Innovation Policy Post

Senate Commerce subcommittee chairman Mark Pryor opened his hearing on the Future of Video Tuesday saying Congress wants to update laws so that people can get the content they want and that it’s affordable.  The conversation quickly turned to a la carte channel pricing and sports team broadcasting and the frustration of fans and satellite and cable subscribers when they can’t watch their hometown team.

The European Commission has just launched a Green Paper entitled  'Preparing for a Fully Converged Audiovisual World: Growth, Creation and Values’. The objective of this Paper is to start a broad, public discussion on the implications of the on-going transformation of the audiovisual media landscape. The concept of ‘convergence’ takes centre stage which is understood as the ‘progressive merger of traditional broadcast services and the internet’. By trying to account for the fact that all devices through which audiovisual content can be consumed become increasingly connected, the paper addresses two sets of questions. 

The Senate voted to pass S. 743, the Marketplace Fairness Act yesterday.  CCIA has long opposed this bill, which would impose burdensome tax collecting requirements on online retailers regardless of physical presence.  Especially disappointing about the vote was the fact that the Senate decided to eschew substantive discussion about the consequences of this action on the economy in favor of a simplistic declaration of fairness.  While state and local tax jurisdictions continue to shy away from the necessary task of simplifying their sales tax systems, proponents of the bill certainly have no such qualms about oversimplifying the debate.  

Competition is a critical ingredient for functioning markets. Without it, we have market power, higher prices and market failure.  With it, we have new offers for smartphones without contracts or penalties for consumers, WiFi calling for businesses and more.