Apple is formally opposing an order from U.S. District Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym in Riverside, California, requiring the company to help the FBI unlock an iPhone 5c used by Syed Rizwan Farook, one of the two attackers involved in the Dec. 2 terrorist attack in San Bernardino, California, CEO Tim Cook said Wednesday. Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, both died in a shootout with police after killing 14 people and seriously injuring another 22 during the attack.
The Cross Community Working Group on Enhancing ICANN Accountability (CCWG-Accountability) is to publish a final supplemental version of its proposed set of changes to ICANN’s accountability mechanisms Thursday, after reaching agreement on most major remaining areas of contention, ICANN stakeholders said in interviews. Key to finalization of the CCWG-Accountability proposal was members’ agreement on revisions to its recommendation on how the ICANN board should handle Governmental Advisory Committee advice after the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority transition, stakeholders said. Agreement on the GAC recommendation likely removes the last major roadblock to ICANN’s chartering organizations and the ICANN board approving the CCWG-Accountability proposal, stakeholders told us.
The Copyright Royalty Board’s full determination on the 2016-20 royalty rate-setting proceeding for noninteractive webcasters, released Friday, is largely in line with expectations of how the CRB would explain its ruling, copyright lawyers told us. Noninteractive webcasters were required to begin paying a 0.17 cent royalty per performance on nonsubscription services and a 0.22 cent royalty per performance on subscription services beginning Jan. 1, the CRB said in December when it published the rates (see 1512160076 and 1512170063).
Cybersecurity Coordinator Michael Daniel defended the White House's Cybersecurity National Action Plan Thursday against criticism that CNAP was introduced too late in President Barack Obama's administration. He said CNAP “is really a capstone” of the work the administration has been doing on cybersecurity since Obama took office in 2009. Industry stakeholders praised introduction Tuesday of CNAP, saying it builds off Obama's 2013 and 2015 cybersecurity executive orders, the White House's cybersecurity legislative work and other efforts. Stakeholders also questioned whether the White House would see much of a result from the plan before Obama leaves office in January and whether Congress would be willing to sign off on the White House's proposal to bump up cybersecurity funding to $19 billion in FY 2017 (see 1602090068). “We're doubling” down via CNAP on many of the White House's past cybersecurity initiatives, including new work related to critical infrastructure cybersecurity, Daniel said during a New America event. The White House believes it will be able to receive “broad” support on Capitol Hill for its cyber budget proposal despite what are likely to be “robust and frank discussions with Congress” about the Obama administration's overall $4.1 trillion FY 2017 budget proposal, Daniel said. The newly created Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity (CENC), which will need to provide recommendations to the White House by the end of 2016 on ways to improve cybersecurity in the private sector and public sector, will be able to provide a “good distillation of the path forward” on cybersecurity, Daniel said. CENC is unlikely to generate “brand new ideas” on cybersecurity but will instead probably provide the White House with recommendations based on best practices from academia, businesses and tech experts, he said.
The Senate voted 75-20 Tuesday to approve the conference version of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act (HR-644), with language from the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act (PITFA) attached, as expected (see 1602100061). President Barack Obama intends to sign HR-644, the White House said in a statement. The House passed the conference version of HR-644 in December (see 1512110058). Industry stakeholders praised Senate passage of HR-644 with the PITFA language intact. Some also noted what they view as a renewed fight against consideration of the Marketplace Fairness Act (S-698), which would let states tax remote sellers that have annual revenue exceeding $1 million.
Senate and industry supporters of keeping the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act (PITFA) language in the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act customs reauthorization bill (HR-644) said Wednesday they're optimistic a deal struck Tuesday will forestall attempts to strike PITFA from HR-644 ahead of a planned final vote on that bill. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., agreed Tuesday to drop his plans to challenge the inclusion of PITFA language in HR-644 in exchange for a promise from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to allow Senate consideration of the controversial Marketplace Fairness Act (S-698) this year. McConnell filed cloture on HR-644 Tuesday, setting the bill on track for a final vote on the Senate floor Thursday.
The White House’s Cybersecurity National Action Plan released Tuesday is an ambitious capstone to the Obama administration’s work to improve U.S. cyberdefenses, industry lawyers and lobbyists said in interviews. But it's not certain whether Congress will sign off on the increased FY 2017 cybersecurity budget the White House proposed, lobbyists told us. The cybersecurity plan creates a federal chief information security officer (CISO) position and an executive order creating the Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity (CENC) to make recommendations on strengthening private sector and public sector cybersecurity.
ICANN’s selection of Swedish Post and Telecom Authority (PTS) Director-General Göran Marby to be the nonprofit’s next permanent president and CEO (see the Communications Daily Bulletin here and 1602080025) drew both praise and concern Monday from communications and Internet stakeholders. Some told us Marby’s tech background will be an asset to ICANN. Others raised concerns about his record at Sweden’s postal and telecom regulatory body. Marby was previously CEO at AppGate Network Security, Cygate and Unisource Business Networks, and has been Cisco’s country manager for Sweden.
Congressional scrutiny of retiring ICANN CEO Fadi Chehadé’s involvement with the controversial Chinese government-led World Internet Conference (WIC) heightens the need for ICANN to select and announce Chehadé’s successor, while the controversy's potential effect on U.S. government approval of the planned Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) transition is less clear, said ICANN stakeholders in interviews. GOP presidential contender Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and two other senators jointly sent a letter to Chehadé Thursday questioning Chehadé’s plan to become co-chairman of a high-level WIC advisory committee, and what compensation he will be receiving for that role, in a bid to determine whether his decision to take on a role at WIC while still ICANN CEO is a conflict of interest (see 1602040061).
Swedish Post and Telecom Authority Director-General Göran Marby will be ICANN’s next permanent president-CEO, ICANN said Monday. CEO Fadi Chehadé is to leave ICANN in mid-March, with Marby set to take the helm in May. ICANN President-Global Domains Division Akram Atallah will be acting CEO until Marby can move from Sweden to Los Angeles, ICANN said. Friday night, Communications Daily reported that the nonprofit was nearing a pick, with one likely to come from Europe (see 1602050065).