Congress Doesn't Push To Involve FCC In Retrans

By Sara Jerome

Good morning!


Exclusive: Push to get FCC involved with TV negotiation generates little enthusiasm

The push to get the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to change "retransmission consent" rules has been slow to gain ground on Capitol Hill so far.

Reps. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) and Pete King (R-N.Y.) circulated a "Dear Colleague" letter this month promoting changes to retransmission consent rules, a contentious set of regulations governing negotiations between broadcasters and paid distributors such as cable and satellite operators.

The result? Enthusiasm is not exactly spreading like wildfire.

A copy of the final letter obtained by The Hill shows only 13 members of Congress signed on. King is the only Republican on the letter.

Broadcasters would prefer to leave the rules as they are, but cable and satellite distributors want an overhaul. They say television broadcast stations have too much power in the talks because they can pull their content. Broadcasters, meanwhile, argue cable and satellite's dependence on their programming means broadcasters deserve muscle to negotiate their compensation.

Facebook returns to the Hill

For the second day in a row, Facebook is on the Hill to talk about online privacy, this time before the House Judiciary Crime Subcommittee.

The witness is the company's chief security officer Joe Sullivan, a former federal prosecutor and founding member Justice Department’s computer hacking unit.

"We wanted to be part of this hearing because Facebook’s industry-leading safety and security practices can be a model for other companies and can inform policymakers as they examine this important issue," Facebook's Andrew Noyes told the Hill.

(2 p.m., 2141 Rayburn House Office Building).

DHS hesitant to back FCC's D-block auction

At a hearing Tuesday, Greg Shaffer, assistant secretary of the Office of Cybersecurity and Communications at DHS, said DHS is not ready to support the D-block auction until the FCC's plan is better evaluated.

The plan would fund a nationwide broadband network for first responders by auctioning off a chunk of spectrum rather than giving it straight to public safety groups.


"It's not absolutely clear what it's capable of," he said of the technology used on the network.


Today: Talking about earmarks

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will debate and mark up the Earmark Transparency Act on Wednesday. The bill would create a searchable database on a public website for all congressional earmarks. Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) has expressed criticism of the bill, saying it'd be impractical and difficult for the site to list every single earmark. Bill co-sponsor Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) has argued the bill meets President Obama’s call in the State of the Union for Congress to create a single, searchable database of all congressional earmark requests. -P.K.

(10 a.m., 342 Dirksen Senate Office Building).

Can't miss news.

Hill notes

Kerry to draft online privacy bill. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) announced Tuesday he will pursue online privacy legislation to complement efforts in the House. Reps. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) and Rick Boucher (D-Va.) have each drafted privacy legislation to rein in what companies can do with users' personal information.

Executive notes


Conservative ethics group claims new evidence against White House for ties to Google. A conservative group claims it has obtained new evidence that White House deputy chief technology officer Andrew McLaughlin had improper contact with Google, his former employer. The White House has said McLaughlin’s e-mails with Google employees had no effect on policy decisions, but The National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) on Thursday said it has obtained new evidence that complicates that assertion.



Industry notes

Google develops a Facebook rival. The WSJ reports that Google is in talks with "several makers of popular online games as it seeks to develop a broader social networking service that could compete with Facebook Inc., according to people familiar with the matter." The company is already talking to developers about running their games on the new social networking service.

LG posts record loss from handsets due to iPhone. "LG Electronics Inc. , the world’s third-biggest mobile-phone maker, reported a record loss at its handset business after lagging behind Apple Inc. and smartphone makers in selling models that send e-mails and surf the Internet," Bloomberg reports.

Microsoft: Yahoo, Google partnership plan would 'eliminate' search competition in Japan. Yahoo's plan to partner with Google in Japan will "eliminate" search competition in the country, Microsoft's Dave Heiner, vice president and deputy general counsel, charged in a blog post Tuesday. "Today, Google accounts for about 51 percent of paid search advertising in Japan. Yahoo Japan accounts for 47 percent. Their combined share of natural search results is almost as high," he said. Heiner warned that "if Google is permitted to proceed with its plan … Google alone would decide what consumers in Japan will find, or not find, on the Web."





Schedule.

10 a.m…Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs markup for a bill to require Congress to establish a unified and searchable database on a public website for congressional earmarks. 342 Dirksen Senate Office Building.

2 p.m...House Armed Services Terrorism Subcommittee hearing on harnessing small-business innovation for national security cyber needs. 2118 Rayburn House Office Building.

2 p.m....House Judiciary Crime Subcommittee hearing on online privacy. 2141 Rayburn House Office Building.

SAID.

"I know you're pulling a pretty heavy load down there."

-Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski at a hearing on Tuesday. He added that he supports what the FCC is doing. He appeared to be referencing broadband reclassification, noting the "controversy" around the proceeding.

WATERCOOLER.

OLD SPICE…The guy in the Old Spice commercials received millions of viral video views "quicker than past hits like Susan Boyle and U.S. President Barack Obama’s election victory speech," Mashable reported on Tuesday. The article argues sales may have even doubled thanks to the campaign.