Innovation Policy Post

On initial glance H.R. 3261, the Stop Online Piracy Act, introduced in the House this week, is twice was long as its Senate counterpart the PROTECT IP Act and proposes broad, sweeping Internet regulation.

Today marked the end of around ten days of events surrounding the 25th anniversary of the Electronic Communications Protect Action, though by no means is it the end of our reform efforts. It was a week full of press conferences, panels, and even a party, all of which served to highlight the problems in the law and the need for reform. 

Today’s panel continued that trend, bringing together a group of people that many may have thought opposed to the proposals to reform ECPA, but who clearly see the need for reform. As if to emphasize that need, Google this week released its latest set of data on the requests for information that it receives from governments around the world. The sharp increase in requests during this period is just one example of the importance of reform.

At the beginning of this month the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) handed down its judgment on the long-awaited ‘Premier League rights’ case. The legal dispute arose in the UK involving exclusive broadcasting licenses for the live transmission of Premier League soccer games that prohibit the use of decoder cards bought from foreign broadcasters. The FA Premier League (FAPL), the licensor of Premier League live matches, licenses these transmission rights on a country-by-country basis under terms and conditions that vary widely across the EU. By engaging in simple price arbitrage some pubs obtained cheaper decoder cards from abroad circumventing the exclusive licensing structure operational on UK territory. 

Cybersecurity has been the national security topic du jour for months.  Earlier this year then CIA Director Leon Pannetta warned of the potential of a “cyber Pearl Harbor”, while in May the Obama Administration released its cybersecurity legislative proposal.  And last week the House GOP’s Cybersecurity Task Force (CTF) released its recommendations.  

Late last week, a group of organizations co-signed a letter to the Federal Trade Commission outlining concerns that they have about some of Facebook’s recent practices and announcements. CCIA believes that the FTC’s work in enforcing the unfair and deceptive practices prohibitions in Section 5 of the FTC Act is essential to protecting privacy online. However, the complaints articulated by the letter about Facebook’s new “Frictionless Sharing” program are off base and we’re confident that if the FTC explores them, it will come to the same conclusion.