Washington Update

On Friday, the Chronicle featured an article (Emergency Alerts via Facebook and MySpace are New Ways to Reach Students, 8/22/08) on how some campuses are looking for ways to use Facebook (FB) and MySpace as tools for transmitting emergency information. On the surface, this seems like a good idea. It would seem that almost every student nowadays is plugged into FB or MySpace, and young twenty-somethings are increasingly finding news about people, friends, and family with the social networking sites (myself being no exception).

President Bush signed the Higher Education Act (HEA) Reauthorization into law on August 14. The legislation authorizes the creation of a National Center for Research in Advanced Information and Digital Technologies. The center would distribute grants to corporations, universities, and other groups that are developing technology solutions for classroom learning. However, though the Center was approved in an authorization bill, this does not mean it has received appropriations or funding.

While many education groups were relieved to hear that Congress finally acted after six years and passed a conference report for the Higher Education Act Reauthorization, the White House could still complicate things.

According to CongressDaily, White House spokesman Scott Stanzel says President Bush is still undecided about signing the bill. Stanzel said the President needs time to look at the Conference Committee's modifications.

It is possible the Administration will hear from the National Governors Association (NGA) as it considers the bill. The NGA actively opposed the higher ed bill because it contained a provision that would require states to show they are maintaining the same level of funding. The group says this penalizes states, who would have to defend why they made a one-time increased funding allocation during times of surplus, but had to go back to previous funding levels in more challenging economic times.

The Higher Education Act Reauthorization passed the Senate late last night by a vote of 83-8, with one Senator voting present. Earlier in the day, the House of Representatives had passed the same legislation. CongressDaily reports that President Bush is undecided as to whether or not he will sign the legislation into law. A Bush Administration official said they need more time to examine the changes the Conference Committee added to the final bill.

EDUCAUSE just learned that the House of Representatives approved the Higher Education Act (HEA) reauthorization this afternoon. Passing overwhelmingly by a vote of 380-49, the legislation is expected to receive Senate consideration later today.

For EDUCAUSE analysis on the peer-to-peer file sharing component of the bill, please click here.

EDUCAUSE is closely following developments in Congress as it continues its work on the Higher Education Act (HEA). Yesterday, a Conference Committee composed of House and Senate Members passed the latest overhaul in higher education law by a vote of 40-4. It is expected that the HEA, which will govern education policy for at least five years, will pass the full Congress on Thursday.

If the House and Senate pass the legislation this week, the Department of Education will then hold regional meetings, asking the public for feedback on how the new regulations should be implemented. EDUCAUSE will track this process and call on interested member institutions to provide feedback and play a role in this important matter.

HEA and Peer-to-Peer File Sharing (P2P).

Yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee's Antitrust Subcomittee and the House Judiciary Committee's antitrust task force questioned representatives from Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft about the proposed Google-Yahoo advertising partnership. (Google and Yahoo signed the agreement, which allows Google to assist with Yahoo's targeted ads, on June 12.) Both House and Senate members have expressed concerns about competition and consumer privacy issues. In Tuesday's hearings, they wanted to learn more about the deal by speaking directly with the players involved.

Microsoft attempted to enter into a partnership with Yahoo, but Google ultimately won approval from Yahoo's board. In testimony before the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, Microsoft senior Vice President and general counsel warned that the Google-Yahoo deal would result in Google dominating 90% of the online search advertising market. He said Google currently controls 70% of this market, while Yahoo has 20%.

Released one day before the Senate Commerce Committee held its hearing on the privacy implications of online advertising, a new report says targeted ads may involve practices that violate state and federal wiretap laws.

On Tuesday, the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) issued a memo, saying Internet service providers (ISPs) that allow an advertising network to copy [their] customers' Web traffic contents are defying "reasonable consumer expectations and may [be violating] communications privacy laws."

Currently, some ISPs are working with third party advertising agencies, which are copying consumer data in order to target specific ads at users. One such firm, NebuAD, testifed before the Senate Commerce Committee yesterday. NebuAd claims it does not violate any laws because they do not collect personally identifiable information. Some, though, argue that any collection of data can ultimately be tied to an individual and disagree with NebuAd's assertion that privacy is completely protected. CDT's memo says the practice most likely violates legal protections provided in the Electronic Communications Privacy Act.

The European Commission in Brussels announced that it is granting Germany 141 million euros (~US $224 million) and Italy 7 million euros (~US $11 million) for rural broadband development efforts. The Commission says these subsidies will help the two countries support access to broadband connections for rural people who might not otherwise have any options. Italy, which received roughly the same amount from Brussels last year, will use the money for broadband expansion in the country's northern Alto Adige region. Germany will address the disparity that exists between its urban and rural citizens. While almost all German city dwellers have access to broadband, only a little over half have access in more rural areas.

"I am pleased that this public investment will put ... citizens and businesses in rural areas on an equal footing with those in urban areas as regards broadband access," said European Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes.

Yesterday, popular culture commentator and "cyberpunk" Douglas Rushkoff gave a talk on "Open Source Reality" at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. This lecture was a fourth in a series on understanding the culture and practices of Digital Natives, or the generation who has been raised with the computer as a central part of their lives.

Rushkoff, who teaches media theory at New York University's Interactive Telecommuncations Program, said the Internet is allowing people to more easily gather information and participate in discussions and debates. He said the open source applications that have emerged from universities in past years have greatly helped by stirring innovation and encouraging dialogue. Rushkoff says that while previous generations were focused on competition and the individual, he believes the Internet has provided a powerful vehicle for networking and building ideas within communities. Indeed, he says today's digital natives are much more attuned to collaboration, whether in school or at work, due to the Internet's collaborative atmosphere.

In a letter last month, Congressmen Ed Markey and Joe Barton of the House Energy and Commerce Committee asked that Charter refrain from using technology that would allow the cable company to profile its customers for targeted ads and content. After meeting with the congressmen, Charter announced yesterday it will delay using this technology in order to address privacy concerns.

According to CongressDaily, Markey and Barton argued "that federal law bans firms offering cable services from disclosing subscribers' personal information without prior consent."

In a statement, Charter said they "will continue to take a thoughtful, deliberate approach with the goal to ultimately structure an advertising service that enhances the Internet experience for our customers and addresses questions and concerns they've raised."

Because the issue if not fully resolved, Markey asked that other Internet service providers hold off on using such technology while privacy concerns remain.

(source: CongressDaily)