The Senate will vote on the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act before the start of Congress’ August recess, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Sunday on Fox News Sunday. A Senate vote on S-754 would be a “step in the direction of dealing” with the “complete and total incompetence” of federal agencies’ cybersecurity highlighted in the recent Office of Personnel Management data breach, McConnell said. OPM revealed Friday that an additional 21.5 million individuals’ personal information was exposed during the data breach than was initially reported. OPM Director Katherine Archuleta resigned following that announcement (see 1507100037). McConnell said that he believes S-754 “will be broadly supported” in the Senate given the recent OPM data breach, which is “an administrative disaster that [President Barack Obama] needs to get a hold of and get straightened out soon.” McConnell hasn’t announced a timeline yet on an S-754 Senate floor vote, a spokesman said Monday.
Supporters and opponents of the Securing Participation, Engagement and Knowledge Freedom by Reducing Egregious Efforts (Speak Free) Act (HR-2304) speaking at a Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee event Friday agreed more action is needed to curb strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) being used against online reviewers, but disagreed whether HR-2304 was too broad to be an effective deterrent. HR-2304, introduced in May by House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., and Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Texas (see 1505140041), would introduce a national anti-SLAPP statute similar in scope to those in effect in California and Texas. The bill would allow defendants in a SLAPP lawsuit to file for a special motion to dismiss the lawsuit if the defendant provided an oral or written statement or other expression in connection with an official proceeding.
Brazil’s move toward at least partial acceptance of multistakeholder Internet governance and the U.S.’s decision to spin off its remaining oversight of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) “have in essence opened the door” to a new compromise approach on Internet governance, said Brookings Institution Director-Latin America Initiative Harold Trinkunas during a Brookings event Thursday. Brookings released a report last week by Trinkunas and New America Foundation Co-Director-Cybersecurity Initiative Ian Wallace that outlined both Brazil’s move away from its traditional advocacy of multilateral diplomacy in Internet governance and U.S. willingness during President Barack Obama’s administration to change aspects of the current global Internet governance regime.
Senate Judiciary Committee Crime and Terrorism Subcommittee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., urged Congress to “get more serious” about cyberthreats in the wake of the Office of Personnel Management data breach and other recent cyberattacks, saying during a subcommittee hearing that the Senate needs to move ahead on cybersecurity legislation. Graham and Senate Terrorism ranking member Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., held the hearing Wednesday on a draft bill that would update portions of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act in response to CFAA-related legislative proposals from the White House and the Department of Justice. Other Senate Terrorism members and industry executives who testified at the hearing also pushed passage of the controversial Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (S-754) and national data breach notification legislation.
NTIA now believes it will need to extend its current contract with ICANN for the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions “at least through next July,” given recent stakeholder guidance on the timeline for the ongoing IANA transition process, NTIA Administrator Larry Strickling told the House Communications Subcommittee during a hearing Wednesday. Strickling has been seeking feedback from stakeholders on how long NTIA should extend ICANN's IANA contract past the current Sept. 30 expiration date. ICANN's IANA Stewardship Transition Coordination Group (ICG) and the Cross Community Working Group on Enhancing ICANN Accountability (CCWG-Accountability), which are both working on proposals for the IANA transition, had told Strickling they believed the transition wouldn't be complete until at least July 2016. CCWG-Accountability cautioned that NTIA should operate under the assumption that the IANA transition could be delayed until at least September 2016 if that group's work requires further negotiations to achieve consensus (see 1507070058).
ICANN CEO Fadi Chehadé and NTIA Administrator Larry Strickling are both expected to tell the House Communications Subcommittee Wednesday that work on proposals for the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) transition and an associated set of changes to ICANN’s accountability mechanisms is continuing to progress after the conclusion of the June 21-25 ICANN 53 meeting in Buenos Aires.
Parallel campaigns from two coalitions of privacy advocates are dominating the debate over an initial report from an ICANN working group studying whether to recommend that ICANN modify rules for its WHOIS registration database to require the owners of commercial websites supply their contact information rather than information for privacy and proxy services. The initial report, from the Generic Names Supporting Organization’s Policy Development Process Working Group on Privacy & Proxy Services Accreditation Issues (PPSAI), generally addresses issues on accrediting privacy and proxy services. The Electronic Frontier Foundation and other privacy advocates raised concerns about the section of the PPSAI report that explores whether to prohibit commercial website owners from using proxy services.
Apple was guilty of violating antitrust laws by conspiring with five major book publishers to eliminate price competition and raise e-book prices (see report in the July 11, 2013, issue), the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday. It upheld U.S. District Court in New York’s 2013 decision. Apple later reached a $450 million settlement with consumers and state attorneys general, with most of the money going to e-book customers (see report in the June 18, 2014, issue). Apple’s settlement was contingent upon the outcome of its appeal at the 2nd Circuit.
The Supreme Court decided not to grant certiorari for Google’s appeal of Oracle’s lawsuit against the company over claims that Google copied Oracle’s Java application programming interface (API) technology in its Android mobile operating system. The court didn’t comment on its reasoning for refusing to hear arguments on the case. It said Justice Samuel Alito “took no part in the consideration or decision of this petition.”
Sirius XM’s disclosure Friday that it had a $210 million settlement with multiple record labels to settle the labels’ lawsuit over unpaid royalties for pre-1972 sound recordings is likely to accelerate a push for Sirius and other digital streaming services to settle similar lawsuits, industry officials told us. Sirius said in an SEC filing posted on its website Friday that it reached the settlement June 17 with ABKCO Music & Records, Capitol Records, Sony Music Entertainment, UMG Recordings and Warner Music Group to end the labels’ joint lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The settlement, to be paid out by July 15, resolves all royalty issues with the labels through the end of 2017. Sirius said it also has the option for an additional license with the record labels through 2022. Royalty rates for additional performance licenses “will be determined by negotiation or, if the parties are unable to agree, binding arbitration,” Sirius said in the filing.