6/12. The House amended and approved HR 251 [LOC | WW], the "Truth in Caller ID Act of 2007", by voice vote.

Caller ID spoofing can be used to facilitate fraud and identity theft. It can be used to defame a person or entity whose caller ID information is spoofed. It also frustrates certain business functions, such as credit card verification and automatic call routing.

This bill would amend 47 U.S.C. § 227, which pertains to "Restrictions on use of telephone equipment". First, it would add the following prohibition: "It shall be unlawful for any person within the United States, in connection with any telecommunications service or VOIP service, to cause any caller identification service to transmit misleading or inaccurate caller identification information, with the intent to defraud or cause harm."

This bill also amends Section 227 to provide "Nothing in this subsection may be construed to prevent or restrict any person from blocking the capability of any caller identification service to transmit caller identification information."

The bill also carves out an exception to this prohibition for law enforcement and intelligence related activities. It states that "Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to authorize or prohibit any investigative, protective, or intelligence activities performed in connection with official duties, and in accordance with all applicable laws, by a law enforcement agency of the United States, a State, or a political subdivision of a State, or by an intelligence agency of the United States."

It also requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to write implementing regulations within six months.

The bill also provides that the FCC "shall examine" whether it regulations promulgated pursuant to 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(2)(B) "should be revised to require non-commercial calls to residential telephone lines using an artificial or pre-recorded voice to deliver a message to transmit caller identification information that is not misleading or inaccurate."

Subsection (b) pertains to "Restrictions on use of automated telephone equipment". Subsection (b)(1) contains the prohibitions. Subsection (b)(2)(B) allows the FCC to create exceptions for non-commercial calls.

Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), the Chairman of the House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, stated in the House that this bill addresses caller ID spoofing, which happens "when a caller masks or changes the caller ID information of their call in a way that disguises the true origination number of the caller. In many instances, a call recipient may be subject to pretexting through spoofing, which can lead to fraud, personal ID theft, harassment or otherwise put the safety of the call recipient in danger."

Rep. Markey (at right) added that "we must recognize that there may be circumstances when a person's safety may be put in danger if their true and accurate call origination information is disclosed".

The prohibition only reaches conduct "with intent to defraud or cause harm".

Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL) stated in the House that "The increasing use of VOIP, which is voice over Internet protocol, that we see in America and other Internet telephone services, has made it much easier for people to make any number appear on a caller ID system."

He added that "several Web sites have sprung up to provide caller ID spoofing services, eliminating the need for any special hardware to replicate this."

The House approved a similar bill in the 109th Congress. On June 6, 2006, the House approved HR 5126, the "Truth in Caller ID Act of 2006", by voice vote. However, the Senate did not approve that bill.

6/13. The U.S. Court of Appeals (3rdCir) issued an order [2 pages in PDF] granting panel rehearing in Core Communications v. Verizon, a case regarding the proper procedure for adjudicating disputes regarding interconnection agreements between carriers. This order follows the late recusal of one member of the original three judge panel.

The Court of Appeals held in its May 9, 2007, opinion [29 pages in PDF] that the state public utility commissions that approve these interconnection agreements "are given the first crack at interpreting and enforcing" these agreements. See, story titled "3rd Circuit Holds Interconnection Actions Must First Be Brought in the State PUC" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,579, May 10, 2007.

The just released order announces the recusal of one Judge who joined in the May 9 opinion, names his replacement, vacates the May 9 opinion, and grants panel rehearing.

The just released order states that "The Honorable D. Brooks Smith participated in the oral argument, panel conference, and joined in the decision in this case, but has discovered facts causing him to recuse from considering the petition for rehearing. As panel rehearing has been granted by the remaining members of the original panel, The Honorable Anthony J. Scirica will be added to complete the coram for further proceedings regarding the merits of the appeal."

This case is Core Communications, Inc. v. Verizon Pennsylvania, Inc., U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit, App. Ct. No. 06-2419, an appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, D.C. No. 04-cv-04513, Judge Timothy Savage presiding. Judge Michael Fisher wrote the opinion of the Court of Appeals, in which Judges Brooks Smith and Gustave Diamond (USDC/WDPenn) joined.

6/13. The U.S. Court of Appeals (9thCir) issued an order and amended opinion [34 pages in PDF] in Sprint Telephony v. City of San Diego, a case regarding municipal regulation of wireless service providers. The Court of Appeals denied the petition for panel rehearing, denied rehearing en banc, and amended its March 13, 2007, opinion. The Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment of the District Court that the wireless zoning ordinance in question is preempted by 47 U.S.C. § 253, but that this violation creates no private right of action for damages under 18 U.S.C. § 1983. See also, story titled "9th Circuit Holds That Wireless Zoning Ordinance Violates § 253(a), But This Creates No Private Right Of Action Under § 1983" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,551, March 13, 2007. This case is Sprint Telephony PCS and Pacific Bell Wireless v. County of San Diego, et al., U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, App. Ct. Nos. 05-56076 and 05-56435, appeals from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, D.C. No. CV-03-1398-BTM, Judge Barry Ted Moskowitz presiding. Judge Myron Bright wrote the opinion of the Court of Appeals, in which Judges Wallace Tashima and Carlos Bea joined.

6/13. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) issued its opinion [PDF] in Entegris v. Pall, a patent infringement case involving technology for filtration systems for semiconductor manufacturing. The Court of Appeals affirmed the District Court's order dissolving the preliminary injunction. The Court of Appeals also dismissed Pall’s appeal of the District Court's contempt order for lack of jurisdiction. This case is Entegris, Inc. v. Pall Corporation, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, App. Ct. Nos. 2004-1440, 2005-1265, 2005-1266, and 2006-1374, appeals from the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, Judge George O'Toole presiding.

6/12. The House approved HRes 455 [LOC], a resolution regarding "National Internet Safety Month", by voice vote.

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The House will meet at 10:00 AM. It will resume consideration of HR 2638 [LOC | WW], the FY 2008 appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The Senate will meet at 9:30 AM. It will resume consideration of HR 6 [LOC | WW], the "Creating Long-Term Energy Alternatives for the Nation Act of 2007".

8:30 AM - 4:00 PM. Day one of a two day hearing of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. This hearing will focus on the consequences of China's energy consumption. See, notice in the Federal Register: May 23, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 99, at Page 29042. Location: Room 385, Russell Building, Capitol Hill.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) may hold an executive business meeting. The agenda includes consideration of an "Authorization of Subpoenas in Connection with Investigation of Legal Basis for Warrantless Wiretap Program", consideration of S 1145 [PDF | LOC | WW], the "Patent Reform Act of 2007", and consideration of the nomination of Leslie Southwick to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals (5thCir). The SJC rarely follows its published agenda. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing titled "The 700 MHz Auction: Public Safety and Competition". The witnesses will be Wanda McCarley (Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials International), James Barksdale (Frontline Wireless), Philip Weiser (Silicon Flatirons Program, University of Colorado School of Law), Paul Cosgrave (New York City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications), Dick Lynch (Verizon Wireless), Michael Small (Centennial Communications Corporation), and Amol Sarva (Txtbl). See, notice. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

10:00 AM. The House Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing on the Trade Adjustment Assistance program. See, notice. Location: Room 1100, Longworth Building.

10:00 - 11:00 AM. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and its Coalition Against Counterfeiting and Piracy (CACP) will host a news conference to announce an agenda. The speakers will be Bruce Josten (Chamber), Rick Cotton (CACP), John Engler (National Association of Manufacturers), Dan Glickman (Motion Picture Association of America), Mitch Bainwol (Recording Industry Association of America), Chris Singer (Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America). The Chamber states that "Credentialed members of the media are invited to attend." Location: Room G-11, Dirksen Building.

2:00 - 3:00 PM. The President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) will meet by teleconference. See, notice in the Federal Register, December 29, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 250, at Page 78451.

9:00 - 10:30 AM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a debate titled "Is the United States Falling Behind in Broadband? If so, What Should We Do About It?" The speakers will be Robert Atkinson (ITIF) and Scott Wallsten (Progress and Freedom Foundation). Breakfast will be served. Location: Lisagor Room, National Press Club, 529 14th St., NW.

9:30 AM - 4:00 PM. Day two of a two day hearing of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. This hearing will focus on the consequences of China's energy consumption. See, notice in the Federal Register: May 23, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 99, at Page 29042. Location: Room 385, Russell Building, Capitol Hill.

9:30 AM - 4:30 PM. The Copyright Office (CO) will hold a public roundtable regarding 17 U.S.C. § 115 and "the use of the statutory license to make and distribute digital phonorecords, including for a limited period, and to make phonorecords that facilitate streaming". See, notice in the Federal Register, May 30, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 103, at Pages 30039-30042. Location: Copyright Office Hearing Room, Library of Congress, Room LM-408, 4th Floor, Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave., SE.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding its collection of data on broadband deployment. This NPRM is FCC 07-17 in WC Docket No. 07-38. See, notice in the Federal Register, May 16, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 94, at Pages 27519-27535.

Deadline to submit to the the Copyright Office (CO) written or e-mail notifications of intent to testify at the CO's hearings on July 23 through July 26 regarding the operation of, and continued necessity for, the cable and satellite statutory licenses under the Copyright Act. See, notice in the Federal Register, May 23, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 99, at Pages 28998-29000.

12:00 NOON. The Cato Institute will host a panel discussion titled "Trade Promotion Authority, R.I.P.?". The speakers will be former Rep. Cal Dooley (D-CA) and Dan Griswold (Cato). Lunch will be served. See, notice and registration page. Location: Room B-339, Rayburn Building.

2:00 - 4:00 PM. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host a panel discussion titled "Is Sarbanes-Oxley Impairing Corporate Risk-Taking?". The speakers will be Kenneth Lehn, Leonce Bargeron and Chad Zutter (all from the University of Pittsburgh's Katz Graduate School of Business), Charles Calomiris (AEI), Allen Ferrell (Harvard Law School), Kate Litvak (University of Texas at Austin School of Law), and Peter Wallison (AEI). See, notice. Location: AEI, 12th floor, 1150 17th St., NW.

5:30 PM. The House Appropriations Committee will meet to mark up the Commerce, Justice, Science FY 2008 appropriations bill. Location: Room 2359, Rayburn Building.

EXTENDED TO JULY 2. Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding FCC regulation of exclusive contracts for the provision of video services to multiple dwelling units (MDUs) and other real estate developments. The FCC adopted this NPRM on March 22, 2007, and released the text [19 pages in PDF] on March 27. See, stories titled "FCC Adopts MDU Forced Access NPRM" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,556, March 26, 2007, and "FCC Releases MDU NPRM" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,557, March 27, 2007. See also, notice in the Federal Register, April 18, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 74, at Pages 19448-19453. This NPRM is FCC 07-33 in Docket 07-51.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its request for comments updating its record on the Center for the Study of Commercialism's (CSC) Petition for Reconsideration regarding stations that air home shopping programming and their status. See, notice in the Federal Register, May 17, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 95, at Pages 27811-27813.

9:00 AM - 12:30 PM. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce (USCC) will host a workshop titled "Engaging Online in a Presidential Election". This is the fourth of four workshops in a series titled "Online Strategies for Grassroots Advocacy". See, notice. Location: USCC, 1615 H St., NW.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Department of State's (DOS) International Telecommunication Advisory Committee (ITAC) will meet regarding U.S. positions for a meeting of the Organization of American States Inter American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL) Permanent Consultative Committee II (Radiocommunication) which will prepare for the International Telecommunication Union World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC07). See, notice in the Federal Register, May 30, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 103, at Page 30045. Location: undisclosed.

TIME? The Department of Defense's (DOD) Defense Science Board Task Force on Integrating Sensor-Collected Intelligence will hold another of its closed sessions regarding intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 2, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 62, at Page 15659. Location: Science Applications International Corporation, 4001 N. Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA.

9:30 AM. The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) will hold a hearing on the potential effects of a U.S. Korea Free Trade Agreement. See, notice in the Federal Register, May 23, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 99, at Page 28997. Location: USITC, 500 E St., SW.

8:30 - 11:00 AM. The Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF) will host an event to release a report titled "Parental Controls and Online Child Protection: A Survey of Tools & Methods". The speakers will be Adam Thierer (author), Stephen Balkam (Family Online Safety Institute), Jim Dyke (TV Watch), Simrin Mangat (MySpace), Michael McKeehan (Verizon), Rob Stoddard (National Cable & Telecommunications Association), Frank Torres (Microsoft), and Patricia Vance (Entertainment Software Rating Board). See, notice. Location: Ballroom, National Press Club, 13th floor, 529 14th St., NW.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is scheduled to commence Auction No. 72, the Phase II 220 MHz spectrum licenses auction.

TIME? The Department of Defense's (DOD) Defense Science Board Task Force on Integrating Sensor-Collected Intelligence will hold another of its closed sessions regarding intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 2, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 62, at Page 15659. Location: Science Applications International Corporation, 4001 N. Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA.

6:30 - 8:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Young Lawyers Committee will host an event titled "Summer Associate Happy Hour". For more information, contact Chris Fedeli 202-973-4274 or chrisfedeli at dwt dot com, or Tarah Grant at 703-610-6155 or tsgrant at hhlaw dot com. Location: The Reef, 2446 18th Street, NW.

8:30 AM - 4:00 PM. The American Antitrust Institute (AAI) will host a conference. At 9:35 AM, Hector Ruiz, CEO of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), will give a speech titled "The Meaning of a Global Market for Monopoly". At 3:00 PM, Thomas Barnett, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division, will give a speech titled "Report on the Joint Hearings on Single-Firm Conduct". See, notice and agenda. Location: National Press Club, 13th floor, 529 14th St., NW.

9:00 - 10:30 AM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a panel discussion titled "The Rise of the New Mercantilists: Unfair Trade Practices in the Innovation Economy". The speakers will be Rep. Artur Davis (D-AL), Robert Atkinson (ITIF), and Julie Hedlund (ITIF). RSVP to Torey Liepa at tliepa at itif dot org. Breakfast will be served. Location: Room 122, Cannon Building, Capitol Hill.

9:30 - 11:00 AM. The Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI) will host an event titled "An Analysis of EU Trade Policy". The speakers will include Syed Kamall (Member of the European Union Parliament), George Pieler (IPI), and Jens Laurson (Editor-in-Chief of the International Affairs Forum). RSVP to Sonia Blumstein at 205-620-2087 or soniab at ipi dot org. Location: 1st Amendment Lounge, National Press Club, 13th floor, 529 14th St. NW.

6:00 - 8:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host a continuing legal education (CLE) seminar titled "Enforcement of U.S. Patent Laws Against International Activities: The Blackberry Case and Beyond". The speakers will be Joshua Turner, Karl Renner (Fish & Richardson), and Kevin Anderson (Wiley Rein). The price to attend ranges from $50 to $125. See, registration form [PDF]. Registrations are due by 5:00 PM on June 19. Location: Wiley Rein, 1776 K St., NW.

Day one of a seven day conference of the American Library Association (ALA) will hold its annual convention. See, notice. Location: Washington Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Place, NW.