Kyle McSlarrow, president of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, countered that participants at the summit were there to discuss ways to reinforce parental empowerment with the help of technology, but Martin "once again proposed that the government micromanage the distribution of content." He said, "As every credible study has shown, a la carte means consumers pay more and get less."

Politics
Gaming The YouTube Debate With Game Questions
     An advocacy group is prepared to give free shirts to people willing to ask questions about videogames to Republican presidential candidates. The Entertainment Consumers Association wants to make sure the candidates in November's CNN/YouTube debate are asked where they stand on game-related issues. Earlier this month, it promised to send free shirts to all who record and upload to YouTube video questions about the topic. The tactic so far has inspired more than a dozen videos. One question is directly aimed at two GOP candidates who have been talking about videogame violence: Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback, who has authored legislation on the topic; and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who tackled the subject in a recent television advertisement. Association President Hal Halpin said candidates should be asked about videogame violence because laws to restrict game sales have been overturned as unconstitutional and are a waste of taxpayer money.