This week in Washington: Cybersecurity legislation may move forward in the Senate, ICANN releases a list of proposed generic top-level domains, the United States Patent Office promotes clean energy partnerships.
Cybersecurity
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid put his colleagues “on notice” June 10, calling on democrats and republicans to work together to pass cybersecurity legislation that has stalled in previous Senate sessions. The bill faces stern resistance from many technology-focused groups concerned about its impact on privacy.
Open Data
Representative Darrell Issa announced on June 10 the OpenGov Foundation at the Personal Democracy Forum in New York City. OpenGov would allow citizens to actively engage in the policy-writing process through open, web-based technology. Issa is looking for developers to build the tool.
Patent
The USPTO held a meeting of clean technology stakeholders in an effort to improve and expand its clean technology program. Issues discussed included the importance of regional accelerators and an update on cleantech patents.
Spectrum
The FCC holds an open meeting June 13 in which the commissioners will consider moves to make more efficient use of high frequency spectrum for a nationwide interoperable public safety network.
DNS
Also on June 13, the International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) holds a press conference unveiling the generic top-level domains applied for in the organization’s expansion program. The application window for the new domains -- which could include .lol and .nyc -- closed May 30. A release from the organization reports that more than 1,900 applications were received.
