The Copyright Alert System (CAS) is not a termination program, ISPs reiterated during a Thursday discussion of the system hosted by the Internet Society. The CAS, whose rollout was announced last month, will alert users if copyright infringing content is being shared through peer-to-peer (P2P) networks at their IP address and provide educational material about what infringement is and how to avoid it (CD Oct 19 p10). At the event, Jill Lesser, Executive Director of the Center for Copyright Information (CCI) -- a group created to implement the system -- stressed that individuals who receive CAS notifications will face mitigating measures that do not include service termination.

The Copyright Alert System (CAS) is not a termination program, ISPs reiterated during a late Thursday discussion of the system hosted by the Internet Society. The CAS, whose rollout was announced last month, will alert users if copyright infringing content is being shared through peer-to-peer (P2P) networks at their IP address and provide educational material about what infringement is and how to avoid it (WID Oct 19 p1). Jill Lesser, executive director of the Center for Copyright Information (CCI) -- a group created to implement the system -- stressed on the webcast that individuals who receive CAS notifications will face mitigating measures that do not include service termination.

Law professors, engineers, computer scientists, Internet company reps, state regulators, public interest groups and former FCC commissioners told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Thursday that Verizon was way off the mark when it claimed First Amendment rights trumped the commission’s December 2010 net neutrality order, which mandated nondiscriminatory treatment of Internet traffic across ISPs’ networks. The groups also argued that Section 706 of the Telecom Act gave the commission the authority needed to pass its Open Internet order. “As leading Internet content, applications and network companies, legal scholars and investors, and former FCC commissioners have confirmed, the Commission’s order preserves the Internet as the most powerful platform in human history for innovation, investment and free expression,” a commission spokesman said.

Law professors, engineers, computer scientists, Internet company executives, state regulators, public interest groups and former FCC members told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Thursday that Verizon was way off the mark when it claimed First Amendment rights trumped the commission’s December 2010 net neutrality order. The order mandated nondiscriminatory treatment of Internet traffic across ISPs’ networks. The groups argued that Section 706 of the Telecom Act gave the commission the authority needed to pass its Open Internet order. “As leading Internet content, applications and network companies, legal scholars and investors, and former FCC commissioners have confirmed, the Commission’s order preserves the Internet as the most powerful platform in human history for innovation, investment and free expression,” a commission spokesman said by email.

Hopes for a comprehensive cybersecurity bill collapsed Thursday as the Senate failed to invoke cloture on the Cybersecurity Act (S-3414) by a 52-47 vote. Sponsors and opponents of the bill were unable to agree on the best way to secure critical infrastructure from attack, despite a flurry of last-minute meetings to hammer out a solution to their differences. Though members said they would continue to refine the bill, the Senate leaves on recess Friday without a clear path forward on cybersecurity and won’t return until September when the electoral season will be in high gear.

Hopes for a comprehensive cybersecurity bill collapsed Thursday as the Senate failed to invoke cloture on the Cybersecurity Act (S-3414) by a 52-47 vote. Sponsors and opponents of the bill were unable to agree on the best way to secure critical infrastructure from attack, despite a flurry of last-minute meetings to hammer out a solution to their differences. Though members said they would continue to refine the bill, the Senate leaves on recess Friday without a clear path forward on cybersecurity and won’t return until September when the electoral season will be in high gear.

A California bill to bar state regulation of VoIP continues stirring controversy, as SB-1161 moves toward final passage. It would prohibit the California Public Utilities Commission from regulating VoIP and Internet Protocol-enabled service until 2020, unless federal law or state statute dictate otherwise. The bill’s sponsor describes it as hewing to the same regulatory approach the state has taken on VoIP and IP-enabled calls, while critics worry it may affect reliability of calls and the ability to get them in rural areas. On June 18, the California Assembly’s Committee on Utilities and Commerce voted the bill out of committee 13-1 after hearing hours of testimony. Senate approval 30-6 came May 30.

A California bill to bar state regulation of VoIP continues stirring controversy, as SB-1161 moves toward final passage. It would prohibit the California Public Utilities Commission from regulating VoIP and Internet Protocol-enabled service until 2020, unless federal law or state statute dictate otherwise. The bill’s sponsor describes it as hewing to the same regulatory approach the state has taken on VoIP and IP-enabled calls, while critics worry it may affect reliability of calls and the ability to get them in rural areas. On June 18, the California Assembly’s Committee on Utilities and Commerce voted the bill out of committee 13-1 after hearing hours of testimony. Senate approval 30-6 came May 30.

The House Homeland Security Committee passed HR-3624, the Promoting and Enhancing Cybersecurity and Information Sharing Effectiveness (PrECISE) Act Wednesday, despite committee Democrats’ opposition to what they called a watered-down cybersecurity bill. The author of the bill, Cybersecurity Subcommittee Chairman Dan Lungren, R-Calif., reluctantly endorsed his “slimmed-down version” of the bill that he said offered the greatest likelihood to pass a House vote.

The House Homeland Security Committee passed HR-3624, the Promoting and Enhancing Cybersecurity and Information Sharing Effectiveness (PrECISE) Act Wednesday, despite committee Democrats’ opposition to what they called a watered-down cybersecurity bill. The author of the bill, Cybersecurity Subcommittee Chairman Dan Lungren, R-Calif., reluctantly endorsed his “slimmed-down version” of the bill that he said offered the greatest likelihood to pass a House vote.