Roy Mark

U.S. Rep. Chip Pickering (R-MS) and 61 other members of Congress urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Tuesday to “immediately declare” that the FCC has sole jurisdiction to regulate Voice over IP services. In a letter to FCC Chairman Michael Powell, the lawmakers said VoIP services are inherently interstate in nature and should not be […]

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives voted 399-1 Tuesday night to pass legislation prohibiting unfair or deceptive practices related to spyware. The bill, known as the Spy Act, also requires an opt-in, notice and consent regime for legal software that collects personally identifiable information from consumers. Among the spyware practices prohibited by H.R. 2929 […]

WASHINGTON — The White House, the U.S. Departments of Commerce, Homeland Security and Justice and U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Zoellick will carry out a multi-prong initiative to fight the global trade in pirated and counterfeited goods. According to the Business Software Alliance (BSA), a major special interest group representing the software and Internet industry, […]

Barely a year after taking the job, Amit Yoran resigned Thursday as the country’s highest-ranking cybersecurity officer. The resignation was effective immediately and continues the three-year turnover trend in the cybersecurity leadership of the Bush administration. According to the Associated Press, Yoran’s abrupt resignation was prompted by his frustration over a lack of focus on […]

WASHINGTON — For the third time in three weeks, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee decided to take no action on the controversial Induce Act aimed at illegal file swapping on peer-to-peer networks. Written by Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and the committee’s ranking Democrat, Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the Inducing Infringement of Copyrights Act of […]

UPDATED: The Department of Justice said today it would appeal Wednesday’s federal court ruling striking down a key provision of the Patriot Act. The provision in question authorizes the FBI to obtain sensitive customer records from Internet service providers (ISP) and other businesses without judicial oversight. Judge Victor Marrero of the Southern District of New […]

Two U.S. congressmen said Wednesday wireless carriers originally opposed opt-in requirements for a national wireless assistance directory, wanting instead to charge their customers to be unlisted. Rep. Joe Pitts (R-Penn.) and Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) are the authors of legislation aimed at protecting wireless customers from having their cellular numbers listed without their express consent […]

The U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation Tuesday night that could put some peer-to-peer file swappers in jail for up to five years. The measure represents the first bill aimed at P2P networks to pass either the House or the Senate. The Piracy Deterrence and Education Act of 2003 (H.R. 4077) expands the current definitions […]

A new international group of defense contractors and systems integrators plans to accelerate increased interoperability in network systems that serve the military, first responders and, eventually, commercial users. The first 28 members of the Network Centric Operations Industry Consortium (NCOIC) met in Washington this week to announce it will work with stakeholders from governments, industry […]

A fourth rewrite of the Induce Act is proving as controversial as its much-maligned predecessors. The Inducing Infringement of Copyrights Act of 2004 (S. 2560) would permit individuals or corporations to be held liable for infringing acts that “they intend to induce.” Written by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT), […]

A federal court put Florida’s voting procedures back into the national spotlight Monday, ordering a district judge to reopen a lawsuit seeking paper receipts for electronic touch screen voters. Florida plans to use the paperless electronic voting machines in 15 counties on Nov. 2. In the state’s other counties, voters will use optically scanned or […]

Oracle has extended its tender offer to Oct. 8 for all of PeopleSoft’s common stock. The $21-per-share bid was set to expire at midnight. The latest $7.7 billion offer is the third since Oracle reduced its takeover price from $26-per-share ($9.4 billion) for PeopleSoft and the first since a federal judge rejected a Department of […]