Today, CCIA sent letters to the United States Trade
Representative (USTR) expressing our desire to see Canada,
Japan
and Mexico’s
unconditional participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) talks.
As three of our four biggest trading partners, Canada, Japan and Mexico’s inclusion in the TPP is essential to ensuring our biggest trading partners are operating under the same “high standard” trade framework. Besides the obvious gains to be won in further liberalizing trade in these huge markets, having these major trading partners all operating under the same or similar rules would reduce red tape and enhance efficiency.
Twitter’s Difficult Choice: The Unenviable Position of U.S. Internet Companies
Yesterday, Twitter announced
that it had created a targeted solution to removing locally
“illegal” material on a country-by-country basis. Perhaps understandably, the company has been accused of abetting
censorship, particularly because Twitter is one of the online platforms that
has played such an important role in empowering traditionally silenced minority
groups, democracy activists and protestors around the world.
Yesterday the European Commission released their proposal for a new data protection law for the European Union. While CCIA is glad to see the EU working on updating the old Data Protection Directive from 1995, there are some aspects of the proposal that are serious cause for concern and we believe must be addressed if the new regulation is going to be an effective balance between the privacy rights of users and the innovation that drives new business on the Internet.
A few of our biggest concerns have to do with a blanket opt-in requirement, the concept of a “right to be forgotten,” and a 24 hour notice requirement in cases of data breaches. These elements have the potential to seriously disrupt expected web browsing experiences, place wildly disproportionate burdens on data collectors, or present a serious conflict with freedoms of expression.
Tech industry advocates could easily spot some longstanding items from the innovation agenda within President Obama’s State of the Union address Tuesday night.
President Obama said “innovation demands basic research.” He warned Congress not to gut these programs when they balance the budget. Obama reminded them that federal research is what led to innovations like the computer chip and the Internet.
