Roy Mark

The Internet Society (ISOC) has approved new board members for the Public Interest Registry (PIR), which was organized last year to manage the .org domain. ISOC is a not-for-profit membership organization founded in 1991. The new board will be seated Nov. 1 and have staggered terms of one-three years. The primary criteria in PIR Board […]

A Washington think tank issued a report Monday calling for Congress to continue to make the Internet moratorium on access taxes temporary, claiming new legislation to make the moratorium permanent creates an uncertain revenue impact on states and an unfair tax advantage for those who can afford high-speed Internet services. The U.S. House of Representatives […]

The North American IPv6 Task Force (NAv6TF) announced Monday the launch of North America’s largest Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) pilot network. Known as Moonv6, it is being deployed to provide the North American market with strong validation for IPv6 through testing and demonstrating the technology’s effectiveness under real-world conditions. The Moonv6 project is a […]

A kinder, gentler Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has emerged in its war against music file swappers using peer-to-peer networks: it is now offering settlement agreements before actually suing. On Friday it made 204 such offers. In September, the RIAA 261 filed civil copyright infringement suits without any prior notice to the defendants, prompting […]

U.S. Sen. Larry Craig (R.-Idaho) introduced legislation late last week to amend certain sections the U.S. Patriot Act, including provisions that allow the government to issue “sneak and peak” warrants allowing federal agents to download computer files of businesses or individuals without prior notice. The Security and Freedom Ensured Act of 2003 (SAFE Act) is […]

The U.S. House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property voted 10-4 Thursday afternoon to approve legislation to prohibit the misappropriation of commercial databases. The measure now goes to the full committee. No comparable legislation has been introduced in the Senate. The Database and Collections of Information Misappropriation Act of 2003 (H.R. […]

U.S. Sen. Michael Enzi (R.-Ore.) introduced legislation Wednesday that would require out-of-state retailers, including Internet businesses, to charge and collect sales taxes on transactions. The bill, co-sponsored by Byron Dorgan (D.-N.D.), would grant congressional approval to a national compact negotiated among state governments to streamline and simplify more than 7,500 diverse sales tax laws among […]

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D.-N.Y.) continued his efforts Wednesday to have the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) create a “Do Not Spam” list modeled after the agency’s wildly popular “Do Not Call” registry with the release of a national survey that shows three out of four consumers support the notion. The FTC has repeatedly said the […]

WASHINGTON — The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved service rules Thursday morning for the commercial development of spectrum in the 71-76 GHz, 81-86 GHz and 92-95 GHz bands. Previously reserved exclusively for government use, the FCC hopes the space will now be used for a broad range of new fixed wireless services including high-speed wireless […]

WASHINGTON — A buoyant Karen Evans, the nation’s newly appointed chief IT officer, told a sparsely attended press conference Wednesday that President Bush’s E-Gov initiatives would continue on despite draconian cuts in funding by Congress. As a part of the President’s Management Agenda, the E-Gov initiatives propose to make it easier for citizens and businesses […]

Microsoft announced Wednesday ten new vendor partners who will support its corporate instant messaging (IM) platform. Known as Office Live Communications Server 2003, the Microsoft IM for business will feature voice, data and video support and is scheduled for an Oct. 21 debut. The announcement came on the opening day of the Instant Messaging Planet […]

The U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday agreed to hear for the second time in two years the government’s appeal of a lower court ruling barring the enforcement of the Child Online Protection Act (COPA), the controversial 1998 law intended to make it a crime to place sexually explicit material on the Internet where minors could view […]