1/18. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) and five other Senators introduced S 2178, the "Consumer Telephone Records Protection Act of 2006".

This bill would add a new Section 1039 to Title 18 (the criminal code) that provides that "Whoever obtains, or attempts to obtain, confidential phone records information from a covered entity, without authorization from the customer to whom such confidential phone records information relates, by knowingly and intentionally -- (1) making false or fraudulent statements or representations to an employee of a covered entity; (2) making such statements or representations to a customer of a covered entity; (3) providing false documentation to a covered entity knowing that such document is false; or (4) accessing customer accounts of a covered entity via the Internet" shall be fined and/or imprisoned.

The bill exempts law enforcement agencies. It permits any "law enforcement agency, or any officer, employee, or agent of such agency, to obtain confidential phone records information from a covered entity in connection with the performance of the official duties of the agency".

It further provides that "any person, including any employee of a covered entity or any data broker, who knowingly and intentionally sells, or attempts to sell, confidential phone records information from a covered entity, without authorization from the customer to whom such confidential phone records information relates" shall be fined and/or imprisoned.

The bill defines "covered entity" to include any "telecommunications carrier" within the meaning of 47 U.S.C. § 153(44), and "any provider of IP-enabled voice service". The bill also defines "confidential phone records information".

The bill uses, but does not define, the term "data broker".

The bill also contains a recitation of Congressional findings. It identifies how consumer phone records are improperly accessed.

It states that internet access to phone account information is one method. The bill states that "because telephone companies encourage customers to manage their accounts online, many set up the online capability in advance. Many customers never access their Internet accounts, however. If someone seeking the information activates the account before the customer, he or she can gain unfettered access to the telephone records and call logs of that customer." The bill also identifies "unauthorized access of accounts via the Internet".

The bill states that two other methods are sale of data by phone company employees, and pretexting, " whereby a data broker or other person pretends to be the owner of the phone and convinces the telephone company's employees to release the data to them".

The bill was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee, of which Sen. Schumer is a member. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), a cosponsor, issued a release that states that the bill will also be referred to the Senate Commerce Committee, of which Sen. Nelson is a member.

The other original sponsors of the bill are Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT), Sen. Jon Cornyn (R-TX), and Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV).

Sen. Schumer (at right) stated in a release that "Stealing someone's private phone records is absolutely a criminal act and the fact that it can’t be prosecuted as one has got to change". He added that "Stealing a person's phone log can lead to serious personal, financial, and safety issues for just about any American."

Steve Zipperstein of Verizon Wireless praised this bill in a release. He stated that "The criminal penalties in this bill will provide another powerful weapon in the legal arsenal that the private sector and the government can use to protect consumers. We believe this legislation will give federal prosecutors and others in law enforcement the tools they need to crack down on this despicable practice and help defend the privacy of U.S. cell phone customers."

No bill on this subject has yet been introduced in the House of Representatives. However, the House is not in session. It will reconvene for the Second Session of the 109th Congress on January 31, 2006.

Sen. Nelson's release states that Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA) plan to offer similar legislation in the House. In addition, Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) announced on January 18, 2006 that he would introduce a bill when the House reconvenes. See, story titled "Rep. Barton and Sen. Stevens Comment on Sale of Customer Phone Data" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,292, January 19, 2006.

1/18. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced S 2177, the "Phone Records Protection Act of 2006", a bill that would create a new criminal penalty for the sale or fraudulently transfers records of a customer of a telephone service provider.

The bill would amend Title 18 (the criminal code) to provide that "Whoever knowingly and intentionally sells or fraudulently transfers or uses, or attempts to sell or fraudulently transfer or use, the records of a customer of a telephone service provider shall be fined in accordance with this title, imprisoned for not more than 10 years, or both."

The bill would exempt both service providers, and law enforcement personnel, from liability under this prohibition for sales and fraudulent transfers of customer records to law enforcement entities.

The bill defines the term "records of a customer", for the purposes of this prohibition, as "any data or information associated with an individual contained in a database, networked or integrated databases, or other data system of a telephone service provider."

The bill, in turn, provides that, for the purposes of this prohibition, the term "telephone service provider" has the same meaning as the term "telecommunications carrier" in 47 U.S.C. § 153. Section 153(44) provides that "The term ``telecommunications carrier´´ means any provider of telecommunications services, except that such term does not include aggregators of telecommunications services (as defined in section 226 of this title). A telecommunications carrier shall be treated as a common carrier under this chapter only to the extent that it is engaged in providing telecommunications services, except that the Commission shall determine whether the provision of fixed and mobile satellite service shall be treated as common carriage."

The bill then provides that the term "telecommunications services" has the same meaning as the same term defined by 47 U.S.C. § 153, but also includes any "wireless telephone service, including --- (i) cellular telephone service; (ii) broadband Personal Communication Service (`PCS´) telephone service; (iii) Covered Specialized Mobile Radio (`SMR´) service; and (iv) any successor service to such service (including so-called next generation or third generation service)." (Parentheses in original.)

Section 153(46) provides that "The term ``telecommunications service´´ means the offering of telecommunications for a fee directly to the public, or to such classes of users as to be effectively available directly to the public, regardless of the facilities used."

The bill was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee, of which Sen. Durbin is a member.

Sen. Durbin stated in the Senate that "The Chicago Sun Times and other news sources have recently reported that online brokers are illegally obtaining cell phone records and selling them without customers' knowledge. Telephone companies receive many legitimate requests from consumers and law enforcement officials for access to personal records and the requests are handled expeditiously. However, online brokers have taken advantage of the system and begun selling cell phone records to anyone who requests them." See, Congressional Record, January 18, 2006, at page S15.

He continued that "Although current law addresses fraud and identity theft using the Internet, the law does not specifically prohibit the sale of personal information obtained illegally or without the consent of cell phone customers."

1/20. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Enforcement Bureau (EB) issued a citation [3 pages in PDF] addressed  to "LocateCell.com / Steven Schwartz, Director / 1st Source Information Specialists, Inc." of Tamarac, Florida, for failure to respond to all of the items in a subpoena for information and records regarding "call detail and other customer proprietary network information that LocateCell.com may be obtaining from telecommunications providers, in apparent violation of section 222" of the Communications Act. This section is codified at 47 U.S.C. § 222. The citation is also addressed to "Philip L. Schwartz / Law Offices of Philip L. Schwartz".

The FCC issued a second citation [3 pages in PDF] to "DataFind.org / James Kester / Data Find Solutions, Inc." for failure to respond to an FCC subpoena for information and records regarding "call detail and other customer proprietary network information that DataFind.org may be obtaining from telecommunications providers, in apparent violation of section 222".

Both citations threaten to impose monetary forfeitures.

1/17. The U.S. Court of Appeals (9thCir) issued its opinion [14 pages in PDF] in Sprint v. La Canada Flintridge, a cell tower construction case. The Court of Appeals reversed the District Court's summary judgment for the city.

Sprint is a wireless service provider. The City of La Canada Flintridge denied two of Sprint's applications to build cell towers. The city applied a city ordinance that requires that it apply aesthetic considerations in granting construction permits for cell towers.

Sprint filed two complaints (which were later consolidated) in U.S. District Court (CDCal) against the city alleging, among other things, violation of 47 U.S.C. § 332(c)(7)(B)(iii).

This subsection provides that "Any decision by a State or local government or instrumentality thereof to deny a request to place, construct, or modify personal wireless service facilities shall be in writing and supported by substantial evidence contained in a written record."

The District Court held that there was not substantial evidence supporting the city's finding that Sprint's facilities would obstruct the rights-of-way. But, the District Court held that there was substantial evidence supporting the aesthetic rationale for denying the permit.

Sprint appealed. The Court of Appeals reversed. It reasoned that "Because the City overstepped its regulatory authority under state law, its wireless ordinance is invalid, and no evidence supports the City's permit denial. The district court's conclusion that substantial evidence supported the City’s permit denials must be reversed."

This case is Sprint PCS Assets, et al. v. City of La Canada Flintridge, et al., U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, App. Ct. No. 05-55014, an appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, D.C. No. CV-03-00039-DOC, Judge David Carter presiding. Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain wrote the opinion of the Court of Appeals, in which Judges Cynthia Hall and Richard Paez joined.

1/17. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a civil complaint [PDF] in U.S. District Court (DUtah) against Far West Credit, Inc, a consumer reporting agency (CRA), alleging violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) in connection with its alleged failure to follow reasonable procedures to assure the accuracy of the information in the consumer reports that it sells to mortgage companies. The facts alleged in the complaint illustrate one way in which an entity with an interest in the credits reports issued by CRAs can manipulate those CRAs' reports.

The FTC and Far West Credit simultaneously filed a proposed consent decree [PDF]. It provides, among other things, that Far West Credit will pay a fine of $120,000. The District Court signed the decree on January 17, 2006.

Far West Credit buys credit reports from the three major CRAs, Equifax, TransUnion and Experian, and then merges the data. (None of these three were named as defendants in this complaint.)

In addition, the complaint states that "Where there is insufficient information about a consumer, or no information, at the CRAs, Defendant will accept documentation from the consumer or other interested party on behalf of the consumer, such as a mortgage broker or mortgage originator, purporting to show sources of credit and credit status with businesses that do not report to the nationwide credit bureaus (e.g., landlords, cable companies, utility companies, ``rent-to-own´´ businesses and insurance companies)." (Parentheses in original.)

Keystone Mortgage and Investment Company, Inc., is a home loan originator. The complaint states that Keystone employees provided Far West Credit with false credit information about consumers when Keystone had a financial interest the completion of loans to these consumers.

The complaint further alleges that Far West Credit did not adequately review this false credit information, even though some of it was false on its face. And this, in turn, caused mortgage lenders to extend credit to persons who subsequently defaulted.

This case is FTC v. Far West Credit, Inc., U.S. District Court for the District of Utah, D.C. No. 2:06-CV-00041 (TC), Judge Tena Campbell presiding.

1/11. Thomas Leary will rejoin the Washington DC office of the law firm of Hogan & Hartson, effective February 13, 2006. He was a member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). See, Hogan & Hartson release.

1/13. Frank D'Amelio was named Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Lucent Technologies. See, Lucent release.

1/19. Harold Covert was named to the JDS Uniphase Board of Directors. He is EVP/CFO of Openwave Systems, Inc. See, JDSU release.

1/11. 3Com Corporation announced that its P/CEO, Bruce Claflin, "will retire at the conclusion of an executive search for a replacement, which currently is underway." See, 3Com release.

1/19. Intel announced in a release that its Board of Directors "has amended the company’s bylaws to adopt a majority vote standard for the election of directors in uncontested elections, beginning with the next election of directors in May. The new standard, which requires each director to receive a majority of the votes cast with respect to that director, further underscores Intel’s focus on corporate governance and provides for a greater level of accountability of directors to stockholders. Previously, directors were elected under a plurality vote standard, meaning the candidates receiving the most votes would win without regard to whether those votes constituted a majority of the shares voting at the meeting." The eleven Directors of Intel are Craig Barrett (Chairman of Intel), Paul Otellini (P/CEO of Intel), Charlene Barshefsky (Wilmer Cutler, and former USTR), John Browne (Group Chief Executive of BP), James Guzy (Chairman of Arbor Company), Reed Hundt (Charles Ross Partners, and former FCC Chairman), James Plummer (Stanford), David Pottruck (Ch/CEO of Red Eagle Ventures), Jane Shaw (former Ch/CEO of Aerogen), John Thornton (Tsinghua University), and David Yoffie (Harvard Business School).

The House will not meet. It will convene for the 2nd Session of the 109th Congress on Tuesday, January 31, 2006. See, Majority Whip's calendar.

The Senate will not meet.

The Senate will meet at 10:00 AM in pro forma session only.

9:30 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) has scheduled an executive business meeting. The sole item on the agenda is consideration of the nomination of Judge Sam Alito to be a Justice of the Supreme Court. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

9:30 AM -5:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) North American Numbering Council (NANC) will hold a meeting. See, FCC notice [PDF] notice in the Federal Register, December 29, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 249, at Pages 77156 - 77157. Location: FCC, 445 12th St., SW., Suite 5-A420.

RESCHEDULED FROM JANUARY 31. 10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing titled "Broadcast and Audio Flag". There will be two panels of witnesses. The broadcast panel will include Andy Setos (Fox Entertainment Group), Jonathan Band (American Library Association), Thomas Patton (Philips Electronics North America Corporation), and Leslie Harris (Center for Democracy and Technology). The audio panel will include Mitch Bainwol (Recording Industry Association of America), Gary Shapiro (Consumer Electronics Association), and Dan Halyburton (Susquehanna Radio). See, notice. Press contact: Melanie Alvord (Stevens) at 202 224-8456, Aaron Saunders (Stevens) at 202 224-3991, or Andy Davis (Inouye) at 202 224-4546. The hearing will be webcast by the SCC. Location: Room 562, Dirksen Building.

RESCHEDULED FOR JANUARY 31. 10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing titled "Video Franchising". Press contact: Melanie Alvord (Stevens) at 202 224-8456, Aaron Saunders (Stevens) at 202 224-3991, or Andy Davis (Inouye) at 202 224-4546. The hearing will be webcast by the SCC. Location: Room 562, Dirksen Building.

10:00 - 11:30 M. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host a panel discussion titled "What Will Greenspan's Departure Mean?". The speakers will be Charles Calomiris (AEI and Columbia University), Kevin Hassett (AEI), Lawrence Lindsey (AEI and the Lindsey Group), and Gregory Ip (Wall Street Journal). See, notice. Location: AEI, 12th floor, 1150 17th St., NW.

10:30 AM. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will give a speech at Georgetown University Law Center titled "Intercepting al Qaeda: A Lawful and Necessary Tool for Protecting America". This will be followed at 11:00 AM by a panel discussion featuring GULC professors David Cole (GULC), Viet Dinh (GULC, and former DOJ official), and Martin Lederman (GILC). The Department of Justice (DOJ) states in its notice that "All press inquiries regarding logistics should be directed to Theresa Pagliocca at 202-532-3486." GULC states in its notice that "Media interested in attending must contact Elissa Free at ebf4@law.georgetown.edu". Location: GULC, Room 202, McDonough Hall, 600 New Jersey Ave., NW.

TIME? The High Tech DTV Coalition will host an event titled "Informal Press Lunch". Janice Obuchowski will speak. The Coalition's notice states that this event is for "beat reporters who have been covering DTV legislation", and that persons planning to attend should RSVP by 4:00 PM on Monday, January 23, to Mary Greczyn at 202 371-2997 or mg at ftidc dot com, or John Alden at 202 371-6793 or ja at ftidc dot com. Location: Freedom Technologies, 1317 F St., NW, Fourth Floor.

12:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Common Carrier Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "Meet the Wireline Competition Bureau". The speakers will include Tom Navin, Chief of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Wireline Competition Bureau. RSVP to Wendy Parish wendy at fcba dot org. Location: Hogan & Hartson, 555 13th St., NW.

RESCHEDULED FOR JANUARY 31. 2:30 PM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing titled "Video Content". Press contact: Melanie Alvord (Stevens) at 202 224-8456, Aaron Saunders (Stevens) at 202 224-3991, or Andy Davis (Inouye) at 202 224-4546. The hearing will be webcast by the SCC. Room 562, Dirksen Building.

4:00 - 5:34 PM. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host a panel discussion titled "The WTO Hong Kong Ministerial Meeting: A Postmortem". The speakers will be Simon Evenett (University of St. Gallen), James Glassman (AEI), Gawain Kripke (Oxfam America), Thea Lee (AFL-CIO), Phillip Swagel (AEI), and Claude Barfield (AEI). See, notice. Location: AEI, 12th floor, 1150 17th St., NW.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding the rules for expanding the scope of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) to cover certain digital services. The FCC adopted a report and order (R&O) and further NPRM on November 3, 2005. The R&O expanded the categories of service providers that are subject to the FCC's EAS mandates to include providers of digital broadcast and cable TV, digital audio broadcasting, satellite radio, and direct broadcast satellite (DBS) services. The NPRM asks for comments how the FCC should plan this "next-generation alert and warning system". See, story titled "FCC Requires DBS, Satellite Radio, Digital Broadcasters, and Others to Carry AES Communications" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,247, November 4, 2005. The R&O and NPRM is FCC 05-191 in EB Docket No. 04-296. It was released on November 10, 2005. See, notice in the November 25, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 226, at Pages 71072 - 71077.

The Senate may begin its debate on the nomination of Judge Sam Alito to be a Justice of the Supreme Court.

11:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Advisory Committee for the 2007 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-07 Advisory Committee) will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, December 14, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 239, at Page 74016. Location: Room TW-C305, FCC, 445 12th St., SW.

2:00 - 4:00 PM. The Department of State's International Telecommunication Advisory Committee (ITAC) will hold the third in a series of weekly meetings to prepare for the International Telecommunications Union's (ITU) 2006 ITU Plenipotentiary Conference, to be held November 6-24, 2006, in Antalya, Turkey. See, notice in the Federal Register, December 21, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 244, at Page 75854. This notice incorrectly states that these meetings will be held on Tuesdays; they are on Wednesdays. For more information, contact Julian Minard at 202 647-2593 or minardje at state dot gov. Location: AT&T, 1120 20th St., NW.

POSTPONED. 10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing titled "Competition and Convergence". See, notice. Press contact: Melanie Alvord (Stevens) at 202 224-8456, Aaron Saunders (Stevens) at 202 224-3991, or Andy Davis (Inouye) at 202 224-4546. The hearing will be webcast by the SCC. Location: Room 562, Dirksen Building.

12:00 NOON. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Young Lawyers' Committee will host a brown bag lunch. This will be planning and informational meeting. For more information, contact Jason Friedrich at jason dot friedrich at dbr dot com or 202 354-1340 or Natalie Roisman at natalie dot roisman at fcc dot gov or 202 418-1655. Location: Drinker Biddle & Reath, 1500 K Street, NW, 11th Floor.

1:00 - 4:00 PM. The National Archives and Records Administration's (NARA) Advisory Committee on Presidential Libraries will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 9, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 5, at Page 1455. Location: Archivist's Board Room, National Archives Building, 700 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

9:30 AM - 1:00 PM The DC Bar Association will host a continuing legal education (CLE) seminar titled "Essential Checklist for Electronic Discovery". The speakers will include Kenneth Withers (The Sedona Conference), Judith Kinney (Legal Technologies Consulting, Kroll Ontrack), Robert Eisenberg (DOAR Litigation Consulting), Magistrate Judge John Facciola (U.S. District Court, DC), and Jonathan Redgrave (Redgrave Daley Ragan & Wagner). The price to attend ranges from $70-$125. For more information, call 202 626-3488. See, notice. Location: D.C. Bar Conference Center, 1250 H Street NW, B-1 Level.

Deadline to submit replies to oppositions to the U.S. Telecom Association's petition [PDF] seeking reconsideration and clarification of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) CALEA order. This is the FCC's order that provides that facilities based broadband service providers and interconnected VOIP providers are subject to requirements under the 1994 Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA). See, notice in the Federal Register, January 4, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 2, at Pages 345 - 346.

10:00 AM - 5:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) advisory committee named "Independent Panel Reviewing the Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Communications Networks" will meet. See, FCC release [PDF]. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th Street, SW.

4:00 - 5:30 PM. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host a panel discussion titled "The WTO Dispute Settlement System and Developing Countries". Marc Busch (Georgetown University) and Eric Reinhardt (Emory University) will present a paper. The other speakers will be Timothy Reif (House Ways and Means Committee staff), Jay Smith (Georgetown University law school), and Claude Barfield (AEI). See, notice. Location: AEI, 12th floor, 1150 17th St., NW.

1/20. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) held a meeting. The FCC adopted no items. Rather, it received reports from FCC units. See, presentation [PDF] of the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB), presentation [PDF] of the Office of Engineering & Technology (OET), presentation [PDF] of the International Bureau (IB), presentation [PDF] of the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGAB), presentation [PDF] of the Enforcement Bureau (EB), presentation [PDF] of the Media Bureau (MB), and presentation [PDF] of the Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB).

1/19. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Commissioner Paul Atkins (at right) gave a speech to the Securities Regulation Institute in San Diego, California. He discussed, among other topics, the SEC's promotion of the creation and use of interactive financial data through Extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL). He said that "XBRL tags numbers in the financial statements so they can be searchable by computer. This allows analysts to search the data electronically, and reach down to the level of granularity they desire. They do not have to physically input numbers, which translates into a huge savings in terms of cost, labor, and avoided inputting errors. Any user of financial information can then create his own ratios to compare, for example, return on equity across all companies in an industry. Some companies are working on tagging and disclosing non-financial information too, such as the company's strategy key performance indicators."

1/13. Rambus filed a complaint [17 pages in PDF] in U.S. District Court (NDCal) against Micron Technology, Inc. and Micro Semiconductor Products, Inc. alleging patent infringement. See, Rambus release. This is another in a series of related actions, pending in different District Courts. The complaint states that it pertains to patents related to DDR2, GDDR2, GDDR3 and RLDRAM II memory components, DDR2 memory modules, and DDR2, GDDR2, and GDDR3 memory controllers.

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