3/9. The House Commerce Committee held a hearing titled "Combating Pretexting: H.R. 936, Prevention of Fraudulent Access to Phone Records Act". Both Democrats and Republicans stated that there is a need for the bill, and urged approval.

The one major area of disagreement is the provisions of Title II of the bill that limit data sharing by carriers. Representatives of carriers, and some committee members, argued that the bill should not interfere with legitimate business practices of carriers.

Title I of HR 936 creates civil prohibitions affecting pretexters, purchasers of data collected by pretexting, data brokers, and other intermediaries. It give civil enforcement authority to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Title II contains two types of provisions. One pertains to pretexting and fraud. It requires the FCC to adopt rules mandating that carriers take certain actions to protect the security of customer proprietary network information (CPNI) from pretexters.

The other contains some general privacy provisions for carriers that do not address fraud or pretexting. These sections would prohibit carriers from sharing certain information with affiliates, partners or contractors without the consent of customers. See also, related story in this issue titled "Summary of HR 936, the Prevention of Fraudulent Access to Phone Records Act".

The HCC also reported a bill in the 109th Congress. See, HR 4943 (109th), the "Prevention of Fraudulent Access to Phone Records Act". HR 936 (110th) as introduced, is substantially identical to HR 4943 (109th) as reported by the HCC. However, the full House did not approve the bill, although it was briefly placed on the suspension calendar in March of 2006.

Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), the Chairman of the HCC, said at the March 9, 2007 hearing that "after the Committee reported this bill last year, it mysteriously disappeared from the House floor schedule, and the House took no action before the 109th Congress adjourned."

Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) stated that the bill was removed from the suspension calendar because of objections from the "intelligence community".

Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) said that "if the administration has concerns about national security, concerns about the legislation, let us hope this year they confront it in a more forthright fashion, rather than in the dark of night simply killing a bill that should have been on the suspension calendar, as many of us would agree with. If a court gets an opportunity to views these concerns, I am sure they will make the right decision. But simply making these privacy decisions in the dark of night by security officials -- we have learned over and over -- this administration cannot be trusted with that much authority."

Many Republican members expressed support for both HR 4943 (109th) and HR 936 (110th), but in nonpartisan language.

Also, last year the Congress enacted a criminal bill, HR 4709, the "Telephone Records and Privacy Protection Act of 2006". President Bush signed this bill into law on January 12, 2007. See, story titled "Bush Signs Bill That Criminalizes Pretexting to Obtain Phone Records" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,520, January 16, 2007, and story titled "Rep. Smith Introduces Bill to Criminalize Pretexting to Obtain Consumer Phone or VOIP Records" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,308, February 13, 2006.

The HCC's Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations also held extensive hearings last fall on pretexting, focusing on the Hewlett Packard scandal.

The bill requires the FCC to conduct a rulemaking proceeding, and complete it within 180 days. The FCC opened a rule making proceeding over a year ago. This proceeding is Docket No. 96-115 and RM-11277. The FCC adopted its NPRM on February 10, 2006. See, story titled "FCC Adopts NPRM Regarding Privacy of Consumer Phone Records" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,308, February 13, 2006. It released the text [34 pages in PDF] on February 14, 2006. The NPRM is FCC 06-10.

The FCC has not yet issued rules, although Chairman Kevin Martin has given speeches and held news conferences in which he has discussed possible contents of these rules.

Rep. Dingell stated that he wants the FCC to complete this rulemaking.

Lydia Parnes testified on behalf of the FTC. She said that "the FTC does support this legislation". She also stated that she is not aware of the position of the Department of Justice, and that she is not aware of any law enforcement objection. See also, prepared testimony [PDF]. See also, prepared testimony of Tom Navin, Chief of the FCC's Wireline Competition Bureau.

Steve Largent, head of the CTIA - Wireless Association, and Walter McCormick, head of USTelecom, both offered objections to Section 202 of the bill, which creates an opt-in regime for data sharing by carriers.

Largent wrote in his prepared testimony [PDF] that "the imposition of new restrictions on the ability of carriers to share CPNI with joint venture partners or independent contractors is unduly burdensome and has no connection with the goal of preventing fraudulent access to phone records. Many CTIA members employ third-parties to assist with billing and customer care functions. The parties that engaged in these activities for our carriers are bound by strict safeguarding agreements that govern both confidentiality and security obligations". See also, McCormick's prepared testimony [PDF].

Several members of the Committee expressed support for the carriers' position on this issue, including Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA), Rep. Joe Pitts (R-PA), and Rep. Greg Walden (D-OR).

Mark Rotenberg, head of the Electronic Privacy Information Center's (EPIC), testified in support of HR 936. See, prepared testimony [PDF]. The EPIC's August 30, 2005, petition for rulemaking prompted the FCC to initiate its rulemaking proceeding in February of 2006.

And see, prepared testimony [PDF] of David Einhorn, who testified regarding the pretexting of his phone records.

Neither this hearing, nor this bill, pertain to any of the National Security Agency's (NSA) surveillance or data aggregation programs. Nevertheless, Rep. Dingell said that "Certain major telecommunications companies allegedly turned over the detailed call records of millions of Americans to the National Security Agency (NSA). These phone customers were not informed that the NSA had their records. Apparently this may have been done without proper process. At least one company found it illegal and refused to comply."

Rep. Barton again recited his definition of "pretexting". He said, as he has said at prior hearings, that "Pretexting is pretending to be someone you're not, to get something you shouldn't have, to use in a way that is probably wrong." However, HR 936 does not incorporate or reflect this definition.

2/8. Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), and others introduced HR 936, the "Prevention of Fraudulent Access to Phone Records Act".

This bill has two titles. First, Title I contains civil prohibitions affecting pretexters, purchasers of data collected by pretexting, data brokers, and other intermediaries. It give enforcement authority to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Second, Title II revises 47 U.S.C. § 222, the section of the Communications Act that currently limits carriers' dissemination of customer proprietary network information (CPNI). Section 222 gives enforcement authority to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The bill requires the FCC to conduct a rulemaking proceeding regarding protecting customer information, and limits the sharing of information by carriers with affiliates, partners and contractors.

HR 936 contains no criminal prohibitions. Nor does it create any private right of action.

Title I: FTC Civil Enforcement Authority. Section 101 of the bill, at subsection (a) provides that "It shall be unlawful for any person to obtain or attempt to obtain, or cause to be disclosed or attempt to cause to be disclosed to any person, customer proprietary network information relating to any other person by -- (1) making a false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation to an officer, employee, or agent of a telecommunications carrier; or (2) providing any document or other information to an officer, employee, or agent of a telecommunications carrier that the person knows or should know to be forged, counterfeit, lost, stolen, or fraudulently obtained, or to contain a false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation."

This subsection (a) is directed at the entities that engage in pretexting to obtain CPNI. The following two subsection are directed at those who purchase the fruits of pretexting, as well as data brokers and other intermediaries that traffic in the fruits of pretexting.

Subsection (b) the provides that "It shall be unlawful to request a person to obtain from a telecommunications carrier customer proprietary network information relating to any third person, if the person making such a request knew or should have known that the person to whom such a request is made will obtain or attempt to obtain such information in the manner described in subsection (a)."

Subsection (c) provides that "It shall be unlawful for any person to sell or otherwise disclose to any person customer proprietary network information relating to any other person if the person selling or disclosing obtained such information in the manner described in subsection (a)."

These provisions prohibit fraudulently obtaining CPNI from carriers, or buying or selling CPNI that was fraudulently obtained. It should be noted that the HCC held hearings in the 109th Congress on pretexting that revealed a wide range of other practices that are associated with attempts to fraudulently obtain CPNI. Some of these other practices, which are not expressly prohibited by this bill, include:

• closing an account, or cutting off one communications service, in order to cause the target of the investigation to use another communications service the records of which are pretextable,
• changing billing addresses to have customer records mailed to someone other than the customer,
• changing customers' passwords,
• fraudulently opening accounts in the name of the targeted customer, or spouse,
• fraudulently opening online access to account information, or changing passwords for access.

The HCC's hearings also revealed, in the case of the Hewlett Packard scandal, that the overall investigation was segmented, both vertically (contractor and subcontractors) and horizontally (different entities targeted different carrier call centers). If this bill were enacted, some of those involved in a highly segmented operations might escape liability on that basis that they did not obtain or attempt to obtain CPNI.

The definition of "carrier" may also be significant. While these sections reference carriers, the bill defines this term to include VOIP service providers. But then the bill defines this to mean "any service that is treated by the Federal Communications Commission as a telecommunications service provided by a telecommunications carrier for purposes of section 222 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 222) under regulations promulgated pursuant to subsection (h) of such section."

The FCC has an open Section 222 rulemaking proceeding. The notice of proposed rulemaking states that the FCC is considering extending its CNPI rules to encompass services other that voice communications and VOIP. See, story titled "FCC Rulemaking Proceeding on CPNI May Extend to Internet Protocol Services" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,310, February 15, 2006.

Finally, there is an exemption for law enforcement agencies and their agents. The bill provides that "No provision of section 101 shall be construed so as to prevent any action by a law enforcement agency, or any officer, employee, or agent of such agency, from obtaining or attempting to obtain customer proprietary network information from a telecommunications carrier in connection with the performance of the official duties of the agency, in accordance with other applicable laws."

That is, this exempts law enforcement personnel from liability under HR 936 for lying to obtain from carriers information that Section 222 bars the carriers from knowingly giving to law enforcement.

This exemption is broad and open ended. For example, this exemption extends to any "agent" of law enforcement. Thus, not only does this subsection exempt law enforcement personnel, it also exempts the sort of entities previously hired by Hewlett Packard that sell their services and information to law enforcement agencies.

Additionally, the bill does not limit the meaning of the term "law enforcement agency". The term is left undefined and unlimited. It is not restricted to criminal law enforcement. It is not limited to investigations. It is not limited to federal, state and local agencies. It would therefore, for example, exempt foreign law enforcement agencies, such as those of the People's Republic of China, as well as the firms that they hire, that fraudulently obtain personal information for the purposes of political surveillance or industrial espionage.

Another assertion of this exemption might arise when the FTC considers taking enforcement action with respect to pretexting by or on behalf of an officer of the court who seeks information on a person for the purpose of obtaining service of a subpoena or order issued by the court.

Nevertheless, Rep. Barton described the law enforcement exemption at the March 9 hearing as "narrow".

Title I gives civil enforcement authority to the FTC. It creates no private right of action.

It is silent both as to state enforcement authority, and preemption of state laws.

Title II: Section 222 and Pretexting. 47 U.S.C. § 222 is the section of the Communications Act that prohibits carriers from disclosing CPNI. It regulates only carriers. It gives enforcement authority to the FCC.

However, it imposes no obligations upon carriers regarding minimum efforts to protect CPNI from being fraudulently obtained. Section 203 of HR 936 requires the FCC to conduct a rule making proceeding to adopt rules to prevent fraudulent access to phone records.

It requires that the FCC require "telecommunications carriers to establish a security policy that includes appropriate standards relating to administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to ensure the security and confidentiality of customer proprietary network information".

It also states that the FCC should "consider prescribing regulations" requiring that "telecommunications carriers to institute customer-specific identifiers in order to access customer proprietary network information". The bill does not use the term "password".

The bill also states that the FCC should consider requiring encryption of CPNI. It also states that the FCC should consider requiring carriers to delete CPNI "after a reasonable period of time if such data is no longer necessary for the purpose for which it was collected ...".

The bill also requires the FCC to mandate that carriers notify customers of "breach of the regulations under this section" with respect to CPNI.

The bill also requires the FCC to mandate that carriers and their agents "maintain records (I) of each time customer proprietary network information is requested or accessed by, or disclosed to, a person purporting to be the customer or to be acting at the request or direction of the customer; and (II) if such access or disclosure was granted to such a person, of how the person's identity or authority was verified."

The bill also requires the FCC to mandate that carriers not pretext each other to obtain each other's CPNI.

Title II: Section 222 and Information Sharing by Carriers. Section 202 of the bill contains restrictions on carriers' sharing of data with affiliates, partners and contractors.

This is largely unrelated to the issue of pretexting or fraud, but nevertheless, is an issue of considerable interest to some members of the HCC. This part of the bill is also of concern to carriers who argue that these restrictions interfere with legitimate business operations.

Section 202 of the bill replaces the current language of Section 222(c)(1). This section currently provides that "Except as required by law or with the approval of the customer, a telecommunications carrier that receives or obtains customer proprietary network information by virtue of its provision of a telecommunications service shall only use, disclose, or permit access to individually identifiable customer proprietary network information in its provision of (A) the telecommunications service from which such information is derived, or (B) services necessary to, or used in, the provision of such telecommunications service, including the publishing of directories."

This references CPNI. The bill would distinguish between CPNI, "individually identifiable" CPNI or IICPNI, and "detailed customer telephone record" or DCTR. The bill also provides that DCTR means "customer proprietary network information that contains the specific and detailed destinations, locations, duration, time, and date of telecommunications to or from a customer, as typically contained in the bills for such service. Such term does not mean aggregate data or subscriber list information."

The bill provides that the new subsection 222(c)(1)(A) reads as follows: "Except as required by law or as permitted under the following provisions of this paragraph, a telecommunications carrier that receives or obtains individually identifiable customer proprietary network information (including detailed customer telephone records) by virtue of its provision of a telecommunications service shall only use, disclose, or permit access to such information or records in the provision by such carrier of -- (i) the telecommunications service from which such information is derived; or (ii) services necessary to, or used in, the provision of such telecommunications service, including the publishing of directories." (Parentheses in original.)

The bill then creates an opt-in regime for carriers' sharing of information with affiliates, partners and contractors. First, with respect to DCTR and partners and contractors, but not affiliates, the bill provides that "A telecommunications carrier may only use detailed customer telephone records through, or disclose such records to, or permit access to such records by, a joint venture partner, independent contractor, or any other third party (other than an affiliate) if the customer has given express prior authorization for that use, disclosure, or access, and that authorization has not been withdrawn."  (Parentheses in original.)

Second, the bill imposes a limit upon carriers sharing IICPNI or DCTR with affiliates. The bill provides that "A telecommunications carrier may not, except with the approval of a customer, use individually identifiable customer proprietary network information (including detailed customer telephone records) through, or disclose such information or records to, or permit access to such information or records by, an affiliate of such carrier in the provision by such affiliate of the services described in clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (A)." (Parentheses in original.)

Third, the bill provides that "A telecommunications carrier may not, except with the approval of the customer, use individually identifiable customer proprietary network information (other than detailed customer telephone records) through, or disclose such information to, or permit access to such information by, a joint venture partner or independent contractor in the provision by such partner or contractor of the services described in clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (A)." (Parentheses in original.)

And finally, the bill includes a wireless number privacy provision. It states that "A telecommunications carrier may not, except with prior express authorization from the customer, disclose the wireless telephone number of any customer or permit access to the wireless telephone number of any customer."

3/8. The Department of Justice (DOJ) published a notice in the Federal Register the announces, describes, recites, and sets the effective date (March 7, 2007) of, the DOJ's National Security Division's (NSD) rules regarding the organization, mission and functions of the NSD.

The NSD was created by Section 506 of the "USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005", which is now Public Law No. 109-277. The NSD has authority with respect to intelligence, counterintelligence, or national security matters.

The rules assign to the new NSD tasks related to the FISA, seizures, surveillance, CFIUS, and data collection and analysis. These rules do not reference CALEA related functions.

The new rules state that "The following functions are assigned to and shall be conducted" by the NSD: "Administer the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act".

It adds that the new NSD shall "Supervise the preparation of certifications and applications for orders under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, as amended, and the representation of the United States before the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and the United States Foreign Intelligence Court of Review."

The rules also state that the NSD shall "review for concurrence the Department's use of criminal proceedings in connection with all matters relating to intelligence, counterintelligence, or counterterrorism", including "the filing of search and arrest warrants or applications for electronic surveillance pursuant".

The new rules also state that the new NSD shall "Represent the Department on the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States", or CFIUS.

The rules also state that the NSD will "Participate in the systematic collection and analysis of data and information relating to the investigation and prosecution of terrorism cases".

The rules do not elaborate either on what data is to be systematically collected, how it is to be analyzed, or what uses and disseminations will be made of these analyses.

Neither this notice, nor the rules recited therein, reference the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act or CALEA.

The House will meet at 12:30 PM for morning hour, and at at 2:00 PM for legislative business. The House will consider several items under suspension of the rules, including HR 1068, a bill to amend the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991. Votes will be postponed until 6:30 PM. See, Rep. Hoyer's weekly calendar [PDF].

The Senate will meet at 2:30 PM for morning business.

10:00 AM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Commercial Mobile Service Alert Advisory Committee will hold its second meeting. See, Public Notice [PDF] (DA 07-734). Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room (TW-C305), 445 12th Street, SW.

11:00 AM. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will hold a news conference to announce its final rule regarding its Digital-to-Analog Converter Box Coupon Program. See, notice [PDF]. The event will also be accessible by teleconference. The call in number is 1-800-619-2655; the password is DTV. Location: Department of Commerce, Room 4830, 14th and Constitution Ave., NW.

12:00 NOON. The Cato Institute will host a briefing titled "The REAL ID Act: Unfixed by the Regs and Unworkable on any Time Frame". The speakers will be Jim Harper (Cato), Tim Sparapani (ACLU), and David Williams (Citizens Against Government Waste). See, notice and registration page. Cato requests registrations by 5:00 PM on Friday, March 9. Lunch will be served. Location: Room 628, Dirksen Building.

Day one of a two day conference hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Federal Information Systems Security Educators' Association (FISSEA) titled "FISSEA 20: Looking Forward ... Securing Today". See, notice. The price to attend is $360, not including hotel. Location: Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center, 5701 Marinelli Road, North Bethesda, MD.

Deadline to submit to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) certain Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) related information -- system security and integrity (SSI) plans for providers of facilities based broadband internet access and interconnected voice over internet protocol (VoIP) services. See, Second Report and Order and Memorandum Opinion and Order [PDF] adopted on May 3, 2006, and released on May 12, 2006. It is FCC 06-56 in ET Docket No. 04-295. See also, notice in the Federal Register, December 27, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 248, at Page 77625.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Ninth Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in its proceeding titled "Implementing a Nationwide, Broadband, Interoperable Public Safety Network in the 700 MHz Band". The FCC adopted this item at its December 20, 2006, meeting. It is FCC 06-181 in PS Docket No. 06-229 and WT Docket No. 96-86. See, FCC's Public Notice [3 pages in PDF] (DA 07-41) and notice in the Federal Register, January 10, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 6, at Pages 1201-1204.

Deadline to submit comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) regarding the U.S. request to the World Trade Organization (WTO) for consultations regarding refunds, reductions or exemptions from taxes and other payments owed to the government by enterprises in People's Republic of China. See, notice in the Federal Register: February 21, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 34, at Pages 7914-7915.

The House will meet at 10:30 AM for morning hour, and at at 12:00 NOON for legislative business. The House will consider several non-technology related items under suspension of the rules. See, Rep. Hoyer's weekly calendar [PDF].

8:30 - 11:00 AM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host an event to release a report titled "Digital Prosperity: Understanding the Economic Impact of the IT Revolution". The speakers will be Steve Bennett, (CEO of Intuit), Rob Atkinson (ITIF), Robert Crandall (Brookings Institution), and Robert Litan (Kauffman Foundation). See, notice. For more information, call 202-449-1351. Location: Marriott at Metro Center, Ballroom Level, 775 12th Street, NW.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing on the nominations of Halil Suleyman Ozerden (to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi), Benjamin Hale Settle (U.S.D.C., Western District of Washington), and Frederick. Kapala (U.S.D.C., Northern District of Illinois). See, notice. Press contract, Tracy Schmaler (Leahy) at 202-224-2154 or Courtney Boone (Specter) at Courtney_Boone at judiciary-rep dot senate dot gov or 202-224-2984. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

12:00 NOON. Rep. Bart Gordon (D-TN), Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Rep. Ralph Hall (R-TX), and Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ), Harold McGraw (Chairman of the Business Roundtable), Norman Augustine (former Chairman of Lockheed Martin), and Robert Dynes (President of the University of California) will hold a news conference to announce and release a document titled "The American Innovation Proclamation". The event will be audio web cast. For more information, contact Alisha Prather at 202-225-6375 or alisha dot prather at mail dot house dot gov. Location: Room 2325, Rayburn Building.

1:00 - 3:00 PM. The House Science Committee (HSC) will hold a hearing titled "Science & Technology Leadership in a 21st Century Global Economy". The witnesses will be Harold McGraw (Chairman of the Business Roundtable), Norman Augustine (former Chairman of Lockheed Martin), and Robert Dynes (President of the University of California), Craig Barrett (Chairman of Intel), Neal Lane (Rice University), and Deborah Wince-Smith (Council on Competitiveness). Location: Room 2318, Rayburn Building.

2:00 - 4:00 PM. The Department of State's (DOS) International Telecommunication Advisory Committee (ITAC) will meet to prepare advice on U.S. positions for the Organization of American States (OAS) Inter-American Telecommunications Commission's Permanent Consultative Committee II (Radiocommunication, including Broadcasting). See, notice in the Federal Register, January 11, 2007, Vol. 72, Number 7, at Page 1363, and revised notice in the Federal Register, February 12, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 28, at Pages 6640-6641. Location: undisclosed.

Day two of a two day conference hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Federal Information Systems Security Educators' Association (FISSEA) titled "FISSEA 20: Looking Forward ... Securing Today". See, notice. The price to attend is $360, not including hotel. Location: Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center, 5701 Marinelli Road, North Bethesda, MD.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB) regarding the request submitted by Hand Held Products for a determination that the hearing aid compatibility obligations in Part 20 do not apply to its mobile computing line of devices. See, FCC's Public Notice [PDF] (DA 07-103). This proceeding is WT Docket No. 01-309.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding Verizon's February 9, 2007, petition requesting a waiver of Section 61.42(g) of the FCC's rules in order to continue to exclude the services in FCC Tariff No. 20 from price cap indexes in annual access tariff filings. This pertains to services transferred from Verizon Advanced Data, Inc. (VADI) to Verizon. See, FCC Public Notice [3 pages in PDF] (DA 07-799). This proceeding is WC Docket No. 07-31.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. See, Rep. Hoyer's weekly calendar [PDF].

8:00 AM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host a breakfast. The speaker will be Richard Barth (Assistant Secretary for Policy Development at the Department of Homeland Security). The deadline for registrations and cancellations is 5:00 PM on March 8. The price to attend ranges from $30-$55. See, registration form [PDF]. Location: Mayflower Hotel, 1127 Connecticut Ave., NW.

9:00 AM. The House Commerce Committee's (HAC) Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet will hold a hearing titled "Oversight of the Federal Communications Commission". Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a panel discussion titled "Internet Governance 101". The speakers will include David Gross (Department of State), Beckwith Burr (Wilmer Hale), Joe Sims (Jones Day), and Russ Hanser (Wilkinson Barker Knauer). The price to attend ranges from $15 to $20. For more information, call 202-626-3463. See, notice. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, 1250 H St NW B-1 Level.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. See, Rep. Hoyer's weekly calendar [PDF].

9:00 AM - 4:30 PM. Catholic University of America's (CUA) law school will host a conference titled "Content Abundance in a Multimedia World: Challenges & Opportunities for Multi-Platform Content Delivery & Regulation". See, agenda and registration page [PDF]. Location: CUA, Columbus School of Law, 3600 John McCormick Road, NE.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) may hold a business meeting. The agenda includes consideration of S 236, the "Federal Agency Data Mining Reporting Act of 2007". The SJC rarely follows its published agendas. Press contract, Tracy Schmaler (Leahy) at 202-224-2154 or Courtney Boone (Specter) at Courtney_Boone at judiciary-rep dot senate dot gov or 202-224-2984. See, notice. Location: Room S-216, Capitol Building.

11:00 AM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection will hold a hearing titled "Combating Spyware: H.R. 964, The Spy Act". Location: Room 2322, Rayburn Building.

12:00 NOON. Kyle McSlarrow, head of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA) will hold a news briefing. The NCTA notice states, "Please contact Pam Ford at 202-222-2356 if you plan on attending". Lunch will be served. Location: NCTA Headquarters, 25 Massachusetts Ave., NW.

1:00 PM. The House Ways and Means Committee's Subcommittee on Trade will hold a hearing on HR 1229, the "Nonmarket Economy Trade Remedy Act of 2007". Location: Room 1100, Longworth Building.

RESCHEDULED FROM MARCH 8. 2:00 - 4:00 PM. The Department of State's (DOS) International Telecommunication Advisory Committee (ITAC) will meet to prepare advice on U.S. positions for the International Telecommunication Union's (ITU) Telecommunication Standardization Sector Study Group 3 (Tariff and accounting principles including related telecommunication economic and policy issues). See, original notice in the Federal Register, January 11, 2007, Vol. 72, Number 7, at Page 1363. See, rescheduling notice in the Federal Register, February 12, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 28, at Pages 6640-6641. Location: AT&T, Suite 210, 1133 21st St., NW.

2:00 - 4:00 PM. The Department of State's (DOS) International Telecommunication Advisory Committee (ITAC) will meet to prepare advice for the meeting of the Telecommunication Development Advisory Group (TDAG). See, notice in the Federal Register: February 12, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 28, at Pages 6640-6641. Location: DOS, Room 2533A.

Deadline to submit comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) regarding the 2005 WTO ministerial decision on duty free quota free market access for the least developed countries. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 18, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 11, at Pages 2316-2317.

Rep. Hoyer's weekly calendar [PDF] states that "no votes are expected in the House".

2:00 PM. The Progress & Freedom Foundation (PFF) will host a panel discussion titled "What Goes Up Must Come Down: Copyright and Process in the Age of User-Posted Content". The speakers will include Jim Delong (PFF moderator), Bill Rosenblatt (DRMWatch and GiantSteps Media Strategies), Solveig Singleton (PFF), and Don Verrilli (Jenner & Block). See, notice. Location: Room B340, Rayburn Building, Capitol Hill.

Saint Patrick's Day.

7:30 AM - 5:00 PM. The Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) will host an event titled "Beyond the Beltway 2007: State & Local Government IT Market Watch". See, notice. Location: Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner, McLean, VA.

Deadline to submit comments to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) regarding several proposed rule changes. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 16, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 32, at Pages 7583-7587.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding AT&T's petition for forbearance from enforcement of certain FCC cost assignment rules. See, Public Notice [3 pages in PDF] (DA 07-731). This proceeding is WC Docket No. 07-21.

3/9. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Kevin Martin gave a speech [PDF] to the American Women in Radio and Television (AWRT).

3/9. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released the text [58 pages in PDF] of its Memorandum Opinion and Order in its proceeding titled "In the Matter of Petition of Qwest Communications International Inc. for Forbearance from Enforcement of the Commission’s Dominant Carrier Rules As They Apply After Section 272 Sunsets". The FCC announced, but did not release, this item on February 20, 2007. See, story titled "FCC Grants Qwest Petition for Forbearance" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,542, February 22, 2007. This item is FCC 07-13 in WC Docket No. 05-333.

3/8. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) published a notice in the Federal Register that announces that the FCC has granted Hands On Video Relay Services, Inc.'s application for certification as an IP Relay and VRS provider eligible for compensation from the Interstate TRS Fund. This proceeding is CG Docket No. 03-123. See, Federal Register, Federal Register, March 7, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 44, at Pages 10214-10215.

3/9. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a notice in the Federal Register that announces and describes a notice of proposed rulemaking regarding rules implementing the REAL ID Act, a bill that federalized state identification systems. The DHS released a draft of this notice on March 1, 2007. See, story titled "DHS Proposes Rules Implementing REAL ID Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,546, March 5, 2007. The just published Federal Register notice adds that the deadline to submit comments is May 8, 2007. See, Federal Register, March 9, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 46, Page 10819-10858.

3/9. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the formation of a National Computer Forensic Institute located in Hoover, Alabama. See, DHS release.

3/8. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced that its Deemed Export Advisory Committee (DEAC) will meet at an undisclosed location in Atlanta, Georgia, at 8:00 AM on Wednesday, May 2, 2007. The deadline to submit requests to make presentations is 5:00 PM on April 11, 2007. There is no deadline for written comments. The BIS regulates exports. The BIS regulates, among other things, communications equipment, computers and components, software, and encryption products. The BIS treats as deemed exports the certain hiring of certain employees, web site publications, and e-mail. The DOC created the DEAC on September 1, 2006. See, BIS release.

3/6. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a notice in the Federal Register that announces, describes, recites, and sets the effective date (March 6, 2007) of, rule changes that add that software exports can be regulated as crime control items. The notice states that the rules changes "make clear that the restrictions ... on the use of License Exceptions to export or reexport crime control items apply to software and technology, as well as commodities." See, Federal Register, March 6, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 43, at Pages 9847-9849.

3/6. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published a notice in the Federal Register that states that the USPTO "hereby provides sixty (60) days notice of the microfilming and removal of the paper search collection of registered marks consisting only of words from the USPTO's Trademark Search Facility in Arlington, VA. This Notice does not concern the paper search collection of registered marks that consist of or include design elements." See, Federal Register, March 6, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 43, at Pages 9932-9933.

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