The World Conference on International Telecommunications took a much-feared but unpleasant turn for the U.S. delegation on Wednesday, as the United Nations' telecom body the International Telecommunications Union decided it should take a more active role in governing the Internet. The unexpected call for a vote last last night from the conference chairman would give national governments a more control over the Web, which American policymakers believe would result in more censorship and oppression of free speech in countries that monitor Web traffic. The head of the ITU had reportedly previously promised not to hold votes on controversial topics, preferring to govern by consensus. Both the U.S. and Europe appeared surprised by the most recent turn.

As we've discussed before, any change to the current multi-stakeholder model of Internet governance is unacceptable to U.S. officials, particularly if it takes power from the group of nonprofits that currently oversees the Web. Many of the countries pushing for the changes are among the most active when it comes to censorship, justifying many of U.S. officials' worst fears. Several trade and public interest groups have released statements condemning the ITU's call for a vote, and arguing the ITU no longer has any credibility after going back on its earlier promise.

CALM Act Takes Effect Today: Today marks the day the CALM Act, which limits TV commercials to the same volume as the programming they interrupt, takes effect. Few laws are likely to be more appreciated by our nation's couch potatoes, for whom blaring TV commercials are a constant annoyance. Sponsors Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., will hold a news conference today in the Senate side of the Capitol Visitors Center to mark the occasion, joined by representatives of the cable and broadcast industries. Small cable operators have raised some objections to being forced to implement the law's provisions, but were also given a grace period not enjoyed by larger operators. Hearing Revives Spectrum Auction Controversies: Yesterday's House Energy and Commerce telecom subcommittee hearing on the upcoming spectrum auctions revived many of the debates that came up when lawmakers authorized the auctions earlier this year. Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., argued against the agency's proposal to set aside unlicensed spectrum between the licensed bands, arguing such a move would sap revenue from the auction. He asked the FCC to consider releasing smaller bands of unlicensed spectrum, which pricked supporters of more unlicensed spectrum, such as Anna Eshoo, the subcommittee's ranking Democrat. The commission's Democrats agreed on prioritizing unlicensed spectrum, while the two Republicans both raised concerns about money being left on the table.

The two GOP commissioners also appeared troubled by any rules or limits that could potentially prevent AT&T or Verizon from buying up as much spectrum as they like. Congress has already tied the FCC's hands regarding rules for potential spectrum bidders, but Democrats would still like to see some rules written to prevent the two dominant wireless carriers from snapping up all the airwaves. There hasn't been any indication that either AT&T or Verizon plan to do so, but bidding is shaping up to be fierce, especially if Sprint's takeover by deep-pocketed Japanese telecom giant Clearwire is completed before the auction.

ICYMI: House Space Committee Holds Hearing on Future of NASA (full transcript) Blumenthal Joins Senate Commerce Committee: Senate Commerce Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., announced Wednesday that Connecticut Democrat Richard Blumenthal will join the full committee for the 113th Congress, where he is expected to champion digital privacy issues. Blumenthal has been hawkish regarding online privacy issues since his tenure as Connecticut's attorney general, and since coming to Washington he has continued his quest to ensure companies aren't abusing consumers' personal information. Location Privacy Bill Markup Postponed: The Senate Judiciary Committee has postponed a markup scheduled for Thursday to examine a bill (S 1223) from Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., that would require companies to notify consumers when their location data is being shared or used to track them. Grassley was reportedly amending his privacy bill to address concerns raised by Ranking Member Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. Franken has been an outspoken advocate for increasing consumer privacy protections, particularly in the digital arena. His legislation appears to have some support on Committee, but it's difficult to see the legislation hitting the full Senate floor in the near future.