The Bush Administration’s data retention dreams for Internet providers aren’t limited to “kiddie porn and terrorism investigations,” a high-tech privacy advocate who met with DoJ officials Thurs. told us. Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) Exec. Dir. Marc Rotenberg said agency officials mentioned data theft and financial crimes as problems that could also be remedied by requiring ISPs to hold on to user data a long time. The full scope of DoJ’s wishes remain undefined, but the Administration’s plan could encompass not only ISPs but also website operators, phone and cable companies, wireless carriers, employers who provide workers with Web access, hotels, libraries, universities and Wi-Fi hotspot providers, industry officials said.

The Bush Administration’s data retention dreams for Internet providers aren’t limited to “kiddie porn and terrorism investigations,” a high-tech privacy advocate who met with DoJ officials Thurs. told us. Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) Exec. Dir. Marc Rotenberg said agency officials mentioned data theft and financial crimes as problems that could also be remedied by requiring ISPs to hold on to user data a long time. The full scope of DoJ’s wishes remain undefined, but the Administration’s plan could encompass not only ISPs but also website operators, phone and cable companies, wireless carriers, employers who provide employees with Web access, hotels, libraries, universities and Wi-Fi hotspot providers, industry officials said.

Communities across the Empire State should look to Philadelphia’s model of offering municipal broadband access to citizens, Attorney Gen. Eliot Spitzer (D) told the Personal Democracy Forum conference in N.Y.C. Mon. The gubernatorial candidate said the problem “isn’t a lack of resources, it’s a lack of imagination and a lack of leadership.”

High-tech firms must devise common principles to tackle the Internet regimes of repressive nations such as in China, agreed Google and Microsoft executives Fri. at a Washington event. The need for industry collaboration, coupled with U.S. govt. pressure, surfaced at a House human rights subcommittee hearing on American firms’ dealings in China this year. Lawmakers have knocked Internet firms for caving in to Beijing demands for Web blocking, filtering and user monitoring (WID Feb 2 p1).

N.Y. Attorney Gen. Eliot Spitzer (D) continued his crusade against Web-based blight Tues., suing what he called one of the Internet’s most elusive spyware companies. In the complaint, filed in state Supreme Court, Spitzer alleged the firm sneakily installed millions of pop-up ad programs on consumers’ PCs. The gubernatorial hopeful recently sued Datran Media and Gratis Internet (WID March 24 p3, March 15 p8) on allegations of buying and selling consumers’ personal information and last year made headlines when he sued and won a $7.5 million settlement from adware distributor Intermix Media (WID Oct 24 p7). The Supreme Court in N.Y. is a trial court.

A new high-tech policy think tank opened Mon., promising a focus on innovation, productivity and digital economy issues. The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF) works out of Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) hq but has its own mission and ambitious agenda. Since President Bush’s State of the Union speech, “innovation” and “competitiveness” have gained prominence in Washington’s buzzword lexicon. The new group, co-chaired by former Reps. Jennifer Dunn (R-Wash.) and Calvin Dooley (D-Cal.) and run by former Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) Vp Robert Atkinson, hopes to build on that higher profile.

A new high-tech policy think tank opened Mon., promising a focus on innovation, productivity and digital economy issues. The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF) works out of Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) hq but has its own mission and ambitious agenda. Since President Bush’s State of the Union speech, “innovation” and “competitiveness” have gained prominence in Washington’s buzzword lexicon. The new group, co-chaired by former Reps. Jennifer Dunn (R-Wash.) and Calvin Dooley (D-Cal.) and run by former Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) Vp Robert Atkinson, hopes to build on that higher profile.

Comcast and Time Warner haven’t made public critical information on the Adelphia deal that’s under FCC review, said media activists concerned about the transaction. Some of the firms, seeking approval for the $17.6 billion cable system purchase, failed to file ex parte documents that said they're in no hurry for the Commission to conclude its review, according to the Media Access Project (MAP). FCC Gen. Counsel Samuel Feder was asked to “conduct an inquiry into possible violations,” said a letter to him from Harold Feld, the group’s senior vp, and Pres. Andrew Schwartzman. It cited comments by Chmn. Martin that suggested “he had been asked to defer action on the Adelphia matter at the request of certain of the parties.” The comments at Martin’s first news briefing were in response to a question on the status of the Adelphia deal (CD March 20 p2).

The Federal Election Commission’s (FEC) plans were upended late Wed. when a House committee failed to bring an online political speech bill to the floor. Earlier in the day, FEC Chmn. Michael Toner said the agency was delaying by a week its final rules for Internet campaigning, scheduled for Thurs., to see the outcome of a floor vote on Rep. Hensarling’s (R-Tex.) Internet Freedom of Speech Act (HR- 1606). But the House Rules Committee couldn’t settle on ground rules for floor debate on the bill and postponed consideration of the rules until after the congressional recess for St. Patrick’s Day. The FEC’s final rules will be released by then unless the Commission again delays its vote, a possibility discounted by commissioners we spoke to.

Repressive Internet regimes figure in big-picture human rights abuses worldwide, Secy. of State Condoleezza Rice and Undersecy.-Democracy & Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky told reporters Wed. at a briefing on an annual human rights report. In Internet cafes, at public squares and on countless kitchen tables, democracy is growing, Rice said, and independent media and information flow are integral. Dobriansky called the new State Global Internet Freedom Task Force a step forward. Task force members will review online governance and use of technology to track and repress dissidents (WID Feb 15 p1). The group will advise Rice on how to maximize access to the Internet and minimize govt. Web jamming, Dobriansky said. The task force consists of govt. officials, but contributions from those outside govt. is “essential” because they offer “ground experience and years of expertise,” she said.