WASHINGTON (AP) - Dell Inc. spent $460,000 in the first quarter to lobby on
a variety of issues, including export control rules, proposals to overhaul the
patent system and trade measures.
The computer maker also lobbied on electronic waste and computer recycling
rules, as well as the upcoming transition from analog to digital television
broadcasting, and on energy efficiency standards and labeling programs,
according to a disclosure form filed with House clerk's office April 22.
The Round Rock, Texas-based company also lobbied on data security
legislation, including proposals to crack down on spyware and phishing scams.
Spyware are computer programs that can surreptitiously access hard drives to
track online behavior and steal sensitive personal data, while phishing scams
use fake e-mails and fraudulent Web sites to trick consumers into releasing
credit card numbers and other personal information.
Dell also lobbied on the federal E-rate program, which subsidizes Internet
access in schools and libraries, and on proposals that would allow the use of
"white spaces" -- the currently unused spectrum between television channels --
to deliver wireless broadband connections.
Besides Congress, Dell lobbied the U.S. Trade Representative, the Patent and
Trademark Office, the Department of Energy, Federal Communications Commission
and other agencies in the first three months of the year.
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