Taxes
House Sends Seven-Year Net Tax Moratorium To Bush
     The House this cleared to President Bush a bill that would extend the moratorium against taxing Internet access until 2014, capping a flurry of activity on the issue in October. Bush signed the measure a day later. The prohibition had been set to expire Thursday. Lawmakers voted 402-0 to add seven years to the moratorium -- more than double the three-year periods approved in 1998, 2001 and 2004 -- and to clarify the services covered under the statute. The action came five days after the Senate voted to expand the four-year moratorium that the House had passed earlier this month. "It's high time that Congress passes this important legislation," said Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas. Seven lawmakers participated in the debate. Most of them advocated a permanent Internet tax ban but noted that the seven-year moratorium is a record step.

Taxes
Extension Of R&D Credit Is Back On The Agenda
     The research and development tax credit now has a vehicle to get a vote before the credit expires at the end of the year. The House Ways and Means Committee approved the issue as part of a package to extend various tax breaks. The R&D credit was added suddenly enough that the R&D Credit Coalition, which includes many technology companies, had to cancel a news conference on the matter. The language in the "tax extenders" bill would renew the credit that companies have had but would not include the expansions the coalition and others have been seeking. The extension also would be just one year rather than offering a permanent tax credit. "Our obvious goal is permanency," said Monica McGuire, a spokeswoman for the coalition. "That isn't going to happen this year."

Crime
Panel Backs Bill Aimed At ID Theft, Cyber Crime
     The Senate Judiciary Committee approved by voice vote legislation to bolster enforcement of identity theft and other cyber crimes. Vermont Democrat Patrick Leahy, the committee's chairman and the bill's sponsor, said the legislation, S. 2168, "is a good bipartisan measure to help combat the growing threat of identity theft and other cyber crimes to all Americans." The measure would let victims of ID theft seek restitution in federal court for the loss of time and money spent trying to restore their credit and good names. Three new crimes -- passing counterfeit securities, theft and tax fraud -- would be added to the books. The Business Software Alliance applauded the bill's approval. A House panel approved a related bill this week, along with legislation about high-speed Internet data. And the House passed a measure to overhaul the retraining program for people who lose their jobs because of trade agreements.

Antitrust
Fireworks, Folly Ensue At FCC Over Media Rules
     The FCC's Halloween Day meeting featured a protest outside the agency, activists in cheerleader uniforms, and a self-described "corporate media whore" in a French maid outfit. With dozens of congressmen outraged about plans for a mid-December vote on easing broadcast ownership limits, the agency's hearing on broadcaster commitments to local content acquired a strong sense of urgency. "Sadly, millions of Americans will never have a seat at this table," Rev. Jesse Jackson, president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, told the commission. "Too few own too much, at the expense of too many." FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein added, "We must listen to the public." Marcellus Alexander, executive vice president at the National Association of Broadcasters, advocated loosening the restrictions. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin vowed to consider congressional concerns but also wants to fulfill a 2004 court order requiring the agency to review its media thresholds.

Porn
Supreme Court Hears Challenge To Child Porn Law
     The Bush administration asked the Supreme Court to uphold a law that criminalizes the promotion of child pornography and reject the argument that it would target speech protected under the First Amendment. The so-called 2003 PROTECT Act imposes penalties for the distribution of purported child porn. U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement argued that its "pandering" provision is not overly broad. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals earlier disagreed, asserting that the language would cover a braggart, exaggerator or liar who falsely claims in a non-commercial setting to possess child porn. The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, the Free Speech Coalition and the National Coalition Against Censorship are among the law's opponents. Reacting to the argument of the defense attorney of the man who brought the case, Justice Stephen Breyer said it appears that the law has "enormous reach."

Privacy
Privacy Advocates Want List To Block Web Tracks
     A coalition of privacy advocates proposed that the FTC create a database of online behavioral advertisers so consumers who do not want their Internet surfing habits to be trailed can opt out. The "do not track" proposal is modeled after the federal "do not call" call list, a four-year-old program run by the FTC that includes telephone numbers of more than 145 million Americans who do not want calls from telemarketers. The would-be Web registry would include the names of advertisers' computer servers, and that list would be publicly available so consumers could block tracking tools that are tied to those servers. The Center for Democracy and Technology, Consumer Federation of America, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, World Privacy Forum and others publicized the idea before an FTC Internet advertising summit. A Senate panel, meanwhile, approved a bill to extend the do-not-call list.

Net Governance
ICANN Weighs Changes To Database Of Web Addresses
     The body that oversees the Internet-addressing system met in Los Angeles to debate various issues surrounding domain names. One of the top items on the agenda for the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers was whether to preserve the openness of the "Whois" database that makes contact information about Web-site owners publicly available. Government and business representatives have shown that the registry helps intellectual property owners and law enforcers thwart cyber crimes and fraud. Skeptics like the Electronic Privacy Information Center claim that the system exposes registrants to Web scams and hackers. An ICANN panel ultimately deferred action and called for further studies. ICANN's board now will decide how to proceed. Other topics aired at the ICANN conference included calls for new domain suffixes, the structure of an ICANN domain policy body, and plans for a forthcoming global summit on Internet governance.

Campaigns
Video Contest Drives Net Neutrality Into 2008 Race
     As one of the Democratic presidential candidates spoke live online this week, the future of equal treatment of content across the Internet became a campaign issue. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., answered questions as part of the second MySpace/MTV candidate dialogue. The question he was asked about so-called network neutrality, which refers to efforts to prevent unequal treatment of high-speed Internet, came from a video contest at the new Web site 10Questions.com. MTV agreed to put the top-rated question from that site to Obama. Web designer Joe Niederberger, a member of MoveOn.org, asked the question. Obama said he strongly supports net neutrality to keep from destroying what is best about the Internet. TechPresident, which created 10Questions, reported that voting spiked over the weekend, thanks in part to MoveOn lobbying its members to vote on the net neutrality question.