Four senators urged the passage of the Marketplace Fairness Act (MFA) (HR-684) in the House on the first anniversary of the bill’s passage (http://1.usa.gov/1l3qARM) in the Senate (WID May 8/13 p2), on the Senate floor Tuesday night. The MFA would “authorize” states to collect an e-commerce sales tax from out-of-state Internet retailers making more than $1 million in sales. Sens. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., and Heidi Heitkamp, D-North Dakota, spoke in support of the bill, framing it as a states’ rights measure. Online business associations we spoke with strongly objected to the bill’s passage, saying it would hurt small businesses.

Health apps are collecting and sharing sensitive information with a variety of third parties, said the FTC’s initial contribution to the limited study of health app data sharing practices. The information shared ranged from a smartphone’s screen size and model type to a phone’s unique device identifier (UDID) to individuals’ names and email addresses to keywords such as “ovulation,” “pregnancy” and “baby,” said Jared Ho, an attorney in the FTC Mobile Technology Unit. Ho presented the findings Wednesday during the commission’s seminar on consumer-generated and controlled health data.

The House Commerce Committee doesn’t need legislation for a GAO study on NTIA’s transition of Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions, said NTIA and Internet governance experts. Opening statements for the committee’s markup vote on the Domain Openness Through Continued Oversight Matters (DOTCOM) (HR-4342) Act were slated to have begun Wednesday evening. The committee’s markup vote on the bill is Thursday at 10 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn. The committee has oversight over NTIA, which opposes the bill.

The House Commerce Committee doesn’t need legislation for a GAO study on NTIA’s transition of Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions, said NTIA and Internet governance experts. Opening statements for the committee’s markup vote on the Domain Openness Through Continued Oversight Matters (DOTCOM) (HR-4342) Act were slated to have begun Wednesday evening. The committee’s markup vote on the bill is Thursday at 10 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn. The committee has oversight over NTIA, which opposes the bill.

Aereo may prove to be the wild card on Capitol Hill that drastically shifts the direction of video market legislation this year, industry lobbyists told us. The Supreme Court held oral argument last month (WID April 23 p6) in a case to determine the service’s legality, which broadcasters vehemently dispute. An American Broadcasting Companies v. Aereo ruling is expected perhaps in June, and industry lobbyists predict a full-throttle lobbying effort after the decision, especially if Aereo wins. Conventional wisdom for months has suggested broadcasters would swarm the Hill seeking remedy, and the battle between broadcasters and Aereo’s defenders could potentially derail the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act reauthorization process, which may drag into 2015, some lobbyists warned.

Aereo may prove to be the wild card on Capitol Hill that drastically shifts the direction of video market legislation this year, industry lobbyists told us. The Supreme Court held oral argument last month (CD April 23 p1) in a case to determine the service’s legality, which broadcasters vehemently dispute. An American Broadcasting Companies v. Aereo ruling is expected perhaps in June, and industry lobbyists predict a full-throttle lobbying effort after the decision, especially if Aereo wins. Conventional wisdom for months has suggested broadcasters would swarm the Hill seeking remedy, and the battle between broadcasters and Aereo’s defenders could potentially derail the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act reauthorization process, which may drag into 2015, some lobbyists warned.

Aereo may prove to be the wild card on Capitol Hill that drastically shifts the direction of video market legislation this year, industry lobbyists told us. The Supreme Court held oral argument last month (CED April 23 p1) in a case to determine the service’s legality, which broadcasters vehemently dispute. An American Broadcasting Companies v. Aereo ruling is expected perhaps in June, and industry lobbyists predict a full-throttle lobbying effort after the decision, especially if Aereo wins. Conventional wisdom for months has suggested broadcasters would swarm the Hill seeking remedy, and the battle between broadcasters and Aereo’s defenders could potentially derail the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act (STELA) reauthorization process, which may drag into 2015, some lobbyists warned.

A recirculated net neutrality NPRM is less friendly to the idea of pay-for-priority deals, and more open to the idea of Title II reclassification, agency and industry officials told us. Industry observers see the redraft (CD May 1 p2) as a response to the public outcry over a perceived turnaround on net neutrality. Net neutrality proponents have been lobbying the FCC on the NPRM, ex parte filings show.

A recirculated net neutrality NPRM is less friendly to the idea of pay-for-priority deals, and more open to the idea of Title II reclassification, agency and industry officials told us. Industry observers see the redraft (WID May 1 p1) as a response to the public outcry over a perceived turnaround on net neutrality. Net neutrality proponents have been lobbying the FCC on the NPRM, ex parte filings show.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler is reassuring net neutrality advocates that Title II reclassification of broadband remains an option if proposed net neutrality rules aren’t enough. Industry observers said in interviews that Wheeler’s latest comments (CD April 30 p4) probably aren’t an idle threat, though it remains a big question whether reclassifying broadband is even possible in the remaining 33 months of the Obama presidency. Wheeler circulated a revised version of his net neutrality NPRM Tuesday, agency officials confirmed.