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Tech Limits Issuance of Passports Abroad
by William New
The State Department announced Tuesday that the introduction of digital passports for citizens living abroad means that effective April 8, passports will not be issued outside of the United States.
The new digital passports will incorporate a digitized image with other enhanced security features, the agency said. The aim is to minimize the misuse of American passports by criminals and terrorists. The new passport is "one of the most secure travel documents produced anywhere in the world," said State Department spokesman Phllip Reeker.
Because the technology for the new passports will not be available at U.S. embassies and consulates, the issuance of all overseas passports will come from the National Passport Processing Center in Portsmouth, N.H. This will add time to the processing procedure at embassies, the department said.
Filling the Global Digital Divide With Opportunities
The conclusion last week of the U.N. International Telecommunication Union (ITU) World Telecommunication Development Conference in Istanbul, Turkey, resulted in high hopes for a slashing of the gap between the level of telecommunications access of countries. One outcome is that officials attending the conference are trying to retool the term "digital divide" to "digital opportunities."
David Gross, deputy assistant secretary of State for international communications and information policy and head of the U.S. delegation, said in an interview afterward, "I'm very optimistic about the digital opportunities that we see coming out of this conference."
The meeting was not a negotiation, but a "sharing exercise," FCC Commissioner Kevin Martin said in the joint interview with Gross. The purpose of the event was to create a "blueprint" on digital opportunities for the organization to follow during the next four years. Many of the proposals are subject to final approval at the ITU plenipotentiary meeting next fall, Gross said. That is when the budget is agreed, he noted.
Gross said the feeling in the run-up to the plenipotentiary is that "things seem to be moving in the right direction," and that the ITU "seems to be in agreement with the [Bush] administration." He and Martin were able to establish relationships with many people who will attend the fall meeting, Gross said.
Gross said his impression is that countries are committed to telephony and the Internet. "There's real international recognition about the importance of that" to the long-term health and education of the countries, he said. He said he was impressed that countries are beginning to take the right steps.
In the 10-day gathering, the United States succeeded in getting acceptance for its positions, Gross said. "We were able to get incorporated in the final decisions all of the initiatives we were seeking to have," he said. "We were uniformly successful [in getting our objectives]. U.S. proposals came in the areas of enforcement, satellites, the role of good governance and transparency, and overall legal and economic issues.
The action plan emerging from Istanbul includes the role of the Internet throughout, with a focus on economic security and growth for the developing world, he said.
Martin noted the implementation by countries of regulations to ensure a "level playing field" and emphasized enforcement.
Gross, who joined the Bush administration after a career in the private sector, said the prospect of opportunities for U.S. telecom companies in the development "looks quite promising."
"There was recognition that it is a difficult time for industry, but I didn't see any flagging of interest," he said.
India Opens Net-Telephony Market
The Indian government removed restrictions on the provision of Internet telephony effective April 1. This will open the way for Internet service providers and cyber cafes to offer telephony services to subscribers while competing with international long-distance service providers, reported the Economic Times of India.
Martin said that at the World Telecommunications Development Conference in Istanbul last week, U.S. and Indian officials discussed U.S. progress on the leasing of lines and rules related to the provision of unbundled networks.
The officials met with Shri Ghosh, secretary of the Indian telecommunications department. Gross said India will now have lawful voice-over Internet provisioning as a result of its market liberalization.
China Updates Software Registration Measures
The Chinese government has issued new measures encouraging the registration of software, according to Coudert Brothers, a law firm with practices in China. The measures, issued and effective Feb. 20, provide for special protection from the Chinese National Copyright Administration, the supervising agency and the China Copyright Protection Center, which is handling the registration.
Canada Tightens Border Security
Canada is working to improve its border-security technology and has stepped up its defense spending against terrorism, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT).
Since October, Canada Customs has doubled its inventory of X-ray systems, ion-mobility spectrometers and other detection technology, DFAIT said. Separately, Transport Minister David Collonette last week announced enhanced security-screening procedures for ships entering the St. Lawrence-Great Lakes system.
The Canadian government also allocated $38 million in December to increase intelligence-gathering capabilities for screening for potential terrorists and identifying weapons. And last week, U.S. customs agents began work at three major Canadian ports for the first time.
In addition, the federal government is considering giving customs inspectors lapel-pin radiation detection devices to address concerns that Canada could be a channel for terrorists smuggling nuclear materials.
Canada's defense spending on the war against terrorism has increased, with an emphasis on investing in technologies to make Canadian and U.S. forces more interoperable, according to National Defense magazine.
U.S.-EU Officials To Discuss Digital Economy
A virtual 'Who's Who' of U.S. and European Union government experts on the digital economy will meet next week in Brussels, in an event sponsored by the European-American Business Council. The April 10 event will look at the implementation of new telecom frameworks, World Trade Organization services negotiations, information security, data privacy and taxation of e-commerce.
Expected U.S. speakers include: Bruce Mehlman, assistant Commerce secretary for technology administration; Anna Gomez, deputy chief, FCC international bureau; Michelle O'Neill, deputy assistant Commerce secretary for information technology; Ken Schagrin, director of communications and electronic commerce, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
Also from the United States will be: Michael Gallagher, deputy assistant secretary, National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA); Christina Speck, Office of International Affairs, NTIA; Michael Sussman, senior counsel for computer crime and intellectual property, Department of Justice; and Michael Mundaca, senior adviser on electronic commerce, office of tax policy, Department of Treasury.
The European Commission will be represented by an equally all-encompassing list of senior officials, including Robert Verrue, director general for information society, and the heads of units for the Internet, telecommunications, information security, services and others.
UK Seeks Comments On Draft E-Commerce Regs
The United Kingdom Department of Trade and Industry has asked for comments on draft e-commerce regulations that would implement the European Union e-commerce directive. Comments are due May 2. The regulations cover country of origin regulation, unsolicited commercial communications, electronic contracts, and service provider liability.
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