The Roundup was off last week for spring break. While Congress is still on recess another week, there’s been plenty going on off the Hill:

SIIA Comments on NTIA Multistakeholder Privacy Process, Calls for Collaboration Instead of Legislation

On April 2nd, SIIA submitted comments to the Department of Commerce regarding the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) “Multistakeholder Process to Develop Consumer Data Privacy Codes of Conduct.” In our comments, SIIA applauded the NTIA’s process of bringing together relevant parties in order to gather the collective expertise, and reiterated its call for a collaborative, rather than legislative, approach to addressing consumer data privacy. SIIA believes that the proposed multistakeholder process can contribute significantly to the mutual recognition of data privacy regimes, including the European Union proposed data protection regulations.

Appeals Court Rules in Viacom v. YouTube

Last Thursday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued a decision in Viacom v. YouTube — the well-publicized copyright infringement case brought by several motion picture companies. The Second Circuit reversed portions of a 2010 decision by the lower court that held YouTube was not liable for copyright infringement and sent the case back to lower court for trial on the basis that “a reasonable jury could find that YouTube had actual knowledge or awareness of specific infringing activity on its website.” The three key takeaways from this case are:

(1) under the DMCA, ISPs can be liable if they either “subjectively” know of the specific infringements or they were subjectively aware of facts that would have made the specific infringement “objectively” obvious to a reasonable person, but cannot be liable for having a mere general awareness that the service was being used for infringing purposes;

(2) in an issue of first impression, the doctrine of willful blindness (defined as engaging in “‘conscious avoidance’ amounting to knowledge where the person was aware of a high probability of the fact in dispute and consciously avoided confirming that fact,”) “may be applied, in appropriate circumstances, to demonstrate knowledge or awareness of specific instances of infringement under the DMCA;” and

(3) for an ISP to be held liable under the DMCA’s “right and ability to control” standard “requires something more than the ability to remove or block access” but the copyright owner need not go so far as to prove that the ISP has specific knowledge, item by infringing item, in order to control the activity.

ICANN gTLD Application Period to Close Thursday

The application period for new gTLDs closes this Thursday, April 12. At least 859 applicants have created accounts in the applications system, and many of them have submitted multiple applications. In all, indications are that several THOUSAND applications have been, or will be submitted. On Monday, SIIA provided a policy update for members on this ongoing process and SIIA/industry engagement, and we’ll continue to update with further developments.

Administration Released IP Enforcement Report, Prepares for IP Economic Report Tomorrow

On March 30th, White House IP Enforcement Coordinator Victoria Espinel released the 2011 U S Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator’s (“IPEC”) Annual Report on Intellectual Property Enforcement, highlighting the steps the administration took in 2011 to enforce IP rights and crack down on the sale of pirated American products, and announcing plans to work with Congress to ensure law enforcement has the right tools to cut down on online counterfeiting and piracy. Among the highlights for 2011, the Report lists the voluntary best practices between payment processors and rights holders to reduce infringement, enhanced U S law enforcement efforts to fight counterfeiters and pirates, and the March 2011 release of the Administration’s White Paper on Intellectual Property Enforcement Legislative Recommendations.

Additionally, tomorrow the Administration will unveil a new Commerce Department report on the role intellectual property plays in the economy. The event will feature DOC Secretary John Bryson, Victoria Espinel and PTO Director David Kappos, and we’ll provide further update on details next week.

SIIA Facts & Findings
IP Report – On March 30th, White House IP Enforcement Coordinator Victoria Espinel released the 2011 U S Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator’s (“IPEC”) Annual Report on Intellectual Property Enforcement, steps the administration took in 2011 to enforce IP rights and crack down on the sale of pirated American products, and announcing plans to work with Congress to ensure law enforcement has the right tools to cut down on online counterfeiting and piracy.

Admin Big Data Initiative – On March 29th, the Obama Administration released a “Big Data Research and Development Initiative.” By improving our ability to extract knowledge and insights from large and complex collections of digital data, the initiative is intended to help accelerate the pace of discovery in science and engineering, strengthen U.S. national security, and transform teaching and learning.

EU Data Protection – On March 23rd, the EC Article 29 Working Party adopted an Opinion on ECs data protection law reform proposals, including the draft Regulation that is of particular importance for businesses. The Working Party’s Opinion serves as the national data protection authorities’ contribution to the legislative process before the European Parliament and the European Council. Hunton & Williams has provided a summary.

For SIIA policy updates including upcoming events, news and analysis, subscribe to SIIA’s weekly policy email newsletter, Digital Policy Roundup.

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.

Cyber: Legislative Flurry Continues, House and Senate Poised to Act in April

On Monday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said that the Senate would consider Sen. Lieberman’s (I-CT) Cybersecurity Act (S. 2105) “in the coming weeks.” In remarks on the Senate floor, he also called on Republicans to help move the bill forward. While no date has been firmly set on the Senate calendar, suggestions by Sen. Lieberman are also that the bill would be brought up after the recess, either the last two weeks in April or the first week in May.

And on the House side, Republican Cybersecurity Task Force leader Mac Thornberry (R-TX) suggested last week that the House would have a so-called “cyber week” in April. House Leadership has not yet confirmed a date or specific legislation to be considered, but it’s rumored to be possibly the week of April 23rd.

And regarding the potential legislation for consideration, the list of proposals continues to grow. Joining the two information sharing bills, H.R. 3523 and H.R. 3674, sponsored by Reps. Rogers (R-MI) and Lundgren (R-CA) respectively, Reps. Bono Mack (R-CA) and Blackburn (R-TN) introduced a house companion of Sen. McCain’s Secure IT Act (S. 2151), that is reportedly almost identical, save for a few technical modifications, and Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) recently confirmed that he is still working on his cybersecurity legislation, which focuses on penalties for cybercrime.

Privacy : FTC Releases Long Awaited Privacy Report

Weeks after the President released a “Privacy and Innovation Blueprint,” the FTC yesterday released its long awaited final report, “Protecting Consumer Privacy in an Era of Rapid Change,” making recommendations for businesses and policymakers. The Report recommends best practices in a three-part framework: privacy by design, simplified choice for consumers and greater transparency about data practices. While the report largely tracks the draft released in late 2010 and echoes support for a Consumer Privacy Bill, it also establishes more detailed recommendations in four key areas: Do Not Track, De-identified Data, Sensitive Data and Mobile Disclosures. In response to the Report, SIIA released a statement welcoming this clarification of the FTC’s policy, but reiterating our position that new legislation is not necessary at this time.

Also on Privacy, Rep. Bono Mack’s Subcommittee on Commerce and Trade will hold a hearing to review the President’s Privacy and Innovation Blueprint, and comments on the proposed privacy multistakeholder process are due on Monday, April 2nd.

Mobile Payment Policy Officially on Radar Inside the Beltway

Following a House Financial Services hearing last week, the Senate Banking Committee will take their turn on mobile payment technology and security at a hearing on Thursday. And next month the FTC will host a workshop to examine a wide range of issues, including the technology and business models used in mobile payments, the consumer protection issues raised, and the experiences of other nations where mobile payments are more common.

Also, last week the Internet Caucus Advisory Committee held a discussion on the topic. The discussion, led by SIIA’s Mark MacCarthy, covered issues such as customer financial privacy, cyber security, financial accountability and fraud, and reviewed the regulatory agencies in charge of assuring basic consumer protections. Further info. and audio of the event are available on the ICAC site.

For SIIA policy updates including upcoming events, news and analysis, subscribe to SIIA’s weekly policy email newsletter, Digital Policy Roundup.

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.

EC Privacy Conference and Joint US-EU Statement

On Monday, the European Commission (EC) held a high-level Conference on Privacy and Protection of Personal Data, focused on efforts to deepen the transatlantic dialogue on commercial data privacy issues. In conjunction with the event, EC Vice-President Viviane Reding and US Secretary of Commerce John Bryson issued a joint statement on data protection expressing the mutual commitment to working together and with other international partners to create mutual recognition frameworks that protect privacy, and the mutual agreement that standards in the area of personal data protection should facilitate the free flow of information, goods and services across borders. In line with the objectives of increasing trade and regulatory cooperation, the statement served to officially reaffirm their respective commitments to the U.S.-EU Safe Harbor Framework, including collaboration to ensure the continued operation and progressive updates to this Framework.

Also at the event, Commerce Assistant Secretary Larry Strickling announced that the comment deadline for the NTIA request for input on the privacy multi-stakeholder process would be extended one week, from March 26 to April 2, 2012.

SIIA Launches PSIG: Public Sector Innovation Group

Last week, SIIA officially launched its Public Sector Innovation Group (PSIG), a new Division to help SIIA member companies understand proposed reforms to the IT acquisition environment, help them position for success in the new Federal IT marketplace and maximize our collective ability to affect these change.

PSIG builds off the themes of SIIA’s annual Cloud/Gov Conference over the last six years that the U.S. Government is rethinking how it buys and implements IT products and services, shifting from a traditional procurement process set up to buy systems, to one that provides agencies with the ability to purchase a broad range of IT services in a utility-based model.

Recent key policies that will be a driving force of the PSIG activities include the issuance of the 25 Point Plan to Reform Federal IT, introduction of the “Cloud First” policy, launch of FedRAMP and the recently proposal Shared Services Initiative. For more information or to become involved, contact Mike Hettinger.

Education Leaders Launch Digital “LEAD” Commission

Last week, a group of education and technology leaders launched the Leading Education by Advancing Digital (LEAD) Commission, with the goal to develop a blueprint detailing the opportunity for using technology as a catalyst to transform and improve American education. In conjunction with the launch of the Commission, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski and U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced their support for the Commission’s objective to incorporate input from a cross-section of teachers, parents, local government officials, school officials, students and education technology industry leaders and expects to release its findings and a blueprint for action in late 2012.

For SIIA policy updates including upcoming events, news and analysis, subscribe to SIIA’s weekly policy email newsletter, Digital Policy Roundup.

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.