Tech Policy Summit blog

FCC's Audit on Why Frontline, Others Didn't Bid on D Block

A little over a month ago, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Kevin Martin asked the Commission's Office of Inspector General to investigate allegations raised by The Media Access Project's Harold Feld that a meeting between representatives from Cyren Call and Frontline Wireless led to Frontline's decision to not participate in the FCC's recent 700 MHz spectrum auction.

Frontline was expected to bid for the D Block license that was set aside for creation of a nationwide public safety network. Instead, it announced in early January that it was closing for business and, ultimately, only one company (Qualcomm) placed a bid that fell short of the $1.33 billion reserve price for the D Block.

Inspector General Kent Nilsson issued his report last Friday, concluding that Cyren Call did not break any FCC rules and that its discussion with Frontline and others about lease payment estimates was only one of the factors that influenced Frontline's decision not to participate in the spectrum auction. Which begs the question, why did Frontline -- and others -- not bid on the D Block license as planned?

Congress Proposes 'Orphan Works' Changes

Both the Senate and the House introduced legislation yesterday to clarify the use of so-called 'orphan works' -- copyrighted material for which the owner can not be found. Though there are differences between the two versions, they share a common goal of limiting the amount of money rights holders would be entitled to in a copyright infringment case.

Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) co-sponsored S. 2913, named The Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act of 2008 in honor of a former aide to Sen. Hatch. On the House side, Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) and Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) teamed up on the Ophan Works Act of 2008, H.R. 5889.

Under current law, rights holders are eligible for statutory damages of up to $150,000 per infringment. That will change if the proposed legislation is enacted. Here's how Sen. Leahy described the Senate bill:

Our legislation permits the use of an orphan work only if the potential user performs and documents a good faith search for the copyright owner. If users cannot locate and contact copyright owners, they may use the orphan work. But if copyright owners later make themselves known, and if users have performed a search that qualifies under this legislation, owners are entitled to reasonable compensation.  The user will not be liable for full statutory damages in those circumstances, but if a user does not perform that good faith search, the user will face up to $150,000 in statutory damages. 

Public Knowledge and the Recording Industry Association of America are among those who've already expressed support for the legislation (though PK believes some changes are needed, particularly in the House version). On the other hand, the Illustrators' Partnership of America views the orphan works legislation as a "radical proposal" that will hurt artists, as they explain in this podcast that was recorded prior to the introduction of the bill.

Tech Execs Testify on Role of Small Businesses

It is National Small Business Week and the U.S. House Small Business Committee, chaired by Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), held a hearing this morning on "The Role of Small Businesses in Stimulating the Economy."

Representatives from Amazon.com, Google and The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) were among those testifying, and we've included video clips of their testimony in the Media Vault.

In his prepared statement, Google's vice president of online sales and operations David Fischer explained how the company's online advertising services help entrepreneurs by enabling them to reach new customers affordably via AdWords and to sell ads on their own sites via AdSense (he said Google paid out $4.5 billion last year to AdSense partners). Of course, it's a symbiotic relationship that has worked out quite nicely for Google, and Mr. Fischer acknowledged that "much of Google's success is predicated on the success of our small business customers and partners."

Earth Day Reminder on E-Recycling

In honor of Earth Day, we've posted a video in the Media Vault titled "All About Computer Recycling."

While it represents just one perspective on the issue, it's a good reminder that electronic waste is a growing, global challenge that isn't going to just go away on its own. According to the video, the United States generates 4.5 billion pounds of electronic waste a year and it's the fastest growing type of trash in the country. There's even a 'trash archeologist' (seriously) named Dr. Bill Rathje who sums it up by saying it's the responsibility of buyers, sellers and the government to find a safe way to recycle.

To find out more about electronic recycling programs, check out the National Recycling Coalition or myGreenElectronics. Just two of the many resources available online.

Hat tip to NewTeeVee for pointing us to the video.

Sen. Kerry Turns to Blog for NN Feedback

In advance of tomorrow's Senate Commerce Committee hearing on the future of the Internet, Senator John Kerry (D-MA) is asking net neutrality supporters what they'd like to see discussed in the meeting.

In his second guest post at SaveTheInternet.com blog, a pro-net neutrality site operated by Free Press, Sen. Kerry writes:

This may be the only place I don't feel the need to play up the importance of tomorrow's Commerce Committee hearing on Net Neutrality.

When I've talked to other people - and when I post on other blogs - about this hearing, I always try to grab people's attention and tell them that, even with the primary tomorrow, we need to keep our eyes on the ball when it comes to Net Neutrality and the future of the Internet.

I know I don't have to tell all of you at SavetheInternet.com about that.

I know you realize the importance of the government setting the rules so that some traffic is not discriminated against in relation to other traffic...

The Senate hearing is scheduled for 10:00am ET; witnesses include actress Justine Bateman, Christian Coalition exec Michele Combs, Stanford professor Larry Lessig, NCTA's CEO Kyle McSlarrow, Patric Verrone of the Writers Guild of America and Dr. Robert Hahn of the American Enterprise Institute.

New Bill Links P2P Monitoring + Internet Safety

The issue of online child safety was raised several times during yesterday's FCC hearing on broadband network management practices.

For example, in her opening remarks, Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate emphasized the need to keep Internet safety in mind when considering regulatory actions that would encourage greater openness of the Internet. She expressed concern about the role of P2P networks in enabling illegal content distribution, including child pornography. Others at the hearing defended P2P technology as a neutral protocol, explaining that it's how it is used and not the technology itself that is the problem.

As it turns out, while we were watching the FCC meeting at Stanford, there was a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing about online child exploitation taking place on Capitol Hill. And P2P again was part of the discussion. According to a report by News.com's Anne Broache, Senator Joe Biden (D-Del.) called for passage of a bill known as the Combating Child Exploitation Act that would authorize $1 billion over the next eight years.

Among other things, the money would be spent on expanding use of a Wyoming-based monitoring system called Operation Fairplay that is being used by law enforcement officers fighting child pornography to "conduct undercover operations involving peer-to-peer file-sharing applications, chat rooms, Web sites, and mobile telephones." For more details on how Operation Fairplay works, and what the legislation would do, check out News.com.

(Not) Live Blogging from FCC's Stanford Hearing

Live blogging has its merits but isn't our usual Tech Policy Central fare. So, with modest delays, we will be posting updates on today's Federal Communications Commission (FCC) hearing on broadband network management practices. Welcome remarks are underway and the first panel will start soon. Instructions on how to get audio and video of the hearing is available at the FCC's site.

Here are some notes from FCC chairman Kevin Martin's introductory remarks:

--Thanked everyone at Stanford Law School and the Center for Internet and Society for hosting today's hearing and all of the panelists for participating. Pointed out that Silicon Valley represents some of the best of American ingenuity and its entrepreneurial spirit is critical as we're trying to debate network neutrality principles. Wanted to make sure that he's clear before we start today's panels that it is important that we hear from a variety of different folks. The FCC did reach out to the carriers, including Comcast, Time Warner, AT&T and all declined to speak at the Stanford hearing. FCC reached out to Comcast and Pando Networks again after they announced their P2P bill of rights and they declined.  The Commission did try to make this as open and transparent as possible. Several of the carriers suggested individuals to participate today and they are involved in the panels.

Looking Back at the 700 MHz Auction

Hindsight may be 20/20, but that doesn't mean lawmakers and regulators are seeing eye to eye when it comes to assessing the outcome of the 700 MHz auction. In fact, one of the few points that everyone seemed to agree on at yesterday's Congressional oversight hearing was that the public safety D block auction was a disappointment.

Figuring out what to do with the D block spectrum going forward? Not as much agreement.

Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), chairman of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, opened the hearing by describing the recently completed auction as "the best of auctions and the worst of auctions simultaneously."

He congratulated the five FCC commissioners, all of whom were present to testify, for the auction's $19.6 billion haul and for the successful sale of the C block (Rep. Markey was among those pushing for the C-block's open access rules). However, like others at the hearing, he was disappointed that there wasn't a buyer for the D block.

Rep. Markey was also critical of the auction's two biggest winners, AT&T and Verizon, saying "the wireless third pipe to compete with the telephone and cable industry is proving either elusive or simply allied with one of the two existing providers in much of the country. This is too cozy and not nearly competitive enough."

For his part, ranking member Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL) was less enthusiastic about the total amount raised, citing a study by the Brattle Group that suggested the government could have netted billions more if the auction rules had been structured differently.  Rep. Stearns also made news when he said companies like Google got a 'free ride' because of the open access rules.

As for the question of how to best reauction the D block? A variety of suggestions were proposed, including lowering the reserve price and modifying the build-out requirements, but the issue is far from resolved.

For more info, you can check out write-ups by RCR Wireless News and The Wall Street Journal (sub required), and you can download an archived Webcast at the House's Web site.

News From Who's Who

In the Who's Who section of Tech Policy Central, we do our best to keep tabs on the many organizations that make the tech policy world go round. So far, Who's Who includes almost 100 profiles of think tanks, coalitions and industry associations, and the list continues to grow.

To get a glimpse at what's new, check out these recent press releases from some of the orgs we're watching:

• Free Press has elected Columbia University professor Tim Wu, credited with coining the term 'net neutrality,' as chairman of its board of directors. Professor Wu replaces Robert W. McChesney.
• The Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF) released a new report Friday titled "The Perils of Mandatory Controls and Restrictive Defaults." PFF senior fellow Adam Thierer, who spoke about Internet safety at last month's Tech Policy Summit, is the paper's author.
• The Business Software Alliance (BSA) announced today that it settled a software piracy claim against a California manufacturing company accused of using unauthorized copies of Adobe, Autodesk and Microsoft software. The firm, Acorn Engineering Company, has agreeed to pay BSA $250,000 as part of the settlement.
• The Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) published a study on The Benefits and Costs of I-File, a proposed government-run electronic tax preparation system. The report commissioned by CCIA and written by Robert Litan, Jeffrey Eisenach and Kevin Caves concludes the IRS should not invest in the system.

What Will Change Congress?

As we've written before, Stanford law professor Larry Lessig has taken a step back from his work in the copyright realm to champion a new fight against what he calls "corruption of the political process." Though he decided against running for office himself, at least for now, Lessig officially kicked off his Change Congress campaign a few weeks ago.

The grassroots effort is attempting to build support for a series of reforms -- greater transparency in Congress, public financing of elections, abolition of earmarks and curtailing lobbyist and PAC contributions -- by convincing candidates to sign on to a Change Congress pledge. Supporters hope that taking a public pledge will increase accountability once those individuals are in office, and in power.

While most people probably agree that Congress could use a little "change," not everyone believes that Lessig's approach will do the trick. Tech Liberation Front's Tim Lee gave his take on the battle against political influence in a post earlier today.

Lee writes:

The problem is that if politicians are willing to be corrupted, and special interests are willing to spend resources to corrupt them, they'll find ways to get it done. You can certainly reduce the effect on the margin--by banning overt bribery, for example--but once you've banned the really obvious categories of back-scratching, it becomes more and more difficult to make any further progress. What's going on in Washington is disgusting, to be sure, but it's not new or unique to the United States. And I think fixing it is going to be a lot more challenging than Lessig imagines.

What do you think?