Amir Nasr

Internet Association Policy Platform Has Some Overlap, Conflicts with GOP’s

A lobbying group representing companies like Facebook, Spotify and Uber released its 2016 policy platform, with a focus on copyright, consumer privacy and the sharing economy. “Our policy platform is drafted as a go-to blueprint for candidates and their campaigns, regardless of party affiliation,” said Michael Beckerman, president and chief executive of the Internet Association. “While candidates may disagree on any number of issues, support for the continued growth of the internet is good for America and cuts across party lines.”

The group’s policy preferences overlap with some tech components in the GOP’s platform, as well as the tech agenda released by presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. But the Internet Association’s platform is misaligned with the Republican Party’s when it comes to the Federal Communications Commission’s 2015 network neutrality rule and the upcoming transition of the Internet domain naming system away from US control. The GOP criticized the two issues, both of which are supported by the trade group. The Internet Association also called on candidates to keep existing safe harbors in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act that provide legal protections to Internet companies when copyrighted content is posted by third-party users.

Lawmakers Say Privacy, Security Needed in Health Apps Market

Health apps and wearable smart technology are a popular commodity in the United States. These apps can help individuals take care of their health by analyzing the amount they exercise, walk, and eat, as well as diagnosing illnesses. Apps can also facilitate face-to-face consultations between doctors and patients and help compare prices for treatments. These apps also take in a lot of consumer data. Lawmakers in the House Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade want to ensure there are safeguards in place for these apps as smart health technology grows in prevalence.

“We need the right regulatory framework in place,” Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), chairman of the full committee, said at a hearing. “A framework that encourages innovation, removes barriers to investment, and advances new opportunities for patients and providers to engage in the health care system.” Chairman Upton added that privacy and security of data are “absolute musts,” and said it’s “one of the most important policies that industry must show leadership on.”

Data Localization Would Harm U.S. Economy, Tech Experts Warn

A growing global trend of data localization, also called data nationalization, is threatening firms’ ability to conduct business around the world. It could jeopardize the American economy more than other countries if it grows, tech experts warned the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade.

Data localization laws include things like a Chinese policy that bars companies from processing or storing Chinese citizens’ financial and credit data offshore, one that several panelists at a House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade pointed to as particularly egregious. There are also laws in Malaysia and South Korea requiring all data about citizens to stay on local servers. A key step for international tech openness, according to the witnesses, will be passing the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the massive trade deal signed by the United States and 11 other countries on Feb. 4. Members of Congress from both parties, as well as both presidential candidates, have expressed doubt to outright opposition to TPP because they say it puts the United States at an unfair disadvantage in many areas. GOP leaders say there is almost no chance that Congress will vote on TPP in 2016. But some in the tech community, including the Internet Association, have come out in support of the deal for acknowledging digital trade and including requirements for nations create safe harbors regarding intellectual property law. Subcommittee Chairman Dave Reichert (R-WA) called the “arbitrary blocking of cross-border internet traffic” a long-term problem for the US, especially since digital trade can be such a boon for small businesses.