 iiiiiiii  iiiiiiiii aa               INFORMATION POLICY ONLINE
    ii         ii    aaa                An Internet Newsletter
    ii         ii     aaa
    ii         ii      aaa                published by the 
    ii         ii   aaaaaaa           Information Industry Assoc.
    ii         ii        aaa                555 New Jersey
    ii         ii         aaa         Washington, DC 20001
    ii         ii          aaa      Internet: <iia.ipo@his.com>
 iiiiiiii   iiiiiiii  aaaaaaaaa   
                                            Volume 1, Number 7
(Part 1 of 2)                             August/September 1994
*****************************************************************
IN THIS ISSUE:

Part 1:

[1]   TELECOM LEGISLATION ADVANCES 
[2]   U.S. ADVISORY COUNCIL ON THE NII
[3]   IIA TESTIFIES  AT CLINTON ADMINISTRATION  IITF HEARING
[4]   LC BILL SEES DAYLIGHT
[5]   FEDERAL DISSEMINATION POLICY BILL BACK ON TRACK?
[6]   CONFEREES REACH AGREEMENT ON DMV RECORDS BILL 
[7]   FIRST BURNETT MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP AWARDED
[8]   NUMBER PAY-PER-CALL-SERVICES UNDER FIRE
*****************************************************************
Part 2:

[9]   DIGITAL TELEPHONY LEGISLATION INTRODUCED IN HOUSE & SENATE
[10]  ADMINISTRATION DRAFT REPORT HIGHLIGHTS COPYRIGHT ISSUES
      IN NII
[11]  MARY BETH PETERS NAMED REGISTER OF COPYRIGHTS
[12]  CAN CANTWELL CLIP CLIPPER?
[13]  PERILS & POSSIBILITIES & PUBLIC POLICY:
      IIA'S ANNUAL CONVENTION HOSTS INFORMATION POLICY GURUS
[14]  IIA TESTIFIES ON THE GLOBAL INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE
[15]  JUSTICE DEPARTMENT UNVEILS INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LICENSING
      GUIDELINES
[16]  ABOUT INFORMATION POLICY ONLINE AND THE INFORMATION 
      INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION 
*****************************************************************
[1]  TELECOM LEGISLATION ADVANCES  FINALLY

Both the House and the Senate have advanced their respective versions of
the telecommunications legislation which has been stalled in committee for
many months. Prospects for passage appear much brighter than they did even
three weeks ago, and all parties expect to have final compromise
legislation adopted this fall.

Last month the House overwhelmingly approved both H.R. 3626 and H.R. 3636.
This legislation would lift many of the restraints placed on the Regional
Bell Operating Companies by the Modified Final Judgment adopted with the
break-up of AT&T, permitting the RBOCs to enter into new lines of business
such as long distance telephone service and equipment manufacturing. Of
primary importance to IIA are the provisions relating to electronic
publishing and information services. The legislation upholds the right of
the RBOCs to enter into these lines of business subject to the requirement
that the RBOC create a separate subsidiary for some new businesses that
come within the definition of electronic publishing.

Companion legislation in the Senate was marked-up by the Commerce Committee
on August 10th. The Senate legislation (S.1822) contains similar
provisions modifying the restrictions placed on the RBOCs and has been the
subject of intense negotiations between the RBOCs and the long distance
carriers during the past few weeks. Depending on the status of the ongoing
health care legislation debate, the Senate telecommunications legislation
could go to the floor for a vote immediately after Congress returns from
recess in mid-September.

Caller ID

IIA recently filed comments with the FCC in support of a U S West petition
for reconsideration of the Report and Order on Caller ID services in CC
Docket No. 91-281. Although the U S West petition addressed a number of
issues, IIA limited its comments to supporting U S West's request that the
FCC adopt a more flexible approach to the regulations restricting use of
Automatic Number Identification (ANI) information by direct recipients of
the information. The FCC's order prohibits the recipient of ANI
information from using that information to offer a product or service to
the customer unless the product or service is directly related to those
previously acquired by the customer. IIA noted in its comments that the
"directly related" standard might unnecessarily restrict the use of ANI
information and encouraged the FCC to adopt a more flexible approach.

Expanded Interconnection

In response to the D.C. Circuit decision striking down the FCC's physical
collocation rules, the FCC in July adopted a new order in its expanded
interconnection docket to reaffirm its virtual collocation rules. The FCC
also upheld its rules concerning pricing flexibility. Southwestern Bell
Telephone Co. filed a petition for review with the D.C. Circuit seeking
reversal of the FCC order.

On appeal of the FCC's original expanded interconnection orders, the D.C.
Circuit struck down the FCC's decision to order local exchange carriers
(LECs) to offer competitive access providers (CAPs) physical collocation
interconnection. The court determined that the Communications Act did not
authorize the FCC to order an uncompensated taking within the meaning of
the 5th Amendment to the Constitution. The court remanded the proceeding
to the FCC to determine whether virtual collocation was consistent with
the Communications Act and the Commission's regulations.

The FCC made physical collocation mandatory in a 1992 order which mandated
that LECs set aside a portion of their central offices for occupation and
use by CAPs. In the case of virtual collocation, the LEC owns and
maintains all the equipment, but the CAP designates the type of equipment
that the LEC must use and provides the cable to interconnect to the LEC
facilities near the central office. By upholding the virtual collocation
rules, the FCC preserved the structure of its expanded interconnection
rules and provided a justification for continuing pricing flexibility for
those carriers that provide interconnection to competitors.

N11 Abbreviated Dialing Arrangements

IIA filed comments with the FCC in response to a request for comments on
petitions of the General Services Administration and state governments
seeking assignment of an N11 codes. N11 codes are three digit abbreviated
dialing arrangements such as the 411 number used for operator assisted
information or the 911 number used for emergency services. GSA and the
state governments have each requested assignment of an N11 code to
establish a nationwide abbreviated code to be used to access government
services.

IIA encouraged the FCC to use N11 code as a prefix or as an area code to
increase the number of lines that could be accessed with an N11 code. IIA
also advocated that the FCC ensure that N11 codes not be assigned to
government entities that would use those scarce resources to unfairly
compete with private sector companies.
*****************************************************************
[2]  U.S. ADVISORY COUNCIL ON THE NII: NOTES ON MEGA PROJECT I

by Stephen L. Haynes, West Publishing Co.
Principal Staff Member to Council Member Vance K. Opperman

At the first meeting earlier this year of the U.S. Advisory Council on the
National Information Infrastructure, the Council designated three Mega
Projects on which individual Council members were expected to work. Mega
Project I, "Vision and Goals Driven by Specific Applications," is
co-chaired by Vance Opperman, President of IIA member West Publishing
Company. (The other co-chair for MP-I is Jane Smith Patterson of the
Governor's Office in North Carolina.)

It was quickly decided that one of the primary objectives of the Council
must be to articulate a clear vision of what the NII should become and
what it can enable. For example, Vice President Gore articulated a
national goal of having all schools, libraries, hospitals and clinics
online by the year 2000. Is this an appropriate goal? Is it a realistic
time frame? Will the attainment of these goals make a real difference in
the delivery of socially beneficial services? If not, should complementary
goals be established?

Although MP-I decided initially to address a number of application areas,
including Education, Health Care, Electronic Commerce and Public Safety,
following the second meeting it was concluded that the Mega Project could
be most effective by limiting initial consideration to just two: Education
and Electronic Commerce. Thus, the Council will examine these two key
application areas, determine the national goals for the NII in each area,
and assess how the NII can enhance each area for all Americans. Under
Education are included topics of training, libraries and lifelong
learning; under Electronic Commerce are included content and services.

Principal effort in preparing the two topics for MP-I Council members'
consideration is being undertaken by the co-chairs' staffs. The resulting
document is expected to set specific acceptable objectives for each
application area, as well as examine how these goals impact technology and
policy goals for the NII (such as the extent to which goals of Education
and Electronic Commerce require broadband access, and to which places).

The document will be reviewed and debated by the MP-I Council members, and
then it will be submitted for approval by the Advisory Council as a whole.
After Council approval it will be submitted to Commerce Secretary Brown
pursuant to the Council's role as advisor to the administration, and
particularly to the Administration's Information Infrastructure Task
Force.

The MP-I team will examine the tension between a market driven by pure
competition with applications which pay their own way (such as
pay-for-view) and a market which also serves broader societal needs which
may not be self-funding, hoping to provide guidance in response to
questions such as: How may we resolve and manage that tension so that the
broader societal goals are met without penalizing unduly the applications
or market areas which generate their own market demand? Can we establish
goals or objectives for individual Americans that will help them
understand how they can contribute and what they have to be capable of to
participate in the NII?

IIA members can expect future opportunities to arise whereby, individually
or through IIA staff, they may offer testimony or demonstrations relating
to their own visions and expectations of Electronic Commerce or Education.
Council members serving in Mega Project I are only beginning to appreciate
the magnitude of the task before them, which truly encompasses the
commercial and societal well-being of millions of Americans, well into the
next century.

Individuals are encouraged to send their questions, viewpoints and/or
contributions directly to Vance Opperman, who may be reached on the
Internet at opperman@research.westlaw.com, or by "snail mail" at
Opperman/Internet, P.O. Box 64503, St. Paul, MN, 55164-0503.
*****************************************************************
[3]  IIA TESTIFIES AT CLINTON ADMINISTRATION IITF HEARING

In the never-ending cycle of hearings held by the Clinton Administration's
National Information Infrastructure Task Force (IITF), the Information
Industry Association continues to speak on issues of importance to
information companies. One of the most recent opportunities was on July 15
at a hearing jointly sponsored by the Security Issues Forum and the U.S.
Advisory Council on the NII.

The purpose of the hearing was to collect information about the privacy,
security and intellectual property threats to various users and potential
users of the National and Global Information Infrastructure (N/GII). Among
the witnesses were: financial information companies, health information
companies, technology gurus and trade association representatives.

Witnesses were asked to address three specific questions: (i) How will you
use the NII? (ii) What security exposures or risks are of concern to you?
and (iii) What approaches should be taken to address these security
concerns? Testifying on behalf of the IIA, Cynthia Braddon, Chair of the
Public Policy and Government Relations Council stated; "The common theme
among IIA's diverse membership is the value of information, delivered to
the customer in many forms and through a variety of media. IIA member
companies have a crucial stake in the resolution of security issues in the
advanced NII. Having invested millions of dollars in research and
development to find better ways to create, collect, organize, enhance and
distribute information, our primary concern is to manage and protect this
intellectual property in order to facilitate broad access to it."

Ms. Braddon told the panel that there are three primary security risks for
information companies.

* First, every NII user is, potentially, empowered to commit copyright
infringement on a massive scale, and at a trivial cost.

* Second, these users could also tamper with information to change its
content, lie about its origins, and deceive other users about ownership
rights.

* Finally, NII users can invade the privacy of other users by monitoring
how they use the information superhighway, and spying on the content of
messages and network transactions.

She went on to suggest that the federal government could SUPPLEMENT what
the private sector has already embarked upon. Her suggestions were:

* Technology: The government should support generic R&D in intellectual
property protection technology and provide a forum for information
sharing.

* Legal: The Copyright Act should be fine-tuned in order to clarify its
application to the new networked environment. It is important that the law
clearly acknowledge the validity of contracts formed by network
participants, even if no formal written agreement is ever executed.

* Education: The government should use the "bully pulpit" to preach the
gospel of respect for intellectual property. The government should require
institutions which receive funding for training in use of the NII to teach
their students, patrons and staff about respect of the intellectual
property and privacy of others.

The Security Issues Forum of the IITF has not promised any type of report
in this area. However, the U.S. Advisory Council's Mega Project on
Privacy, Security and Intellectual Property will issue a report
recommending government action in these areas. That report is expected in
December of this year.
*****************************************************************
[4]  LC BILL SEES DAYLIGHT

A slimmed-down version of legislation to establish revolving fund authority
in the Library of Congress has been introduced by Rep. Charlie Rose
(D-NC), chair of the House Administration Committee, at the request of LC.
The Library of Congress Financial Reform Act, H.R. 4736, abandons (for now
at least) LC's quest for broad authority to offer new fee-generating
information services, and focuses instead on providing a firm legal basis
for its existing revenue-generating activities, including conducting
research for other federal agencies, providing centralized procurement
services through Fedlink, and offering limited photoduplication and
document search services. The bill also includes the more controversial
"fire sale" provisions, allowing LC to sell material deemed "excess to the
collection" and keep the proceeds. H.R. 4736 permits such sales, even of
material received by LC as deposits accompanying copyright registration,
if LC has held the material for at least 5 years, or if it decides that
later resale or commercial use would not "materially impair the market
value of the work." Further changes to the bill language are expected, and
IIA will be working to narrow the scope of the "fire sale" provisions,
especially with regard to works in digital formats and material deposited
with the Library of Congress. While no action has currently been scheduled
on H.R. 4736 (which was referred jointly to the House Administration and
Judiciary Committees), LC is pushing for enactment into law before
Congress adjourns in October.
*****************************************************************
[5]  FEDERAL DISSEMINATION POLICY BILL BACK ON TRACK?

The effort to write into law the rules under which federal agencies should
engage in electronic information dissemination got back on track August 2
when the Senate Governmental Affairs ommittee unanimously approved
legislation to reauthorize the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). The impasse
over competing versions of PRA reauthorization was resolved after
committee chair Sen. John Glenn (D-OH) agreed to use S. 560, introduced by
Sen. Sam Nunn (D-GA), as the legislative vehicle. The information
dissemination policy provisions of the committee-approved bill, which were
peripheral to the main disputes holding up the legislation, are the same
as those contained in a staff compromise draft circulated in May and
summarized in the June IPO. While terse, they reflect several policy
positions long advocated by the Information Industry Association. For
example, they require agencies to "encourage a diversity of public and
private sources for information based on government public information,"
and forbid agencies to make exclusive dissemination deals, charge
royalties, or restrict reuse of government information "except where
specifically authorized by statute." In some respects, these are stronger
safeguards against government monopolistic practices than those contained
in the current guidelines from the Office of Management and Budget, OMB
Circular A-130.

The Governmental Affairs Committee plans to file its report on S. 560
before the Senate takes its August recess, which means that the full
Senate could act on the bill as soon as the session resumes after Labor
Day. While the bill's fate is uncertain, Sen. Nunn's bill has dozens of
cosponsors, and a viable House companion measure; it could provide the
right vehicle for finally enacting at least basic principles of sound
government information policy into law in a coherent format.
****************************************************************
[6]  CONFEREES REACH AGREEMENT ON DMV RECORDS BILL

On July 28, when a House-Senate conference committee gave final approval to
a mammoth omnibus anti-crime bill, it included (as Title XXXI) a
compromise version of the Driver's Privacy Protection Act (DPPA). The
conference-approved version generally parallels the legislation passed by
the House last April, but with a few significant changes, in the following
areas: (1) Treatment of survey research; (2) Opt-out procedures; (3) Reuse
limitations and record keeping; (4) Other state-authorized uses: (5) Civil
penalties; and (6) Effective date.

The DPPA would be an unprecedented assertion of federal power to dictate
public records policies to the states. Generally, it would prohibit
disclosure of personal information from a motor vehicle record, except for
specified uses. These include the implementation of specified federal
motor vehicle safety and performance laws, for which states must allow
disclosure, and a long list of uses for which states may allow disclosure,
including motor vehicle safety and market research; verification of
information submitted to businesses by individuals; litigation-related
uses; research and statistical purposes; and use by private investigators
and security services, among others. Individuals would be given the right
to opt out of two types of uses: "bulk distribution for surveys, marketing
or solicitations," and individual look-ups of motor vehicle records for
purposes not otherwise authorized. States would retain only a limited
authority to authorize other uses "related to the operation of a motor
vehicle or public safety." The compromise DPPA also includes
record-keeping requirements and civil and criminal penalties for
unauthorized disclosures.
*****************************************************************
[7]  FIRST BURNETT MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP AWARDED

The first Angela Burnett Memorial Scholarship established by the Federal
Communications Bar Association Foundation has been awarded to Mr. Lanson
Funderburk, of Washington, D.C. Mr. Funderburk is graduating from McKinley
High School and will be attending Morgan State University as a
telecommunications major.

The letter to Mr. Funderburk notifying him of his award noted: "Ms. Burnett
was assistant general counsel of the Information Industry Association at
the time of her death. She had previously served as a staff member of both
the FCC and the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and
Information Administration. [Angela] was well-loved by her family, friends
and colleagues and was dedicated to her community, as evidenced by service
to the Big Sisters program and the American Lung Association. [Angela] was
an outstanding role model for young people beginning their academic and
professional careers, and we are delighted and proud that you are the
first recipient of the scholarship named in her honor."

The FCBA Foundation is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization qualified
under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Anyone wishing to
make contributions can send them directly to: FCBAFoundation, 1722 Eye
Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20006, Attn. Paula Friedman.
*****************************************************************
[8]  NUMBER PAY-PER-CALL SERVICES UNDER FIRE

Both houses of Congress and the Federal Communications Commission have
attacked the use of toll free 800 numbers for pay-per-call services which
are billed to the consumer's telephone bill. Prompted by numerous reports
of consumers saddled with huge bills for pay-per-call services which they
did not authorize or which they assumed were free, legislators have
proposed amendments to the Communications Act which would restrict
providers from placing charges for these services directly on the
consumer's telephone bill. The Information Industry Association has
responded to the proposed legislation by encouraging both chambers to
avoid unnecessary legislation that could be addressed more effectively in
the course of the FCC's upcoming proceeding on this issue.

Under the current language of the Communications Act, 800 numbers can be
used for pay-per-call services if the subscriber has entered into a
"presubscription" or comparable arrangement. Although this arrangement is
a contractual agreement, it does not have to be in writing and can be
entered into by telephone either verbally or by entering codes into the
phone. Consumer complaints have indicated that callers have been
transferred to pay-per-call services without realizing that charges would
be assessed and that callers have been charged for calls even in the
absence of a valid presubscription agreement.

The House legislation, H.R. 4802, introduced by Rep. Gordon (D-TN) would
prohibit charges for 800 number pay-per-call services from being billed
directly to the callerUs telephone bill. Similar legislation introduced by
Senator Exon (D-NE) has been included as an amendment to S.1822, the
telecommunications legislation approved by the Senate Commerce Committee.

Acting separately, the FCC has announced a Further Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking in CC Docket No. 93-22 which would revise the FCC's rules on
the use of 800 numbers by imposing strict presubscription requirements
before 800 numbers can be used for pay-per-call services.

IIA has responded to these initiatives by sending letters to both Senator
Exon and Congressman Gordon encouraging a flexible approach to this
problem. IIA asked for clarification that these changes will not apply to
800 number pay-per-call services which are not billed to the consumerUs
telephone bill, such as those services which require the use of a credit
card for billing purposes. Moreover, IIA encouraged both chambers to
refrain from enacting restrictive legislation which may be addressed more
effectively in the context of the FCC's review of its own rules for these
services.

IIA's letter to Senator Exon also questioned additional amendments to the
Communications Act which would impose liability on all entities which
"transmit" or "make available" offensive communications. This broad
language could be interpreted to require that online services ensure that
both electronic mail and bulletin board postings do not contain offensive
material. Apart from the significant First Amendment issues raised by
these proposals, IIA has questioned whether the Electronic Communications
Privacy Act would permit the type of surveillance contemplated by this
proposed legislation.

                    (Continued in Part 2)

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