LEGISLATION
House Passes Bill Giving Weight to Digital Contracts (NYT)
House Votes to Let Satellite TV Carry Local Station Programs (NYT)
AOL Is Lobbying Congress To Carry Local TV Stations (WSJ)
INTERNET REGULATION
Gilmore Seeks To Exempt Online Sales From Taxes (WP)
School Board Uses Computer Filter To Block Student Access To Web
Sites (NYT)
Cable Chief Says "Open" Internet is Primary Goal (FCC)
INTERNET
U.S. Internet users surpass 100 mln mark - study (SJM)
Web Growth Will Help Most Media (USA)
JOURNALISM
The Know-Nothing Media (WP)
INFRASTRUCTURE
DC To Tell Fiber-optic Firms To Speed it Up (WP)
PRIVACY
Privacy Battle Over Databases at High Court (WSJ)
ANTITRUST
Breaking Up Isn't Hard to Do (WSJ)
Prosecutors Seeking to Break the Grip of Windows System (NYT)
LEGISLATION
HOUSE PASSES BILL GIVING WEIGHT TO DIGITAL CONTRACTS
Issue: E-Commerce
The House has passed legislation that will give electronic contracts the
same legal weight that pen-and-paper contracts hold. Consumers groups and
the Clinton Administration objected to the bill on the grounds that it
would weaken consumer protection laws by allowing insurance companies,
banks, and credit card companies to abandon traditional mail notification
and paper record-keeping requirements. Representative Jay Inslee (D-WA),
who co-authored an amendment to the bill that clarified the rules for
companies using e-mail to enter into contracts with customers, disagreed
with the bill's opponents. "This is a consumer freedom bill," he said. "It
gives consumers a new freedom: the freedom to be allowed to receive
information and complete transactions electronically. But only consumers
will have the prerogative to decide if they want to receive the information
electronically."
[SOURCE: CyberTimes, AUTHOR: Jeri Clausing]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/11/cyber/articles/10signatures.html)
HOUSE VOTES TO LET SATELLITE TV CARRY LOCAL STATION PROGRAMS
Issue: Satellite
On Tuesday, the House passed a bill that would permit satellite television
companies to carry local television channels, allowing them to compete
better with the cable carriers. By giving subscribers the option to receive
local news and network programming from NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox, satellite
becomes a more viable alternative to cable, which controls 85 percent of the
TV viewing market. Current law only permits satellite companies to beam
network signals from distant cities to those customers who cannot receive
local stations using rooftop antennas. While the bill passed overwhelmingly
in House, the legislation faces a tougher road in the Senate on Wednesday,
where Sen. Phil Gramm (R-TX) has threatened to filibuster.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C2), AUTHOR: Lizette Alvarez]
(http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/satellite-tv.html)
AOL IS LOBBYING CONGRESS TO CARRY LOCAL TV STATIONS
Issue: Internet/Television
AOL and the Commercial Internet Exchange, a trade group representing ISP's,
are lobbying Congress to open the way for providers to carry local
television stations. Language in a satellite-television bill opened the door
for Internet providers to beam local stations' material -- but the provision
was narrowed specifically to eliminate the idea Internet providers could
carry those same local TV signals when the bill was reconciled between the
House and Senate. The bill had stated that "other communications channels"
could apply for licenses to carry local TV signals, suggesting that Internet
services might also be included -- but the version worked out by House and
Senate conferees specifically eliminated digital online-communication
services. The Internet service companies now want the provision changed back
to the original language. "We want to compete on a level playing field,"
said a spokesman for AOL, "This ties our hands." A staffer for
Representative Howard Coble (R-NC) said the bill was never meant to apply
to the Internet. "Eventually we'll need to create a licensing process for
the Internet," he said. "But it will need provisions on the alteration of
content" and other capabilities that are available on the Internet but not
cable- or satellite-TV. The ISP's must persuade House members on the
conference committee to make the change before approving the compromise
legislation.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, (B9A), AUTHOR: Kathy Chen]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB942190745326206596.htm)
INTERNET REGULATION
GILMORE SEEKS TO EXEMPT ONLINE SALES FROM TAXES
Issue: Ecommerce
Although electronic commerce represents only a fraction of retail activity,
industry analysts expect it to mushroom in coming years and policy makers
are split over whether the state government should be able to tax online
transactions. Virginia Gov. James S. Gilmore III (R), the chairman of a
congressionally appointed commission trying to negotiate a tax policy for
the booming and largely unregulated world of online commerce, has urged the
group to recommend that Internet purchases be exempt from sales taxes. Gov.
Gilmore's proposal calls for the repeal of a federal excise tax on local and
long-distance telephone service -- which he said would save consumers more
than $3.3 billion a year -- and for states to be free to spend welfare money
on computers and Internet access for poor people. Previously, the commission
had been leaning toward ways to impose levies on electronic purchases
similar to those placed on goods bought from traditional retailers. Those
who support taxing Internet commerce include many state and local government
officials, who site the proliferation of tax-free online shopping sites that
put local merchants at a disadvantage and deprive localities of revenue.
Business leaders and politicians who represent states with a high
concentration of Internet merchants argue that the lack of aggressive tax
collection on electronic commerce has encouraged online shopping. The
National Governors' Association plans to unveil an Internet tax proposal
next week and submit it to the commission. Under its plan, existing sales
taxes would be applied to electronic commerce but participation by merchants
would be voluntary. The states would arrange for third-party clearinghouses,
who would be compensated with a fraction of the tax revenue, which would
collect the taxes and then distribute the payments to the state treasuries.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E1), AUTHOR: Ravij Chandrasekaran]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/business/A43030-1999Nov9.html)
See Also:
2 Governors Propose Opposing Internet Tax Plans
[SOURCE: USA Today (3A), AUTHOR: Richard Wolf]
(http://www.usatoday.com)
SCHOOL BOARD USES COMPUTER FILTER TO BLOCK STUDENT ACCESS TO WEB SITES
Issue: Filtering
This week, the New York City Board of Education installed a filtering
program on its computer system that blocks students in city schools from
gaining access to many Web sites. Students, parents and teachers have
complained that the blocking program has made it almost impossible for them
to conduct advanced research projects on the Internet. "I have to tell you,
I'm not a true civil libertarian," said Jan Shakofsky, a humanities teacher
at Benjamin Cardozo High School. "I don't think they should have
pornography. But I felt they should be able to do research." Ms. Shakofsky
said her students were denied access to sites about breast cancer, anorexia
and bulimia, child labor and AIDS. Teachers say that the board purchased a
commercial filtering program, I-Gear, instead of creating it's own student
access standards. "The blocking program sweeps far too broadly," said Norman
Siegel, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, in a
letter to school Chancellor Rudy Crew. "It significantly undermines
teachers' ability to conduct their lessons and students' ability to
complete their classroom assignments on the Internet."
[SOURCE: New York Times (A22), AUTHOR: Anemona Hartocollis]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/national/regional/111099ny-web-edu.html)
CABLE CHIEF SAYS "OPEN" INTERNET IS PRIMARY GOAL
Issue: Broadband
From News Release: Federal Communications Commission Cable Services Bureau
Chief Deborah A. Lathen today emphasized that an FCC goal is to fulfill the
promise of broadband technology by encouraging the market to bring
high-speed Internet service to all American homes. Addressing the broadband
Internet access issue which is being debated in Los Angeles and other cities
around the country - Lathen explained that all parties agree that "openness"
is the ultimate goal, and the debate centers on the best course of action to
achieve that goal. In a luncheon speech to the Los Angeles public affairs
organization, "Town Hall," Lathen said that the FCC's policy of "regulatory
restraint" upholds the goals of the 1996 Telecommunications Act to promote
competition and reduce regulation. Lathen said that the FCC always considers
the consumer first in the policymaking process. Lathen also explained that
the FCC's policy of "vigilant restraint" is complemented by close monitoring
of the industry .
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Cable/News_Releases/1999/nrcb9018.html)
See full text of speech, The Mind's Eye, online
(http://www.fcc.gov/Speeches/misc/spdal902.html)
INTERNET
U.S. INTERNET USERS SURPASS 100 MLN MARK - STUDY
Issue: Internet
A report by The Strategis Group, a Washington-based market research firm,
says the number of adults using the Internet in the U.S. passed 100 million.
Strategis states that now one half of all adults in the United States
use the Internet and that users are also becoming more sophisticated in
their use of the Web. Jeff Moore, an analyst with the Strategis Group, said,
"Not only is half of the population online, Internet users are more
experienced and have become significantly more sophisticated in their use of
the Internet as a tool for communication, commerce and learning." The report
said 77% of Internet users send e-mails with files or attachments every week
and the average user sends more than six e-mails each day. The portion of
total users who surf daily has risen to 60% among home users and 69% among
work users. More than 20% of those in the study have created or updated a
Web page in the last three months, the study found.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury, AUTHOR: Reuters]
(http://www.sjmercury.com/svtech/news/breaking/internet/docs/1065381l.htm)
WEB GROWTH WILL HELP MOST MEDIA
Issue: Internet
Traditional media won't suffer, and some will prosper, as computer users
rush to the Internet, according to a five-year forecast of the
communications industry by investment bankers Veronis, Suhler & Associates.
Broadcast television will continue to lose its audience, but cable and
satellite TV will grow dramatically and become the dominant form of
television viewing as early as 2001. With no recession in sight, Veronis,
Suhler projects that the average person will spend $814 on media in 2003, a
rise of 41% over 1998. Each person will devote 3,587 hours that year to
media, up 5%. By 2003, 6.8 million homes will get high-speed Internet
access from cable modems, and 3.5 million will have telephone digital
subscriber lines. Payments for basic cable will accelerate about 8% a year
to $40.30 a month in 2003 from $29.50 in 1999. Although rates for existing
packages of channels will grow about 5% a year, prices will rise faster
because most systems will continue to add channels. Although spending will
rise across the board, consumers will devote slightly less time to
newspapers and magazines.
[SOURCE: USA Today (1A), AUTHOR: David Lieberman]
(http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/ctg632.htm)
JOURNALISM
THE KNOW-NOTHING MEDIA
Issue: Journalism
[Op-ed] Why does everyone loathe the media? Because they are worthy of our
loathing, Kelley says, specifically referring to a recent interview by
reporter Andy Hiller. Hiller surprised Republican presidential candidate
George W. Bush with a pop quiz on four leaders in four hot spots in the
world. "Hiller's stunt does indeed resonate, but not in quite the way we
would have it. It resonates because it demonstrates a range of the reasons
why the public increasingly regards the media -- us -- with contempt."
Public
resentment of the media stems from the fact that the media are so
relentlessly mindless. Reporters like to think of themselves as independent
thinkers although there is no group more devoted to group-think. Reporters
present the day's confusion in what appears to be order. Most journalists
"learn to see the world through a set of standard templates into which they
plug each day's events. Thus, the Hiller interview is played big because it
fits -- neatly, mindlessly -- into a template of the campaign." Secondly,
the
media is blatantly unfair. "Almost everyone knows that they could not, out
of the blue and with the cameras rolling, dredge up the answers to Hiller's
questions." Thirdly, the media are awful frauds. "Among the very many
people who could not have answered Andy Hiller's quiz is, you may be sure,
Andy Hiller."
[SOURCE: Washington Post (A39), AUTHOR: Michael Kelley, editor in chief of
National Journal]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-11/10/012l-111099-idx.html
)
INFRASTRUCTURE
DC TO TELL FIBER OPTIC FIRMS TO SPEED IT UP
Issue: Infrastructure
An increase in street work throughout Washington, DC is the result of a
rush to install underground cable for new telephone, cable television and
Internet services. The disruption has been made worse by the unlimited time
that telecommunications companies have normally been given to complete
repairs to a street they had dug up to install lines. D.C. Mayor Anthony
Williams plans to implement new rules requiring telecommunications
companies to finish installing fiber-optic cable under a street within 120
days of getting a permit. However, the city will grant waivers to companies
that cannot meet the city's new 120-day timetable because their work is too
complicated. Telecommunications company Starpower Incorporated said 120
days is usually a realistic time frame. "It's a reasonable amount of time,
but it depends on the length of cable you're laying," a company official
said. Under the plan utility companies will have 60 days from the time of
permitting to install their pipe or wire, then 15 days to begin permanent
repairs and 45 more days to finish those repairs and return the street to
the condition in which it was found.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Lyndsey Layton]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43981-1999Nov9.html)
PRIVACY
PRIVACY BATTLE OVER DATABASES AT HIGH COURT
Issue: Privacy
Today, the Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments on a subject that
centers on issues of states' rights and personal privacy. Because of an
actress being stalked by a man who obtained her address through California
motor vehicle records, Congress passed the 1994 Driver's Privacy Protection
Act, which restricts the sale of information from state motor vehicle
records. In September 1997, shortly before the federal law went into effect,
a U.S. District Court in South Carolina blocked the law from going into
effect, and the U.S. Appeals Court for the Fourth Circuit, in Richmond,
Virginia, affirmed that ruling. Charlie Condon, South Carolina's attorney
general, says the statute is a nightmare to administer because it has 14
exceptions, which include use of that personal information by government
agencies and private companies for certain research activities and reports.
Condon says in a brief that he "would need to review each specific request
in order to make a judgment whether the requested disclosure is mandated by
the act, prohibited by the act, or permitted [in whole or in part] by one of
the many exceptions." He believes Congress had no authority to make states
comply with the law, and he is seeking to have it declared unconstitutional.
The Clinton administration said in its Supreme Court brief that in one-year
New York's Motor Vehicle department earned $17 million from sales of the
personal information from driver's licenses. The U.S. government argued that
Supreme Court review of the matter was necessary in view of the "exercise of
the grave power of annulling an act of Congress." The government warns that
Fourth Circuit's decision "may have far-reaching implications for other
congressional efforts to regulate commercial activity in which states
engage."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, (B1), AUTHOR: Robert S. Greenberger]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB942191354150702568.htm)
ANTITRUST
BREAKING UP ISN'T HARD TO DO
Issue: Anti-Trust
[OP-ED] Peter Huber takes a sarcastic look at the Microsoft case. He says
Bill Gates owes it to his shareholders to start the break up of Microsoft
now, on its own terms, not the judge's. Huber suggests selling or giving the
source code for Windows to its competitors. He believes that even if Judge
Jackson goes too far with respect to the remedies in this case and it is
overturned on appeal, the judge will get a second chance to get Microsoft on
the remand. Huber points out that if Microsoft's position in the market were
attributed to bundling its products then it would only weaken the parts that
would be divided up in the end of this case if divestiture occurs. But since
that is not the case, Huber says, skills and talent will replicate and
Windows will continue to grow. "The government might hope to see the
separate Micro and Soft go for each other's throats, but they won't," he
said. He concludes that the government tried to do that by creating such
spin-off companies like AT&T, Lucent, SBC, Bell Atlantic, Bell South, US
West and Air Touch, but the smart investor went along with them.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, (A22), AUTHOR: Peter Huber, a senior fellow of
the Manhattan Institute and author of "Law and Disorder in Cyberspace"]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB942188375831614087.htm)
See Also:
PROSECUTORS SEEKING TO BREAK THE GRIP OF WINDOWS SYSTEM
[SOURCE: New York Times (C4), AUTHOR: ]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/11/biztech/articles/10soft.html)
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