ZDNet is running an interesting piece on the lack of technology platforms in the Democrats' 100 hours legislative agenda. While the Dems are focused on raising the minimum wage, pushing stem-cell research, and squaring off with President Bush about his proposed troop "surge," there is little in the way of proposed tech legislation.

But tech issues have long been part of the Democrats' "innovation agenda," and according to the article several tech-minded pieces of bipartisan legislation will be introduced this year, some praiseworthy and some misguided. Some tidbits:

- Although the Deleting Online Predators Act (DOPA) died in the Senate last year, Alaska Republican Ted "Series of Tubes" Stevens has repackaged the proposed legislation using identical language and attached it to a bill (PDF) that would require all sexually explicit sites to be labeled as such.

- Stevens also revived a proposal to allow consumers to sue companies that wrongly obtain phone records.

- Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), John Sununu (R-N.H.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) are proposing to permanently ban Internet taxes.

- Rep. Christopher Smith (R-N.J.) re-introduced a bill from last year called the Global Online Freedom Act (PDF) that would impose fines on American companies like Google and Yahoo! that block U.S. government content at other countries' request or that turn over private user information in all cases except "legitimate foreign law enforcement purposes."

Let's keep an eye on these efforts, as well as the Internet Freedom Preservation Act, a bill introduced by Senators Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) in support of Net Neutrality.

Tags: 100 hours, DOPA, series of tubes

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