FTC: Watch articles from February 2001

FTC: Watch archives from February 2001

Justice urges Supreme Court to deny cert in CSU; Petitioner notes FTC's absence from brief.(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... On January 19, the last day of the Clinton administration, the former Solicitor General Seth Waxman and a number of Justice Dept. officials submitted an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to deny CSU's petition for certiorari in the CSU v....

FTC generic drug competition study proposal continues.(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... The FTC is expected to soon publish a second Federal Register notice regarding its proposed study into competition in the cost generic drug market. [FTC: WATCH No. 553, October 23] The study would examine whether the 30-month stay and...

ABA Antitrust 2001 Taskforce nudges Bush Administration.(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... The Bush Administration's top antitrust priority should be to appoint antitrust leaders who are highly qualified, experienced and committed to positive change, advises the ABA Antitrust Section Transition Taskforce Report 2001. The Section sent...

Global Competition Initiative is finally born.(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... Forty three senior competition law officials from 23 countries, 20 competition authorities and nine other international institutions attended the International Bar Association's (IBA) first meeting of the Global Competition Initiative (GCI) at...

House and Senate spotlight California electricity dereg crisis.(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Cal.) has introduced a bill (S.287) that would direct the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to impose cost-of-service based rates when the agency finds wholesale rates being charged are unjust and...

Senators propose antitrust exemption for entertainment media self-reg JVs.(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... Sens. Trent Lott (R-Miss.), Sam Brownback (R-Kans.), Mike DeWine (R-Ohio), Herb Kohl (D-Wisc.) and Byron Dorgan (D-N.Dak.) cosponsored the "Children's Protection Act of 2001" (S. 124) on January 22 "to exempt agreements relating to voluntary...

Judge cites "ambiguous" FTC complaint : Web billing firm wins asset freeze reprieve.(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... The Internet billing company Verity International, Ltd -- incorporated in the Bahamas on "tax advice" -- won a minor victory against the FTC when New York District Judge Lewis Kaplan issued a January 4 order allowing the company to continue its...

Senate skeptical of most airline mergers; TWA/American deal maybe exception.(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) urged the Justice Dept. "to complete review of the proposed American/TWA merger -- whatever the result -- as quickly as possible," at the February 7 Senate Judiciary Committee hearings...

House to focus on impact of mega-mergers and e-commerce.(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... House Commerce, Trade & Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chairman Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) said that he plans to review the impact of megamergers on consumers. A spokesman for Rep. Stearns declined to identify which megamergers Heams has in mind....

BBB CARU program wins COPPA safe harbor.(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... The FTC has approved the Council of Better Business Bureaus' Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU) application for a safe harbor program under the Children's Online Protection Privacy Act (COPPA). CARU amended its application to address the...

Can ADR sub for courts to iron out online disputes?(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... The Center for Justice & Democracy's Joanne Doroshow challenged the assumption that "alternative dispute resolution" (ADR) is the best way to go for electronic commerce at the FTC's ADR Roundtable on February 6, expressing concern that the...

FTC consumer profiling workshop.(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... The FTC host a public workshop to "explore how businesses merge and exchange detailed consumer information and how such information is used commercially" on March 13. The idea is to educate both the Commission and the public about current...

FTC, Commerce Dept. host e-sign workshop.(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... The FTC and the Commerce Dept.'s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will cohost a workshop "to identify the benefits and burdens of the consumer consent provision of the new Electronic Signatures in Global and...

California's electrical storm.(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... As California struggles with a shortage of electric power, there is no lack of explanations for its problem. Some observers see skyrocketing prices and blackouts as proof that markets for electricity cannot work. Critics of environmental...

Baby food merger wars.(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... Baby food merger wars: As went to press, both the FTC and Heinz/Milnot were preparing for oral argument on February 12 before a new group of Appellate Judges -- A. Raymond Randolph, Karen LeCrafi Henderson and Merrick Garland. On November 8, DC...

Pepsi's 2nd request.(merger of PepsiCo and Quaker Oats Co.)(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... Pepsi's 2nd request: Last week, PepsiCo and The Quaker Oats Company announced that the FTC issued a second request regarding PepsiCo's proposed merger with Quaker. The companies received preliminary clearance from the Securities and Exchange...

Microsoft oral argument schedule.(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... Microsoft oral argument schedule: The U.S. Court of Appeals' Microsoft scheduling order (http://ecfp.cadc.uscourts.gov/MS-Docs/1684/ 0.pdf[greater than]order) allocates: 150 minutes for the monopoly maintenance issue; 90 minutes for tying and...

Voter New Service hearings.(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... Voter New Service hearings: The House Energy & Commerce Committee is holding hearings on the major news networks' coverage of election 2000 and the Voter News Service on February 14. A spokesman for Committee Chairman Billy Tauzin (R-La.) said...

The 1996 Telecom Act's fifth birthday.(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... The 1996 Telecom Act's fifth birthday: House Energy and Commerce Chairman Billy Tauzin (R-La.) has urged further telecommunications deregulation and revived the popular sport of Federal Communications Commission (FCC) bashing to commemorate the...

Competition for top level domains hearing.(domain name selection)(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... Competition for top level domains hearing: The House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications examined whether the "Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers' (ICANN) new generation of Internet domain name selection...

Credit Rating Industry consolidation.(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... Credit Rating Industry consolidation: American Antitrust Institute (AAI) Advisor and New York University economist Lawrence J. White urged the Securities and Exchange Commission to ease entry for smaller credit ratings companies in an open...

New FTC fraud web site.(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... New FTC fraud web site: Consumers, reporters, students, researchers, law enforcers and others can now tap into www.consumer.gov/sentinel -- a new website featuring statistics and prevention advice about fraud, Internet fraud, and identity...

From the FOIA files.(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... From the FOIA files: In August, Mark Alan Adams of Frankenmuth, Mich. asked the FTC to provide him with, among other things, the FTC commissioners' salaries and the salaries of the "top 100 FTC Bureaucrats." That last part is too vague, the...

Bank divestiture will cure competitive defects in two states, says DOJ.(Department of Justice)(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... Firstar Corporation and U.S. Bancorp Inc. will sell eleven branch offices in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and another two in Council Bluffs, Iowa. All to avoid a clash with the Justice Department as it gets ready to make a "Yea" or "Nay"...

JDSU/SDL: High tech firm will divest key fiber optic technology to get DOJ nod.(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... JDS Uniphase will sell its "980 nanometer" pump laser chip business to satisfy the Justice Department's concern that JDSU's originally-proposed acquisition of SDL Inc. would eliminate direct competition in production of the chips, result in a...

Kodak will "pass" on Bell & Howell's scanning biz to salvage the rest of the deal.(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... The Eastman Kodak Company has agreed to restructure its plans to acquire assets of Bell & Howell Company to resolve the Justice Department's competitive concerns over the original deal. The government said that the deal as originally proposed...

Antitrust Division Workload Stats reveal patterns; illustrate tools, outcomes.(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... During Fiscal Year 2000, ending last September 30, the antitrust agencies (Antitrust Division and Federal Trade Commission) received 4,926 HartScott-Rodino filings, the most either had faced in ten years. Of the HSR filings it reviewed, DOJ...

Didn't do well in high school chemistry? FTC lets Dow buy Union Carbide with four product line divestitures.(Federal Trade Commission)(Dow Chemical Co.)(Union Carbide Corp.)(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... "Linear low-density polyethylene" is not a term with which the average citizen is intimately familiar. But it's used in a great many familiar items, such as trash bags, stretch film and sealable food pouches. The Dow Chemical Co. and Union...

El Paso Energy, Coastal Corp. will divest 2,500 miles of pipelines, create $40 million fund to help competitors.(El Paso Energy Corp.)(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... El Paso Energy Corporation (El Paso) and Coastal Corp. will divest their interests in more than 2,500 miles of 11 natural gas pipeline systems to win FTC approval of their $17.6 billion merger that was first announced in January 2000. Post...

El Paso requests approval to divest U-T.
February 12, 2001... EL Paso Energy Corp. and Coastal Corp requested Commission approval of the sale of the U-T Offshore System, to Mid Louisiana Gas Transmission Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of Midcoast Energy Resources, Inc., as required by the above...

FTC bets that Internet transparency will protect energy regulators from manipulation.(Federal Trade Commission)(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... Entergy-Koch, LP, a joint venture of Entergy Corp. and Koch Industries, Inc will buy 50 percent of the Gulf South Pipeline Company, LP subject to some provisions of a consent agreement that the FTC says will "establish a competitive and...

Summit/VISX complaint dismissed.(Summit Technology Inc)(VISX Inc.)(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... The Commission ordered the record for Summit Technology, Incorporated and VISX, Incorporated record reopened and the complaint dismissed -- upon complaint counsel's request following issuance by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office of a...

User Car Rule compliance sweep finds few kings in Queens.
February 12, 2001... 106th CONGRESS- 1st Session S. 978- Mr. WARNER introduced the following bill: the "George Washington Bicentennial Act of 1999"... The legal public holiday know as "Washington's Birthday" as specified in section 6103 of title 5, United States...

FTC sues oil additive marketers.(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... The FTC filed suit against Oil-Chem, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Speedway Motorsports in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina to halt allegedly deceptive advertising of zMax auto additives. Oil-Chem manufactures...

More 2Xtreme pyramid defendants settle.(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... Alleged pyramid scheme marketers agreed to cough up $1.1 million to settle FTC charges that they pitched a pyramid scam as a legitimate multilevel marketing business opportunity. The settlements contain judgments of $2.5 million, but $1.4...

Credit card telemarketer looks for new job.(Darryl Smith)(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... American Consumer Membership Services' (ACMS) principal Darryl Smith agreed to pay $40,000 consumer redress and stay away from telemarketing or promoting credit cards, loans or other extensions of credit to settle FTC charges that Smith and...

Operation Detect Pretext -- 200 firms warned: comply with GLBA, FCRA.(Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act)(Fair Credit Reporting Act)(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... The FTC Financial Practices Division launched "Operation Detect Pretext," "in an effort to protect consumers from firms that obtain their customer information under false pretenses." The practice is known as "pretexting." In one recent...

35th case in Govt. war against biz-op scams.(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... Home Professions, Inc., Telesalescenter. Com., and their owner, Michael Petok agreed to hand over $27,650 and find a new line of work to settle FTC charges that they ran a bogus work-at-home medical billing business opportunity. The...

Phone vending opportunity franchisor to pay $40,000 redress to settle charges.(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... Ameritel Payphone Distributors, Inc., based in Miami, Florida, and its owner, Roy Barnett Goodman, have agreed to pay at least $40,000 in consumer redress and to comply with the FTC's Franchise Rule to settle charges that they "made unsupported...

Employment services firm settles charges it misrepresented USPS, Federal Wildlife Jobs; $800,000 in consumer redress on the way.(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... Federal Data Service, Inc. of Margate, Florida and principals Stephen Tate, Spencer Golden and Dawn Johnson will be permanently banned from promoting or selling employment services and will pay approximately $800,000 in consumer redress and...

Jore Corp. settles FTC "Made in USA" charges.(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... Jore Corp. of Ronan, Mont., a manufacturer and marketer of power tool accessories, such as drilling and driving products has settled FTC charges that it misrepresented that certain of its products are made in the United States when, in fact,...

Lottery schemers settle at a discount; payment processor withdraws support.(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... In April, a Canadian group that targeted elderly U.S. consumers was been barred from selling tickets in the United States and from violating federal laws that bar deceptive sales practices. The the U.S. District Court in Seattle also entered a...

Three telemarketers, two firms banned; $655,000 redress required.(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... Three individuals and two companies charged in 1999 have settled charges that they engaged in a bogus office and maintenance supply telemarketing scam. The FTC alleged that National Supply & Distribution Center, Inc. and Data Distribution...

Settlement requires $500K performance bond.(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... Global Network Enterprises, Inc., Republic Enterprises, Inc. and individual defendants Cecilia M. Castillo and Ian Anthony Suite have settled FTC charges that they deceptively telemarketed prize promotions. They have agreed, as part of the...

Calendar.
February 12, 2001... February 14 - House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing, "Election Night 2000 Coverage by the Networks"; 2123 Rayburn Building; 11:00am "or 20 minutes after the conclusion of the Full Committee markup, whichever is later" February 15 -...

Former FTC Competition Bureau Chief Richard Parker.(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... Former FTC Competition Bureau Chief Richard Parker will rejoin O'Melveny & Myers to lead the firm's Antitrust and Trade Regulation group.

Former Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Joel Klein.(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... Former Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Joel Klein has joined the German music and publishing company Bertelsmann AG as its chief U.S. liaison officer -- at the same time the company seeks approval of its acquisition of the British...

Charles S. Stark.(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... Charles S. Stark, recent chief of the Foreign Commerce Section of the Antitrust Division, will join Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering as a partner this month. He will be resident in the firm's Brussels office, after spending an initial 4-5 months in...

The Senate Judiciary Committee.(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... The Senate Judiciary Committee has not yet announced the official antitrust subcommittee member designates, but sources expect the leadership of Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) and Ranking Member Herb Kohl (D-Wisc.) to remain unchanged. Kohl -- who...

The House Energy and Commerce Committee's new Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection.(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... The House Energy and Commerce Committee's new Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection -- that vows to increase Congressional oversight of the FTC -- announced its membership: Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) is chairman and Rep....

Former House Telecommunications Subcommittee Chairman Billy Tauzin.(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... Former House Telecommunications Subcommittee Chairman Billy Tauzin (R-La.) is now the full House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman, and John Dingell (D-Mich) is again the Ranking Member. The Telecommunications Subcommittee will be chaired...

Rep. James Sensenbrenner.(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.) will chair the full House Judiciary Committee, and John Conyers (D-Mich) will again be the Ranking Member.

Howard Coble.(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... Howard Coble (R-N.C.) will again chair the House Judiciary Committee's Courts, Internet, and Intellectual Property Subcommittee (formerly the Courts and Intellectual Property Subcommittee).

Sen. Conrad Burns.(Brief Article)
February 12, 2001... Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) will chair the Senate Commerce Committee's Communications Subcommittee, and Senate full Commerce Committee Ranking Member Ernest Hollings (D-S.Car.) is also the ranking subcommittee member.

According to a February 6 CNN report, Pope John Paul II is considering naming Saint Isidore of Seville.
February 12, 2001... According to a February 6 CNN report, Pope John Paul II is considering naming Saint Isidore of Seville, a seventh century scholar known as the Encyclopedist of the Dark Ages and a former Archbishop, to be the patron saint of internet users....

Anticipating Bush II.(Senate Judiciary and Commerce Committees to begin process of evaluating nominees for Justice Dept.'s Antitrust Division and FTC)
February 26, 2001... As an evenly-divided U.S. Senate prepares to advise and consent on Bush Administration subcabinet appointments, the Senate Judiciary and Commerce Committees will be called upon to begin the process of evaluating nominees for the Justice Dept.'s...

Baby food: appeals court oral argument.
February 26, 2001... The FTC still thinks that the D.C. District Court seriously erred in denying the its request for a preliminary injunction blocking the proposed three-to-two merger of the world's number one and the U.S. number two baby food maker, Heinz, with...

IP/Antitrust tensions boiling or percolating? Supreme Court denies cert in CSU v. Xerox.
February 26, 2001... Last week, the Supreme Court denied CSU's petition for certiorari in the case involving a group of independent service organizations (ISOs) that service photocopy machines and printers made and sold by Xerox, who also services the machines...

FTC drops California Dental cert petition.
February 26, 2001... The Commission has decided not to petition the Supreme Court for review of its loss below of a 1993 case against the California Dental Association (CDA), and in fact, has dismissed the complaint, -which alleged that CDA restrained competition...

FTC generic drug study proposal update : Consumer groups ask FTC to investigate Bristol-Myers Squibb price practices.
February 26, 2001... Organizations representing seniors, women and AIDS patients want the FTC to investigate allegedly deceptive practices by Bristol-Myers Squibb to maintain anti-competitive prices on an anti-anxiety drug widely used to treat nursing home...

Is FTC eyeing drug testing claims abroad?
February 26, 2001... In mid-February, BioPulse shares dropped dramatically after media reports that an FTC investigation into the biotechnology company's marketing claims for cancer treatments in Mexico and Germany led to BioPulse to sell its Tijuana, Mexico clinic...

Tauzin pushes FTC to accelerate Midwest gas price hike investigation.
February 26, 2001... House Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Billy Tauzin (R-La.) wants a status update or final report on the FTC's investigation into the underlying causes of last year's midwest gasoline price spikes by February 23. In a February 16...

Slotting fee barons: watch your step.
February 26, 2001... Five years ago, in their report on "Competition Policy in the New High Tech, Global Marketplace," the FTC staff dismissed the entire slotting fee controversy with three paragraphs concluding there was no evidence suggesting even "the...

Merger Watch.
February 26, 2001... Merger Watch: Where's the FTC's settlement with DTE/Michcon? Good question; as we reported in No. 559, the antitrust issues have been thrashed out, and we expect an announcement soon. Of course, we said that a month ago; so it depends on what...

AOL-TW Trustee.
February 26, 2001... AOL-TW Trustee: As we went to press, we expected the Commission to vote Monday on whether to approve former Federal Communications Commission Office of Engineering & Technology Chief Dale Hatfield as the monitor trustee to oversee the merger...

Microsoft private litigation update.(court cases information)(Brief Article)
February 26, 2001... Microsoft private litigation update: Chief Judge for the Federal District Court of Maryland Frederick Motz has dismissed most of the private class action law suits against Microsoft, ruling that they are (were) barred by Illinois Brick's...

Genome alliances.(CuraGen Corp and Bayer AG)(Brief Article)
February 26, 2001... Genome alliances: The health care, agriculture, polymers, and specialty chemicals company Bayer AG and CuraGen Corp, an integrated genomics-based drug company, have received FTC clearance for two agreements related to Bayer's $85 million...

AirTran wants DOT to reallocate DC slots.(AirTran Airways, U.S. department of transportation)(Brief Article)
February 26, 2001... AirTran wants DOT to reallocate DC slots: AirTran Airways (ATA) filed formal complaints with the U.S. Transportation Dept. (DOT) and asked the agency to tackle "a United Airlines-American Airlines monopolization of the business market at...

Senate comprehensive energy package.(U.S. energy policy)(Brief Article)
February 26, 2001... Senate comprehensive energy package: Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee Chairman Frank H. Murkowski (R-Alaska.) was planning to introduce his comprehensive energy package on February 26. Murkowski said, "We have to recognize, first of...

Energy? Commerce? What's in a name?(House Energy and Commerce Committee )(Brief Article)
February 26, 2001... Energy? Commerce? What's in a name? House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Billy Tauzin (R-La.) said that the name of the full Committee has been changed from "Commerce" to "Energy & Commerce" because "we recognize that energy issues are...

Natural gas hearing.(The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality )(Brief Article)
February 26, 2001... Natural gas hearing: The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality has scheduled a hearing for February 28 on "National Energy Policy," focusing on natural gas issues. The FTC has not done much advocacy in natural gas...

FTC state electricity dereg study.(Federal Trade Commission)(Brief Article)
February 26, 2001... FTC state electricity dereg study: The FTC will soon issue a Federal Register Notice requesting public comments on issues raised by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Billy Tauzin's (R-La.) request that the FTC update its state...

FTC's takes slow road on slotting fees.(U.S. federal trade commission)(Brief Article)
February 26, 2001... FTC's takes slow road on slotting fees: reporting their conclusions from the June FTC slotting Fees workshop, the agency's staff has recommended that the commissioners not issue slotting-allowance guidelines at this time [see AAI column page...

On the other hand, a National Farmers Union's consolidation report.(report findings and information)(Brief Article)
February 26, 2001... On the other hand, a National Farmers Union's consolidation report, by Dr. William Heffernan and Dr. Mary Hendrickson, argues that rapid consolidation in the retail sector has made retailers the new dominant member of the food chain. The...

Contact lens maker settles with 32 state AGs.(Bausch and Lomb)(Brief Article)
February 26, 2001... Contact lens maker settles with 32 state AGs: Bausch & Lomb has agreed to pay $17.5 million to settle charges in a 1996 lawsuit brought by 22 state attorneys general against itself, Johnson & Johnson, CIBA Vision and the American Optometric...

Microsoft - Eeek! Free software.(opinion of Linux operating system software)(Brief Article)
February 26, 2001... Microsoft - Eeek! Free software: According to Bloomberg News (Feb. 14), Microsoft Windows[TM] chief Jim Allchin has complained to lawmakers that the free personal computer operating system Linux is a threat to everyone's intellectual property...

Australia's merger horror.(brief analysis and enforcement information)(Brief Article)
February 26, 2001... Australia's merger horror: The February 20 New York Times reports that as Australia steps up antitrust enforcement some firms complain that they've become too big to merge with competitors and too small to compete in international markets with...

Generic drug wars.(between Andrx Corp and BioVail)(Brief Article)
February 26, 2001... Generic drug wars: Andrx Corp. has complained to the FTC and the Food and Drug Administration that BioVail is abusing the generic drug laws by: first, claiming that Andrx's abbreviated new drug application for Tiazac infringes a BioVail patent...

The ultimate lawsuits?(Tobacco court case information)(Brief Article)
February 26, 2001... The ultimate lawsuits? An Associated Press story out of Jackson, Miss. says that some asbestos manufacturers are suing a line up of tobacco companies to recover sums paid to settle claims that breathing asbestos caused health problems. Kaiser...

Credit complaints.(court case information)(Brief Article)
February 26, 2001... Credit complaints: Rodney R. Sweetland, III, Esq. has filed suit in Federal District in Baltimore against Bank of America, alleging that the bank "was involved in a scheme to obtain thousands of unauthorized consumer credit reports... [that]...

Privacy (I) Congressional hearings.(Brief Article)
February 26, 2001... Privacy (I) Congressional hearings: The House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection will hold a hearing on "Privacy in the Commercial World." on March 1, the first in a series relating to...

Privacy (II) - Up in Michigan.(Brief Article)
February 26, 2001... Privacy (II) - Up in Michigan: Politicians in the Wolverine State are having trouble with this here privacy issue. Attorney General Jennifer Granholm thinks that Internet sites that collect information about their visitors without telling them...

"Spam" bill reintroduced.(junk mail)(Brief Article)
February 26, 2001... "Spam" bill reintroduced: On Valentines Day, Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N. Mex.) and Rep. Gene Green (D-Tex.) reintroduced "the Unsolicited Commercial E-Mail Act of 2001" to give consumers and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) greater control over...

And then he said.(Brief Article)
February 26, 2001... And then he said: "My mother always said, "Try to learn as many lessons as vicariously as you can. It's safer that way." Rep. Edward Markey (DMass.) advising his colleagues to learn vicariously from the California electricity deregulation...