OVERNIGHT TECH: Reid could reveal cyber bill timing Wednesday

The Lede: There is buzz that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will make an announcement Wednesday about when the Senate will take up cybersecurity legislation by Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), according to a Senate aide. Many have doubted that the cybersecurity bill will ever reach the floor, but Reid weighing in on timing will help clear up that murkiness.  

Lieberman has said the Senate will begin consideration of his bill by the end of next week, and he is currently working on a draft with his other co-sponsors that will include changes to the heavily scrutinized critical infrastructure and information-sharing sections. But there are many variables in motion that could potentially derail the bill from reaching the floor — not least of which is whether Sens. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) will reach an agreement with other senators and industry groups on their compromise framework for critical infrastructure provisions.

A spokesman for Reid could not be reached for comment.

Collins: 'Premature' to say whether cyber bill will include Whitehouse-Kyl framework: Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said it's too early to say whether elements of Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Jon Kyl's (R-Ariz.) compromise framework will be included in the critical infrastructure section of the cybersecurity bill she is co-sponsoring with Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.).

"We are working very closely with Sens. Kyl and Whitehouse and others who are interested," said Collins. "It's premature to make any announcement at this time until we've moved further along in negotiations." Lieberman had said he is "inclined" to include components of the Whitehouse-Kyl framework in the bill so it has a higher chance of earning 60 votes. 

Collins declined to comment on when the bill will be taken up on the floor, saying that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) "has made clear that doing a cyber bill is important to him." 

Public Knowledge dismayed by Romney ad take-down: Consumer group Public Knowledge said the take-down of a Mitt Romney campaign video shows the need for Congress to overhaul copyright laws.

"This instance is just another reminder of the need for legislative change. Making sure that bogus takedowns are more reliably penalized will go a long way towards preventing these sorts of problems in the future, allowing political speech to proceed unimpeded," said Sherwin Siy, Public Knowledge's vice president of legal affairs.

The Romney video featured Obama's rendition of Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" and was meant to highlight Obama's connection with campaign donors. But a complaint from the singer's music label led YouTube to take the video down. 

Siy argued that Romney's use of the song is clearly covered under the "fair use" exception to Digital Millennium Copyright Act, but that the damage has already been done.

"The time-sensitive nature of political campaigns means that the loss of time spent in processing a takedown notice and the putback process means that even bogus complaints can have a chilling effect on speech," Siy said.

House Judiciary to examine ITC and patent wars: The House Judiciary Committee’s IP panel will look at the International Trade Commission and patent disputes on Wednesday morning. 

Testifying are Neal Rubin, vice president of litigation for Cisco; Ford Global Technologies IP Counsel David Kelley; American Antitrust Institute President Albert Foer; Tessera General Counsel Bernard Cassidy; and Colleen Chien, an assistant professor at Santa Clara University School of Law. Missing from the witness list is a representative for the ITC, however.

Lawmakers will likely question the practice of patent holders going to the ITC to secure an exclusion order that will bar gadgets from entering the United States. Last week, the Judiciary Committee in the upper chamber examined whether the ITC should grant these exclusion orders to companies that hold standards-essential patents.

Senate hearing on facial recognition: The Senate Judiciary Committee's subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law will hold a hearing to examine the privacy implications of facial recognition technology.

Rob Sherman, manager of privacy and public policy at Facebook, will represent the social networking site at the hearing. FBI Deputy Assistant Director Jerome Pender and Maneesha Mithal from the Federal Trade Commission’s division of privacy and identity protection will on be on hand Wednesday to provide the federal government’s perspective. Sheriff Larry Amerson, president of the National Sheriffs’ Association, and Jennifer Lynch, staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, will also testify.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

Viacom restores online shows after Jon Stewart rips blackout

Wyden keeps quiet on backing Lieberman bill

Sens. Lieberman, Collins press regulator on electric grid security

Bingaman to push for expanded oversight of power grid in cybersecurity bill

Bono Mack introduces bill to extend FTC's online fraud powers

Grassley accuses FDA of acting like communist secret police for spying on employees

---