Brock Meeks summary of Gore speech

[Stanton McCandlish <mech@eff.org>]

[This report from Brock Meeks first appeared on the WELL, and is
redistributed with permission.  Further redistribution/republication
should be cleared with the author first, at brock@well.sf.ca.us.]

__________ begin forward _____________

 Jacking in from the Policy port:
 
 
 Vice President Gore today outlined the Administration's plan for
 revamping the regulatory regime that will guide the converging
 telecommunications industry into the next century.
 
 Gore said the Administration will propose lifting all
 restrictions on local telephone companies imposed during the
 breakup of AT&T, allowing them to enter the long distance and
 manufacturing markets.
 
 But buried deep in his speech, in a single ominous sentence, Gore
 made a pledge that is sure to a chill into privacy advocates
 everywhere: "We'll help law enforcement agencies thwart criminals
 and terrorists who might use advanced telecommunications to
 commit crimes."  In laymen's terms:  We're fucked.
 
 Gore didn't elaborate on his statement, but his comment hinted
 that the White House will throw its full behind two of the most
 controversial policies the Clinton Administration inherited from
 the Bush presidency:  The FBI Digital Wiretap Proposal and the
 so-called "Clipper Chip," government mandated encryption program.
 
 Both policies have been publicly trashed by the computer and
 telecommunications industry as well as civil liberty groups.
 
 The White House is currently working to overhaul the entire U.S.
 security policy.  Earlier this year, in a little noticed speech,
 FBI Dir. Freeh renewed his push for the ill-conceived Digital
 Wiretap proposal.  It now appears that the White House will
 back that proposal when it issues new security guidelines due
 sometime in the Summer.
 
 Changing the Playing Field
 ==========================
 
 Gore also challenged the nation to bring every classroom and
 library online by the year 2000. He outlined 5 broad principles
 for restructuring the telecommunications industry, leading to a
 National Information Infrastructure:
 
 -- Encourage private investment
 -- Provide and protect competition
 -- Provide open access to the network
 -- Avoid creating information "haves" and "have nots"
 -- Encourage flexible and responsive government action
 
 Gore said the Administration's plan would "clear from the road
 the wreckage of outdated regulations and allow a free-flowing
 traffic of ideas and commerce."  Administration plan would allow
 telephone companies to get into cable business and let cable
 companies into the telephone business, preempting state
 regulations that for the most part ban such businesses.
 
 Although the White House plan allows local telephone companies to
 provide video, they must also allow any programmer access to
 those video delivery systems on nondiscriminatory basis.  The
 plan also seeks to stop telephone companies from buying cable
 systems in the areas where they offer telephone service.  But the
 plan also gives the FCC the authority to revamp that rule within
 5 years if "sufficient competition" has risen.
 
 The plan also would implement a new flexible regulatory regime
 called Title VII that encourages firms to provide broadband,
 switched digital transmission services.  Like the Cable
 reregulation act, the FCC will have the ability to provide for
 rate regulation on these new companies until "competition is
 established."
 
 One of the trickiest issues facing the Administration was how to
 define and ensure the concept of Universal Service.  The White
 House plan proposes to make that policy "an explicit objective
 the Communications Act" in order to make sure that advanced
 information services are available to rural and low-income urban
 areas.  But the Administration bailed on how to insure the
 concept, opting to lay that burden at the feet of the FCC.  Also,
 all telecommunications providers, not merely telephone companies
 as is the current policy, will have to start contributing to
 universal access subsidies.  But the FCC will be responsible for
 determining a kind of "sliding scale" for how much each company
 will be required to pay.
 
 In fact, if smaller firms can't pony up the cash to help out with
 the universal service commitment, they can make "in-kind"
 contributions instead.  This might be in the form of free service
 to school, hospitals, etc.
 
 
 Meeks out....
 
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-- 
Stanton McCandlish * mech@eff.org * Electronic Frontier Found. OnlineActivist
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