OVERNIGHT TECH: Energy and Commerce subpanel to review children's privacy law

THE LEDE: The House Energy and Commerce's Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade subcommittee will hold a hearing Wednesday to examine possible updates to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), a 1998 law that gives parents control over what information websites can collect about their children.

The Federal Trade Commission reviewed the law last month and proposed its own updates. Among other changes, the FTC proposed expanding the definition of personal information to include geolocation data and tracking cookies used by behavioral advertisements. The proposal would also streamline the parental notice sites must give before collecting minors' information. Notably, the FTC did not propose raising the law's age limit, which is currently 13.

The hearing will review the FTC's proposal and other potential updates to the law. Ken Johnson, a spokesman for subcommittee Chairman Mary Bono Mack (R-Calif.), said it is important to thoroughly review COPPA to ensure it is up to date with the rapidly changing ways that children use the Internet.

He noted that some are arguing that the age limit should be raised above 13 because so many young teenagers now use social networks such as Facebook. Johnson said that although Bono Mack wants to discuss raising the age limit, she would prefer to deal with the issue in broader privacy legislation.

The witnesses will be representatives from the FTC, the Association for Competitive Technology, the American University School of Communication, the Family Online Safety Institute, Common Sense Media and security and privacy advising firm SSP Blue.

Senators looking to block binding arbitration clauses: Sens. Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) introduced the Consumer Mobile Fairness Act on Tuesday, which would ban the mandatory arbitration clauses that have become common in wireless contracts. The senators argue the clauses prevent consumers from filing lawsuits against firms that engage in practices like hidden fees, forcing them to use "an often unfair and biased arbitration system." 

CTIA-The Wireless Association called the bill "a misguided effort to overturn a well-reasoned U.S. Supreme Court decision" and said the lawmakers should work more on freeing up spectrum for mobile broadband and "spend less time on stimulating the market for trial lawyers."

Rockefeller says CALM Act applies to all TV ads: Senate Commerce Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski on Monday regarding the CALM Act, which was signed into law last year in an attempt to cut down on excessively loud TV commercials. The FCC is currently working to implement the new law and penalties, which some small cable operators have argued should only apply to large distributors, broadcasters or whoever originally inserts the advertisements into programming. Rockefeller's letter argues the law is intended to turn down the volume on all television commercials and should apply across the board.

ON TAP WEDNESDAY:

The House Judiciary Committee’s Immigration Policy subcommittee will hold a hearing in the afternoon to discuss whether more should be done to prevent foreign graduate students earning advanced science degrees at American universities from leaving the country after they graduate. Under current policy, such graduates must generally leave the country once their student visa expires, unless they can find an employer willing to sponsor them for a visa or permanent residency. Critics argue those limitations force talented minds to either leave the U.S. or tie them to an employer rather than allowing them to start their own firm and create jobs in the U.S.

ICYMI: 

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski will unveil his proposal to update his agency's Universal Service Fund and intercarrier compensation rules on Thursday. FCC officials said they expect the commission to vote on the plans at the agency's next meeting, later this month.

Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Communications and Technology subcommittee, said Tuesday that negotiations over spectrum legislation are continuing and that he will "avoid any arbitrary deadlines." 

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta appointed Eric Rosenbach as the new top cyber official at the Pentagon on Tuesday.

Apple unveiled a version of its iPhone 4 featuring an updated operating system and voice recognition technology at the firm's headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., on Tuesday afternoon.

A coalition of consumer advocacy groups bashed an industry proposal to reform the Universal Service Fund Tuesday, arguing that the plan is aimed at protecting "excessive" telecom company profits at the expense of consumers.

AT&T and T-Mobile USA took advantage of the FCC's data confidentiality provisions to hide much more information about their prospective merger from the public eye than was necessary, according to a filing from Public Knowledge.

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