Innovation Policy Post

In a 3-2 vote Tuesday, the FCC adopted net neutrality rules designed to defend consumers’ access to an open Internet.  

First, CCIA commends the Chairman and Commissioners Clyburn and Copps for their more than a year of work on crafting Open Internet rules.  Under their leadership, the FCC, after much deliberation, did what we expect of our public servants – they recognized a threat to the public and the vitality of the American economy and took action on behalf of the American people to defend against the emerging threat of online content blocking and discrimination by Internet Access Providers.  

The Department of Commerce’s Internet Policy Task Force is now asking for public comments on their privacy report. Last week they released what they are terming a “green paper” entitled “Commercial Data Privacy and Innovation in the Internet Economy: A Dynamic Policy Framework.”

CCIA President & CEO Ed Black and CDT senior policy counsel David Sohn told reporters gathered for a press breakfast they expected privacy measures, FCC oversight hearings and possibly patent reform to be a focus of the new Congress.

Yesterday CCIA filed comments in the Commerce Department’s proceeding on obstructions to the global free flow of information imposed by foreign governments. Our member companies are concerned that requirements to monitor, filter or censor online content operate as protectionist international trade barriers in the 21st century information economy.

CCIA is pleased to hear negotiators have reached an agreement on outstanding issues that were holding up the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement.  As the leading export industry of the United States, the high-tech sector in particular benefits greatly from expanded trade.

The Republic of Korea is our seventh largest trading partner, and the U.S. International Trade Commission estimates the FTA’s implementation would increase U.S. GDP by up to $12 billion. 

The FTC’s preliminary online privacy report is now public. Protecting Consumer Privacy in an Era of Rapid Change, released Wednesday, comes after a year of consultations on the many issues surrounding consumer privacy.  

After reviewing the document here at CCIA, we think it represents an important step forward for the FTC in their handling of important privacy issues, but there are still many unanswered questions and concerns in the privacy space.

This week brought welcome news that FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has put Open Internet access on the agenda for the FCC’s December meeting. Open Internet rules will establish that no central authority -- government or private company -- should be a gatekeeper to the Internet.

CCIA strongly believes that access to content should not be dependent on the identity of a customer’s Internet provider. Consumers should determine the winners and losers in the online marketplace -- not the handful of Internet Access Providers (IAPs) who enjoy dominant legacy market positions in cable and telephone and now seek to expand their hegemony to the Internet.