10/22. A divided Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released a staff report [30 pages in PDF] titled "Facing Facts: Best Practices for Common Uses of Facial Recognition Technologies".

The five member commission did not vote to approve this item. And, it is not a final order subject to judicial review. However, Commissioner Thomas Rosch wrote a dissent.

This report recommends that social networks should "provide consumers with (1) an easy to find, meaningful choice not to have their biometric data collected and used for facial recognition; and (2) the ability to turn off the feature at any time and delete any biometric data previously collected from their tagged photos."

It recommends that "companies using digital signs capable of demographic detection ... should provide clear notice to consumers that the technologies are in use, before consumers come into contact with the signs."

This report "recommends that companies using facial recognition technologies design their services with privacy in mind". This includes maintaining "reasonable data security protections for consumers’ images and the biometric information collected from those images" and " putting protections in place that would prevent unauthorized scraping which can lead to unintended secondary uses".

It also recommends that "companies should establish and maintain appropriate retention and disposal practices for the consumer images and biometric data that they collect".

It also recommends that "companies should consider the sensitivity of information when developing their facial recognition products and services".

This report promulgates no rules. It concludes no adjudication. Rather, it makes "recommendations" regarding what businesses "should" do. It may serve as a basis for future FTC enforcement actions involving use of facial recognition technologies brought under Section 5 of the FTC Act, which is codified at 15 U.S.C. § 45. This is essentially an anti-fraud provision.

It provides that "Unfair methods of competition in or affecting commerce, and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce, are hereby declared unlawful." While the FTC has narrowly targeted statutory authority to regulate privacy related practices (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA), it does not have general privacy related authority. Rather, it relies upon Section 5.

Almost all of the FTC's privacy related Section 5 actions have alleged deceptive conduct. For example, the FTC has long and frequently asserted that if a business publishes a web site privacy policy, and then violates that policy, that is deceptive conduct in violation of Section 5.

Although, the FTC has brought a small number of Section 5 actions based upon the unfairness prong under particularly egregious circumstances.

This just released report, along with the report [112 pages in PDF] released on March 16, 2012, titled "Protecting Consumer Privacy in a Era of Rapid Change: Recommendations for Businesses and Policy Makers", reflect the FTC's ongoing effort to expand its privacy related enforcement powers from addressing deceptive conduct, to also addressing unfair conduct.

This mission creep is significant because the word "deceptive" in Section 5 has meaning in both common and legal usage, and gives businesses and FTC regulators some notice as to what actions are prohibited, while the word "unfair" lacks meaning, and provides little guidance. In each case "unfair" means whatever three out of five politically appointed commissioners want it to mean.

This report does not discuss this expansion. However, it states that "If a company uses facial recognition technologies in a manner that is unfair", then the FTC "can bring an enforcement action under Section 5". Also, the recommendations address situations in which there is no deception. Hence, these recommendations must be based upon the unfairness prong.

See also, stories titled "FTC Releases Second Report on Privacy Issues" and "Commentary: Unfair v. Deceptive Conduct" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,357, March 26, 2012.

The FTC held a workshop titled "Face Facts: A Forum on Facial Recognition Technology" on December 8, 2012, and solicited public comments. See, FTC web page for this event.

Commissioner Rosch objected to the FTC's reliance upon the unfairness prong, to the issuance of a report without having first conducted a cost benefit analysis, to the issuance of recommendations without any finding of prior wrongdoing, and to recommending opt in requirements at this time.

Sen. John Rockefeller (D-WV) stated in a release regarding this report that "Facial recognition technologies can have obvious benefits for consumers but also pose serious privacy concerns -- especially online".

He continued that "I hope companies will heed this advice and implement best practices that place a premium on consumer privacy, especially protecting the basic privacy of individuals who haven't even consented to the company’s use of facial recognition. As Chairman of the Commerce Committee, I fully intend to monitor how facial recognition technologies are increasingly adopted and used as a commercial practice."

10/22. Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) sent a letter to Microsoft that asks numerous questions about its "new policy that expands the ability of the company to collect and use personal information from consumers using its free Web-based services, including e-mail, search, and instant messaging".

Rep. Markey did not allege any wrongdoing. And, he described as "positive" Microsoft's browser do not track default setting.

But, he propounded numerous interrogatories, to be answered by November 13, regarding Microsoft's old and new business practices, including what web based products are affected, what information is collected, how it is shared across products, and opting in and opting out choices for consumers.

Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), who often joins with Rep. Markey in privacy related matters, did not sign this letter.

10/11. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report [56 pages in PDF] titled "Mobile Device Location Data: Additional Federal Actions Could Help Protect Consumer Privacy". The GAO prepared this report for Sen. Al Franken (D-MN).

The report states that while "Collecting, using, and sharing location data provides benefits for both mobile industry companies and for consumers", "allowing companies to access location data exposes consumers to privacy risks, including disclosing data to unknown third parties for unspecified uses, consumer tracking, identity theft, threats to personal safety, and surveillance."

The report finds that companies "have not consistently or clearly disclosed to consumers what the companies are doing with these data or which third parties they may share them with".

The report also lists fair information practices (FIPs) designed to protect the privacy and security of location data that have been recommended by industry and privacy groups. It also reviews the extent to which companies comply with these.

Sen. Franken (at right) stated in a release that "I believe Americans have a fundamental right to privacy: to know what information is being collected about them and to be able to control whether or not that information is shared with third parties".

He continued that "this report clearly shows that mobile industry companies often fail to respect that right, giving out consumers' location data without their knowledge or explicit consent."

He argued that "The report makes a strong case that legislation is needed to better protect our privacy -- and I've authored a bill to do just that. My Location Privacy Protection Act would require companies to get your permission before they get your location information or share it with third parties-a commonsense solution to make sure that consumers' privacy is protected."

See, S 1223 [LOC | WW], introduced on June 16, 2011. The bill has six Democratic cosponsors, and no Republican cosponsors. It was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC), which not passed it.

The report, citing privacy advocates, states that "when a user agrees to use a service that accesses location data, the user is unlikely to know how his or her location data may be used in ways beyond enabling the service itself. The secondary uses of location data are generally not transparent to the consumer. Therefore, location data may be shared with third parties unknown to the consumer. Generally speaking, once location data are shared with a non-carrier, consumers have a limited ability to know about or influence the data’s use."

"Third parties that receive shared location information may vary in the levels of security protection they provide. If any of these entities has weak system protections, there is an increased likelihood that the information may be compromised." Also, "Because consumers do not know who these entities are or how they are using consumers’ data, consumers may be unable to make meaningful choices and judge whether they are disclosing their data to trustworthy entities."

The report next addresses tracking. It states that "When mobile location data are collected and shared, users may be tracked for marketing purposes without their consent. Since users often carry their mobile devices with them and can use them for various purposes, location data along with data collected on the device may be used to form a comprehensive record of an individual’s activities."

"Amassing such data over time allows for the creation of a richly detailed profile of individual behavior, including habits, preferences, and routines -- private information that could be exploited. Furthermore, since non-carriers' use of location data is unregulated, these companies do not have to disclose how they are using and sharing these profiles."

The report also states that the ACLU states that "law enforcement agents could potentially track innocent people".

The report finds that "While companies’ disclosures routinely informed consumers that their location data were being collected, companies’ disclosures did not consistently or clearly explain the purposes behind such collection or identify which third parties these data might be shared with."

10/18. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) published a story by Siobhan Gorman in its online edition on October 17, and in its print edition of October 18, titled "Iran Renews Internet Attacks on U.S. Banks".

This WSJ story states that "U.S. officials said the attacks against banks, and others against Middle Eastern energy companies, were sponsored by the Iranian government and approved at high levels as part of a low-grade cyberwar that officials warned could lead to retaliation."

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta gave a speech in New York City on October 11 in which he addressed cyber security, and recent cyber attacks, but stopped short of attributing the attacks to Iran. See, story titled "Defense Secretary Panetta Discusses Cyber Security" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,461, October 15, 2012.

Prolexic Technologies, a company that provides distributed denial of service (DDOS) protection services, stated in a release on October 17, 2012 that "the size of DDoS attacks increased significantly against its global client base in Q3 2012."

It added that "During Q3, Prolexic mitigated seven DDoS attacks of more than 20 Gigabits per second (Gbps) for different clients across multiple industries. A number of these denial of service attacks leveraged the PHP-based bot toolkit called itsoknoproblembro that has been used in some recent high-profile DDoS attacks."

Neither this release, nor an accompanying 14 page report, references Iran.

A TLJ review on October 18 of several financial institutions identified in various news stories as targets of recent DDOS attacks revealed that their web sites are accessible, that they have not recently published releases that disclose DDOS attacks, and that they have not recently filed statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that disclose DDOS attacks. Whether, and if so, what, they will disclose in their annual Form 10-K, or next quarterly Form 10-Q, remains to be seen.

10/18. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has not promulgated rules requiring cyber threat, or cyber incident, reporting. However, the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance issued a document that contains "guidance" on October 13, 2011.

It begins that "This guidance is not a rule, regulation, or statement of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Further, the Commission has neither approved nor disapproved its content."

It states that "there has been increased focus by registrants and members of the legal and accounting professions on how these risks and their related impact on the operations of a registrant should be described within the framework of the disclosure obligations imposed by the federal securities laws".

It notes that "Cyber attacks may also be carried out in a manner that does not require gaining unauthorized access, such as by causing denial-of-service attacks on websites", and that "Cyber attacks may also be directed at disrupting the operations of registrants or their business partners."

Then, cyber attacks may result in remediation costs, increased cyber security costs, lost revenues, lost reputation and/or liability and litigation.

"The federal securities laws, in part, are designed to elicit disclosure of timely, comprehensive, and accurate information about risks and events that a reasonable investor would consider important to an investment decision."

Hence, this guidance states that "Registrants should disclose the risk of cyber incidents if these issues are among the most significant factors that make an investment in the company speculative or risky. In determining whether risk factor disclosure is required, we expect registrants to evaluate their cybersecurity risks and take into account all available relevant information, including prior cyber incidents and the severity and frequency of those incidents. As part of this evaluation, registrants should consider the probability of cyber incidents occurring and the quantitative and qualitative magnitude of those risks, including the potential costs and other consequences resulting from misappropriation of assets or sensitive information, corruption of data or operational disruption." (Footnote omitted.)

The guidance then delves into details. However, the meaning of the guidance, and the requirements that it imposes, remain unclear, as demonstrated  by subsequent filings and correspondence.

See, for example, letter of March 12, 2012 from the SEC to Amazon, letter of April 9, 2012 from Amazon to SEC, and letter of May 3, 2012, from Amazon to the SEC. These pertain to the security breach at Zappos.com, which is owned by Amazon. See, Zappos' disclosure in its web site.

See also:

• letter of July 13, 2012 from the SEC to CBOE Holdings, and letter of July 27, 2012 from CBOE to SEC.
• letter of April 12, 2012 from SEC to AON Corp., and letter of May 14, 2012 from AON to SEC.
• letter of May 30, 2012 from SEC to Abbott Laboratories, letter of June 7, 2012 from Abbott to SEC, and letter of July 13, 2012 from Abbott to SEC.
• letter of July 12, 2012 from SEC to City National Corp., and letter of July 27, 2012 from City National to SEC.

10/19. AT&T, Facebook, Google, Intel, Microsoft and Verizon recently reported quarterly financial results. See:

• October 24 AT&T release.
• October 9 Facebook release.
• October 18 Google release.
• October 16 Intel release.
• October 18 Microsoft release.
• October 18 Verizon materials.

Comcast will report on October 26. See, release. Sprint Nextel will report on October 25. See, release.

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The Senate will meet at 1:00 PM in pro forma session.

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

Day two of a two day conference titled "Cyber Security Conference". See, event web site. Location: Grand Hyatt Washington, 1000 H St.,  NW.

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. The U.S. China Economic and Security Review Commission will meet to consider drafts of material for its 2012 annual report to Congress. See, original notice in the Federal Register (FR), Vol. 77, No. 143, July 25, 2012, at Pages 43662-43663, and second notice in the FR, Vol. 77, No. 171, September 4, 2012, at Pages 53965-53966. Location: Hall of the States, Conference Room 231, 444 North Capitol St., NW.

9:00 AM. The National Cyber Security Alliance (NSCA) will host an event titled "Challenges and Opportunities in Cyber Security Education". See, notice. Location: Holeman Lounge, National Press Club, 13th Floor, 529 14th St. NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:00 PM. The Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division's (AD) Economic Analysis Group (EAG) will host a presentation titled "Calibrating Demand Systems and Simulating Mergers: The Antitrust R Package". The speaker will be Charles Taragin (DOJ). This is a brown bag lunch. For more information, contact Gloria Sheu at gloria dot sheu at usdoj dot gov or 202-532-4932 or Nathan Miller at nathan dot miller at usdoj dot gov or 202-307-3773. Location: Liberty Square Building, EAG conference room, LSB 9429, 450 5th St., NW.

6:00 - 8:15 PM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will host an event titled "Nuts and Bolts of Applications for Approval of Assignments or Transfers of Licenses in the Broadcast, Cable, and Satellite Industries". The speakers will include David Brown (Associate Division Chief of the FCC's Media Bureau's Video Division), Michael Wagner (Assistant Division Chief the FCC's MB's Audio Division), and Wayne McKee (Deputy Chief of the FCC's MB's Engineering Division), Karl Kessinger (Associate Chief of the FCC's International Bureau's Satellite Division), and Kenneth Satten (Wilkinson Barker Knauer). CLE credits. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) states that this is an event of its Transactional Practice Committee. Registrations and cancellations due by 12:00 NOON on October 22. See, notice. Location: Mayer Brown, 1999 K St., NW.

6:00 - 8:00 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host an event titled "Changing Hats: Reception and Roundtable on Antitrust Careers". The speakers will be Amy Manning (McGuire Woods), Sharis Pozen (Skadden Arps), Jeff Jacobovitz (McCarthy Sweeney & Harkaway), Scott Scheele (Chief of the DOJ's Antitrust Division's Telecommunications and Media Section), and Mary Jean Fell (Sprint Nextel). No CLE credits. Free. See, notice. Location: Skadden Arps, 11th Floor Conference Room, 700 14th St., NW.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding the Government Accountability Office's (GAO) report [51 pages in PDF] titled "Federal Communications Commission: Regulatory Fee Process Needs To Be Updated", and released on September 10, 2012. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 193, October 4, 2012, at Pages 60666-60667. This is also the extended deadline to submit reply comments in response to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding proposed changes to the FCC's policies and procedures for assessing and collecting regulatory fees. The FCC adopted this NPRM on July 13, 2012, and released it on July 17, 2012. It is FCC 12-77 in MD Docket No. 12-201. See also, notice in the FR, Vol. 77, No. 160, August 17, 2012, at Pages 49749-49773.

The House will not meet.

The Senate will not meet.

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. The U.S. China Economic and Security Review Commission will meet to consider drafts of material for its 2012 annual report to Congress. See, original notice in the Federal Register (FR), Vol. 77, No. 143, July 25, 2012, at Pages 43662-43663, and second notice in the FR, Vol. 77, No. 171, September 4, 2012, at Pages 53965-53966. Location: Hall of the States, Conference Room 231, 444 North Capitol St., NW.

12:00 NOON. The World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) Tracking Protection Working Group will meet by teleconference. The call in number is 1-617-761-6200. The passcode is TRACK (87225).

1:00 - 5:30 PM. Day one of a two day conference of the Security Innovation Network, aka SINET, regarding cyber security. For more information, contact Leslie Kesselring (SINET) at 503-358-1012 or lkesselring at security-innovation dot org. See, agenda and NPC notice. Location: National Press Club (NPC), 13th Floor, 529 14th St. NW.

1:00 - 2:30 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast and teleconferenced panel discussion titled "Sports Media Rights Agreements". The speakers will be Karen Brodkin (Fox Sports Media Group) and Richard Brand (Arendt Fox). Prices vary. CLE credits. See, notice.

5:00 PM. Second extended deadline to submit reply comments to the Copyright Office (CO) in response to its notice in the Federal Register (FR) that announces, describes, recites and requests comments on its proposed rules regarding the verification of Statements of Account and royalty payments that are deposited with the CO by cable operators and satellite carriers. See, original notice in the FR, Vol. 77, No. 115, June 14, 2012, at Pages 35643-35652, first extension notice in the FR, Vol. 77, No. 176, September 11, 2012, at Page 55783, and second extension notice in the FR, Vol. 77, No. 192, October 3, 2012, at Pages 60333-60334.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Public Notice (DA 12-1411) regarding the auction of certain FM broadcast construction permits scheduled to commence on March 26, 2013, and the competitive bidding procedures for Auction 94. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 193, October 4, 2012, at Pages 60690-60695.

Day one of a three day conference hosted by the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) titled "AIPLA Annual Meeting". Location: Marriott Wardman Park.

8:30 AM - 5:30 PM. Day two of a two day conference of the Security Innovation Network, aka SINET, regarding cyber security. For more information, contact Leslie Kesselring (SINET) at 503-358-1012 or lkesselring at security-innovation dot org. See, agenda and NPC notice. Location: National Press Club (NPC), 13th Floor, 529 14th St. NW.

9:30 AM - 5:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a one day event titled "IP Basic Training: Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights". The speakers will be Joanne Lint (McDermott Will & Emery), Laura Possessky (Gura & Possessky), and Paul Rivard (Banner & Witcoff). One can register for components of this program. The patents portion will be at 9:30 - 11:45 AM. The trademark portion will be at 12:30 - 2:45 PM. The copyright portion will be at 3:00 - 5:15 PM. Prices vary. CLE credits. See, notice. For more information, call 202-626-3488. The DC Bar has a history of barring reporters from its events. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, 1101 K St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a panel discussion titled "Revising COPPA: A Discussion of the FTC’s Proposals". The speakers will be Dan Castro (ITIF), Emma Llanso (Center for Democracy & Technology), Morgan Reed (Association for Competitive Technology), Berin Szoka (Tech Freedom), and Stephen Balkam (Family Online Safety Institute). Free. Open to the public. Lunch will be served. Live webcast. See, notice. Location: ITIF/ITIC, Suite 610A, 1101 K St., NW.

2:00 - 3:30 PM. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host an event to release and discuss a report titled "What Taiwan Must Do to Be Globally Competitive". The speakers will be Dan Blumenthal (AEI), Mignonne Chan (Chinese Taipei Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Study Center), Rupert Hammond-Chambers (US-Taiwan Business Council), Derek Scissors (Heritage Foundation), and Gary Schmitt (AEI). Free. Open to the public. Live webcast. See, notice. Location: AEI, 12th floor, 1150 17th St., NW.

2:30 PM. The Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Bureau of Economics will host a presentation by Randall Lewis (Google) titled "Advertising Externalities". For more information, contact Christopher Metcalf at cmetcalf at ftc dot gov or Tammy John at tjohn at ftc dot gov. Location: FTC, ground floor Conference Center, 601 New Jersey Ave., NW.

6:00 - 8:15 PM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will host an event titled "Developing Rules for the Broadcast Incentive Auction". The speakers will include Julius Knapp (Chief of the FCC's Office of Engineering & Technology), William Lake (Chief of the FCC's Media Bureau), John Leibovitz (FCC Wireless Telecommunications Bureau), Rebecca Hanson (FCC MB), Paula Boyd (Microsoft), Joe Di Scipio (Fox Television Stations), David Honig (Minority Media & Telecommunications Council), Joan Marsh (AT&T), and Rafi Martina (Sprint Nextel). CLE credits. Prices vary. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) states that this is an event of its Wireless Telecommunications and Young Lawyers' Committees. Registrations and cancellations due by 12:00 NOON on October 24. See, notice. Location: Bingham McCutchen, 2020 K St., NW.

EXTENDED TO NOVEMBER 26. Deadline to submit reply comments to the Copyright Office (CO) regarding proposed changes to CO regulations for reporting Monthly and Annual Statements of Account for the making and distribution of phonorecords under the compulsory license. See, original notice in the Federal Register (FR), Vol. 77, No. 145, Friday, July 27, 2012, at Pages 44179-44197, and extension notice in the FR, Vol. 77, No. 176, September 11, 2012, at Pages 55783-55784.

EXTENDED FROM SEPTEMBER 25. Extended deadline to submit initial comments to the Copyright Office (CO) regarding proposed changes to CO regulations for reporting Monthly and Annual Statements of Account for the making and distribution of phonorecords under the compulsory license. See, original notice in the Federal Register (FR), Vol. 77, No. 145, Friday, July 27, 2012, at Pages 44179-44197, and extension notice in the FR, Vol. 77, No. 176, September 11, 2012, at Pages 55783-55784.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in response to its notice in the Federal Register (FR) that announces, describes, and recites its proposed rules regarding when a transaction involving the transfer of rights to a patent in the pharmaceutical, including biologics, and medicine manufacturing industry is reportable under the Hart Scott Rodino Act. See, FR, Vol. 77, No. 161, Monday, August 20, 2012, at Pages 50057-50062.

The Senate will meet at 1:00 PM in pro forma session.

The House will meet at 12:00 NOON in pro forma session.

Day two of a three day conference hosted by the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) titled "AIPLA Annual Meeting". Location: Marriott Wardman Park.

10:00 - 11:00 AM. The Center for American Progress (CAP) will host an event titled "The United States and India". The main speaker will be Deputy Secretary of State William Burns. See, notice. See also, story titled "Representatives Urge OUSTR to Take Action Against India for Its Protectionist Tech Policies" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,458, October 4, 2012. Location: CAP, 10th floor, 1333 H St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:00 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a teleconferenced event titled "Criminal Antitrust Update". The speakers will be Anne Marie Cushmac (McGuire Woods) and Paul Victor, Molly Donovan, Seth Farber, Peter Crowther, and Eva Cole (all of Winston Strawn). No CLE credits. Free. See, notice.

1:30 - 3:15 PM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will host an event titled "Workshop to Focus on Broadcaster Issues in the Incentive Auction NPRM". See, notice and agenda. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, Room TW-C305, 445 12th St., SW.

Day three of a three day conference hosted by the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) titled "AIPLA Annual Meeting". Location: Marriott Wardman Park.

10:00 AM. The Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Clapper v. Amnesty International, Sup. Ct. No. 11-1025. At issue is whether the plaintiffs have standing to challenge the constitutionality of the "outside the United States" surveillance provision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). See, Supreme Court docket. Location: Supreme Court, 1 First St., NW.

11:00 AM. The Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Kirtsaeng v. Wiley, Sup. Ct. No. 11-697. This case pertains to how the first sale doctrine of the Copyright Act applies to goods made abroad. This issue will affect online secondary markets. See, story titled "Supreme Court Grants Certiorari in Case Regarding First Sale Doctrine" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,372, April 16, 2012. See also, story titled "Supreme Court Affirms in Costco v. Omega on 4-4 Vote" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,178, December 14, 2010. See also, Supreme Court docket. Location: Supreme Court, 1 First St., NW.

6:00 - 9:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a reception and panel discussion titled "Defending Against Cyber-Intrusions from Both State-Sponsored and Civilian Hackers". The speakers will be Michael Hayden (former head of the NSA and CIA), Eliana Davidson (Deputy General Counsel for Intelligence, DOD), Robert Lee (Arnold & Porter), and Steven Cash (Deck Prism). The price to attend ranges from free to $20. No CLE credits. See, notice. For more information, call 202-626-3463. The DC Bar has a history of barring reporters from its events. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, 1101 K St., NW.

6:00 - 8:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host an event titled "Why Every Lawyer Should Understand the Basic Concepts of Enterprise Risk Management". This event will cover, among other topics, cyber security. CLE credits. Prices vary. Registrations and cancellations due by 12:00 NOON on October 24. See, notice. Location: Wiley Rein, 1776 K St., NW.

Deadline to submit to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) replies to oppositions to the three robocallers' petitions for reconsideration of the FCC's order [48 pages in PDF] regarding implementation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and telemarketing robocalling. The FCC adopted and released this order on February 15, 2012. It is FCC 12-21 in CG Docket No. 02-278. See, petition [23 pages in PDF] of the Professional Association for Customer Engagement, petition [2 pages in PDF] of Marketlink, Inc., and petition [5 pages in PDF] of SatCom Marketing LLC. They object to, among other things, the abandoned call opt-out provision. See also, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 192, October 3, 2012, at Page 60343.

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

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Day one of a two day meeting of the Department of Energy's (DOE) Advanced Scientific Computing Advisory Committee (ASCAC). See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 198, October 12, 2012, at Page 62231. Location: American Geophysical Union, 2000 Florida Ave., NW.

9:30 AM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Sensors and Instrumentation Technical Advisory Committee (SITAC) will hold a partially closed meeting. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 197, October 11, 2012, Page 61737. Location: DOC, Room 3884, 14th Street between Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenues, NW.

10:00 AM - 5:30 PM. Day one of a two day meeting of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Committee on Equal Opportunities in Science and Engineering (CEOSE). See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 197, October 11, 2012, at Page 61790. Location: NSF, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA.

12:00 NOON - 1:15 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a teleconferenced panel discussion titled "Recent Developments in Two-Sided Markets in US and Canada". The speakers will be Micah Wood (Blakes), David Evans (Global Economics Group), Roger Ware (Queens University), and Leah Brannon (Cleary Gottlieb). Free. No CLE credits. See, notice.

EXTENDED TO NOVEMBER 30. Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) [59 pages in PDF] regarding the 4940-4990 MHz (4.9 GHz) public safety band. The FCC adopted and released this FNPRM on June 13, 2012. It is FCC 12-61 in WP Docket No. 07-100, PS Docket No. 06-229, WT Docket No. 06-150. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 148, August 1, 2012, Pages 45558-45571, and August 3 Public Notice (DA 12-1268). See also, extension notice in the FR, Vol. 77, No. 199, October 15, 2012, at Pages 62480-62481.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in response to its request for comments regarding the use of personal electronic devices (PEDs) on commercial aircraft. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 170, August 31, 2012, at Pages 53159-53163, and story titled "FAA Opens Proceeding on Use of Personal Electronic Devices on Aircraft" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,439, September 3, 2012.

Halloween.

9:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. Day two of a two day meeting of the Department of Energy's (DOE) Advanced Scientific Computing Advisory Committee (ASCAC). See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 198, October 12, 2012, at Page 62231. Location: American Geophysical Union, 2000 Florida Ave., NW.

9:00 AM - 12:30 PM. Day two of a two day meeting of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Committee on Equal Opportunities in Science and Engineering (CEOSE). See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 197, October 11, 2012, at Page 61790. Location: NSF, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA.

12:00 NOON. The World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) Tracking Protection Working Group will meet by teleconference. The call in number is 1-617-761-6200. The passcode is TRACK (87225).

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a closed event titled "What Intellectual Property Attorneys Need to Know About the New gTLD Program". The speakers will be Scott Harlan (Steptoe & Johnson), Brian Winterfeldt (Steptoe & Johnson), and Danny Awdeh (Finnegan). The price to attend ranges from $15 to $25. No CLE credits. For more information, call 202-626-3463. Reporters are barred. See, notice. Location: Steptoe & Johnson, 1330 Connecticut Ave., NW.

1:00 - 2:30 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast and teleconferenced panel discussion titled "Individuals and International Companies Doing Business in the U.S.: Investor Visa Issues". The speakers will be Bernard Wolfsdorf and Mayra  Calo. Prices vary. CLE credits. See, notice.

Extended deadline to submit applications to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) under its Humanitarian Awards Pilot Program. See, original notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 26, February 8, 2012, at Pages 6544-6548. See also, extension notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 160, August 17, 2012, at Pages 49782-49783.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division (CSD) regarding its draft SP 800-56 A Rev [133 pages in PDF] titled "Recommendation for Pair-Wise Key-Establishment Schemes Using Discrete Logarithm Cryptography".