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The 463: Inside Tech Policy

Technology policy trends, insight and news

Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property (RIP)November 13

Andrew Noyes has the worldwide exclusive:

House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers will abolish the Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property in the new Congress and instead keep intellectual property issues at the full committee level, a Judiciary aide told CongressDaily today.

Under the watch of Howard Berman, the subcommittee was a fertile ground for IP debates. Noyes notes in Tech Daily Dose (and Congress Daily) piece:

Hot topics like overhauling the U.S. patent system; ending a long-standing music royalty exemption for AM and FM radio and changing a portion of copyright law that deals with musical tracks, writings, images, videos or other content whose owners cannot be easily identified drew ample attention from the high-tech and entertainment industries.

Yet, according to a Conyers' staffer:

Conyers plans to remain just as active on IP issues at the full committee level

With everything that the Judiciary Committee has on its plate, this seems hard to believe. And, conversely, if they actually are able to p

FCC SpeculationNovember 10

Not too many new names since the speculation on who might get appointed to a FCC under new administration started last March. But, speculation is fun and the FCC is unquestionably going to be a massively important body as convergence becomes quite real.

Olga Kharif of Businessweek writes about who is driving the process for the transition team and providing advice:

Heading up the selection process is Henry Rivera, partner at Washington law firm Wiley Rein. Headed by former FCC Chairman Richard Wiley, Wiley Rein has represented such companies as AT&T, Verizon Communications (VZ), Viacom (VIA), Motorola (MOT), and Sirius Satellite Radio (SIRI).

Rivera was the first Hispanic FCC commissioner, serving from 1981 to 1985, and is considered an advocate for local telcos, wireless companies, and cable TV providers. "Henry is a wise man, a bipartisan with lots of experience," says John Muleta, former head of the FCC's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and now CEO of M2Z, an emerging wireless broadband provider...

...Obama's team is also weighing recommendations from former FCC Chairmen Bill Kennard and Reed Hundt, both of whom advised the Obama campaign on telecommunications-related issues.

Kharif also hits on the possible appointees who are being bandied about:

• Julia Jo

Silicon Valley's First Puppy: The National CTONovember 10

President-Elect Obama's first few days after his historic victory saw him and his team dive into appointing a chief of staff; vetting potential cabinet officers; holding a press conference; discussing the recession; and, facing various challenges by foreign regimes.

It also saw a new national obsession about what type of puppy the Obama's might bring to the White House. From Entertainment Tonight to Politico, you couldn't escape discussion about Malia's dog allergies.

Okay. Fine. A little levity and humanizing is a good thing after a grueling 20-month campaign.

But. I just can't handle the geek world's equivalent of the First Puppy story: The who-is-going-to-be-Obama's-national-CTO?! -(OMG!!!) story.

You would think that Obama was proposing that he was going to name the Ultimate King Tech Policy Ruler of the World. Internetnews gasps:

One highly touted area of President-elect Barack Obama's platform has been his pledge to appoint a chief technology officer for the nation -- a move that may have dramatic implications for driving sweeping changes in tech policy and the country's economy.

Three White Houses (personal note)November 8

On the evening of September 10, 2001 an old friend from who worked in the White House gave me a personal tour of the West Wing and around the grounds. As a liberal to moderate Republican (we did exist), I was still holding out hope for Bush's brand of compassionate conservatism. And, in town for a TechNet meeting with politicos, I was hopeful for forward movement on many of the tech policy issues advanced by Bush in his campaign that had essentially created a tie in SV smart money and support between him and Gore.

Of course, the next morning, Everything Changed.

The day after I stuck my head into the Oval Office, this is as close as I (and most anyone) could get to the White House...

And, as I wandered the streets, this was the mood in the city...

As people (of all stripes) gathered and watched news reports of the terrorist attacks...

Plenty of ink has been spilled on what happened in between September 11, 2001 and this most recent election. As I heard more than a few times on the campaign trail: "Now is not the time to point fingers."

Instead, I just wanted to reflect on what a liberating and healing bookend November 4, 2008 was. Lucky to be in DC for the big night, I joined others in front of televisions again.

But, by far, the most remarkable moments that night came as I got swept up and taken down those same streets where I walked virtually alone on September 11. The destination, of course, was The White House. My camera was dead at that point, but, we fortunately now have Flickr and YouTube to record our collective memories.

(photo by goldmember)

With the two videos below, I challenge you to find such similarity between a Fox News report and an Al Jazeera story on the same subject (!!!). Talk about change we need.

Obama Tech Policy Video Released Today...November 3

There must be a big undecided geek vote that I don't know about.

Video covers... Competitiveness motherhood and apple pie.... Government openness and transparency.... Universal broadband access... Wireless spectrum = good.... yay tech education... electronic health care records (remember those?).... and go cleantech...