| Export Administration Act
Passes Senate |
9/6. The U.S. Senate passed S
149, the Export Administration Act of 2001, by a vote of
85 to 14. The bill, a major rewrite of the export control
regime, would ease restraints on the export of most dual use
products, such as computers and software. However, it would
raise penalties for violation of remaining prohibitions. It
would also repeal provisions of the 1998 National Defense
Authorization Act which require the President to use MTOPS
to set restrictions on the export of high performance
computers. The Senate also approved two amendments.
Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY),
the sponsor of the bill, said afterwards that "I'll
continue to keep up pressure on the House so we can send a
good bill to the President for his signature." President
Bush supports the Senate version of the bill. The House
International Relations Committee passed a substantially
different version of the bill, HR
2581, on August 1. "I will encourage the House to
pass legislation that is identical or nearly so to the version
we passed in the Senate today," said Sen. Enzi.
"This bill dramatically enhances our national security
needs by increasing penalties, by focusing attention on truly
sensitive items, and granting the President new control
authority in cases involving national security and
terrorists," said Sen.
George Allen (R-VA), another co-sponsor of the bill.
"At the same time, this legislation will remove
unnecessarily burdensome punitive regulatory controls on mass
market and readily available foreign technology products that
have hindered the competitiveness of U.S. technology
industries."
Sen. Robert Bennett
(R-UT) also spoke in favor of the bill. He stated that
"The borderless economy is a reality of the future. It
cannot be turned back. We have to accept this new reality and
say the best national security step we can take is to keep
American technology firms absolutely in the forefront, and the
best way to keep them in the forefront is to give them the
opportunity to compete in the largest possible market that
they can."
Kyl Amendment. One amendment, offered by Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ), adds
language to Section 506(g) to give the Secretary of Commerce
enhanced authority in responding to a country that refuses to
allow post shipment verification of an exported item. It
provides: "(3) REFUSAL BY COUNTRY. If the country in
which the end-user is located refuses to allow post- shipment
verification of a controlled item, the Secretary may deny a
license for the export of that item, any substantially
identical or directly competitive item or class of items, any
item that the Secretary determines to be of equal or greater
sensitivity than the controlled item, or any controlled item
for which a determination has not been made pursuant to
section 211 to all end-users in that country until such
post-shipment verification is allowed."
Thompson Amendment. The other amendment, offered by Sen. Fred Thompson
(R-TN), tightens the definition of a "directly
competitive item" in Section 211, regarding foreign
availability and mass market status, and clarifies that an
item is not directly competitive if it is "not of
comparable quality" as the controlled item. Both
amendments were approved by voice votes. |
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| Subcommittee Holds Hearing
on Telework |
9/6. The House
Government Reform Committee's Subcommittee on Technology
and Procurement Policy held a hearing titled "Public
Service for the 21st Century: Innovative Solutions to the
Federal Government's Technology Workforce Crisis."
Witnesses related a variety of government related obstacles to
telework in both the public and private sectors, including
application of the multitude of local tax laws to
interjurisdictional telework arrangements, confusing IRS rules
for home office deductions, the threat of OSHA regulation, and
the lack of residential broadband services.
Rep. Tom Davis
(R-VA), the Chairman of the Subcommittee, said in his prepared
statement that "Advances in computer and
telecommunications technology have facilitated the rapid
growth of telework in the private sector. While companies
enjoy increased productivity, job satisfaction, and employee
morale as a result of telework programs, the Federal
government’s success has been inconsistent. " He added
that "an aggressive telecommuting policy may help the
federal government address the shortage of information
technology (IT) workers."
Robert Robertson of the General
Accounting Office said in his prepared
testimony that there are many obstacles to telework. He
stated that "certain federal and state laws and
regulations, including those governing taxes, workplace
safety, workforce recordkeeping, and liability for home
workplace injuries can also act as potential barriers to
telecommuting for both the public and private sectors."
He also testified that there are management concerns,
including "assessing whether the employer has the types
of positions and employees suitable for telecommuting;
protecting proprietary and sensitive data; and establishing
cost-effective telecommuting programs."
Harris Miller, President of the Information
Technology Association of America (ITAA), said in his prepared
testimony that the slow deployment of broadband Internet
access services and security concerns also serve as a barriers
to telework. He also cited several regulatory burdens,
including a patchwork of over 7,000 taxing jurisdictions,
unclear rules for home office deductions, and the specter of
OSHA regulation of home offices.
See also, prepared testimony of Teresa
Jenkins (Office of Personnel Management), David
Bibb (U.S. General Services Administration), Mark
Straton (Siemens Enterprise Networks), and Robert
Milkovich, (CarrAmerica). |
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| Hacker Gets 4 Months |
9/6. Raymond Torricelli was sentenced in U.S.
District Court (SDNY) to 4 months imprisonment for various
hacking offenses, including unauthorized access to computers,
credit card fraud, and password interception.
He illegally intruded into computers used by NASA to perform
satellite design and mission analysis concerning future space
missions, and by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's (JPL)
Communications Ground Systems Section. He also installed a
program name "rootkit" which, when run on the
computers, allowed him to gain complete access to all of a
computer's functions without having been granted these
privileges by the authorized users of that computer. He
then proceeded to use the computers to host chat rooms, which
he used, among other things, to promote pormographic web
sites.
Torricelli also intercepted usernames and passwords traversing
the networks of San Jose State University, which he used to
gain free Internet access, or to gain unauthorized access to
still more computers. See, CCIPS
release. |
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| USAO SDNY Forms CHIPs Unit |
9/5. The U.S. Attorney's Office (SDNY)
announced the formation of a Computer Hacking and Intellectual
Property (CHIPs) unit, comprised of five Assistant U.S.
Attorneys specializing in computer and intellectual property
crimes. The unit will focus on computer intrusions, Internet
and computer fraud, theft of trade secrets and economic
espionage, theft of computer and high tech equipment
components, criminal copyright and trademark offenses, and
other forms of computer, Internet, and electronic crimes. See,
USAO
release.
On July 20, 2001, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced
that eight CHIPs would be formed. The other locations for new
CHIPs units are CDCal (Los Angeles), SDCal (San Diego), NDGa
(Atlanta), DMass (Boston), NDTex (Dallas), WDWash (Seattle),
and the EDVa (Alexandria, Virginia). The NDCal (San Francisco)
already had a CHIPs unit. See, Ashcroft
speech. |
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| DOJ Will Not Seek Break Up
of Microsoft |
9/6. The Antitrust
Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that
"it will not seek a break-up of the company in remand
proceedings before the U.S. District Court. It also informed
the company that it does not intend to pursue further
proceedings on the tying count of the original
complaint." It also stated that it would not pursue its
tying claim. See, DOJ
release.
On June 28, the U.S.
Court of Appeals (DCCir) issued its en
banc opinion in USA v. Microsoft, affirming in part, and
reversing in part, Judge Jackson's Final
Judgment (June 7, 2000). The Appeals Court vacated Judge
Jackson's break up order on several grounds. It also reversed
on the tying count. However, the Appeals Court affirmed in
part Judge Jackson's judgment that Microsoft violated §
2 of the Sherman Act by employing anticompetitive means to
maintain a monopoly in the operating system market.
On September 6, the Antitrust Division also stated that
"In view of the Court of Appeals' unanimous decision that
Microsoft illegally maintained its monopoly over PC-based
operating systems -- the core allegation in the case -- the
Department believes that it has established a basis for relief
that would end Microsoft's unlawful conduct, prevent its
recurrence and open the operating system market to
competition. Pursuing a liability determination on the tying
claim would only prolong proceedings and delay the imposition
of relief that would benefit consumers."
The Antitrust Division "will seek an order that is
modeled after the interim conduct- related provisions of the
Final Judgment previously ordered in the case."
The Antitrust Division added that it "will ask the court
for a period of expedited discovery to investigate
developments in the industry since the trial concluded, and to
evaluate whether additional conduct- related provisions are
necessary, especially in the absence of a break-up. ..."
Robert Levy,
a Senior Fellow at the Cato
Institute, a libertarian think tank, offered an analysis.
"Today's announcements are not concessions to Microsoft,
but to reality. A breakup of Microsoft was effectively
rejected by the U.S. Court of Appeals. And the court imposed a
much tougher burden of proof if the government wants to
prevail on its tying claim." Levy continued that
"What's really going on is a declaration by the Justice
Department and, significantly, by the attorneys general who
are co-plaintiffs, that they will not waste their time with
lost causes and hard to prove charges that won't lead to
incremental conduct remedies. Instead, the government wants to
move ahead aggressively and quickly to restrict Microsoft's
behavior and, maybe, to prevent Windows XP from establishing a
major toehold in the market." Levy conclude that
"The $64,000 question remains: Why is the Bush
administration -- supposed champions of free markets --
proceeding with this pitiful lawsuit, which transforms our
antitrust laws into a corporate welfare program for
Microsoft's rivals."
Jonathan Zuck, President of ACT, a pro
Microsoft group, praised the decisions not to seek a break up,
and to drop the tying claim. He added, "We invite the
European Union to reach similar conclusions." See, ACT
release. |
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| AAI Questions HP Compaq
Merger |
| 9/5. The American
Antitrust Institute released a statement
regarding the proposed merger of HP
and Compaq in which it
asserted that "The proposed merger threatens to lessen
competition in a number of ways. First, it will altogether
eliminate competition between two of the three largest firms.
Second, there is widespread speculation that the remaining
firms in the industry will for strategic reasons seek merger
partners to offset the combined HP/Compaq's new power with
retailers and suppliers. If there is likelihood that this
gigantic merger event will trigger a rapid consolidation of
the industry, then the government should intervene." |
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| Muris Names Executive
Assistant |
| 9/6. FTC Chairman Timothy
Muris appointed Christine Wilson to be his Executive
Assistant. She previously was an associate in the antitrust
practice group in the Washington DC office of the law firm of Howrey Simon.
Prior to that, she worked at Collier Shannon.
See, FTC
release. |
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| EPIC Condemns Monitoring of
Computers of Judiciary |
9/6. Marc Rotenberg, Executive Director of the Electronic Privacy Information
Center (EPIC), sent a letter
to the Administrative Office of the United States Courts
regarding the electronic monitoring of the employees of the
federal judiciary. He wrote: "I strongly urge the
Judicial Conference to end the practice of monitoring the
computer terminals of employees of the federal
judiciary."
Rotenberg also stated that "the practice of logging the
web sites that are viewed by members of the judiciary and
their staff, without prior notice, could be a violation of the
Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, 18 USC § 2510
et seq., and that the use of this information in a
disciplinary proceeding would be in violation of the
Act." See, 18
U.S.C. Chapter 119.
The Judicial Conference of the United States is scheduled to
meet on September 11 to consider a report
[PDF] by its Committee on Automation and Technology. |
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| Securities Fraud |
9/6. The SEC announced
that it filed a civil complaint in the U.S. District Court (NDCal)
against M&A West, Inc. (MAWI) and four individuals
alleging violations of federal securities laws, including
fraud and sale of unregistered securities. MAWI is a self
proclaimed "Internet incubator" engaged in
developing Internet related technology companies. See, SEC
release.
9/6. The U.S.
Attorneys Office (NDCal) announced the unsealing of an 82
count indictment
[PDF] charging two of the individuals associated with MAWI,
Thomas Eck and Zahra Gilak, with stock manipulation and money
laundering. See, USAO
release. |
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| Friday, Sept 7 |
9:30 AM. The U.S.
Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit will
hear oral argument in Fox v. FCC, No. 00-1222. Judges
Ginsburg, Edwards and Sentelle will preside. Location: 333
Constitution Ave., NW, Washington DC.
POSTPONED. 9:30
AM. The House
Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Telecommunications
and the Internet has scheduled a hearing titled "Area
Code Exhaustion: Management of Our Nation’s Telephone
Numbers." Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.
9:30 AM - 12:00 Noon. The FCC's Office of Engineering and
Technology (OET) will host the first of two tutorials on
new spectrally efficient techniques. Location: FCC, Commission
Meeting Room, 445 12th Street, Room TW-C305, Washington DC.
1:30 - 3:00 PM. The FCC's Office
of Engineering and Technology (OET) will host the second
of two tutorials on new spectrally efficient techniques.
Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th Street, Room
TW-C305, Washington DC.
Deadline to submit comments to the USPTO in
response to its notice
of proposed rulemaking regarding elimination of continued
prosecution application practice as to utility and plant
patent applications. The notice stated that the AIPA
enacted provisions for the continued examination of a utility
or plant application at the request of the applicant, and
therefore, "there no longer appears to be a need for
continued prosecution application (CPA) practice as to utility
and plant applications. Thus, the Office is proposing to
eliminate CPA practice as to utility and plant applications.
An applicant for a utility or plant patent may also continue
to effectively obtain further examination of the application
by filing a continuing application under section 1.53(b).
Since RCE practice does not apply to design applications, CPA
practice will remain in place for design applications."
See, Federal Register, July 9, 2001, Vol. 66, No. 131, at
Pages 35763 - 35765. |
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| Monday, Sept 10 |
9:30 AM. The U.S.
Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit will
hear oral argument in High Plains Wireless v. FCC, No.
00-1292. Judges Ginsburg, Edwards and Sentelle will preside.
Location: 333 Constitution Ave., NW, Washington DC.
9:30 AM. Brown University will host a press conference titled
"Report Card on E-Government." For more information,
contact Mark Nickel at 401-863-2476. Location: National Press Club, Murrow
Room.
11:00 AM. Several groups will hold a press conference on the
War on Drugs and its impact on privacy and other civil
liberties. The groups will urge the Senate Judiciary Committee
to examine these issues at its hearing on September 11 on the
nomination of John Walters to be Director of National
Drug Control Policy. The speakers will be Bradley Jansen (Free Congress Foundation),
Tom DeWeese (American Policy Center), Eric Sterling (The
Criminal Justice Policy Foundation). Location: J.W. Marriott
Hotel, Salons J&K Ballroom level, 1331 Pennsylvania Ave.,
NW, Washington DC.
First day of a two day conference hosted by the International Trademark
Association (INTA) and the National Bar Association
(NBA) titled "Basics of Trademark Law Forum". See, INTA
brochure [PDF] for regisration information, prices, and
agenda. Location: Grand Hyatt Washington, 1000 H Street NW,
Washington DC.
FCC Wireless Telecom. Bureau
(WTB) fees changes go into effect. See, WTB
release.
Deadline to submit comments to the FCC regarding SBC's Section 271 application
to provide interLATA service in the states of Arkansas and
Missouri. (CC Docket No. 01-194.) See, FCC
notice [PDF]. |
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| Tuesday, Sept 11 |
TIME? The Judicial Conference of the U.S., which makes
policy for the federal courts, will meet to consider the
recommendations contained in the report
[PDF] titled "Report on Privacy and Public Access to
Electronic Case Files." This report was prepared by the Administrative Office of U.S.
Courts' Committee on Court Administration and Case
Management. It recommends that most civil and bankruptcy cases
should be made available in electronic format, with redactions
of some personal data identifiers, but that criminal cases
should not be made available. See also, AOUSC release
[PDF].
Second day of a two day conference hosted by the International Trademark
Association (INTA) and the National Bar Association
(NBA) titled "Basics of Trademark Law Forum". See, INTA
brochure [PDF] for regisration information, prices, and
agenda. Location: Grand Hyatt Washington, 1000 H Street NW,
Washington DC.
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. The Computer
System Security and Privacy Advisory Board (CSSPAB) will
hold the first session of a three day meeting. The CSSPAB
advises the Secretary of Commerce and the Director of NIST on
security and privacy issues pertaining to federal computer
systems. All sessions will be open to the public. See, notice
in Federal Register, August 27, 2001, Vol. 66, No. 166, at
Pages 45009 - 45010. Location: National Security Agency's
National Cryptologic Museum, Colony 7 Road, Annapolis
Junction, Maryland.
10:30 AM. The Senate
Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on the nomination
of John Walters to be Director of National Drug Control
Policy. Several groups which advocate privacy rights have
urged the Committee to examine the impact of the War on Drugs
on privacy rights. Sen. Joe
Biden (D-DE) will preside. Location: Room 226, Dirksen
Building.
2:00 PM. The Senate
Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on E-911
issues. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.
2:00 PM. The Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee
will host three panel presentations on e-learning, an
e-learning technology fair, and a cocktail reception. RSVP to RSVP@netcaucus.org or
Danielle at 202-637-4370. Location: Room 902, Hart Building,
Washington DC. The schedule is as follows:
• 2:00 PM. Grades K-12 Panel.
• 3:00 PM. Higher Education Panel.
• 4:00 PM. Workforce Training Panel.
• 5:00 PM. Cocktail Reception and E-Learning
Technology Fair.
6:00 - 8:00 PM. The Federal
Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host a
reception for new NTIA
chief Nancy
Victory. The price to attend is $35 for private sector
people, and $20 for government employees and students. RSVP to
Wendy Parish at fcba@fcba.org
by Friday, September 7, at 10:00 AM. Location: Capital Hilton
Hotel, 16th & K Streets NW, Washington DC. |
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