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.