EDTECH
Congressional Commission Endorses Use of Internet in Classrooms (WP)
Schools, Libraries May Have to Filter Out Pornography (NYT)
DIGITAL TV
CME and Coalition Call for Strong FCC Rules Digital Television (CME)
INTERNET
Taxing the Internet: How Will Congress Interpret the Law? (WSJ)
WIRELESS
Two Studies Reject Link Between Cell Phones And Brain Cancer (NYT)
EDTECH
CONGRESSIONAL COMMISSION ENDORSES USE OF INTERNET IN CLASSROOMS
Issue: Internet
A bipartisan commission formed by Congress gave a broad endorsement today to
the growing use of the Internet in the nation's classrooms, calling on the
federal government to do more to promote online learning from preschool to
the workplace. The final report of the Web-based Education Commission
boosted the prospects that federal emphasis on computer use in the classroom
-- a priority of the Clinton administration -- will stay on the agenda once
President-elect Bush and a new Congress take office next year. The panel,
chaired by retiring Sen. Bob Kerrey (D-Neb.), made seven recommendations to
involve states, colleges and businesses as well as the federal government in
mobilizing the nation to capture the "extraordinary promise" of Web-based
learning. The federal government was urged to upgrade school Internet
access to broadband connections that have greater speed and capacity.
The panel also urged more federal and state funding to support the expansion
of educational technology. The commission urged Congress to boost funding
for federal research and called for changes in federal regulations that
limit financial aid for students who take college courses over the Web.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (A02) AUTHOR: Kenneth J. Cooper]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A27736-2000Dec19.html)
SCHOOLS, LIBRARIES MAY HAVE TO FILTER OUT PORNOGRAPHY
Issue: Edtech
Schools and libraries must begin using Internet filtering software next year
to protect children from pornography or risk losing federal money -- thanks
to a mandate approved by lawmakers before they left town. The requirement is
raising concerns among free-speech advocates who say it violates the
Constitution and, perhaps ironically, from software makers worried that
filtering technology is not a cure-all for protecting kids. "This is a
mandated censorship system by the federal government," said Chris Hansen, a
lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, which plans to sue in an
effort to block the law. At issue is the Children's Internet Protection Act,
which was unexpectedly attached to a $450 billion federal spending bill
Congress passed last Friday before recessing for the year. President Clinton
is expected to sign the bill
into law.
[SOURCE: New York Times (Online) AUTHOR: Associated Press]
(http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Library-Filters.html)
(requires registration)
DIGITAL TV
CME AND COALITION CALL FOR STRONG FCC RULES DIGITAL TELEVISION
Issue: Digital TV
A coalition of 40 child advocacy, health and education organizations and
academics called on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to develop
effective rules to ensure that digital broadcasters serve the needs of
children. The Center for Media Education (CME), the National PTA, the
National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP), the Consumer
Federation of America (CFA), the American Psychological
Association (APA), the National Education Association (NEA), and others
filed formal Comments with the FCC on Monday, December 18, in response to a
Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) on the children's television
obligations of digital broadcasters. The coalition asked the FCC to develop
clear, quantifiable guidelines on how DTV broadcasters should serve the
educational/informational needs of children, as well as adapting policies to
protect children from unfair and excessive advertising practices, such as
product placements and targeted promotions. Full Comments and list of
signatories submitted to the FCC are available in PDF format:
(http://www.cme.org/press/DTV_NPRM_comments.pdf).
[SOURCE: Center For Media Education]
(http://www.cme.org/press/001219pr.html)
INTERNET
TAXING THE INTERNET: HOW WILL CONGRESS INTERPRET THE LAW?
Issue: Internet
The Internet Tax Freedom Act of 1998 laid down a three-year moratorium on
the imposition of new federal, state and local taxes on Internet access, as
well as a three-year moratorium on new federal taxation of services offered
over the Internet. The Act also prohibits discriminatory taxes on e-commerce
during the three-year moratorium period. However, in a letter sent earlier
this year to the Senate Commerce Committee, a coalition ranging from the
National Governors Association to the National Retail Federation said any
new legislation should insure that "consumers who pay sales taxes in stores
no longer have to subsidize Internet customers who don't pay sales taxes."
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees is opposed
to any extension of the moratorium "because any further extension of the
moratorium without first addressing the need to collect existing sales taxes
... is unacceptable." The National Conference of State Legislatures and the
National Governors Association are looking for ways to simplify and unify
state tax-collection systems so that they can be applied to
bricks-and-mortar and Internet sales alike. Ideally, under a national scheme
an Internet seller would be able to take a single approach to nationwide tax
compliance.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (Interactive), AUTHOR: Jon Hart And Mike Hines]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB977006380777599628.htm)
(requires subscription)
WIRELESS
TWO STUDIES REJECT LINK BETWEEN CELL PHONES AND BRAIN CANCER
Issue: Wireless
Two new studies on the relationship between cellular phones and brain tumors
have found that cell-phone users are no more likely than anyone else to
develop benign tumors or malignant brain cancers. One study, supported by
the National Cancer Institute, was released last night, weeks ahead of its
scheduled publication in the New England
Journal of Medicine, to match a smaller study, which was paid for by the
cell-phone industry and the federal government, that is being published
today in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Scientists and
public health experts said that the results should help ease the fears among
many Americans that cell phones -- now estimated to be used by more than 90
million residents -- can cause brain cancer, which strikes 16,500 Americans
a year. Dr. Mark G. Malkin, a neurologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer
Center in New York and an author of the smaller study, noted that cell
phones have not been in widespread use for many years and that cancers could
take
years to develop; thus, he said, it might be worthwhile to repeat the
studies in years to come.
[SOURCE: New York Times (A1), AUTHOR: Gina Kolata]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/20/science/20PHON.html)
(requires registration)
See Also:
STUDIES FIND NO RISK OF CANCER ASSOCIATED WITH CELL-PHONE USE
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (Interactive), AUTHOR: Laura Johannes And
Nicole Harris]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB977275565554822879.htm)
(requires subscription)
--------------------------------------------------------------