| Senate Committee Approves
Hollings Bill to Regulate Online Information |
5/16. The Senate
Commerce Committee meet to mark up S
2201, the Online Personal Privacy Act 2002, sponsored by Sen. Ernest Hollings
(D-SC). Sen. Hollings offered an amendment in the nature of a
substitute. The Committee debated and rejected a series of
amendments offered by Sen.
John McCain (R-AZ), Sen.
Sam Brownback (R-KS), and Sen. George Allen (R-VA).
The Committee then voted to approve the Hollings substitute by
a vote of 9-14.
However, the Committee stopped short of reporting the bill,
because Sen. Trent Lott
(R-MS), a member of the Committee, invoked the two hour rule,
which had the effect of prevented reporting. Sen. Hollings has
scheduled a second meeting for Friday, May 17 to vote to
report the bill.
 Sen. Hollings (left),
who is also the Chairman of the Committee, explained his bill
in his opening
statement. "What we require simply codifies industry
best practices on the Internet. In fact, this bill gives
industry much of what it claims it wants -- strong preemption,
a notice requirement, an opt-out requirement for virtually all
information collected on the Internet, and a process to apply
privacy protections offline, as well as online. But for
people's sensitive personal information -- their debts,
income, assets, and medical records, we preserve consumer
control over that information. If companies want to trade and
profit in these sensitive areas -- get consumers' consent.
It's that simple. And it's the right approach."
He added that "Our bill also sets forth requires
reasonable access and reasonable security requirements –
tracking the approach the Senate supported nearly unanimously
with respect to children’s privacy on the Internet in 1998,
which the FTC implemented without controversy."
Sen. Hollings offered an amendment in the nature of a
substitute to bill as introduced. See, Sen. Hollings' summary
of his substitute.
Sen. McCain, the ranking Republican on the Committee, offered
an amendment that would have provided that online and offline
activity would be treated equally. It was rejected on a roll
call vote of 9-14. As with most of the roll call votes on this
bill, this vote broke down largely on party lines. All of the
Democrats, along with Sen.
Conrad Burns (R-MT) and Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK),
formed the majority block. The rest of the Republicans formed
the minority block.
Sen. Hollings' amendment in the nature of a substitute did add
language pertaining to offline privacy. However, this language
is tentative and prospective. It provides that "the
Federal Trade Commission shall submit to the Committee ...
detailed recommendations and proposed regulations on standards
with respect to entities that engage in the collection of
personally identifiable information ... at a level of
protection similar to that provided under this Act for similar
types of information." Sen. McCain described this
language as "purely cosmetic". He also pointed out
that the FTC lacks jurisdiction over many offline businesses.
Sen. Brownback offered two amendments. One provides a safe
harbor for small businesses. It was approved by a voice vote.
A second Brownback amendment would have provided a definition
of security. The Hollings bill provides that "An internet
service provider, online service provider, or operator of a
commercial website shall establish and maintain reasonable
procedures necessary to protect the security, confidentiality,
and integrity of personally identifiable information
maintained by that provider or operator." Sen. Hollings
argued that it would be best to leave the definitions to the
FTC rule making process. The amendment was rejected by a vote
of 9-14.
 Sen. Allen (right)
offered several
amendments. One amendment would have eliminated the
private right of action contained in Section 204 of the bill.
It would have provided that "This Act may not be
considered or construed to provide any private right of
action. No private civil action relating to any act or
practice governed under this Act may be commenced or
maintained in any State court or under State law (including a
pendent State claim to an action under Federal law)."
Sen. Allen said that the bill "risks opening the
floodgates to a tide of class action lawsuits." Sen. Kay Hutchison
(R-TX) predicted that "the private right of action is
going to kill this bill. ... It is a poison pill." This
amendment was rejected on a vote of 8-15. Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR)
also joined with Democrats in defeating this amendment.
A second amendment offered by Sen. Allen would have provided
that this bill would not add requirements for persons and
entities already covered by existing privacy laws, such as by
the Gramm Leach Bliley Act's financial privacy provisions. It
would have provided that "To the extent that personally
identifiable information protected under this title is also
protected under a provision of Federal privacy law described
in subsection (c), an Internet service provider, online
service provider, or commercial website operator that complies
with the relevant provision of such other Federal privacy law
shall be deemed to have complied with the corresponding
provision of this title." The amendment then listed
seventeen other privacy laws. It was rejected on a vote of
8-14.
Finally, a third amendment offered by Sen. Allen would have
provided that all "This title preempts any statutory law,
common law, rule, or regulation of a State, or a political
subdivision of a State, to the extent such law, rule, or
regulation relates to or affects the collection, use, sale,
disclosure, or dissemination of personally identifiable
information in commerce." The Hollings bill would preempt
some state actions, but not common law actions. This amendment
was rejected by a vote of 9-14.
Technology related groups were quick to condemn the
Committee's vote. The Business
Software Alliance (BSA) issued a release
after the mark up in which it stated that the bill "has a
number of provisions that concern the high tech industry.
Specifically, the legislation applies primarily to online
businesses. It imposes privacy regulations on Internet
companies before any new rules take effect on businesses in
the physical world. ... BSA member companies are also
concerned that the Hollings bill would expose Internet
companies to private rights of action, which could deter
online commerce."
Similarly, the Association
for Competitive Technology's Jonathan Zuck stated in a
release that "For small technology businesses, this bill
has more landmines than the DMZ. While some larger companies
may be able to navigate the provisions, the resulting costs of
compliance and endless litigation will force many of the most
innovative e-commerce and software companies out of the
market. The situation was made even worse by the manager's
amendment. The undefined 'reasonable' security provision and
the changes to section 204 only increase the likelihood of
nuisance litigation that small companies cannot afford."
Also, Jeffrey Eisenach, of the Progress
and Freedom Foundation, wrote a letter
[PDF] to Sen. Hollings on May 15 in which he argued that
"market forces are leading commercial Web sites to
address consumer concerns about privacy; regulation of the
sort proposed by the bill would likely impose substantial
costs; and, regulations that apply only to online information
collection practices would create still further distortions.
On balance, our research suggests that the costs to consumers
of legislation like S. 2201 would substantially exceed
the benefits." |
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| Senate Commerce Committee
Postpones Consideration of Tech Bills |
5/16. The Senate
Commerce Committee held a meeting to mark up several bills
on May 16. It only dealt with S 2201 before adjourning. Sen. Ernest Hollings
(D-SC), the Chairman of the Committee, has scheduled a
continuation of the mark up for Friday, May 17, at 9:30 AM.
The agenda again includes the following: S 2037,
a bill providing for the establishment of a national emergency
technology guard; S 2182,
the Cyber Security Research and Development Act, a bill to
authorize funding for computer and network security research
and development and research fellowship programs; S 630,
the Can Spam Act; and S 414,
a bill to amend the National Telecommunications and
Information Administration Organization Act to establish a
digital network technology program. |
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| FCC Announces NPRM
Regarding Separate Affiliates Rules |
5/16. The Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) announced that it has
adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding its
separate affiliate and related requirements for Bell Operating
Companies (BOCs) that provide in-region interLATA services,
pursuant to 47 U.S.C.
§ 272. The FCC also announced that it "seeks comment
on whether the statutory separate affiliate and related
requirements of BOCs should sunset, be extended". See, FCC
release [PDF].
Bob Blau, BellSouth VP
for federal regulatory affairs, stated in a release
that "BellSouth is encouraged that the commission intends
to weigh the cost of complying with the rules set by Section
272 of the Telecommunication Act of 1996 with any conceivable
benefits. We are confident that once that analysis is done,
the case for letting those rules sunset on schedule will
become all the more apparent." |
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| FCC Announces NPRM Re
Failure to Comply with DTV Deadlines |
5/16. The Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) announced that it has
adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding what
measures it should take regarding television broadcasters who
fail to meet digital television (DTV) construction deadlines.
See, FCC
release [PDF].
See also, statement
[PDF] by Commissioner Kevin Martin
and statement
[PDF] by Commissioner Michael Copps. |
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| Other FCC Announcements |
5/16. The Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) announced several other
actions at its May 16 open meeting. It announced that it has
adopted a Report and Order implementing new service rules for
the 216-220 MHz, 1390-1395 MHz, 1427-1429.5 MHz, 1429.5-1432
MHz, 1432-1435, 1670-1675 MHz, and 2385-2390 MHz bands. See, FCC
release [PDF].
The FCC also announced that it has adopted a Second Report and
Order modifying Part 15 of its rules to permit new digital
transmission technologies to operate in the 902-928 MHz (915
MHz), 2400–2483.5 MHz (2.4 GHz) and 5725–5850 MHz (5.7
GHz) bands under the current rules for spread spectrum
systems. See, FCC
release [PDF]. See also, statement
[PDF] by Commissioner Martin. This is ET Docket No. 99-231.
The FCC also announced that it adopted a Report and Order
expanding "eligibility for licenses in the Cable
Television Relay Service (CARS) to all Multichannel Video
Programming Distributors. Now, Private Cable Operators (PCOs),
Direct Broadcast Satellite Operators (DBS), Open Video Systems
(OVS), and others who provide multiple channels of video
programming can join Cable Television Systems and Wireless
Cable Systems (MDS, MMDS) in using CARS microwave frequencies
to support their video programming distribution." See, FCC
release [PDF]. |
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| En Banc Panel of 9th
Circuit Reverses in Abortion Speech Case |
5/16. The U.S.
Court of Appeals (9thCir) issued its en banc opinion
[118 pages in PDF] in Planned
Parenthood v. American Coalition of Life Activists,
an abortion related case with an Internet element. Speech by
the defendants in various forms, including on the web, forms
the basis of the civil claims against them. The District Court
rejected the defendants' First Amendment argument, and found
that they violated the Freedom of Access to Clinics Entrances
Act. A three judge panel of the Court of Appeals reversed, on
First Amendment grounds. In the present opinion, the Appeals
Court, sitting en banc, reinstated the District Court decision
in a 6-5 split.
The plaintiffs are four doctors and two abortion clinics. The
defendants are the American Coalition of Life Activists (ACLA)
and others. Defendants published "wanted" and
"unwanted" posters that identified abortion doctors.
These posters were published in various places, including on
the world wide web. The posters did not advocate violence.
Rather, they advocated praying for abortion doctors.
The plaintiffs filed a complaint in U.S. District Court (DOre)
against the ACLA and others alleging violation of the Freedom
of Access to Clinics Entrances (FACE) Act, 18 U.S.C.
§ 248, in connection with their publication of posters.
The FACE Act, at § 248(a)(1), prohibits "Whoever
(1) by force or threat of force or by physical obstruction,
intentionally injures, intimidates or interferes with or
attempts to injure, intimidate or interfere with any person
because that person is or has been, or in order to intimidate
such person or any other person or any class of persons from,
obtaining or providing reproductive health services ..."
§ 249(c)(1) then creates a private right of action.
District Court denied defendants' motion for summary judgment,
in which they argued that their conduct was protected speech.
The jury returned a verdict for plaintiffs, and awarded
compensatory damages of $12 Million and punitive damages of
$108 Million.
A three judge panel of the Court of Appeals then reversed,
holding that the defendants had been held liable for conduct
that is protected by the First Amendment. See, 244 F.3d 1007.
The Ninth Circuit then reheard the case with an eleven member
en banc panel. It reversed the three judge panel, and upheld
the trial court verdict, on a vote of 6 to 5.
Judge Pam Rymer wrote the opinion of the Court. She wrote that
"A ``threat of force´´ for purposes of FACE is properly
defined in accordance with our long- standing test on ``true
threats,´´ as ``whether a reasonable person would foresee
that the statement would be interpreted by those to whom the
maker communicates the statement as a serious expression of
intent to harm or assault.´´ This, coupled with the
statute's requirement of intent to intimidate, comports with
the First Amendment."
She continued that "We have reviewed the record and are
satisfied that use of the Crist Poster, the Deadly Dozen
Poster, and the individual plaintiffs' listing in the
Nuremberg Files constitute a true threat. In three prior
incidents, a ``wanted´´- type poster identifying a specific
doctor who provided abortion services was circulated, and the
doctor named on the poster was killed. ACLA and physicians
knew of this, and both understood the significance of the
particular posters specifically identifying each of them. ACLA
realized that ``wanted´´ or ``guilty´´ posters had a
threatening meaning that physicians would take seriously. In
conjunction with the ``guilty´´ posters, being listed on a
Nuremberg Files scorecard for abortion providers impliedly
threatened physicians with being next on a hit list. To this
extent only, the Files are also a true threat. However, the
Nuremberg Files are protected speech."
"There is substantial evidence that these posters were
prepared and disseminated to intimidate physicians from
providing reproductive health services. Thus, ACLA was
appropriately found liable for a true threat to intimidate
under FACE. Holding ACLA accountable for this conduct does not
impinge on legitimate protest or advocacy. Restraining it from
continuing to threaten these physicians burdens speech no more
than necessary", wrote Judge Rymer.
The Appeals Court, en banc panel, affirmed the District,
except as to punitive damages, on which it remanded.
Five of the eleven members of the panel dissented. Judge
Reinhardt wrote a brief dissenting opinion, at page 58. Judge
Kozinski wrote a longer dissent, starting at page 59. He wrote
that "The majority writes a lengthy opinion in a vain
effort to justify a crushing monetary judgment and a strict
injunction against speech protected by the First Amendment.
The apparent thoroughness of the opinion, addressing a variety
of issues that are not in serious dispute, masks the fact that
the majority utterly fails to apply its own definition of a
threat, and affirms the verdict and injunction when the
evidence in the record does not support a finding that
defendants threatened plaintiffs."
Judge Berzon also wrote at lengthy dissent. He concluded:
"If we are not willing to provide stringent First
Amendment protection and a fair trial to those with whom we as
a society disagree as well as those with whom we agree -- as
the Supreme Court did when it struck down the conviction of
members of the Ku Klux Klan for their racist, violence-
condoning speech in Brandenburg -- the First Amendment will
become a dead letter. Moreover, the next protest group --
which may be a new civil rights movement or another group
eventually vindicated by acceptance of their goals by society
at large -- will (unless we cease fulfilling our obligation as
judges to be evenhanded) be censored according to the rules
applied to the last." |
|
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| Senate Judiciary Committee
Approves Judicial Nominees |
5/16. The Senate
Judiciary Committee approved by unanimous vote the
nominations of Richard Clifton (to be a Judge of the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit), Christopher Conner
(U.S. District Court, Middle District of Pennsylvania), Joy
Conti (U.S.D.C. Western District of Pennsylvania), and John
Jones (U.S.D.C., Middle District of Pennsylvania). These
nominations still require confirmation by the full Senate.
The Committee also had on its agenda the nomination of Brooks
Smith (U.S.C.A., 3rd Circuit). This was held over. |
|
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| Senate Judiciary Committee
Approves Identity Bills |
5/16. The Senate
Judiciary Committee approved S 848,
the Social Security Number Misuse Prevention Act of 2001,
sponsored by Sen. Diane
Feinstein (D-CA) and Sen.
Judd Gregg (R-NH). This bill would provide that "no
person may sell or purchase any individual's social security
number without the affirmatively expressed consent of the
individual", subject to certain exceptions. This bill
proceeds next to the Senate
Finance Committee.
The Committee also amended and approved S 1742,
the Restore Your Identity Act of 2001, sponsored by Sen. Maria Cantwell
(D-WA). |
|
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| House Judiciary Committee
Postpones More Meetings |
5/15. The House
Judiciary Committee and its Subcommittee have postponed
more scheduled hearings and mark up sessions that had been
scheduled for Thursday, May 16, and Friday, May 17.
The full Committee had been scheduled to mark up several bills
on May 16, including HR 4623,
the Child Obscenity and Pormography Prevention Act of 2002
(which pertains to computer generated images), and HR 3215,
the Combatting Illegal Gambling Reform and Modernization Act
(Goodlatte Internet gambling bill). HR 4623 was amended
and approved by the Crime Subcommittee on May 9. It likely has
wide support in the House. HR 3215 has been scheduled for
mark up, but held over, on many previous occasions. The
Committee lacked a quorum.
Also on May 16, the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee
on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property again
noticed and postponed its hearing titled "The Accuracy
and Integrity of the Whois Database."
The House Judiciary
Committee's Subcommittee on Crime again postponed its
hearing on, and mark up of, several bills, including HR 4640,
a bill to provide criminal penalties for providing false
information in registering a domain name on the Internet, and HR 4658,
the Truth in Domain Names Act. This had been scheduled for
Friday, May 17.
Committee members and staff have cited various reasons for not
following schedules in the past several weeks, including that
the Democrats have invoked the 24 hour rule, that the
Republicans have had a conference to attend, that not enough
members have attended for a quorum, that there have been floor
votes, and that there has not been enough time. |
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| More News |
5/15. The House
International Relations Committee held a hearing titled
"The Administration’s National Export Strategy:
Promoting Trade and Development in Key Emerging Markets".
See, prepared
testimony of Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans.
5/16. The Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) published in the Federal Register its final
rule regarding the marketing and operation of certain
types of new products incorporating ultra- wideband (UWB)
technology. This rule is effective July 15, 2002. See, Federal
Register, May 16, 2002, Vol. 67, No. 95, at Pages 34852 -
34860.
5/16. The House
Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Telecommunications
and the Internet announced that it will hold a hearing on June
4 titled "The FCC’s UWB Proceeding: An Examination of
the Government's Spectrum Management Process".
5/16. The General Services
Administration (GSA) published a notice
in the Federal Register regarding a rule making proceeding
pertaining to the .gov domain. The notice states that
"The purpose of this proposed rule is to provide a new
policy for the Internet GOV Domain that will be included in
the Federal Management Regulation (FMR)." Comments are
due by July 15, 2002. See, Federal Register, May 16, 2002,
Vol. 67, No. 95, at Pages 34890 - 34893. |
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| People and Appointments |
5/16. California Governor Gray Davis appointed John Kelso
as Chief Deputy and Interim Director of the Department of
Information Technology (DOIT). Kelso is a lawyer.
5/16. President Bush nominated Michael Toner to be a
Member of the Federal Election
Commission (FEC) for a term expiring April 30, 2007. See, White
House release. |
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| Friday, May 17 |
The Supreme Court is on recess until May 20.
9:30 AM. The Senate
Commerce Committee will continue its mark up meeting of
May 16. The Committee will likely report S 2201,
a bill pertaining to information privacy online, as amended on
May 16. The agenda also includes: S 2037,
a bill providing for the establishment of a national emergency
technology guard; S 2182,
the Cyber Security Research and Development Act, a bill to
authorize funding for computer and network security research
and development and research fellowship programs; S 630,
the Can Spam Act; S 414,
a bill to amend the National Telecommunications and
Information Administration Organization Act to establish a
digital network technology program. Press contact: Andy Davis
at 202 224-6654. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.
POSTPONED AGAIN. 10:00
AM. The House
Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Crime will meet to
conduct a hearing on, and mark up of, several bills, including
HR 4640,
a bill to provide criminal penalties for providing false
information in registering a domain name on the Internet, and HR 4658,
the Truth in Domain Names Act.
10:00 AM. Stuart Eisenstadt and John Weekes will speak on US
EU Trade Relations. Eisenstadt is a Co-Chairman of the
U.S. European Business Council. Weekes is a former Canadian
Ambassador to the World Trade Organization. Location: Murrow
Room, National Press Club,
529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor.
10:00 AM. The FCC's Media
Security and Reliability Council (MSRC) will hold a meeting.
See, FCC
notice [PDF]. Location: FCC, 445 12th Street, SW,
Commission Meeting Room, TW-C305.
12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The Progress
& Freedom Foundation will host a panel discussion
titled The Telecom Meltdown: Causes and Cures. The
speakers will be Thomas Lenard (PFF), Terry Barnich (New Paradigm Resources Group),
Larry Darby (Darby Associates), Blair Levin (Legg
Mason Equity Research), and Randolph May (PFF). RSVP to
Brooke Emmerick at 202 289-8928 or bemmerick @pff.org. See, notice.
Location: Room B369, Rayburn Building. |
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| Sunday, May 19 |
| Day one of a three day conference titled "Personal
Privacy in the Digital Age: The Challenge for State and Local
Governments". See, agenda.
The price to attend is $345. For more information, contact 202
347-3190 Ext. 3005 or spandy
@napawash.org Location: Hilton Crystal City, Arlington,
VA. |
|
|
| Monday, May 20 |
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Day one of a two day public workshop
hosted by the FTC to explore issues
relating to the security of consumers' computers and the
personal information stored in them or in company databases.
See, notice
to be published in the Federal Register. The FTC previously
announced that this event would be held on May 16 and 17. See,
notice
in Federal Register. Location: 600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.
Day two of a three day conference titled "Personal
Privacy in the Digital Age: The Challenge for State and Local
Governments". See, agenda.
Day three of a five day annual conference of the INTA. |
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| Tuesday, May 21 |
President Bush will leave the country for visits to Germany,
France and Russia. He will return on May 27.
9:00 AM - 2:00 PM. Day two of a two day public workshop hosted
by the FTC to explore issues
relating to the security of consumers' computers and the
personal information stored in them or in company databases.
See, notice
to be published in the Federal Register. The FTC previously
announced that this event would be held on May 16 and 17. See,
notice
in Federal Register. Location: 600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.
12:00 NOON - 1:00 PM. Howard Beales, Director of the Federal Trade Commission's
(FTC) Bureau of Consumer Protection, will give the closing
keynote address at the conference titled "Personal
Privacy in the Digital Age: The Challenge for State and Local
Governments". Location: Hilton Crystal City, Arlington,
VA.
12:15 PM. The Federal
Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Young Lawyers
Committee will host a brown bag lunch. Steve Berry (VP for
Government Affairs at the CTIA)
will address Wireless Issues on the Hill. Location:
Hogan & Hartson, Conference Room 9E-407, 555 13th Street,
NW (east tower).
2:00 - 4:00 PM. The Department of State's U.S. International
Telecommunication Advisory Committee will meet to debrief the
just completed International Telecommunication Union Council
meeting. Persons intending to attend the meeting should send a
fax to the State Department with security related information.
See, notice
in Federal Register. Location: Room 1408, State Dept.
Day three of a three day conference titled "Personal
Privacy in the Digital Age: The Challenge for State and Local
Governments". See, agenda.
The price to attend is $345. For more information, contact 202
347-3190 Ext. 3005 or spandy
@napawash.org Location: Hilton Crystal City, Arlington,
VA.
Day four of a five day annual conference of the INTA. |
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| Wednesday, May 22 |
9:00 AM - 4:30 PM. The Antitrust
Division of the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
will hold another in their series of hearings on antitrust and
intellectual property. This event is titled "An
International Comparative Law Perspective on the Relationship
Between Competition and Intellectual Property, Part I".
The DOJ requires that attendees provide their name and date of
birth 24 hours in advance to Kathleen Leicht at kathleen.leicht
@usdoj.gov or 202 514-7018. For more information, contact
Gina Talamona in the Office of Public Affairs at 202 514-2007,
or Frances Marshall in the Antitrust Division at 202 305-2520.
See, FTC
notice. Location: Great Hall, DOJ Main Building, 950
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.
9:30 AM. The Senate
Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on local
telecommunications competition. Press contact: Andy Davis
224-6654. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.
1:00 - 5:00 PM. The Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) will host a discussion of
regulatory issues affecting broadband deployment. The
participants with include FCC Commissioners and
representatives of the governments of Canada, Korea and the
United Kingdom. See, FCC
notice [PDF]. For more information, contact Patricia
Cooper at 202 418-0723 or Linda Haller at 202 418-1408.
Location: FCC, 445 12th Street, SW, Commission Meeting Room.
1:30 - 3:30 PM. The Federal
Communications Commission's (FCC) WRC-03 Advisory
Committee, Informal Working Group 7: Regulatory Issues and
Future Agendas, will hold a meeting. Location: FCC, 445 12th
Street, SW, Room 7-B516 (7th Floor South Conference Room).
2:30 PM. The Senate
Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Science, Technology,
and Space will hold a hearing on the National Science Foundation
budget, focusing on federal research and development
activities. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.
Day five of a five day annual conference of the INTA.
Day one of a two day conference titled "The Forrester
Telecom Summit: The Impact Of Displacement". See, conference
web site. The price to attend ranges from $1295 to $1495.
For more information, contact events @forrester.com
or 1 888 343-6786. Location: Grand Hyatt Washington. |
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| Thursday, May 23 |
9:30 - 11:45 AM. The Antitrust
Division of the Department of Justice and the FTC
will hold another in their series of hearings on antitrust and
intellectual property. This event is titled "An
International Comparative Law Perspective on the Relationship
Between Competition and Intellectual Property, Part II".
For more information, contact Derick Rill (FTC Office of
Public Affairs) at 202 326-2472 or Susan DeSanti (FTC Policy
Planning Division) at 202 326-2167. See, FTC notice.
Location: Room 432, FTC, 600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.
12:00 NOON. Congressional
Internet Caucus Advisory Committee will host a panel
discussion of online pormography, the Children's Online
Protection Act, and the National Academy of Science's report
to Congress titled "Youth, Pormography, and the
Internet." Lunch will be served. RSVP to rsvp @netcaucus.org or
call Danielle at 202 638-4370. Location: Room HC-5, Capitol.
Day one of a two day conference titled "The Forrester
Telecom Summit: The Impact Of Displacement". |
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