After Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton gave a well-received speech on Internet freedom yesterday, Free Press's executive director Josh Silver put out a statement linking Internet censorship to net neutrality.

Today, Andrew Keen, an adviser to Arts + Labs, a coalition of technology and entertainment companies, wrote in an op-ed that Silver's response was "a ridiculous attack on American companies" by "comparing American phone and cable corporations with repressive overseas regimes in Iran and China."

Keen continues, "Has the radical pro-network-neutrality lobby group Free Press no shame, no sense of moral perspective, no grasp of reality outside their echo-chamber obsession with vilifying America’s telecoms and cable providers?"

Read the full op-ed here.

The wireless industry isn't a fan of the proposed net neutrality regulations under consideration at the FCC. CTIA says the rules will deter investment in broadband networks--the same broadband networks that the FCC and Congress hope will soon be expanded to reach unserved areas.

In its comments to the FCC, CTIA says there is no reason to justify net neutrality rules. "It would be unlawful and unwise for the Commission to change course by adopting prescriptive rules based on speculative predictions of consumer harm," the group said in its filing.

I sat down with Chris Guttman-McCabe, vice president of regulatory affairs at CTIA, to talk about the issue.

Charles E. Phillips, a member of President Barack Obama's Economic Recovery Advisory Board and a powerful figure in the technology industry, is involved in a bizarre series of billboards on display around New York City this week, reportedly orchestrated by an angry former mistress.

The billboards feature photos of Phillips, co-president of software giant Oracle Corporation, with a woman named YaVaughnie Wilkins.  

The billboards could embarrass Phillips, one of the most visible faces of Oracle, at a pivotal time: The company's plans to acquire Sun Microsystems are nearly finalized, and any negative publicity could adversely affect the merger. Read more...

Green technology investors and companies are pushing for the inclusion of a "green bank" to be included in a bill aiming to reduce unemployment. Including a "green bank" in the jobs bill, these firms say, will create jobs and position the U.S. as a leader in the "clean energy" field.

My colleague Ben Geman has the story.

Dan Glickman will step down as the head of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) on April 1 but his permanent replacement has not been found yet.
 
It was announced Friday that Bob Pisano, president and chief operating officer at MPAA, will jump in to serve as interim CEO for the business association that represents the movie industry while the search will continue for Glickman’s replacement.

Glickman, a former nine-term Democratic congressman from Kansas and Agriculture secretary during the Clinton administration, has been MPAA’s CEO since 2004. He previously announced that he would not seek to renew his contract beyond September 2010 and has worked with the trade group to find its new leader. Glickman will move on to Refugees International, where he will be president. Read more...

Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) and Lee Terry (R-Neb.), co-chairs of the Rural Telecommunications Task Force, are hosting a briefing for colleagues and staff Monday afternoon to discuss the challenges facing rural broadband deployment.

The FCC is delivering a National Broadband Plan to Congress in March, which will include recommendations for expanding broadband access to even the most rural of areas.

Rural broadband providers will be on hand to present to staff and discuss policy changes Congress should consider, according to the invitation circulated by the offices.

--National Telecommunications Cooperative Association
--Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunication Companies
--Western Telecommunications Alliance
--Independent Telephone and Telecommunications Alliance.

The briefing will be held Monday at 2 p.m. in room 1300 of Longworth.

For some technology trade groups, picking a side on the net neutrality debate can be tricky. They are responsible for representing--on Capitol Hill and at the FCC--the interests of all of their members, many of whom sit on opposite sides of the fence.

That is the case for the Information Technology Industry Council, whose 43 members include Microsoft, Ebay, Intel, Apple, Qualcom, Adobe and Cisco--all of whom would be affected differently by net neutrality regulations under consideration at the FCC.

After months of debating where the organization should stand on the additional two priniciples proposed by Chairman Julius Genachowski, ITI's members were finally able to reach a consensus, said president and CEO Dean Garfield.

"We've gone to a place in dealing with the final two principles that the group that the group has never been able to get to before," Garfield said in an interview. "Our members are looking for certainty."

Sen.-elect Scott Brown’s (R-Mass.) Web guru, Rob Willington, has become one of the country’s most sought-after online political strategists overnight .

Willington's inbox was flooded with requests for his expertise before Brown's victory in the Massachusetts Senate race on Tuesday night was even official.

“I'm getting lots of requests to do workshops for other organizations and campaigns,” said the 31-year-old Willington, who managed online outreach for Brown, a Republican who snagged the Democrats' all-important 60th Senate seat in what was thought to be a liberal bastion.

A former political director for the Massachusetts Republican Party, Willington had both campaign and social media know-how.

The Senate Judiciary Committee just announced it will hold a hearing on "Combating Cyber Crime and Identity Theft in the Digital Age," on Wednesday, Feb. 10.

Witnesses will include Ari Schwartz of the Center for Democracy and Technology, Lanny Breuer of the Justice Department and Vincent Weafer of Symantec.

Cybersecurity concerns are back in the spotlight on Capitol Hill after high-profile attacks on U.S. networks, including assaults on Google's infrastructure in China. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in her speech today that cybersecurity is a national priority.