Critical infrastructure such as telecom networks remain at risk of terrorist attack in large part due to a failure of federal agencies such as the Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) to share information, a new report said Tues. While there’s plenty of information both in the federal govt. and the private sector to make critical infrastructure more secure, legacy models of information sharing are insufficient, and President Bush should intervene, said The Task Force on National Security in the Information Age, formed shortly after Sept. 11 by the Markle Foundation. John Gannon, a former deputy CIA dir. and now staff dir. of the House Select Homeland Security Committee, said the report’s goals echoed those of Chmn. Cox (R-Cal.) and the select committee.
FCC Comr. Adelstein on Wed. said he was in talks with his fellow commissioners about launching a broad inquiry into alleged “payola” practices at TV and radio stations around the country. In a speech to the Federal Communications Bar Assn. (FCBA), Adelstein said the Commission needs to “get to the bottom” of allegations that some TV stations have done interviews during news programs with subjects who have been asked to pay a fee. Such shows would appear to the average person to be legitimate news programs, he said, and viewers might be unaware that money is changing hands.
FCC Comr. Copps warned that the Internet “may be dying” because intrenched interests were lobbying the Commission to control the flow of information by controlling Internet “choke points.” In a speech at the New America Foundation Thurs., he said regulatory reforms argued as necessary to revitalize the telecom industry actually were stifling access to the Internet by potential competitors and consumers. “The Commission strikes me as on course to replace open networks with closed systems,” Copps said. “Entrenched interests are positioning themselves to control the Internet’s choke points and they are lobbying the FCC to aid and abet them.”
House Internet Caucus Co-Chmn. Boucher (D-Va.) predicted Thurs. that Congress would turn back the 45% media ownership cap adopted by the FCC for TV stations, but wouldn’t roll back the rest of the rules, including cross-ownership. He was addressing members of the Computer & Communications Industry Assn. (CCIA). The increase in TV ownership to 45% from 35% is “the most controversial,” Boucher said. He echoed others in saying the House would “not take up” the resolution of disapproval the Senate passed against all the new rules, but said the Senate probably would keep the 45% rollback the House had approved in an appropriations bill. Thus, that would be rolled back but “cross-ownership will be allowed to go forward.” Former FCC Chmn. Powell Chief of Staff Marsha MacBride defended the new rules: “They were very modest changes. They were not the end of democracy.”
The U.S. Dist. Court, Oklahoma City, blocked the FTC’s national Do-Not-Call (DNC) registry late Tues., saying the Commission had acted without statutory authority in creating and implementing the list. The registry, which was designed to protect consumers from abusive telemarketing calls, was due to go into effect Oct. 1. The FTC said at our deadline it filed a motion in the U.S. Dist. Court, Oklahoma City, for a stay pending appeal of the court order. It also said it filed an appeal of the order. “Consumers may continue to sign up for the registry, and telemarketers may continue to access area codes in the registry while the motion to stay is pending,” the Commission said.
Copyright protection on the Internet continues to divide members of Congress, a Senate Commerce Committee hearing revealed Wed. A day after Sen. Brownback (R-Kan.) introduced a bill that would amend the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) to overturn the ruling in RIAA v. Verizon (see separate story, this issue), he chaired a hearing that saw every senator opposing piracy but great difference on how the problem should be fought.
FCC Chmn. Powell played cat and mouse with the news media here late Mon. over his planned announcement Wed. about a new media proceeding. Powell, who wanted to save the bulk of the news until Wed., said the proceeding would look at ways to encourage localism and diversity other than through media concentration rules. Localism and diversity are the real issues the public cares about, he said. A staff member reiterated that the proceeding was “about better ways to forward localism” and was “not directly tied to” the issue of concentration that was dealt with in the recent vote. Back in Washington, consumer advocates were up in arms that Powell would open any sort of proceeding on media ownership now, after the Commission already had ruled. “I have to say my mind boggles when Powell says he will announce tomorrow [Wed.] a study on media concentration. If he was an official in Japan, he would resign in shame,” said Center for Digital Democracy Executive Dir. Jeffrey Chester. Chester said he found Powell’s attempt to study the effects of media concentration at this late date “unprofessional, bizarre” and said he was “desperately trying to salvage his political career (and his ego) by trying to prove that media consolidation isn’t really a problem.”
The Aug. congressional recess isn’t likely to be relaxing for network lobbyists, who are trying to slow the momentum for rolling back broadcast ownership caps. With the Senate scheduled to vote to throw out all of the FCC’s controversial media ownership rule changes, network backers said they would use the month to try to change the direction of the nationwide media ownership debate. And while both sides acknowledge that it’s still uncertain what, if anything, Congress will do on media ownership rules, it seems clear that the impact of the issue on Capitol Hill has surprised many and seems likely to carry over into other media issues.
The FTC used reauthorization hearings in the House and Senate Wed. to push a sweeping proposal that, among other things, would end the 70-year exemption of telecom common carriers from FTC deceptive practices and unfair competition rules. The proposal prompted wariness from some House lawmakers, who worried about potential clashes between that agency and the FCC. Others questioned whether recommendations aimed at stepping up the FTC’s ability to fight cross-border fraud and spam via more extensive information-gathering and sharing powers raised privacy concerns.
Members of Congress continued Thurs. to look for ways to undo the FCC’s media ownership rule changes. Rep. Sanders (I-Vt.) said he would introduce legislation that would codify all of the previous ownership rules, including the 35% broadcast ownership cap and the newspaper-broadcast cross- ownership restrictions. Several senators joined Sen. Pryor (D-Ark.) on a resolution (S.Res.-159) calling for the FCC to rescind the media ownership changes. A bill in the House (HR-2052) that would codify just the 35% broadcast ownership cap had 33 co-sponsors added since Mon. and 5 more senators have joined a bill (S-1046) by Senate Appropriations Committee Chmn. Stevens (R-Alaska) that would codify the 35% cap.