 agree."
The GAO's Katherine Schinasi wrote in her prepared testimony [PDF] that "in light of differing views among Committee members about the scope of Exon-Florio -- specifically, what defines a threat to national security, we have suggested that Congress should consider amending Exon-Florio to more clearly emphasize the factors that should be considered in determining potential harm to national security."
She noted, for example, that some CFIUS member agencies, including the Department of the Treasury, "apply a more traditional and narrow definition of what constitutes a threat to national security -- that is, (1) the U.S. company possesses export-controlled technologies or items; (2) the company has classified contracts and critical technologies; or (3) there is specific derogatory intelligence on the foreign company." In contrast, other CFIUS members, including the Department of Defense and the Department of Justice, "argue that acquisitions should be analyzed in broader terms. According to officials from these departments, vulnerabilities can result from foreign control of critical infrastructure, such as control of or access to information traveling on networks."
She also wrote that "to provide more transparency and facilitate congressional oversight, we are suggesting that the Congress may want to revisit the criterion for reporting circumstances surrounding cases to the Congress. Currently, the criterion is a presidential decision. However, there have only been two such decisions since 1997 and thus only two reports to Congress".
10/6. Leaders of the House Commerce Committee (HCC) wrote a letter to Michael Gallagher, head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), and David Gross of the Department of State (DOS), opposing the United Nation's efforts gain regulatory authority over the operation and use of the internet. The letter evidences bipartisan Congressional support for the position of the NTIA and DOS.
The HCC leaders wrote that "it is essential that the underlying domain name system of the Internet remains stable and secure. As such, the United States should take no action that would have the potential to adversely impact the effective and efficient operation of the domain name system. Therefore, the United States should maintain its historic role in authorizing changes or modifications to the authoritative root zone file."
Gallagher has previously stated that the US will not cede authority to the UN. See also, story titled "NTIA Rebuffs UN Efforts to Gain Control Over Internet Governance" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,166, July 1, 2005. See also, story titled "Ambassador Gross Says UN Will Not Be in Charge of the Internet" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,212, September 13, 2005.
The letter was signed by Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) and Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), the Chairman and ranking Democrat of the HCC, and by Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) and Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), the Chairman and ranking Democrat of the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet.
"We are writing in support of the United States position on Internet governance as the Unites States delegation heads to Geneva for the Preparatory Committee for the United Nation's World Summit on Information Society.
Consistent with market-based policies and the belief that private sector leadership has allowed the Internet the flexibility to innovate and evolve, we believe in the continued growth of the Internet and the variety of applications it supports. Given the Internet's importance to the world's economy, it is essential that the underlying domain name system of the Internet remains stable and secure. As such, the United States should take no action that would have the potential to adversely impact the effective and efficient operation of the domain name system. Therefore, the United States should maintain its historic role in authorizing changes or modifications to the authoritative root zone file.
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is the appropriate technical coordinator of the Internet domain name system. While improvements continue to be made to the ICANN model, the Bush Administration, and specifically the Department of Commerce, should continue to maintain strong oversight so that ICANN maintains its focus and meets it core technical mission.
Governments have legitimate interest in the management of their country code top-level domains. The Administration should continue to work with the international community to address these concerns, bearing in mind the fundamental need to ensure stability and security of the Internet domain name system."
10/6. The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) and other groups wrote a letter [PDF] to leaders of the House Commerce Committee, and a similar letter [PDF] to leaders of the Senate Commerce Committee, arguing that the Congress should not now enact a broadcast flag mandate. Rather, there should first be hearings.
They write that "The broadcast flag regime would reach not just the design and manufacture of televisions, but also that of digital devices networked with televisions, including personal video recorders, personal computers, and Internet enabled mobile phones. In addition to involving the federal government in the process of technological innovation, there is a substantial risk that the flag regime would restrict users from engaging in a wide variety of fair uses critical to public affairs, education, and culture."
They want the Congress to examine numerous issues, including "What impact would the flag regime have on the development of new technologies?"
The signers of the letters are the CDT, American Library Association, American Association of Law Libraries, Association of Research Libraries, Consumers Union, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Medical Library Association, Public Knowledge, and the Special Libraries Association.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted a broadcast flag rule, which was overturned by the U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir), for lack of statutory authority. See, story titled "DC Circuit Reverses FCC's Broadcast Flag Rules" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,131, May 9, 2005.
Digital Radio. The FCC's broadcast flag rule pertained to digital television. The letter also notes that "the record industry is advocating expanding flag legislation to authorize a comparable regime for digital radio -- an idea that has received virtually no congressional consideration to date."
In addition, one of the signers of these letters, Public Knowledge (PK), stated in a separate release that the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) "is floating on the Hill another version of content control language for digital radio".
PK also wrote that the RIAA's latest proposal is that the FCC be given authority "to adopt regulations requiring licensees broadcasting using digital audio broadcast systems to encrypt the transmission of copyrighted material and to regulate devices that receive such transmissions as may be necessary or appropriate to permit the reception of such encrypted transmissions and to implement any authorized copying and redistribution limitations authorized under such regulations as may be adopted pursuant to this section, provided, however, that the Commission may not authorize any digital audio broadcast transmission system that does not include such encryption at the source; the adoption of any digital audio regulations pursuant to this section shall not delay the adoption of final operational rules for digital audio broadcasting".
10/6. Paul Rosenweig, Chairman of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee (DPIAC), wrote a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff, enclosing a copy of the DPIAC's report titled "The Use of Commercial Data to Reduce False Positives in Screening Programs". See, letter and report [18 pages in PDF].
This report only addresses the use of commercial databases to reduce false positives (the misidentification of an individual as a person on a terrorist watch list when that individual is not in fact a person on a terrorist watch list). The report does not address the use of commercial data to identify terrorists, or to reduce false negatives (the misidentification of an individual as not a person on a terrorist watch list when that individual is in fact a person on a terrorist watch list). The report states that the latter use "raises serious issues", and will be addressed in a subsequent DPIAC report.
The report recommends that commercial data be used with respect to false positive errors only when thirteen conditions are met. These are as follows.
Less invasive alternatives are exhausted"
The report is dated September 28, 2005. The letter is dated October 6, 2005.
10/6. The Copyright Office (CO) published a notice in the Federal Register that announces, describes, recites, and sets the effective date (July 1, 2005) of new regulations governing the adjustment of the royalty rates for the cable statutory license. See, Federal Register, October 6, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 193, at Pages 58310 - 58311.
10/6. The U.S. Court of Appeals (2ndCir) issued its opinion [14 pages in PDF] in Music Choice. v. Broadcast Music, Inc., again vacating and remanding the District Court's rate setting decision regarding the price for Music Choice's licensing of BMI's music on its cable, satellite, and internet services. This case is U.S., plaintiff, Music Choice, movant/appellant v. Broadcast Music, Inc., defendant/appellee, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, App. Ct. No. 04-3444-CV, an appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge Stanton presiding. Judge Parker wrote the opinion of the Court of Appeals, in which Judges Wesley and Sotomayor joined.
10/6. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) held an executive business meeting. The SJC held over its consideration of Timothy Flanigan to be the Deputy Attorney General, and Susan Neilson to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals (6thCir). The SJC also held over numerous bills related to personal data and privacy