DIGITAL DIVIDE
In Tokyo, Rich Pay Heed to the Poor (WP)
INTERNET
California Offers Online Voter Registration (SJM)
New Privacy Software From Microsoft (NYT)
Record Firms, Studios Sue Scour, Alleging Theft Via Its Site on Web
(WSJ)
TELEPHONY
For FCC, the Equation = x11 (WP)
Seven Attorneys General Are Suing WorldCom Over Long-Distance Ads
(WSJ)
MERGERS
FCC Vows Scrutiny of Foreign Takeovers (WP)
DIGITAL DIVIDE
IN TOKYO, RICH PAY HEED TO THE POOR
Issue: Digital Divide/International
In Tokyo, leaders of the rich industrialized countries are taking pains to
express their concern for the rest of the world. The leaders of Japan,
Britain, France, Italy and Canada hosted their counterparts from a
half-dozen poor countries in an unprecedented two-hour meeting on the plight
of the developing world. The leaders debated remedies for poverty, disease,
illiteracy and pollution. This weekend, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro
Mori, hopes to make the "digital divide" a central theme of the gathering.
Proposals to speed debt relief for the world's poorest countries will be
among the few issues of genuine substance on their agenda. This
compassionate convening is a departure from the origins of the summit: The
first summits were put together so that the rich countries could coordinate
economic policies and provide moral support for one another. Representatives
from the developing countries--and the many anti-poverty groups who have
come to Okinawa this weekend to lobby on their behalf--say they remain
skeptical that the kinder, gentler tone of recent summits will be
accompanied by meaningful assistance. The topic of debt relief has remained
an obstacle to the type of assistance the developing countries are seeking.
While last year's meeting promised major debt relief for many countries, the
failure to meet the strict debt relief conditions have kept most eligible
nations from that debt forgiveness.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (A19), AUTHOR: Clay Chandler]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15529-2000Jul20.html)
See Also:
BILLIONS LEFT STANDING ON THE SIDE OF THE INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Reuters]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/breaking/merc/docs/015812.htm)
INTERNET
CALIFORNIA OFFERS ONLINE VOTER REGISTRATION
Issue: Internet/Politics
Californians will now be able to register to vote without even leaving their
homes. Secretary of State Bill Jones has announced the launch of an online
voter registration program that allows citizens to visit his Web site, fill
out a form and then sign and return a card sent to them in the mail. "With
this new project, voters won't have to leave their home or even worry about
putting a postage stamp on the form when registering to vote,'' Jones said.
In addition to allowing citizens to register, the site, www.ss.ca.gov,
offers important information for voters, including pamphlets, information
about initiatives and campaign finance reports of campaigns receiving or
spending more than $100,000. The secretary of state has also set up a
blue-ribbon panel of computer executives and election experts to develop a
way to vote via the Internet. But Jones said earlier this year that devising
a foolproof online voting system would be difficult and could take several
years.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Contra Costa Times]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/front/docs/vote072100.htm)
NEW PRIVACY SOFTWARE FROM MICROSOFT
Issue: Privacy
In about four weeks, Microsoft plans to introduce new software that will
warn users when advertisers or other third parties are trying to place files
on their computers -- called "cookies" -- to be used for tracking surfing
patterns or other private information. The software was developed as an
attempt to provide consumers with the ability to make intelligent security
decisions by letting them know when cookies are being uploaded to their
computers. The user will see a box pop up on the display, asking whether the
computer should accept that particular cookie. It also lets the user ban all
third-party persistent cookies if desired. "This is a great sign," said
Jason Catlett, president of the privacy group Junkbusters. "Of course, many
people are using quite old versions of the various browsers, so it will take
some time before many people are using it."
[New York Times (Online), Associated Press]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/07/biztech/articles/21soft-cookies.h
tml)
RECORD FIRMS, STUDIOS SUE SCOUR, ALLEGING THEFT VIA ITS SITE ON WEB
Issue: Intellectual Property
Major movie studios and recording companies have sued Scour, a Web site that
allows users to exchange films and songs. The copyright infringement suit,
the latest attack on Internet file-sharing services was filed in U.S.
District Court in New York, and sets precedent as the first lawsuit by the
entertainment establishment against one of its own. Longtime Hollywood power
player Michael Ovitz is one of Scour's minority owners, although he is not
expected to be with the company much longer. He is concerned that his
investment in Scour places him on the "wrong side" of the piracy issue. The
suit accuses Scour of creating "a vehicle for global piracy of copyrighted
motion pictures and sound recordings" with its Scour Exchange program. Like
Napster, the program allows users to trade music online, in addition to
other content like movies and photos. So far however, the market impact of
such file-sharing services is unclear. A survey to be released Friday by
Jupiter Communications found that Internet song listeners were likely to
increase their music purchases.
[Wall Street Journal (B6), AUTHOR: Anna Wilde Mathews and Bruce Orwall]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB964118820128930403.htm)
See Also:
MOVIE AND RECORD COMPANIES SUE A FILM TRADING SITE
[SOURCE: New York Times (C2), AUTHOR: Matt Richtel]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/07/biztech/articles/21music.html)
TELEPHONY
FOR FCC, THE EQUATION = x11
Issue: Telephony
If the FCC gets the green light, new uses of various 3- digit "x11" numbers
will open up. Specifically, the Federal Communications Commission is
planning to give the telephone numbers 511 and 211 to nonprofit and
government agencies. The FCC would also fully implement 711, a number set
aside to assist the disabled in making phone calls. One of the new numbers
will help create traffic telephone hotlines to help increasingly mobile
Americans find helpful information no matter where they may be. Nonprofit
groups are prepared to fund the 211 number as a way to refer services to
families needing food or shelter, counseling or crisis hot lines. The
nonprofits note that where a 211 number already is in effect--in all of
Connecticut and Atlanta--the volume of calls seeking assistance increased 40
percent. A 101 on the x11s: 211: Community information and referral
services; 311: Non-emergency government services; 411: Directory assistance;
511: Traffic and travel conditions; 611: Usually, telephone companies'
repair office; 711: Deaf access services; 811: Usually, telephone companies'
business office; 911: Emergency.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E01), AUTHOR: Caroline E. Mayer]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15193-2000Jul20.html)
SEVEN ATTORNEYS GENERAL ARE SUING WORLDCOM OVER LONG-DISTANCE ADS
Issue: Telephony
Seven states are suing the No. 2 long-distance carrier WorldCom, accusing it
of deceptive advertising and forcibly switching customers to its
long-distance service without their consent, a practice known as "slamming."
The suits come a little more than a month after WorldCom agreed to pay $3.5
million as part of an agreement with federal regulators to settle slamming
charges. New Jersey Attorney General John J. Farmer said WorldCom's "Five
Cents Everyday" program doesn't apply to toll calls made within New Jersey
and is only available from 7 p.m. to 6:59 a.m., but those facts weren't
adequately disclosed to customers. Farmer and other attorneys general also
note the plan comes with a service fee of $4.95 per month, a minimum
long-distance charge of $5, a carrier-access charge of $1.46, and a federal
fee of 7.2% of all long-distance calls. The California attorney general
charges that WorldCom added unauthorized charges to consumers' telephone
bills and that the actual costs of some services exceeded advertised rates.
In addition, WorldCom's customer complaint lines were understaffed, and some
consumers who called with complaints were kept on hold for more than an hour
or disconnected, the suit charges.
[Wall Street Journal (Interactive), AUTHOR: Associated Press]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB96413571941093339.htm)
See Also:
WORLDCOM ACCUSED OF DECEPTIVE ADVERTISING
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Joshua L. Kwan]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/front/docs/mci072100.htm)
MERGERS
FCC VOWS SCRUTINY OF FOREIGN TAKEOVERS
Issue: Mergers
Federal Communications Commission Chairman William E. Kennard said yesterday
the agency would "closely scrutinize" acquisitions of U.S.
telecommunications firms by companies that are controlled by foreign
governments. "Please be assured that I will carefully scrutinize any
transaction in which a foreign government-controlled telecommunications
carrier seeks to control a U.S. carrier," Kennard wrote in a letter. The
Chairman was responding to concerns raised in a letter by Sen. Ernest F.
Hollings (D-S.C.) and 29 other senators that Deutsche Telekom AG and other
foreign companies are targeting the lucrative American telecommunications
business for acquisitions. Earlier this week, Hollings inserted into a
spending bill a provision that would prohibit firms owned by foreign
governments from operating telecommunications companies in the United
States. Under current law, firms with greater than 25 percent foreign
ownership are prohibited from buying "common carriers," but the FCC can
allow exceptions to the rule. Deutsche Telekom--57 percent of which the
German government owns--has recently made clear that it wants to move into
the U.S. market, with a recent $53 billion bid for VoiceStream Wireless.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E03), AUTHOR: Neil Irwin]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16377-2000Jul20.html)
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