Roy Mark

The U.S. House of Representatives approved a new version early Friday morning of the “Dot Kids” legislation to create a “safe zone” for children on the Internet. The Dot Kids Implementation and Efficiency Act of 2002 previously passed the House and won Senate approval late Wednesday night, but the bill had to go back to […]

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed three more complaints against e-mail spammers, including one selling spam filters that allegedly increases junk mail, settled with four others, and sent warning letters to approximately 100 spammers warning them that their e-mail appeared to be illegal and that law enforcers could take action against them if they […]

Just days after the Veterans Administration came under fire from the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and senior citizens for extending a contract with bankrupt WorldCom, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced it is exercising an additional one-year contract option with WorldCom subsidiary MCI, which provides a number of telecommunication services to many U.S. […]

Efforts to impose an eventual Internet sales tax reached the end of the beginning phase Tuesday when representatives from 32 states approved model legislation designed to create a system to tax Web sales. Spearheaded by the National Governors Association (NGA), the Streamlined Sales Tax Project (SSTP) would require participating states to have only one tax […]

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a new version of legislation Tuesday night that will create a cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security combining 22 federal agencies with an estimated budget of $37.4 billion, including $2.12 billion for IT. The Senate is expected to pass the same legislation as early as next week and send the […]

The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) is challenging a letter recently sent by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to colleges and universities seeking the schools’ cooperation in monitoring peer-to-peer file trading on university networks. In its own open letter to colleges and universities, EPIC wrote, “While network monitoring is appropriate for certain purposes […]

With the Federal Communications Commission set to rule favorably as early as today on the proposed merger between Comcast and AT&T, consumer groups are making a last ditch effort to stop the deal by filing an emergency motion to suspend the proceedings at the FCC and another motion designed to at least slow the approval […]

The Federal Communications Commission’s Spectrum Policy Task Force told the FCC Thursday morning that the agency needs to modernize its nearly century-old policies on radio frequency management and evolve from a traditional government “command and control” model to a more flexible, consumer-oriented approach. FCC Chairman Michael Powell created the task force earlier this summer to […]

The Federal Communications Commission will not require Comcast to publicly reveal details of its Internet service provider deal with AOL Time Warner as part of the FCC review of the proposed Comcast-AT&T Broadband merger. ISPs and consumer groups wanted the AOL TW agreement to be opened to public comment as part of the FCC’s review […]

Less than a day after the midterm elections that swept Republicans into control of the Senate, Steve Cooper, special assistant to President George W. Bush and CIO of the White House’s Office of Homeland Security, is calling for a national network of federal, state and local governments, along with certain private sector industries, to help […]

A publicly traded electronics manufacturer moved a step closer to uncovering the identity of an America Online subscriber who bashed the company in a chat room when the Virginia Supreme Court sided Friday with a California court ruling requiring AOL to reveal the true name of “scovey2.” The case could ultimately land in the U.S. […]

With the Federal Communications Commission set to rule as early this week on Comcast’s merger with AT&T Broadband, two consumer groups are attempting to slow what appears to be the inevitable approval by questioning Comcast President Brian Roberts’ contact with FCC officials, including Chairman Michael Powell, last week. On Oct. 28, Roberts urged Powell to […]