Posted by Jeff MeisnerEditor, Microsoft on the Issues
On Thursday, at the Microsoft Innovation & Policy Center in Washington, D.C., a record number of attendees, including policy makers, educators, industry leaders and others, gathered to discuss how education innovators design responsive, engaging and academically rigorous programs to prepare students to meet the demands of the U.S. economy in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields.
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Posted by Paul GarnettDirector, Technology Policy Group, Microsoft
At Microsoft, we have long worked in partnership with others in government, industry, academia and civil society to advance emerging technologies and create new opportunities for ICT access and innovation throughout the world. Today at the Global Summit on Dynamic Spectrum Access and TV White Spaces in Singapore, we announced our participation in the newly-formed Dynamic Spectrum Alliance. This will be a new global, cross-industry group focused on policy and regulatory advocacy with the aim of expanding dynamic and opportunistic access to unused radio spectrum – the frequencies we rely upon for wireless connectivity and bandwidth.
The Dynamic Spectrum Alliance is made up of 23 companies and organizations from across the world, each bringing different perspectives to the table. Though we may not agree on all topics, we have worked to find common ground and will use that shared purpose to accelerate the momentum this technology is already gaining globally. A core focus area for the group will be enabling unlicensed (Wi-Fi-like) access to the unused TV band frequencies, which are particularly well-suited for long-range connections at low power.
Posted by John FrankVice President & Deputy General Counsel, Microsoft
This afternoon we are publishing additional information about the volume of law enforcement and national security orders served on Microsoft. For the first time, we are permitted to include the total volume of national security orders, which may include FISA orders, in this reporting. We are still not permitted to confirm whether we have received any FISA orders, but if we were to have received any they would now be included in our aggregate volumes.
Earlier this week, along with others in the industry, we called for greater transparency about the volume and scope of the national security orders, including FISA orders, which require the disclosure of some customer content. We believe this would help the community understand and debate these important issues. Since then, we have worked with the FBI and U.S. Department of Justice to try and secure permission to do this.
This afternoon, the FBI and DOJ have given us permission to publish some additional data, and we are publishing it straight away. However, we continue to believe that what we are permitted to publish continues to fall short of what is needed to help the community understand and debate these issues.
Posted by Horacio GutierrezDeputy General Counsel & Corporate Vice President, Legal & Corporate Affairs, Microsoft
Today, the White House Task Force on High-Tech Patent Issues issued a paper containing seven legislative recommendations for patent reform designed to curb litigation abuses by patent assertion entities (PAEs).
As a defendant in roughly 70 patent lawsuits, most of which were filed by patent assertion entities, Microsoft supports efforts to curb patent litigation abuses. But we are concerned and surprised that in a critical respect today’s proposal goes beyond patent assertion entities and instead targets software innovations more broadly.
Posted by Anthony SalcitoVice President, Worldwide Education, Microsoft
A new study sponsored by Microsoft Partners in Learning and the Pearson Foundation provides clear evidence linking 21st century skills and student engagement in school with higher quality of work later in life.