While the GOP-led Congress and the White House gush on about making nice in the 105th/Clinton II, rumblings of cyberpolicy war are growing louder.
Conrad Burns (R-Mont.), chairman of the Senate communications subcommittee, re-introduced his encryption bill “to override the Clinton administration’s encryption plan.” Burns’ measure goes further than the president’s in liberalizing export restrictions and doesn’t require a key escrow component.
“This debate comes down to a potential loss of billions of dollars of high-tech dollars and thousands of high-tech jobs,” Burns said. It comes down to whether or not government can force people into making business and consumer choices, and whether government should have access to our most private conversations.
Doesn’t he have it backwards? Shouldn’t government be worried about the public having access to its most private conversations? Whadda ya’ think Newt?
The president couldn’t be reached for comment. He was meeting with his fund-raising adviser Juan Valdez over, what else, coffee-the good stuff.
… Knock knock, Messrs. McCaw and Gates, Dingell-Gram for you. Big John has problems with the $25,000 Teledesic donated to aid FCC international travel. Wouldn’t have anything to do with Teledesic spectrum gains at WRC-95? Nah.
… Not to be outdone, Commerce Committee head Thomas Bliley (R-Va.) told Vice President Gore the administration’s proposal for reforming Inmarsat and Intelsat are competitively flat. Gore couldn’t be reached for comment, either. He was doing public outreach at a Buddhist temple in Los Angeles. Building that bridge, huh, Al?
… Cities, states, and public safety agencies wrote Clinton Jan. 16 asking for a 25 megahertz set-aside of TV channels 60-69. Let’s check that White House database to see if they’ve contributed to the cause.
… The Senate confirmed Richard Daley for Commerce secretary. Mop up time. Advice from this corner: Get plenty of sleep and eat a meal before press briefings.
… In his mind, he’s going to Carolina. Wheeler & Co. at CTIA are walking down a country road to Charlotte, N.C., to iron out federal land antenna siting with the U.S. Parks Service on Feb. 11-13. Now, it’s the conservationists wireless has to deal with. Already, there’s word of a deal to keep monopoles off Mount Rushmore and Appomattox Court House.
… Oh yeah, just one more question: “What’s the frequency, Dan?” POW!
