As the May 2011 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference in Big Sky, Montana winds down, APEC Ministers have issued various joint statements and calls for action. These include commitments on customs simplification, supply chain performance, food safety coordination, green trade, regulatory coherence and the future of the World Trade Organization's Doha round. They also issued documents on small business development, energy security, and a code of ethics for medical device exports.
The release of the White House proposed cybersecurity legislation is a very important step in protecting critical infrastructure, said Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, at a hearing Monday. “If we don’t do something soon, the Internet is going to be a digital Dodge City,” he said. “Cyberspace is just too important in modern life for us to sit back and allow that to happen.” The White House plan is similar to the Cybersecurity and Internet Freedom Act he introduced in February, he said. “Where there are differences, I think we can work together to find agreement.” The cyber arena “is where the biggest gap exists between the threat level and vulnerabilities and our level of preparedness,” said ranking member Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. “Unfortunately, the government’s overall approach to cybersecurity has been disjointed and uncoordinated to date.” Comprehensive cybersecurity legislation is more urgent than ever, she said.
The release of the White House cybersecurity legislative proposal is a very important step in protecting critical infrastructure, said Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, at a hearing Monday. “If we don’t do something soon, the Internet is going to be a digital Dodge City,” he said. “Cyberspace is just too important in modern life for us to sit back and allow that to happen.” The White House plan is similar to the Cybersecurity and Internet Freedom Act he introduced in February, he said. “Where there are differences, I think we can work together to find agreement.”
On May 23, 2011, President Obama issued Executive Order 13574 in order to implement certain requirements of the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA), as amended by the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (CISADA). On that same date, the State Department issued two related guidelines on providing jet fuel to the government of Iran, and insurance to entities that ship refined petroleum to Iran.
GENEVA -- A wide range of participants is needed for future talks on Internet governance matters and possible legal frameworks to protect users and help stem international fraud, participants said at a U.S. State Department panel Friday on Internet governance, innovation and economic development. The “multi-stakeholder” model is a key principle for the U.S., an ambassador said.
May 23 Technology Policy Institute panel on spectrum incentive auctions, noon, Room 2322, Rayburn -- acreel@techpolicyinstitute.org
The following are trade-related highlights of the Executive Communications sent to Congress on May 13-19, 2011:
The European Union issued the following trade-related releases on May 20, 2011:
Panelists at an FCBA lunch Wednesday debated states’ role in determining Lifeline eligibility as the FCC seeks to revamp the program. They agreed that a database should be created to improve efficiency of the program, differing on how the process should be conducted.
DALLAS -- The volume of U.S. mobile traffic will explode by a factor of 8-10 by 2015, creating an environment “characterized by chaos,” AT&T Chairman Randall Stephenson said in a TIA convention keynote. He said the developments will depend on “getting regulatory and tax policy right,” especially providing additional spectrum for wireless. “We are on the cusp of something very different” in telecom, Stephenson said. He cited especially the broad deployment of LTE combined with use of the cloud. “Think about the delivery of high definition video to a wide range of devices” and the impact that will have on network demand, he said.