Since the EU’s approval of the Safe Harbor framework in 2000, virtually no complaints have arisen about the degree to which U.S. companies’ privacy protection measures are in compliance with European authorities’ data security laws, Commerce Dept. (DoC), EU and private industry players heard Wed. from German Federal Data Protection Comr. Peter Schaar. But govt. officials speaking at a workshop on bridging U.S. and EU policy differences said determining how well the system is working requires more dialog on both sides of the Atlantic.
There’s too much discussion of whether govt. data mining is “good or bad,” and the result is not enough contemplation about “how to do it right,” a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic & International Studies told the Homeland Security Dept. (DHS) Data Privacy & Integrity Advisory Committee Tues. Maria DeRosa urged members to focus on privacy, data quality standards and the resulting analysis rather than whether DHS should engage in the controversial practice, she said.
On November 10, 2005, President Bush signed into law the conference version of H.R. 2744, the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2006 (Public Law (P.L.) 109-097).
Progress on the U.S. govt.’s online regulatory portal and developments underway for a comprehensive electronic docketing system are laudable, but challenges confront the effort to re-engineer rulemaking for the 21st century, panelists said Mon. at a Capitol Hill forum. While the new system holds promise for improved management at agencies plus savings on resources and outlays, a Web- based infrastructure could encourage more feedback from citizens ignorant of regulation, experts said at the House Judiciary Committee-sponsored event.
A federal court in Me. denied a Verizon request for an injunction to bar the Me. PUC from enforcing orders in 2004 and 2005 that continued state rate regulation of certain unbundled network elements (UNE) under Telecom Act Sec. 271 even though those UNEs had been deregulated by the FCC under Sec. 251 in its Triennial Review Orders. Verizon had wanted the PUC order blocked until its appeal of the decision could be decided. Judge Gene Carter of the U.S. Dist. Court, Portland, in Case 05-53-B-C said Thurs. that Verizon is unlikely to succeed on the merits because it couldn’t point to anything specific in the Telecom Act or FCC policies that prohibits states from setting “just and reasonable” UNE rates under Sec. 271, even if those UNEs had been released from rate regulation under Sec. 251. The court said the FCC orders demonstrated its preference for market-based UNE rates -- but there was nothing in federal law or FCC policy that preempted a state’s use of TELRIC-based pricing for Sec. 271 UNEs on an interim basis until permanent just & reasonable rates can be set. The court also said Verizon failed to quantify its claims that it would suffer irreparable harm if TELRIC-based UNE rates were kept in place pending the outcome of its appeal. The court said the difference between the TELRIC rate and probable negotiated rates isn’t great enough to impose an unreasonable refund burden on either Verizon or CLECs by the time the case is decided. The court also said nothing in the case record demonstrates that continued application of TELRIC pricing on the 271-UNEs would impair market competition. The court also said Verizon’s waiting a year from the initial state order in Sept. 2004 before filing for an injunction raised doubts about its financial hardship claims. Verizon said it delayed filing until the PUC nailed down which UNEs were covered by its order in Sept. 2005, but the court said some of the UNEs would obviously be included from day one, so Verizon could have challenged on those. Sec. 271 required Bell companies to meet certain local competition tests, including network unbundling, as a prerequisite to their long distance market entry.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently issued notices announcing the availability of a revised compliance policy guide on prior notice (PN) of imported food as well as the second edition of a questions-and-answers (Q&A) document regarding the final rule on the establishment and maintenance of records under the Bioterrorism Act.
The FCC is circulating an order setting performance rules for broadband radio service (BRS) and educational broadband service (EBS) licensees in the 2.5 GHz band, an agency source said. The “massive document” also addresses related issues raised on reconsideration, the source said. The item is among a few on the FCC’s end-of-year to-do list (CD Nov 10 p4).
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently issued notices announcing the availability of a revised compliance policy guide on prior notice (PN) of imported food as well as the second edition of a questions-and-answers (Q&A) document regarding the final rule on establishment and maintenance of records under the Bioterrorism Act.
VoIP providers began reporting to the FCC late last week on their efforts to meet a mandate that service territories be fully E-911 compliant by today (Nov. 28). The FCC has told VoIP firms they must stop marketing to new customers if they can’t offer E-911 to all current customers by today. Dozens of VoIP companies are set to report by end of business today, giving a snapshot of how well providers are complying with the rule and the tools they're using to provide E-911. Some providers will miss the mark, due to trouble getting access to selective routers, reliance on 3rd-party vendors that can’t offer full compliance and other factors, sources say.
Long-standing concern over use and abuse of information logged into “Whois” databases of domain-name owners has prompted several groups to schedule a meeting during this week’s ICANN meeting in Vancouver. The debate over what contact information registrants should be required to provide and who should have access has spawned 3 task forces and consumed countless hours of discussion. With law enforcement agencies, intellectual property rights-holders and others increasingly relying on Whois information to track miscreants, several ICANN constituencies said it’s time to address the serious privacy implications of the database.