OVERNIGHT TECH: Genachowski to defend FCC agenda before House panel

The Lead: Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski will defend his agency's policies at a House hearing on Tuesday morning.

Lawmakers on the House Energy and Commerce's subcommittee on Communications and Technology will grill Genachowski, along with the four other FCC commissioners. 

It will be the first time that recently confirmed Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Ajit Pai will appear before a House panel.

According to his prepared remarks, Genachowski will explain that the primary focus of his chairmanship has been expanding wired and wireless high-speed Internet access.

Lawmakers could explore a wide range of topics, including the FCC's plans to auction bands of television spectrum to wireless carriers and efforts to build a nationwide broadband network for first-responders. Congress authorized the FCC to carry out both projects when it approved tax-cut extension legislation earlier this year.

A memo from Republican committee staffers identifies other core issues, including the FCC's overhaul of its Universal Service Fund and its review of the Verizon-cable deal. Lawmakers are also expected to address "special access" and media ownership rules, as well as communications outages caused by a storm that slammed the East Coast late last month.

In his remarks, Pai, a Republican, is expected to criticize the FCC for moving too slowly.

"If companies do not know the rules of the road, they stop investing, and job creation in the communications industry grinds to a halt," he will say, according to his prepared testimony.

Robert McDowell, the FCC's other Republican, is expected to urge the agency to resume fining broadcast television stations that air indecent content in the wake of a Supreme Court decision on the issue.

House Judiciary set for markup marathon: The House Judiciary Committee will mark up a series of bills Tuesday morning that range from clamping down on online child pornography to bolstering U.S. IP enforcement worldwide.

The Child Prevention Act of 2012 sponsored by Reps. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) increases penalties for child pornography distribution and is designed to provide additional services and protections for victims. Unlike another anti-child-porn bill authored by Smith last year, the Child Prevention Act does not include a provision requiring Internet service providers to store user data for 18 months. The measure had stoked concerns from privacy groups last year. 

"From a privacy perspective, the lack of a data retention [measure] is a good thing," said Chris Calabrese, a legal director based in Washington for the American Civil Liberties Union. The committee will also consider the "Intellectual Property Attaché Act," which aims to establish an IP attaché program in U.S. embassies or diplomatic missions and moves the administrator for policy and external affairs role at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to the Commerce Department.

Senate Banking Committee looks at mobile payments: The Senate Banking Committee is holding its second hearing on the security of mobile payments tomorrow morning, called "Developing the Framework for Safe and Efficient Mobile Payments." Slated to testify are UC Berkeley economics Professor Michael Katz, UC Berkeley adjunct law Professor Thomas Brown and Sarah Jane Hughes, a fellow in commercial law at the University of Indiana's Maurer School of Law.

Issa signs Declaration of Internet Freedom: Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), a leading opponent of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), has signed on to support the Declaration of Internet Freedom released last week by Free Press, Public Knowledge and more than 100 other cyber liberties groups and Internet advocates. "I believe that individuals deserve an open and unobstructed Internet so they are free to innovate, collaborate and participate in building a stronger America and better world," Issa said in a statement. Vint Cerf, Google's chief Internet evangelist and the so-called godfather of the Internet, has also signed the declaration.

FCC gives Frontier Communications $71.9 million: The FCC announced on Monday that it will give Frontier Communications a $71.9 million grant to accelerate the deployment of broadband Internet services in rural areas. The funds are part of the FCC's Connect America Fund, which aims to expand Internet access. Genachowski said the grant will help 200,000 Americans attain Internet access for the first time. 

Langevin to talk cyber at Translantic Group Summit: Rep. James Langevin (D-R.I.) will talk about the current state of cybersecurity policy and legislation, as well as the need for international cooperation on cybersecurity tomorrow afternoon at the Transatlantic Group on Counter Terrorism's summit. Also participating in the event will be European Parliament members from Germany, Spain and Estonia. 

McKenzie departing FCC: Michael McKenzie, who has served as the deputy chief of the FCC's international and wireless telecommunications bureaus, will depart the agency at the end of the month. McKenzie has also served as a staffer for the FCC's Technology Advisory Council. Prior to joining the FCC in 2010, McKenzie was a general manager and senior director of business development and strategy at Microsoft. 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

The FCC is ready to approve the Verizon-cable deal, but DOJ still has concerns about marketing arrangements, according to Reuters.

Police made a 'startling' 1.3 million requests in 2011 for cellphone data.

Committee launches probe into alleged UN shipments to Iran, North Korea.

Wireless carriers resist allowing campaign donations by text.

Chamber to weigh in on latest cybersecurity draft.

Democrats worry Verizon-cable deal will limit competition.

Cyber Command chief urges action on information-sharing legislation.

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