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Competitiveness
House, Senate Take Action On Competitiveness Bills
by Heather Greenfield
After years of talk about innovation and competitiveness, this week has seen the most floor action since the president released his American competitiveness initiative and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., announced her innovation agenda.
The Senate may vote Wednesday on a bill, S. 761, that aims to address two of the four items in the competitiveness agenda long advocated by the tech industry -- more basic research funds and better mathematics and science education.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., introduced the bill last month with 40 co-sponsors at a big news conference. It would authorize a boost in basic research funding at the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Energy Department's science office.
The measure also would authorize an increase in funding for programs to improve science, math, engineering and technology education.
Co-author Pete Domenici, R-N.M., said the measure would implement the recommendations of a National Academies of Science report that said the United States cannot compete if it does not produce more outstanding math and science students and boost basic research.
The White House Office of Management and Budget, however, has been voicing "serious concerns" about the bill because it would authorize money for different education programs than the president wants. OMB also has questioned a provision directing federal science agencies to reserve 8 percent of their research and development budgets for projects that are "too novel or span too diverse a range of disciplines."
A tech lobbyist further said the bill faces 90 proposed amendments. In a floor statement, Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., said he plans to offer "a series of amendments," including one that aims to further increase research funds for Energy's science office and another to encourage states to make technology part of the curriculum for elementary and secondary students.
The House passed two pieces of companion legislation Tuesday.
One bill, H.R. 362, would boost the math and science scholarship program at NSF and create 10,000 scholarships for future educators promising to teach math or science for five years.
The other measure, H.R, 363, would authorize an increase in funding for basic research and authorize federal grants for scientists early in their careers. It also would create graduate assistant positions in fields where the nation needs more talent.
"Innovation is not just a goal, it is a necessity, and one of the first steps we need to take is to invest in scientific education and research," said House Science and Technology Committee Chairman Bart Gordon, D-Tenn.
TechNet CEO Lezlee Westine praised House leaders for "their important work to fortify America's innovation stature."
In its policy blog, the Computing Research Association expressed optimism that a conference to resolve differences between the House and Senate bills "might not be as problematic as it initially appeared."
Gordon said he is optimistic about the Senate passing its bill soon, given that Reid and McConnell are leading the charge. "We're going to get it done, and we're going to get it done right and soon," Gordon said.
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Privacy
Calif. Senate Backs Limits On Radio-Frequency IDs
by Michael Martinez
Legislation is moving again in California to limit the use of radio-frequency identification technology in cards issued to drivers and students.
The California Senate this week passed a pair of proposals by Democrat Joe Simitian that would block the state from embedding RFID chips, which devices can read at a distance, in driver's licenses or school identification cards until 2011. He has pushed similar measures in past legislative sessions.
The Senate passed both bills, S.B. 28 and S.B. 29, by comfortable majorities, and they now head to the state Assembly.
Last year, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed legislation that would have established security standards for government-issued IDs and made it illegal to extract information from RFID-embedded IDs without users' consent or knowledge. He said the bill would have prematurely limited state agencies from using RFID applications.
The 2006 legislation enjoyed the support of several civil liberties and privacy groups, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union. Schwarzenegger has not yet taken a position on the new measures.
Some law enforcers who supported Schwarzenegger's veto last year were concerned about whether the bills would preclude the state from complying with a federal law mandating nationwide standards for driver's licenses. The California Narcotics Officers Association, Peace Officers Association, Police Officers Association and Los Angeles County Police Chiefs Association all opposed the measure.
Proposed standards for the so-called REAL ID Act issued earlier this year by the Homeland Security Department did not require states to use RFID applications in licenses. Some states already have authorized legislation rejecting REAL ID, regardless of what kinds of technologies are prescribed. The draft regulations require cards to be machine-readable.
"This is a 'look before you leap' bill," Simitian said in a statement. "The last thing we want to do is issue 20 million driver's licenses or 6 million student IDs without any privacy protections or limits on the information provided."
Other states have moved recently to limit RFID use. A measure signed into law earlier this year by North Dakota Gov. John Hoeven prohibits the forced implantation of RFID chips in humans. A similar law was enacted last year in Wisconsin.
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Crime
Senate Panel OKs Bills On Caller ID, Terrorist Hoaxes
by Michael Posner, CongressDaily
Legislation that would punish people or companies that give false caller-identification information to spoof people for illicit purposes won approval Wednesday in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The committee approved the measure, H.R. 740, by voice vote. The House passed a slightly different version March 21 on a 413-1 vote. The measure now goes to the full Senate.
Basically, the bill would make caller-ID spoofing a specific federal crime, punishable by up to five years in prison plus fines. It is designed as another law enforcement tool against the growing practice of identity fraud.
In telephone spoofing, the number of a person or firm making a call is not identified or misidentified on the caller-ID device of the person receiving the message. In some cases, phone numbers of the people receiving such calls are improperly redirected elsewhere.
The scheme involves new technology available on the Internet that lets people make calls using numbers other than their own, a practice making it difficult to track to true callers.
There was no debate or discussion of the measure within Senate Judiciary, which tends to act by consensus rather than through debate or explanations.
A substitute amendment by Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., was approved by voice vote. Among the changes was to language in the House bill that would make it a crime to knowingly use or provide false caller-ID information "with intent to defraud." The Leahy amendment changed the language to "intent wrongfully to obtain anything of value."
Also, the House bill would make punishment contingent on committing spoofing "for commercial gain." The Senate version removed that phrase, which should make it easier for prosecutors to pursue cases.
Both versions make exceptions for law enforcement or intelligence activities.
The committee also approved by voice vote a measure, S. 735, that would strengthen laws and penalties against hoaxers who make false claims of terrorist activity. The vote occurred without discussion of the bill.
Some hoaxes, such as a threat last October to detonate radioactive "dirty bombs" at football stadiums in seven states, are made over the Internet. A 20-year-old Wisconsin man was charged in that case.
The bill builds on existing statutes against terrorist hoaxes. It would boost maximum prison sentences from five to 10 years for giving false information suggesting a terrorist activity. If the hoax resulted in bodily harm, the penalty would go from 20 years to 25 years. If death occurred, the penalty could be life in prison.
The legislation also would add a section making hoaxers liable for civil lawsuits to recover expenses incurred by fire departments, emergency services or police in connection with false bomb threats or other terrorist ruses.
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Privacy
Experts Sound Alarm About Increase In 'Botnets'
by Andrew Noyes
Computer experts and lawmakers warned Wednesday that "botnets," software robots that control computers remotely, are hiding on millions of computers and are a growing threat to consumer privacy, e-commerce and the Internet.
Ringleaders for the rogue armies of "zombie" computers may have up to 50,000 machines under their control at once, according to estimates by Princeton University cyber-security expert Edward Felten. As much as 15 percent of all computers with Internet access are infected, he said at a Capitol Hill briefing.
Scott O'Neal, who heads the FBI's computer intrusion section, said "botmasters" are motivated by various factors. His investigators have fielded a number of extortion cases where hackers threaten attacks if they are not paid by the victims. Other instances have involved legitimate firms that hire Web assassins to take down competitors' sites or networks.
Some hackers seek revenge through botnet attacks, while others operate "out of spite or out of sport," O'Neal said. A massive virtual blackout known as a distributed denial-of-service attack accounts for most of the FBI's probes. Botnets can be lucrative for their owners and frequently are sold or rented on the black market, Felten added.
The computer science professor said consumers should actively try to prevent infection through installation of software patches. Detection and removal of software, disruption of botmaster command-and-control networks, and devaluation of the marketplace in which the hackers thrive also could help the situation, he added.
Microsoft's Phil Reitinger said the federal government's role is critical. Law enforcement agencies "do a great job, but it remains really difficult to catch people who commit crimes online," he said. He called for a broader global regime that would let countries work together more seamlessly.
Some long-awaited steps -- like last year's U.S. ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on Cyber Crime, which dates back to 1997 -- have been taken, but more needs to be done on an international coordination level, Reitinger said.
One of the primary laws used to fight hackers on U.S. soil ties criminal sanctions to damages of more than $5,000, but it is hard to connect botmasters with particular attacks, Reitinger said. Simply gaining unauthorized access to someone's computer is a misdemeanor and should be made a felony, he suggested.
Reitinger also argued that law enforcement is "fighting a losing battle with computer criminals in terms of resources." The training and forensic needs of investigators are "disabling," and Congress should do everything possible "to make sure they have [the] resources they need."
Sen. Robert Bennett emphasized the issue's importance. "You guys have permanent job security," the Utah Republican told the high-tech experts. "You're working on a problem that will never be solved." The problem will persist for generations to come, he said.
Sen. Mark Pryor, who has co-sponsored Web and consumer safety proposals, said officials "need to try to find a fix." The Arkansas Democrat, who sits on the Senate Commerce Committee, noted that it "may just be a software fix," but it could involve new legislation.
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Privacy
Some Mobile Devices May Pose Threats To Privacy
by Aliya Sternstein
In the near future, the government's most powerful sensor network will be the hundreds of millions of cellular telephones equipped with global positioning systems that can pinpoint people's locations. Companies are increasingly outfitting mobile devices with emergency location-tracking capabilities, such as Sprint's Family Locator and GM's Onstar.
As a result, observers say consumers may be unwittingly relinquishing some privacy.
At a forum Wednesday hosted by the Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee, technology vendors, privacy advocates, lawyers and academics spoke of the many mysteries surrounding the privacy implications of mobile social-networking devices.
"The question is what is the government's right to access this information in real time," said James Dempsey, policy director at the Center for Democracy and Technology.
Dempsey noted that the government has "compelling interests" in accessing information collected by the devices for law enforcement, counter-terrorism and child safety. He also said that, because of the Fourth Amendment's search and seizure allowances, "there is nothing that the government cannot get about you."
Dempsey argued that, in addition, a legal "fault line" exists between data records in consumer possession and records that are stored by the technology provider.
"Whatever is stored here on my phone ... the government can serve you with a subpoena ... or come with a search warrant" to get, he said, but "once that information moves out of my possession and into the hands of a business entity ... I have no Fourth Amendment right" with regard to that information. The government can force the company to provide it.
Dempsey said that it is unclear how legal language written in the 18th century fits with the emerging social-mapping marketplace. The applications lie outside the U.S. legal framework.
Companies that sell mobile devices capable of location-tracking face a new category of data-retention management. Holding up a cellular phone at the dialogue, Ohio State University law professor Peter Swire said, "We just never had a time where it was bread-crumb easy to have a record of everywhere we've gone."
Service providers that store tracking information on their networks need to protect themselves from becoming the targets of divorce lawyers' inquiries or government subpoenas by minimizing data-retention time, he said.
"If you don't need it for your business, don't keep it," Swire said. If the company maintains a big database, "you better survey like crazy and make sure you don't have any bad employees." The less juicy the information in the database, the better off the business will be, he said.
Carnegie Mellon University associate professor Norman Sadeh, who is developing a campus location-tracking service, said it is helpful to keep -- and offer to users -- short-term auditing tools that do not log too much data but reveal the frequency and length of others' attempts to locate subscribers.
"It's a deterrent for stalking," he said.
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Broadband
Dingell Vows To Closely Watch Broadband Growth
by Winter Casey
With the United States falling further behind other countries in high-speed Internet penetration, a key House lawmaker told cable industry representatives Wednesday that his panel will watch broadband growth closely and plans to pursue a national broadband policy.
The comments by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell, D-Mich., to the National Cable and Telecommunications Association followed the release Tuesday of a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development that showed the United States dropped from 12th place to 15th place in broadband penetration among industrialized nations.
Dingell said it is important that the government provide the necessary support to spur broadband use but not inhibit innovation. All people should have access to broadband regardless of physical location and income, he added.
"We need to make sure the system is working as it should," Dingell said.
Congress should not care if broadband services are provided by the cable or telephone industries, but lawmakers instead should craft rules that are fair and consistent, he said. The committee will be focused on spurring innovation, investment and competition, Dingell added.
Dingell also discussed the transition from analog to digital television, the completion of which Congress has mandated by Feb. 17, 2009. "We are hopeful that date will be met," and that the Bush administration and government agencies take the necessary steps to meet that date, he said.
At deadline, the FCC had postponed a planned public meeting at which it was supposed to outline the rules for the auction of the analog spectrum that broadcasters will return during the digital transition. The FCC is expected to outline how the upcoming spectrum auction will work, how the spectrum will be divided and what services can be offered using the airwaves.
Dingell said his committee will be observing spectrum allocation issues and said the rulemaking must be fair. He said the FCC has had a hard time conforming to Congress' intent, is not always transparent and fair with less than perfect regulation, and can be defensive.
An auction should maximize competition, and the public should get the best return on its investment, Dingell added. The size of the allocations in particular parts of the spectrum should be sold in small amounts to encourage greater competition, he said.
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Today's Feature:
International Roundup
The European Union says it is committed to being a leader in the growing field of nanotechnology while at the same time studying the safety and environmental ramifications of the science.
Every Wednesday, read the International Roundup by Winter Casey
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E-briefs
Spectrum: An FCC meeting scheduled for Wednesday morning was indefinitely postponed at deadline. Sources said the delay involved last-minute wrangling over an item that will establish guidelines for the auction of choice spectrum to be relinquished by analog broadcasters. The meeting, originally set for 9:30 a.m., was pushed back Tuesday night to 10:30 a.m. and was later bumped to early afternoon. But by press time Wednesday, the meeting had not been held. Sources said the five-member agency is still quibbling over details for the bidding, including how large the auction blocks should be. Companies are expected to harness the frequencies to offer wireless high-speed Internet service. Also on the agenda is a controversial item designed to ensure that cable operators deliver digital television signals to analog cable customers. The cable industry says new regulations are unnecessary and is concerned that the FCC would require carriage of analog and digital versions of signals, even though the agency has twice rejected the concept.
On The Hill: Members of the Senate Republican High-Tech Task Force on Wednesday released a laundry list of 26 priorities for 2007. They include: promoting high-speed Internet deployment by minimizing regulation on new Internet services; reforming both the universal service fund for communications service and patent laws; eliminating trade barriers; preventing the 2009 digital television deadline from being extended; passing data-security legislation without burdening industry; speeding the adoption of health information technology that works cross jurisdictions; allowing more H-1B visas for high-skilled foreign workers; and enacting a permanent research and development tax credit and a permanent moratorium on taxing Internet access. "My main issue is H-1B visas," said Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah. John Sununu, R-N.H., said two issues with bipartisan support that could easily pass this year are Internet taxation and more spectrum for broadband. The list does not include federal spending on basic research.
Executive Branch: During a meeting Tuesday, the President's Council for Advisers on Science and Technology approved draft recommendations to improve the Networking Information Technology and Research and Development program. They stressed the need to revamp IT education and training to better suit the needs of employers; improve interagency planning and coordination; rebalance the NITRD's portfolio; and reprioritize its program so it focuses on longer-term, higher-risk projects. PCAST also identified research priorities for NITRD including advancing the Internet, examining what limits advances in software design and development, ensuring long term preservation of data, and improving cyber security by accelerating the activities called for in the Federal Plan for Cyber Security and Information Assurance Research and Development. PCAST declined to say whether the current $3.1 billion spent on IT research and development was enough, saying it didn't have enough information.
Politics: A bipartisan grassroots alliance on Wednesday urged the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee to ensure that all presidential debate video can be legally shared and re-used on the Internet without fear of legal repercussions. The letters' signatories included Stanford University law professor Lawrence Lessig; the founders of Craiglist and Wikipedia; liberals such as the group MoveOn.org and the blog DailyKos.com; conservatives like the blog Redstate.com and blogger Michelle Malkin; and former Federal Election Commission Chairman Brad Smith. The group asked that the footage be put in the public domain or licensed under a Creative Commons agreement, which makes video free for anyone's use with attribution. "The big TV networks should not be the only ones determining which sound bites are newsworthy after a debate," MoveOn's Adam Green said. "Every day people should be able to put candidates' positions on YouTube and share them with others without fear of breaking the law."
Television: Video-franchising overhaul in Wisconsin that appeared to be on the fast track hit a road block Tuesday. AP reports that a measure to establish a statewide video-franchising system stalled in the state Assembly over concerns about its cost. The measure would let new entrants into the video market apply for statewide franchises instead of negotiating separate deals with localities. "This bill is being ramrodded through so quickly," said state Rep. Gary Hebl, a Democrat. "We're dealing with very important issues, and we should take the time." Barry Orton of the University of Wisconsin at Madison estimated that it would cost at least $1 million to establish a statewide scheme for authoring video franchises.
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