Internet News -- January through March 2000

Cybersquatting Moves Abroad (3/25/00) Douglas Wolford of NSI said that, after Congress passed legislation last fall, the problem of cybersquatting moved outside of the United States. He spoke on a panel on the future of the Internet at the National Press Club on March 23.

FTC Touts Anti-Fraud Efforts. (3/24/00) The Federal Trade Commission held another press conference to tout its efforts to combat fraud on the Internet.

Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Discusses Media Mergers. (3/23/00) The Senate Antitrust Subcommittee held a hearing on antitrust issues handled by the FTC and Justice Department. Senators expressed concern about consolidation of media companies. FTC Chairman Pitofsky responded that he is not sure that there is more concentration now, due to technological developments such as the Internet.

HUD Targets Hate Speech on the Internet. (3/20/00) The Department of Housing and Urban Development is taking action against hate speech on the Internet. HUD is conducting an investigation involving hate speech on the Internet by the Klu Klux Klan. HUD has also formed of a task force on the issue.

Rep. Istook Blames Clinton-Gore Administration for Stopping Porn Filtering Legislation. (3/16/00) Rep. Ernest Istook stated on March 15 that the only reason that his appropriations amendment requiring that no taxpayer dollars be spent to provide access to Internet pornography did not get through the entire appropriations process was because the Clinton-Gore administration opposed it. He spoke at a Family Research Council event on the use of Internet filtering software in public libraries. See, Rep. Istook's address.

Commission on Child Online Protection Off to Slow Start. (3/8/00) The Commission on Child Online Protection held its first meeting on Tuesday, March 7. Its members discussed organizational matters only: it has no staff, no money, and no schedule. Yet its report on protecting child on the Internet is due by November.

Time Warner and AOL Sign Memorandum of Understanding Regarding Open Access. (3/1/00) Time Warner and AOL signed a nonbinding Memorandum of Understanding stating that they will provide open access to competing ISPs to their broadband cable systems. See, Memorandum of Understanding.

ITAA Releases Survey on DDoS Attacks. (2/29/00) The ITAA released the results of a survey of high tech executives and professions about recent denial of service attacks on major e-commerce sites. The results show that respondents believe the attacks were a watershed event for e-commerce, that more leadership is needed, and that private industry, not the government, should provide that leadership.

Open Access Proponents Condemn Media Mergers. (2/26/00) A group of liberal activists held a panel discussion at the National Press Club in Washington DC on Wednesday, February 23, to complain about the consequences of the mergers of AOL and Time Warner, and AT&T and MediaOne, and to demand open access to the Internet. See, Lessig Address.

Congressional Delegation Discusses Privacy and Taxes with EU. (2/24/00) Rep. Goodlatte, Rep. Boucher, and other members of a Congressional delegation are in Europe to meet with their counterparts during this week's recess of the House of Representatives. They have discussed Internet privacy and taxes.

FCC Rejects ISP's Request for Leased Access to Cable. (2/19/00) The FCC issued an Order on February 18 in which it denied the request of a small ISP for leased access to TCI's cable facilities in Spokane, Washington. The FCC ruled that the mandatory access requirements of one section of the Cable Act apply to "video programming", but not ISP access. Otherwise, the FCC muddied its already vague interpretation of whether and how the Cable Act might apply to Internet access via cable facilities. See, FCC Order.

Federal Law Enforcement Agencies Bring Few Online Auction Fraud Cases. (2/15/00) Representatives of the FTC, Department of Justice, US Postal Service and state Attorneys General discussed efforts to limit Internet auction fraud at an event at the FTC headquarters in Washington DC on Monday February 14.

FTC Picks Fight with Appropriations Committee Chairman. (2/12/00) FTC Chairman Pitofsky, who is seeking a huge increase in the FTC's budget to expand its activities, started a brawl on February 2 with Sen. Stevens, the Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, over oil company mergers. The dispute, ironically, could impact the FTC's regulation of Internet activity.

Do Web Sites Violate the Americans with Disabilities Act? (2/10/00) A House subcommittee held a hearing on Wednesday, February 9, on the applicability of the Americans With Disabilities Act to web sites. Witnesses argued that most of what is on the Internet today violates the ADA.

Goodlatte and Cox Condemn Chinese Encryption Policy. (2/9/00) Rep. Goodlatte and Rep. Cox both issued statements strongly criticizing the government of mainland China for banning U.S. made encryption products, and restricting the privacy rights its citizens.

Clinton Budget for NTIA Includes Big Increase for Digital Divide Programs. (2/8/00) The Fiscal Year 2001 budget proposal released by the Clinton administration on February 7 includes a huge increase in funding for the NTIA, to be spent largely on programs related to the "digital divide".

Another Online Privacy Bill Introduced in House. (2/8/00). Rep. Frelinghuysen introduced the Online Privacy Protection Act of 2000 in the U.S. House on January 31. It is the House companion to a bill filed in the Senate last April by Sen. Burns and Sen. Wyden. See, HR 3560.

Cox and Wyden Introduce Internet Non- Discrimination Act. (2/3/00) Rep. Chris Cox and Sen. Ron Wyden held a press conference to announce the introduction of the Internet Non-Discrimination Act, a bill to make permanent the moratorium on new discriminatory Internet taxes. See, copy of bill, statement of Rep. Cox, and statement of Sen. Wyden.

Wineries File Suit Challenging New York Law Affecting Internet Alcohol Sales. (2/3/00) Two small wineries in Virginia and California, and three wine consumers in New York, filed suit in federal court in New York City on February 3 alleging that New York State's liquor control laws, which ban direct sales from out of state wineries, violate the Constitution. See, Complaint.

FCC Report on Multichannel Video Programming Addresses Broadband. (1/20/00) The FCC issued its sixth annual report to the Congress on multichannel video programming. As usual, much of the report deals with cable TV competition. In addition, the report addresses developments in broadband Internet access services. It concludes that analog telephone dial-up modems will remain the principal means of accessing the Internet for at least the next several years.

Kathleen R. Files Brief in Internet Filtering Case. (1/14/00) Kathleen R., the plaintiff and petitioner in a legal action against the City of Livermore to compel it to use filtering software on computers used by minors, filed her reply brief with the California Court of Appeal on January 10. See, Reply Brief.

Groups File Comments with FEC about Campaign Activity on the Internet. (1/13/00) EPIC, CDT, and other groups filed comments with the Federal Election Commission in response to its Notice of Inquiry regarding campaign activity on the Internet. They urged the FEC not to regulate freedom speech on the Internet.

Parties, Corporations, and Unions File Comments with the FEC. (1/13/00) Political parties, law firms, corporations, campaign consultants, and unions filed comments with the FEC regarding how the federal election laws should be applied to campaign activity on the Internet.

Citizens Urge FEC to Stay Away from the Internet. (1/12/00) The FEC has been inundated with emails from citizens opposed to FEC regulation of political speech on the Internet. The FEC solicited comments in November in a Notice of Inquiry regarding campaign activity on the Internet.

Administration Releases Critical Infrastructure Protection Plan. (1/10/00) The Clinton administration released the first version of its plan for protecting the nation's critical infrastructure against attacks from cyber terrorists, criminal cartels, hackers, and others.