INTERNET
New Rules Prompt Speedy Access to Data on Presidential Candidates
(CyberTimes)
Internet Address Company Grilled in Congress (CyberTimes)
Statement for the Record for Andrew J. Pincus, Department of Commerce
(NTIA)
Seniors Aim for Computer Literacy (SJM)
Judge Rejects Playboy Request in Search Engine Suit (CyberTimes)
BROADBAND
FCC Cable Chief Lathen Calls for Marketplace Solutions In Era of
Convergence (FCC)
ADVERTISING
New Media Helps Old Media Hold Off Forecasts of Doom (NYT)
INTERNET
NEW RULES PROMPT SPEEDY ACCESS TO DATA ON PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES
Issue: Internet/Politics
In the future, the Internet could be used more as a tool of political
disclosure. Six presidential candidates recently filed their campaign
contribution information with the Federal Election Commission on July 15. They
saw their figures go online that day and become available for access by
public-interest groups and others. Six filed on paper, which means they'll be
up in two to four weeks. Though one candidate voluntarily posted the figures on
his Web site, some public-interest advocates were unimpressed. "The records
filed with the FEC are legal documents," said Kim Alexander, president of the
California Voter Foundation. "They are signed under penalty of perjury. There's
no guarantee that the records a candidate voluntarily discloses are the same
records that are being filed with the election authority." Those who were by
law required to file electronically included four Republicans. Vice President
Gore and Republican Elizabeth Dole filed voluntarily.
[SOURCE: New York Times (CyberTimes), AUTHOR: Rebecca Fairley Raney]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/07/cyber/articles/23campaign.html)
INTERNET ADDRESS COMPANY GRILLED IN CONGRESS
Issue: Internet/Domain Names
On Capitol Hill yesterday Network Solutions was in the hot seat being
questioned by Representative Ron Klink (D-PA) about its deadlock with the
Commerce Department on an agreement to open its domain name registry to
full-scale competition and its refusal to recognize ICANN's authority in moving
that process forward. Network Solutions insisted it was not a monopoly and that
it was not concerned with small-change matters. Klink highlighted the lucrative
business Network Solutions has and its desire to maintain a grip on the
business. The issues to resolve are: 1) How much Network Solutions will be able
to charge competitors that compete in its new shared registry system and 2) Who
owns the database that Network Solutions has compiled on the owners of the more
than 5 million domain names. At the end analysts said the event --which was
called by Network Solutions to question ICANN's role in the process not vice
versa-- backfired. Meanwhile, ICANN said it will: 1) Open its next board
meeting to the public, 2) Defer collection of a $1 yearly tax on domain name
registrations, 3) Include in its contracts clearer lines on what its powers
were as an oversight body and 4) Finalize its membership structure so that the
appointed interim board members can be replaced by directors elected by the
ICANN membership groups.
[SOURCE: New York Times (CyberTimes), AUTHOR: Jeri Clausing]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/07/cyber/articles/23domain.html)
STATEMENT FOR THE RECORD FOR ANDREW J. PINCUS, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Issue: Domain Names
Andrew Pincus, Department of Commerce General Council, stated that the Internet
Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has done well, but that more
needs to be done. He believes that ICANN's top priority must be to complete the
work necessary to put an elected board of directors in place on a timely basis.
He also said they should eliminate the $1 per-year per domain name registration
user fee, which has become controversial. He thinks the funding of ICANN is an
issue that should be taken up with Board members upon election. Pincus said
that ICANN should immediately open its board meetings to the public, because
trust is essential for the company's ultimate success. ICANN apparently agrees
and wrote a letter to the Department of Commerce on July 19th
(http://www.icann.org/correspondence/icann-to-doc-19july99.htm) indicating that
these suggestions would be implemented. Pincus also said that significant work
still remains to be done in order to establish robust competition. He said all
participants in the domain name system must subject themselves to rules
emerging from the consensus based, bottom-up process spelled out in the White
Paper (http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/domainname/6_5_98dns.htm). With respect
to domain names and trademarks, he said, ICANN's Accreditation Agreement
together with the recommendations of the World Intellectual Property
Organization (WIPO) will reduce friction between trademark owners and domain
name holders. However, Pincus called on ICANN to establish a uniform dispute
resolution procedure for cybersquatting as soon as possible.
[SOURCE: National Telecommunications & Information Administration]
(http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/congress/pincus19990722.htm)
SENIORS AIM FOR COMPUTER LITERACY
Issue: Internet
The nation's oldest governor, Cecil Underwood of West Virginia, has endorsed an
Internet training program for senior citizens of his state. West Virginia will
be the first state to use a Microsoft program for teaching seniors about the
World Wide Web. "Someone described this program as technology where you'd least
expect it -- in senior centers in West Virginia," said Gov. Underwood. A resent
study by the U.S. Department of Commerce found that while 50% of all Americans
own computers, only 24% of seniors do.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Brett Martel (Associated Press)]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/breaking/ap/docs/677039l.htm)
JUDGE REJECTS PLAYBOY REQUEST IN SEARCH ENGINE SUIT
Issue: Internet
Last month a Federal judge in California refused a request by Playboy to stop a
popular search engine from putting ads for pornography sites on search results
for the words "playboy" or "playmate." Judge Alicemarie H. Stotler of the
United States District Court in Santa Ana, Calif., said that Playboy was
unlikely to succeed at trial with its claim that the programming and sales
practices of the search engine company, Excite Inc., had violated trademark
laws. Judge Stotler essentially found that although Playboy had trademarks for
"Playboy" and "Playmate," it did not have a monopoly on the use of the generic
English words "playboy" and "playmate --which could refer to many things
besides the bunny empire's products and services. Playboy claimed this form of
advertising on the web could steal its potential customers and tarnish its
reputation, because some of the ads were for more explicit pornography than
Playboy offers. But Judge Stotler said that Playboy offered no evidence that
consumers would be sufficiently confused over the relationship between Playboy
and a banner ad for a pornography site. The Playboy case is not the only
lawsuit challenging banner ads on Excite's search results. Earlier this year,
three subsidiaries of the Est