senate

Obama threatens to veto Net neutrality repeal

The White House today threatened to veto a proposal to overturn the federal government's controversial Net neutrality regulations.

Opponents of the rules, which the Federal Communications Commission adopted by a 3-2 party line vote last December, have scheduled a Senate vote this week that would lift the regulations before they take effect on November 20.

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-Texas) said today that the administration's enthusiasm for Internet regulation is another example of its anti-business outlook.

The Internet, she said, "has been the cradle of innovation, it does not have a problem, and it does not need … Read more

Republican senators push for Internet sales taxes

The days of tax-free Internet shopping may soon be coming to an abrupt end.

CNET has learned that two Republican senators are preparing to introduce new legislation that would allow states to force Amazon.com and other out-of-state online retailers to collect sales taxes.

Sens. Mike Enzi of Wyoming and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee are currently putting the final touches on their bill, which is backed by Wal-Mart Stores, Best Buy, Home Depot, and other companies that are currently required to collect sales taxes. It's a bipartisan concept: a related effort was embraced by Democrats including Sen. Dick Durbin … Read more

Silicon Valley and Washington: Ships in the night?

commentary A day before Apple celebrated the life and career of its legendary co-founder, the company disclosed that its business in China is growing at a spectacular clip. The numbers: China accounted for 16 percent of Apple's fourth-quarter sales, roughly $4.5 billion; that's nearly quadruple what it sold there a year ago.

It was only coincidence but news of Apple's banner sales to the Middle Kingdom comes as the possibility of a full-scale trade war between the United States and China has moved from the realm of "no frigging way" close to becoming a … Read more

Senators aim to cut through 4G baloney

A bill introduced in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday would compel wireless carriers to be more forthcoming about what exactly customers can expect from services marketed as 4G.

The bill from Minnesota Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken, along with Connecticut's Richard Blumenthal--all Democrats--is similar to the " Next Generation Wireless Disclosure Act," which was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in June by Palo Alto Democrat Anna Eshoo.

Together the lawmakers are aiming to cut through the marketing mishmash that slaps the 4G label on a handful of next-generation network flavors such as LTE, … Read more

Senate notes: Schmidt's Apple plug, Google piracy issues

WASHINGTON--Google and Apple are supposed to be at each others' throats, but apparently Eric Schmidt still has Apple's back.

Minutes prior to testifying on Wednesday before a Senate subcommittee investigating whether Google stifles competition, Google's chairman sat down at the witness table to allow himself to be photographed. As cameras clicked, Schmidt decided to open a laptop.

The computer was a MacBook Air.

One of the leaders of one of the most powerful Internet companies was about to be given the third degree by U.S. lawmakers and he's making sure that he's photographed trusting his … Read more

Schmidt avoids a Gates-like disaster in D.C.

WASHINGTON--Eric Schmidt cut a confident figure today prior to his testimony before U.S. lawmakers, who later appeared determined to find out if Google abuses its supremacy on the Web.

The Google chairman glided into court smiling, sat at the witness table, and began staring into his laptop while photographers snapped away. One asked him if he was checking out Google. "Of course," he said laughing and batted back. "And I accessed it through (Google's Web browser) Chrome."

We saw the smooth, smart, unflappable Schmidt during the hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee … Read more

Patent reform bill gets Senate approval

The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, also known as the latest version of the patent reform bill, was approved by the U.S. Senate today. The legislation now heads to President Barack Obama for his signature.

The bill, which Bloomberg reports as having passed 89-9 today, is the fourth such attempt to reform patent legislation in the U.S., following similar proposals in 2005, 2007, and 2009. It was approved by the House in late June.

Among the major changes in the legislation is turning the U.S. patent system into a first-to-file patent system as opposed to a first-to-invent system. … Read more

Missouri restricts social networking between teachers, students (podcast)

A new Missouri law, known as the Amy Hestir Student Protection Act, is designed primarily to protect children against sexual abuse from teachers and other education professionals, including those who might have been previously charged with abuse at a former district. The practice, known as "passing the trash," occurs when an educator is fired or resigns from one school district and winds up being hired at another district without the new district having knowledge of the alleged sexual abuse.

And while the law mostly focuses on physical misconduct, there is also a provision that would require districts to &… Read more

Google's Schmidt to testify before Congress on Sept. 21

Eric Schmidt, Google's chairman and former longtime CEO, will testify before Congress on September 21 and is expected to be questioned by lawmakers about the company's business practices.

The date of Schmidt's appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee's antitrust subcommittee was released today, setting up what will likely be one of the most crucial Capitol Hill showdowns in the company's history.

Google has attracted a lot of unwanted attention in Washington in recent months. Earlier this year, Google lawyer Kent Walker faced tough questions about accusations that the search company profited from online piracy and … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1515: There's something Buzzing in the Digital City (Podcast)

The NYC takeover of BOL continues, as the hardware heads from the Digital City talk about Day One problems with Apple's new Lion OSX update, the death of Google Labs, and who's getting hacked next.