The Supreme Court this week asked the U.S. Solicitor General for advice on whether to hear a Minn. appeal of an 8th U.S. Appeals Court, St. Louis, decision overturning a state law making wireless carriers get customer approval before raising rates mid-contract. Wireless carriers led by Verizon Wireless oppose the appeal.
Applying CALEA requirements to VoIP services could create security “vulnerabilities,” the Information Technology Assn. of America (ITAA) said Tues. The study, by technology experts, focused on decentralized VoIP services such as Skype, concluding the ability to wiretap these purely Internet-based services “is simply not worth [the] risk” to national security.
Applying CALEA requirements to VoIP services could create security “vulnerabilities,” the Information Technology Assn. of America (ITAA) said Tues. The study, by technology experts, focused on decentralized VoIP services such as Skype, concluding the ability to wiretap these purely Internet-based services “is simply not worth [the] risk” to national security.
Fla. Gov. Jeb Bush (R) signed a bill to repeal parts of a 2003 phone deregulation and rate rebalancing law. The main provision targeted by SB-142 let incumbent telcos raise basic local rates up to 20% annually at the end of 2006. The new law limits local rate increases to inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index, minus 1%. Higher increases would have to be cost-justified. Another provision repealed by SB- 142 would have let incumbents certify basic services as competitive. Now, incumbents must petition the PSC to approve reclassification. Other provisions allow incumbents to change prices for nonbasic services on a day’s notice, and carriers to publish price lists instead of filing tariffs. The act also waives carrier-of-last-resort obligations for incumbents when property developers make exclusive or preferred-provider service arrangements with a competitor. An incumbent must give notice to the PSC and developers when it wants out of the obligation.
Saying encrypted data increasingly hamper police work, the U.K. Home Office Thurs. proposed requiring individuals to put protected electronic data in intelligible form or provide a key with which to make it so. The draft code of practice - - a guidance to police bodies seeking to force disclosure of encrypted data -- appears in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA), most of which was adopted in 2000. The code hasn’t been put in place due to slower than anticipated deployment of encryption and other data protection technologies, the govt. said. But the past 2-3 years, personnel probing terrorism and crime have run into the technologies more often, the govt. said. Comments are due Aug. 30 -- encryption@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk. The Home Office also seeks comments on a draft code of practice -- also required under RIPA -- governing acquisition and disclosure of communications traffic data, but not content. The govt. uses the data in criminal and civil matters, but can only collect them for: (1) National security. (2) Detecting or preventing crime. (3) Guarding the U.K.’s economic well- being. (4) Protecting public safety. (5) Guarding public health. (6) Assessing or collecting taxes or levies. (7) Preventing injury or death in an emergency. If adopted, the code will let police and emergency services, revenue and customs agencies and local authorities and other entities access traffic data under certain conditions. Comments due Aug. 30 -- commsdata@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk. Protected data are of particular concern when suspects in grave cases must be set free because data can’t be read in time, Simon Watkin of the Home Office covert investigation policy team said. A draft of the code of practice appeared in 2000 parliamentary debates of RIPA, but the Thurs. version, differs greatly and handles issues raised then, Watkin told us. But the govt. is still “faced with the situation that we are writing a code of practice for a process which doesn’t exist,” he said.
The House voted 379-35 Wed. for an indecency bill the Senate cleared 2 weeks ago. It heads to the White House for an expected Presidential signature. The bill hikes maximum indecency fines on broadcasters to $325,000 from $32,500, giving the FCC “teeth” to police public airwaves, said House Telecom Subcommittee Chmn. Upton (R-Mich.), promoting the bill on the floor Tues. night.
UNIVERSAL CITY, Cal. - While piracy remains a source of deep concern for labels, the reality is that the music industry as a whole is enjoying unprecedented success overall, speakers said Wed. at the Digital Media Conference here. Copyright lawyer Ken Hertz, who represents artists’ interests, said ring tones and other digital avenues are producing huge revenue: “Five years ago, record sales were the issue, with labels saying their industry was at risk because you can’t compete with free. But record sales are only a part of music sales. In fact, the music industry is healthier than it has ever been in its history. This may be the beginning of labels migrating away from record sales” as their main business.
Chinese leaders say they'll crack down on intellectual property rights (IPR) violations, but “we need to see more than just statements,” a Commerce Dept. official told the U.S.-China Economic & Security Commission at a Wed. hearing. Citing improved IPR relations between the 2 giant economies, such as a Chinese vow to try to thwart piracy by importing only computers with preloaded software, International IPR Enforcement Coordinator Chris Israel said: “We consider all options to be on the table.” If China doesn’t clean up its IPR act this summer, “it’s very possible” the U.S. will bring a complaint at the WTO this fall, said Tim Stratford, asst. U.S. Trade Representative (USTR)-China Affairs: “We will not shy away from dispute resolution.”
CHICAGO -- FCC Chmn. Martin hopes to gain consensus among Commission members on the need for “parameters,” including time limits, on local control of video franchising, he said. Following remarks to Globalcomm late Mon. Martin also said he doesn’t fear the advanced wireless services (AWS) auction will raise less than Congress expects, though designated entities and major carriers have threatened to sit out the auction.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has issued its annual list of the sanitary and phytosanitary standard-setting activities of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), in accordance with section 491 of the Trade Agreements Act of 1979, as amended, and the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (Public Law 103-465). According to FSIS, this list covers the time periods from June 1, 2005 to May 31, 2006 and June 1, 2006 to May 31, 2007.