1. ITA, USTR Request Comments on Trade Advisory Committee System

The Justice Department would have no role in civil suits against P2P users under a revised S-3325 passed Friday by the Senate and expected to pass the House sometime this weekend. The Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights Act, renamed the PRO-IP Act before passage to be consonant with a similar House-approved IP enforcement bill, alarmed an odd coalition of copyleft activists and Bush administration officials over what both termed a prosecutor-for-Hollywood provision (WID Sept 25 p5). Amid the flurry of floor activity, a new House bill was introduced that would authorize SoundExchange, the RIAA, the Digital Media Association and NPR to continue negotiating webcasting royalty rates after Congress adjourns.

Sen. McCain (R-Ariz.) beat Rep. DeGette (D-Colo.) to introducing a data retention bill, although his approach is drastically more limited than hers. The Stop Online Exploitation of Our Children Act, which doesn’t have a bill number yet, would limit retention to data associated with child porn reports and expand the types of Internet companies required to report. The bill got an early thumbs-up from an Internet trade group. McCain also announced plans with Sen. Schumer (D-N.Y.) to introduce legislation requiring all sex offenders to give their “active” e-mail addresses to law enforcement.

Sen. Bennett (R-Utah) wants to bring back Morning in America -- or at least a Reagan Administration commission at the time derided for diverting DoJ resources. Bennett grilled Attorney Gen. Alberto Gonzales at a hearing Tues. on why “very little has been done” for 20 years to study mainstream porn consumption and its possible link to child porn. The Senate Banking Committee hearing, on financial institutions’ role in fighting commercial child pornography, featured many members saying “mainstream” and “child porn” in the same breath.

With the Hill schedule packed with higher priority items, a copyright bill by House Judiciary Chmn. Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) probably won’t see action this year, U.S. Chamber of Commerce officials said in a briefing with reporters Mon. But “you'll see next year this bill will be taken up in earnest,” Senior Coordinator-Intellectual Property Enforcement Brad Huther said. Sensenbrenner’s Intellectual Property Enhanced Criminal Enforcement Act (HR- 5921), written by DoJ, circulated in draft as the Intellectual Property Protection Act until late July (WID July 27 p4). The Chamber’s other priority, anti- counterfeiting bill HR-32, was signed earlier this year by President Bush.

The U.S. Senate ratified the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime late Thurs., ending years of pressure from U.S. business and the DoJ after the U.S. signed in Nov. 2001. The treaty, negotiated in the Clinton Administration, requires global enforcement cooperation to investigate computer network crimes and extradition for certain crimes. Lauded by trade groups, the treaty was savaged by civil liberties activists, who said it would require U.S. law enforcement to go after legal Internet activities stateside at the request of foreign govts., chill free speech and require ISPs to spy on customers.

The House Thurs. passed an appropriations bill that funds several agencies in communications and technology policy. The Science-State-Justice-Commerce bill (HR-5672), which passed 393-23, contains: $294 million in funding for the FCC; $213 million for the Federal Trade Commission; $18 million for NTIA; $1.77 billion for the Patent & Trademark Office -- should offsetting fee collections not be sufficient; $467 million for scientific and technical research at the National Institute of Standards and Technology; $4.7 billion for research at the National Science Foundation; and $651 million to the State Dept.’s Bcstg. Board of Governors. Also, Rep. DeGette (D-Colo.) secured $3 million through an amendment to the bill for local investigators nationwide to track Internet crimes against children. Funding for the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Forces, operated by the FBI Innocent Images Unit, more than doubled to $14 million in fiscal 2006, according to DoJ. In fiscal year 2005, the Task Forces received 198,883 crime reports, up from 3,741 reports in fiscal year 2003.

DoJ has quietly cleared a new proposal that would strengthen a statute that already allows the govt. to prosecute ISPs for failing to report child porn on their networks, a top agency official told lawmakers late Wed. Penalties exist for Internet firms that willfully and knowingly fail to report incidents to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC). The new plan would allow civil penalties to be imposed on those that negligently fail to report evidence of an online crime, Asst. Attorney Gen. Alice Fisher told a House Commerce subcommittee on oversight and investigations hearing.

The rise in online pursuit of children by pedophiles is “frighteningly real” and growing rapidly, and must be stopped, Attorney Gen. Alberto Gonzales said Thurs. Speaking at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), he unveiled a legislative proposal aimed at ensuring website operators and ISPs do their part to keep kids safe online. His speech came on the heels of 2 high-profile hearings on challenges to fighting child porn (WID April 10 p1).

Lawmakers fired questions at law enforcement officials Thurs. about efforts to curb the Internet child pornography industry. The House Commerce Investigations Subcommittee hearing came 2 days after the same panel heard chilling testimony from Justin Berry, a teenager who described victimization at the hands of sexual predators with whom he corresponded online. The latest session zeroed in on allegations that child porn peddlers “laugh at law enforcement” (WID April 5 p1). Members expressed fears that the estimated $20 billion industry is growing and efforts to crack down aren’t effective enough.