Pending Legislation
President Signs E-911 Bill Into Law
Jul 24, 2008 | President Bush signed the New and Emerging Technologies 911 Improvement Act of 2008 yesterday, enacting into law several measures designed Read More
Trying to Bring DOPA Back
May 7, 2008 | If sites like Second Life won't protect kids from obviously inappropriate content, the Congress will. That quote is from Rep. Read More
News From Who's Who
May 6, 2008 | Below is a quick roundup of recent press releases from Tech Policy Central's Who's Who, which profiles nearly 100 think Read More
Congress Proposes 'Orphan Works' Changes
Apr 25, 2008 | Both the Senate and the House introduced legislation yesterday to clarify the use of so-called 'orphan works' -- copyrighted material Read More
Tech Execs Testify on Role of Small Businesses
Apr 24, 2008 | It is National Small Business Week and the U.S. House Small Business Committee, chaired by Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), held Read More
Sen. Kerry Turns to Blog for NN Feedback
Apr 21, 2008 | In advance of tomorrow's Senate Commerce Committee hearing on the future of the Internet, Senator John Kerry (D-MA) is asking Read More
New Bill Links P2P Monitoring + Internet Safety
Apr 18, 2008 | The issue of online child safety was raised several times during yesterday's FCC hearing on broadband network management practices. For Read More
PublicMarkup.org
Apr 7, 2008 | One of the highlights of this year's Tech Policy Summit was a breakout session on using social media as a Read More
FTC Commissioners Head to Hill
Apr 7, 2008 | Newly-appointed Federal Trade Commission (FTC) chairman William Kovacic and his three fellow commissioners will appear before the Senate Commerce Committee Read More
Groups Clash in Compromise Over Senate Patent Reform Bill
Mar 12, 2008 | Even though the House of Representatives passed its version of the Patent Reform Act last September, the debate over patent Read More
Dialing 911 in the Digital Age
Feb 28, 2008 | Legislation that passed the Senate earlier this week is designed to ensure that VoIP customers have access to the same Read More
New Group's Mission is Clear: End Software Patents
Feb 28, 2008 | As its name suggests, the End Software Patents (ESP) project is not a fan of patenting software. The coalition, which Read More
Senate's New Anti-Phishing Bill Raises Privacy Concerns
Feb 27, 2008 | Citing data from Gartner that about 3.5 million computer users were tricked by phishing scams between 2006 and 2007, resulting Read More
Survey Says: U.S. Morally Opposed to Nanotech
Feb 20, 2008 | Even though the U.S. is a global leader in nanotech research and development, a recently released survey by Arizona State Read More
RIM and MOT Sue; Senators Push Patent Reform
Feb 18, 2008 | Over the weekend, Canadian company Research In Motion (RIM) filed a lawsuit against Motorola in U.S. District Court in Texas. Read More
Bringing Net Neutrality Back
Feb 13, 2008 | Coverage of the net neutrality issue may have quieted down for a time. But rumblings about Comcast allegedly interfering with file-sharing traffic Read More
Net Safety and Cyberbanging
Feb 8, 2008 | When it comes to protecting kids online, most of the focus has been on stopping sexual predators and child pornography. Read More
Budget Raises New Questions About OPEN Government Law
Feb 7, 2008 | When President Bush signed the OPEN Government Act of 2007 on December 31st, it was seen as a victory by Read More
CCIA's Scorecard Rates Congress
Feb 4, 2008 | How did the U.S. Congress treat tech in 2007? According to the Computer and Communications Industry Association's (CCIA) recently released High Read More
President's State of the Union: Tech Highlights
Jan 29, 2008 | As a follow-up to our earlier post about the President Bush's State of the Union address, here is a summary Read More
Govt.'s Fight Against Terrorism Hitting Net
Jan 21, 2008 | "If we are ready and willing to take action to stop the grooming of the vulnerable young on social networking Read More
13th Time Isn't the Charm for R and D Credit
Dec 7, 2007 | The Senate voted yesterday to approve a one-year extension of the R&D tax credit, which is set to expire on Read More
House Holding Hearing on Copyright Reform Bill
Dec 6, 2007 | The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property, chaired by Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA), has scheduled a Read More
House Passes SAFE Act, 409-2
Dec 6, 2007 | A bill designed to "modernize and expand" how child porn is reported sailed through the House of Representatives yesterday. Only Read More
House Committee Passes Bill to Fight Piracy on Campuses
Nov 16, 2007 | As we wrote about on Monday, the House Education and Labor Committee held a markup session this week to review Read More
House Passes Broadband Mapping Bill
Nov 14, 2007 | As we wrote about last month, Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) has sponsored "home run" legislation, known as the Broadband Census of Read More
Government's Role in Ensuring Cybersecurity
Nov 13, 2007 | Yesterday, we wrote about the San Jose Mercury News' special report on cybercrime in the U.S. The final part of the Read More
Cleantech Backers Critical of Energy Bill Changes
Nov 13, 2007 | According to Earth2Tech, Congressional leaders hoping to pass energy legislation before they break for the Thanksgiving recess this Friday are Read More
House Bill Links Financial Aid and Illegal Downloads
Nov 12, 2007 | Late Friday, News.com reported on a bill introduced in the House of Representatives that would require universities to do more Read More
Senators Introduce IP Enforcement Bill
Nov 8, 2007 | The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing yesterday on government enforcement of intellectual property rights, and Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and committee Read More
Sending Federal Workers Home (to Work)
Nov 7, 2007 | It's not that unusual these days for employees to telecommute, especially in Silicon Valley where connectivity is plentiful and work Read More
House Hearing Considers Role of Net in Homegrown Terrorism
Nov 6, 2007 | The House Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing and Terrorism Risk Assessment just wrapped up its hearing on "Using the Web as a Weapon." Although Read More
President Bush on Free Trade and TAA
Nov 6, 2007 | At a White House Forum on International Trade and Investment earlier today, President Bush made his case for free trade Read More
Senate Funding for "Rural" Clean Tech
Nov 5, 2007 | Clean tech blog Earth2Tech, which happens to be today's Blog of the Day, has an update on the 2007 Farm Read More
Senate Committee Passes Cybercrime Bill
Nov 2, 2007 | The Senate Judiciary Committee passed The Identity Theft Enforcement and Restitution Act of 2007, co-sponsored by committee chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Read More
WSJ: Yahoo! Exec Apologizes to House Committee
Nov 2, 2007 | The Wall Street Journal (sub required) reports that Yahoo!'s executive vice president and general counsel Michael Callahan has apologized to Read More
Broadband Bills Advance in Congress
Oct 31, 2007 | Two broadband-related bills passed committees in the U.S. House and Senate yesterday. In the House, the Energy and Commerce Committee approved Read More
Internet Tax Bill Ready for President's Signature
Oct 30, 2007 | Earlier today, the House of Representatives voted 402-0 to extend the moratorium on Internet taxes for another seven years and Read More
Mapping Broadband in the U.S.
Oct 30, 2007 | The U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce is scheduled to hold an open markup session today in which it will review proposed Read More
Notification of Data Breaches
Oct 29, 2007 | For at least a few more days, it is National Cyber Security Awareness Month, and one of the key policy priorities for Read More
Senate Votes to Ban Net Taxes for 7 Years
Oct 26, 2007 | The Senate voted last night in favor of extending the Internet tax moratorium for another seven years, despite widespread efforts Read More
Patent Reform Debate Still Underway
Oct 24, 2007 | It's been over six weeks since the House of Representatives passed the Patent Reform Act of 2007, and the focus Read More
Senate Hearing On Cell Phone Regulations
Oct 17, 2007 | The Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing this morning to discuss whether or not the wireless industry is doing Read More
House Votes to Extend Ban on Net Taxes
Oct 15, 2007 | Despite calls for a permanent ban on Internet taxes, the House of Representatives voted 405-2 today in favor of Read More
Another Update: Senate's Patent Reform Bill
Sep 12, 2007 | As we mentioned yesterday, the patent reform bill that passed in the House on Friday is just one piece of Read More
Update: Patent Reform Passes House
Sep 11, 2007 | As expected, the House of Representatives acted on patent reform legislation on Friday. By a 220-175 vote, the House approved Read More
Senators Introduce Bill to Regulate Cell Phone Contracts
Sep 11, 2007 | Senators Amy Klobucher (D-MN) and Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) announced a new bill called the Cell Phone Consumer Empowerment Act of Read More
House Set to Vote on Patent Reform
Sep 4, 2007 | Now that the August recess is over and Congress is back on Capitol Hill, eWeek offers a look at some Read More
Survey Says: Should Texting While Driving Be Illegal?
Aug 6, 2007 | According to Reuters, a recent survey of 2,049 American adults found that 89 percent of respondents believe that sending text Read More
Congress Passes Competitiveness Bill
Aug 3, 2007 | Congress has voted in favor of competitiveness legislation that many tech industry associations have been backing. Both the House and Read More
N.C. Age Verification Bill and MySpace
Jul 24, 2007 | While the Senate Commerce Committee held its hearing on Internet safety earlier today, the state legislature in North Carolina had Read More
Commerce Committee Backs Broadband Bill
Jul 20, 2007 | The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee, chaired by Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI) announced today that the full committee unanimously voted in Read More
Judiciary Votes for Patent Reform Act
Jul 19, 2007 | The U.S House Judiciary Committee yesterday voted in favor of the Patent Reform Act of 2007, a move that this Read More
Op-Ed Warns of RFID "Scare Tactics"
Jul 13, 2007 | Earlier this week, Jim Sheire of NXP Semiconductors wrote this op-ed in the San Jose Mercury News in response to Read More
FTC Urges Caution on Net Neutrality
Jun 27, 2007 | The Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Internet Access Task Force released a report yesterday called Broadband Connectivity Competition Policy that summarized Read More
Protesting Over Net Radio Royalties
Jun 26, 2007 | A number of U.S. webcasters have been observing a "National Day of Silence" today to protest a planned royalty increase Read More
RFID Bill Is Back In CA
Jun 20, 2007 | The California legislature is again considering a bill to toughen security and privacy measures in government-issued identification cards that contain Read More
What's the Real Cost of Taxing Internet Access?
Jun 18, 2007 | It's a question more people are asking since, as we pointed out last month, the current moratorium on Internet access Read More
Texas Tackles E-Waste
Jun 12, 2007 | Computerworld reported yesterday that the Texas legislature has passed an e-waste bill that would require electronics manufacturers that sell computers Read More
House approves second spyware bill
Jun 7, 2007 | The House voted 368-48 in favor of the Spy Act, a bill sponsored by Reps. Edolphus Towns (D-NY) and Mary Read More
Reaction to DOJ's Copyright Enforcement Plan
Jun 5, 2007 | A few weeks ago, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) sent a proposal to Congress for new legislation, called the Read More
Calculating the R&D Tax Break
May 30, 2007 | According to The Wall Street Journal (sub required), Sen. Max Baucus (D - MT), Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Read More
News.com Podcast: Internet Taxation
May 22, 2007 | In their latest podcast, News.com's Charlie Cooper and Declan McCullagh talk with former House Majority Leader Dick Armey about the Read More
Congress Gets More Proposals for H-1B Increase
May 17, 2007 | As we blogged about last month, the U.S. government received a record number of applications for H-1B visas this year Read More
Subcommittee Votes on Patent Reform Bill
May 16, 2007 | According to News.com's Anne Broache, the House Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property, chaired by Rep. Howard Berman Read More
CA's Internet Predator Legislation
Apr 23, 2007 | According to a Mercury News article, California lawmakers may enact legislation requiring "registered sex offenders to report their e-mail addressess Read More
Patent Reform Bills On the Way
Apr 17, 2007 | According to News.com's Anne Broache, members of both the Senate and House -- Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Orrin Hatch Read More
MPAA's Efforts to Fight Piracy on Campus
Apr 2, 2007 | The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), which represents the major film studios, issued a press release last week announcing Read More
Steven Levy on Patent Reform
Mar 7, 2007 | Newsweek's senior editor Steven Levy, who hosted a roundtable on privacy and security at last week's Tech Policy Summit, has Read More
Sen. Sununu Seeks Oversight of Federal Data Mining
Feb 19, 2007 | On Thursday, Senator John Sununu (R-NH) announced that the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, of which he is Read More
House Subcommittee Holds Patent Reform Hearing
Feb 16, 2007 | The House Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property, led by Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA) - who will be Read More
Data Retention Bill Introduced in House
Feb 7, 2007 | News.com's Declan McCullagh (one of the session hosts at Tech Policy Summit) reported yesterday evening on new data retention and Read More
Patent Reform Tops House Subcommittee Agenda
Jan 25, 2007 | National Journal's Technology Daily (a Tech Policy Summit media sponsor) is running a special series this week that looks at Read More
Science and Tech Chair Reintroduces Education/Energy Bills
Jan 12, 2007 | The House Committee on Science and Technology Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN) announced the re-introduction of several pieces of legislation from Read More
Sen. Sununu Proposes Broadcast Flag Ban
Jan 11, 2007 | Senator John Sununu (R-NH) announced plans earlier this week to introduce legislation that would limit the role that the Federal Read More
Data Mining Bill Reintroduced
Jan 10, 2007 | At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing this morning on balancing privacy and security, Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) announced that he, Read More
The "L" Word
Jan 8, 2007 | Lobbyists, and the practice of lobbying in general, have been scrutinized as the new session of Congress begins. As Reuters Read More
How Many of Those Tech Bills Passed?
Dec 12, 2006 | Declan McCullagh and Anne Broache of News.com take a look back at the 109th Congress' legislative record, with a summary Read More
Reactions to McCain/Schumer bill
Dec 12, 2006 | Last week, we posted about MySpace.com's plans to cross-reference its membership against a database of registered sex offenders. Separately, we Read More
Congress Adjourns, But Not Before Passing Tax Bill
Dec 11, 2006 | Before adjourning, the 109th Congress passed a tax bill that includes a provision restoring the expired R&D tax credit. As Read More
Defunding Could Cut TA and OTP
Dec 8, 2006 | Technology Daily points to a FCW.com article about possible funding cuts that would eliminate the Office of Technology Policy, the Read More
Bill Would Try to Restrict Sex Offenders' Web Access
Dec 7, 2006 | According to a Reuters report on News.com, during the next session of Congress, Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Charles Schumer Read More
Sen. Reid's 2007 Agenda
Nov 28, 2006 | Yahoo! News is running a story from the Associated Press about Sen. Harry Reid's (D-NV) plans for the new session Read More
AP: Congress May Wrap It Up Early
Nov 24, 2006 | The lame duck session may get a bit lamer...an Associated Press report in Tuesday's Seattle Times predicts that Congress may Read More
Study: Foreign-Born Entrepreneurs Play Key Role in Tech
Nov 15, 2006 | Technology Daily (sub required) points to a story in today's Boston Globe that highlights the role that foreign-born entrepreneurs play Read More
R and D Tax Credit Top Priority
Nov 15, 2006 | As mentioned in yesterday's post about the lame duck session, a cross-section of tech industry associations (including Tech Policy Summit Read More
Lobbying During the Lame Duck
Nov 14, 2006 | News.com's Anne Broache writes today about the tech industry's efforts to push for legislation to pass during the lame duck Read More
CEA and Others Launch Digital Freedom Campaign
Oct 26, 2006 | A number of groups have joined together to rally consumers against legislation - such as the audio flag bill - Read More
Exclusive: Q and A with Rob Atkinson
Oct 23, 2006 | Earlier this month, we had the opportunity to spend some time speaking with Robert Atkinson, President of the Information Technology Read More
Remember DOPA?
Oct 16, 2006 | A few months ago, we blogged (here and here) about the Deleting Online Predators Act - aka DOPA - that Read More
CRA Blog's Take on Competitiveness Legislation
Sep 29, 2006 | Earlier this week, the Computing Research Association's blog featured a post called "Innovation and Competitiveness: How'd We Do?" by CRA's Read More
Will Congress Mandate Online Data Retention?
Sep 27, 2006 | According to News.com, Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) of Colorado is reportedly working with Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY) and Joe Barton Read More
Calif.'s RFID Privacy Bill Passes
Sep 1, 2006 | Earlier this week, the California State Senate passed a bill aimed at toughening security and privacy requirements for use of Read More
CDT Weighs In On DOPA
Aug 11, 2006 | Leslie Harris, Executive Director of the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), blogged today about the Center's opposition to the Read More
Tech Groups Urge Action on R&D Tax Credit
Aug 10, 2006 | Jim Puzzanghera wrote a piece in the LA Times last week about the tech industry's disappointment, to put it lightly, Read More
Patent Reform Bill Introduced in Senate
Aug 7, 2006 | Before the Senate began its summer recess last week, co-chairs of the Intellectual Property subcommitte, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Read More
More on DOPA From the 463
Jul 30, 2006 | As we posted on Friday, the House passed the DOPA bill 410 to 15, opening the door for sweeping restrictions Read More
House Passes Bill Restricting Access to Popular Web Sites
Jul 27, 2006 | The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly, 410-15, in favor of the Deleting Online Predators Act of 2006, otherwise known as Read More
House Considers Limiting Access to Certain Sites As Part of DOPA
Jul 13, 2006 | The House's Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet held a hearing earlier this week on the Deleting Online Predators Act Read More
Senate Commerce Committee Begins Markup of Broadband Deployment Act
Jun 26, 2006 | The Senate Commerce Committee's Chairman, Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), began the committee's markup session for the Communications, Consumers' Choice and Read More
House Judiciary Committee Backs Net Neutrality
May 25, 2006 | In the latest chapter in the net neutrality debate, the House Judiciary Committee today voted 20-13 to approve legislation that, Read More
Congress Considers Banning Social Media in Public Schools, Libraries
May 11, 2006 | According to News.com, some members of Congress are reacting to recent media reports of online child predator cases by trying Read More
Senate Commerce Committee Chair Backing Broadband Deployment Act
May 11, 2006 | After receiving a GAO report stating that only 28% of American households are using broadband Internet services, Senate Commerce Committee Read More
Data Breach Legislation Stalling
May 8, 2006 | ComputerWorld reports that it is becoming less likely that Congress will pass any data breach notification legislation this year, despite Read More
Stricter Digital Copyright Legislation is in the Works
Apr 24, 2006 | Declan McCullagh at CNET reports on proposed legislation called the Intellectual Property Protection Act of 2006 that would expand copyright Read More
H-1B Visa Issue in Spotlight Again
Mar 31, 2006 | While members of the Senate have indicated support for an increase in the number of H-1B visas from 65,000 to Read More
Net Neutrality Bill Introduced in the Senate
Mar 6, 2006 | Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon introduced the Internet Non-Discrimination Act of 2006 in the Senate last week. The legislation aims Read More
Net Neutrality Debate Heats Up
Mar 2, 2006 | According to an article in Computerworld, a number of leading tech companies (including Microsoft, eBay, Yahoo and Amazon.com) signed on Read More
Cisco Weighs in on Censorship Hearings
Mar 2, 2006 | A recent post on Cisco's High Tech Policy Blog caught our eye. It features a Q & A with Mark Read More
