The 463: Inside Tech

Au Revoir, YouTube; Auf Wiedersehen Vlogs

Way back in December -- back in the age before the mainstream media fell in love with all things YouTubey -- we noted that European Commission hatched a plan to regulate all Web and mobile video content just like traditional television.   This means enforcing rules on hate speech, advertising and the kind of content that can be broadcast to children on all video platforms.

Finally, some are getting organized and fighting back.  As AP reports:

an alliance of British-based companies including ITV PLC, Yahoo Inc., Vodafone Group PLC, Intel Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc.'s UK subsidiary said a European Commission proposal to impose rules for traditional broadcasters on new media providers could have "unintended consequences" and hurt investment.

The coalition continues with what should create fear in any Web 2.0 investor's heart...

"Citizen media such as blogs, video-casts and the like are one of the most exciting developments enabled by new technology. This phenomenon has the potential to create new businesses … but this proposed regulation severely risks stunting its growth."

AP notes that the law will need the backing of the European Parliament and 25 European Union governments before it can take effect. The Parliament is likely to vote on it later this year.

W in SV

President Bush will be back in Silicon Valley on Friday for an event at Cisco to pump the laudable American Competitiveness Initiative that hopefully resonates back in Congress.  And, in a rare joint appearance, Governor Schwarzenegger will be joining the president (only nine days after he met with CEOs at Cisco to talk innovation).

Groups like TechNet and the Technology CEO Council have been working their tails off behind the scenes to get something like the American Competitiveness Initiative on top of the list of national policy priorities for years.  And, while much of this work is relatively thankless and out of the sight and minds of many in the technology industry (including the media who cover it), the Bush/Schwarzenegger visit will be highly visible validation for it.

Mandatory Tax Day Item

CNET tells us what a Use Tax is; why it matters to people who buy stuff online; and, why it might impact your digital music buying someday soon.

The Rhetoric to Reality Divide (eHealth)

Yesterday, President Bush gave a speech to a small business conference in Washington, DC.  Among many other things, the president touched on how health care delivery and costs can be positively impacted by technology.   The president said:

...the health care field is not a very transparent place when it comes to price and quality.  I mean, how many of you really ever shopped for health care?  How many of you have ever actually gotten on the Internet and tried to compare price before you make a health care decision?  Not many, because, one, the system has somebody else paying the bills for you, and, two, there's not a lot of transparency.  So this government is going to continue to work with folks in the health care field to make sure that price and quality are available to you as a consumer.  It's amazing what happens when people have information at their fingertips before they make decisions.

The president is right, of course.  Yet, our guess is that the administration's view on this is aspirational rather than hey-we-have-the-tools-to-make-this-happen-today-ional. However, in a nice bit of well-timed coincidence, the Business 2.0 blog ran a bit yesterday on a new Web service called Healthia that:

Governator Visiting TechNet

The Governator is down in the Valley today visiting the campus of Cisco and meeting with about 10 of the most prominent tech CEOs, including Scott McNealy, John Chambers and others.  The event is organized by TechNet and the group will be talking economic growth, environment, education and other important issues to the tech community.

While we don't always agree with the Governor, he deserves credit for putting California at the forefront of doing its share to protect the environment. 

New Tech Policy Podcast

For those of you who want some portable tech policy goodness (and, really, who doesn't?), National Journal's Technology Daily now produces a weekly audio show called the Tech Policy Pod.  You can listen to the weekly wrap up of top tech policy news on on the show's blog or you can get the podcast on PodCast Alley, iTunes and several other top podcast aggregation sites.  Tech Daily's Danny Glover is the host.

As California Goes, So Goes...

Ventura Star column today on the growing momentum in California to be out ahead of key environmental sustainability issues:

Those concerned about California's economy would do well to study the evolving political and social landscape around the global warming issue. If California is out in front now, there could be substantial economic benefits later.

Link:  See here for other green tech coverage.

Freedom to be Circumspect

The Freedom to Connect conference is in DC today and tomorrow and the topic du jour is Net Neutrality.

Eric Schonfeld at Business 2.0 notes that former FCC Chairman and current speaker-about-town issued a strong warning to the pro-NN crowd about the unintended dangers of legislating a tech mandate:

How to Win Friends & Get in the Journal

Hey you.  Yeah, you.  You nose-to-the-grindstone Hill staffer/government affairs type/PR maven.  The boss is gone, the office fridge is out of Diet Cokes, but you're racking your brain at 11pm trying to think of a succinct, yet evocative, new term for Net Neutrality that will CHANGE THE DEBATE.

You can go home now.  There's a new model for getting ahead in the tech policy world.  Get yourself a blog and start typing.

Need more convincing?  Just check out the following graphic in today's WSJ:

This Week in Tech Policy Events (4/3-4/7)

The 463 presents a new weekly feature after the jump...

This week's highlights include a forum on telecom reform; a panel that includes Sen. George Allen, R-Va.; Steve Case, chairman of Revolution LLC; and Jim Larranaga, coach of the George Mason University men's basketball team; a hearing on US competitiveness with both the Labor and Education Secretaries; and, a hearing on health IT....