In the Cloud: Euro Cloud Strategy Released, U.S. Senator Drops Bill
Last week, the European Commission (EC) released its long-awaited cloud strategy “Unleashing the Potential of Cloud Computing in Europe,” a mixed-bag for cloud computing in the EU. On one hand it is a pro-cloud declaration, highlighting the EC’s recognition of cloud computing’s opportunities to help policymakers come to grips with the policies needed to foster this new development. However, some parts of the Commission’s communication continue to conflict with what SIIA warned against in its Guide to Policymakers last year, treating cloud computing as a discrete entity that is potentially subject to specific government regulation in many key areas. Read more on SIIA’s Digital Discourse Blog.
On the U.S. front, Sen. Klobuchar (D-MN) introduced cloud computing legislation that has been in the works for years as well. The bill, introduced just prior to Congressional recess, is scaled-down from working drafts circulated over the last couple years. The primary thrust is to address unauthorized access to cloud computing services. Additional provisions in the bill would encourage negotiations among the U.S. and other countries to establish consistent laws for privacy and cross-border data flows, and require federal agencies to regularly provide IT and cloud procurement forecasts to Congress.
Similar to the EU Strategy, the draft legislation draws an unnecessary and unhelpful legal distinction around “cloud computing,” threatening to create an environment where “cloud computing” enjoys different — in this case strong — protection than other IT offerings not meeting the definition.
SIIA Calls for More Trademark and Copyright Protections for New Domain Names
In comments filed with ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) last week, SIIA called for more intellectual property (IP) safeguards before any new generic top level domain (gTLD) applications are approved. Under the new program, trademark and copyright owners will be forced to expend significant resources and time to protect their intellectual property on thousands of new domains. Specifically, SIIA continues to stress the need for registries (the gTLD applicants) that are approved by ICANN put in place greater safeguards to protect against piracy and counterfeiting — this is especially true for domain names that are targeted toward software and information products and brands. Establishment of a clear process for complaints and systems for ensuring that domain information is accurate and publically available are the minimum levels of protection that rights holders deserve under this new program. Read more on SIIA’s Digital Discourse Blog.
SIIA Continues on China’s Trade Practices at Issue at USTR
Last week, SIIA filed comments with the United States Information Technology Office (USITO) in China, in the annual review of China’s compliance with its accession commitments to the World Trade Organization (WTO). As a follow-up, SIIA Public Policy VP Mark MacCarthy will be testifying on behalf of SIIA and USITO at the USTR’s hearing on these issues on October 3rd, focusing on the issues of intellectual property enforcement, utility model patents, services invention remuneration and Internet regulation. His oral testimony is here.
SIIA Urges Advertisers to Move Forward on Do Not Track
As the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) prepares to meet this week to continue discussing the key technical details of what a “Do not Track” (DNT) flag should mean and how web site and advertising operators should respond to it, there are considerable questions about whether the current disagreements among stakeholders will be resolved. As customers should be told clearly what they can expect from DNT, SIIA is urging the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) to take action to break the logjam at that is threatening to derail the promising initiative that is DNT. Read more on SIIA’s Digital Discourse Blog.
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David LeDuc is Senior Director, Public Policy at SIIA. He focuses on e-commerce, privacy, cyber security, cloud computing, open standards, e-government and information policy.