Digital Discourse / Archives for NSA

SIIA Digital Policy Roundup: Revised Patent Litigation Abuse Bill a Big Step Forward, SIIA Makes Policy Recommendations for the Internet of Things, Joins Call for Surveillance Transparency Legislation

October 2, 2013 By

Revised Patent Litigation Abuse Bill a Big Step Forward
Last week, Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, released as second discussion draft patent bill that addresses the problems caused by litigation abuses brought by Patent Assertion entities, also referred to as patent trolls. The discussion draft is a revision of an earlier discussion draft. It includes provisions on pleading disclosures in patent infringement complaints, the awarding of attorneys’ fees, joinder of interested parties to a suit, limitations on the timing and costs associated with discovery, disclosure of real-parties-in-interest, revisions to the covered business methods program at the USPTO and several other changes and studies. SIIA welcomed the release of the patent reform discussion draft, recognizing the revised draft as a crucial legislative step toward achieving strong and effective patent litigation reform this year. More in Reuters.

SIIA Makes Policy Recommendations for the Internet of Things
Yesterday, SIIA’s David LeDuc, participated in an important discussion at the National Press Club about building trust and confidence with regard to the “Internet of Things.” At the Internet of Things Global Summit, LeDuc explained that we are at a key inflection point in the evolution of information technology (IT), as it has transformed from a specialized tool into a pervasive influence on nearly every aspect of everyday life. Highlighting the tremendous economic and social value of data-driven innovation, LeDuc proposed a policy framework for maximizing the beneficial outcomes of the IoT. Read more on SIIA’s Digital Discourse Blog.

SIIA Joins Call for Surveillance Transparency Legislation
On Monday, SIIA joined with a broad group of tech companies and civil rights groups including Google, Apple, Twitter and the ACLU in support of legislation that would improve transparency around government surveillance of the Internet. In a letter to Senate and House Judiciary Committee leaders, the group urged consideration of Sen. Al Franken’s (D-MN) Surveillance Transparency Act of 2013, and Rep. Zoe Lofgren’s (D-CA)Surveillance Order Reporting Act of 2013, proposals that would clarify that companies have the right to publish basic statistics about government demands for user data that they receive. Such transparency is important not only for the American people, who are entitled to have an informed public debate about the appropriateness of that surveillance, but also for international users of U.S.-based service providers who are concerned about privacy and security. Read more on SIIA’s Digital Discourse Blog.

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. Follow the SIIA public policy team on Twitter at @SIIAPubPolicy.

Share|
Filed Under: Digital Policy Roundup, Policy Tagged With: , ,

How NSA Revelations are Affecting the Tech Industry

September 24, 2013 By

Revelations about the National Security Agency’s (NSA) surveillance efforts are continuing to pose serious business challenges for the tech sector. SIIA is tracking the repercussions closely. Here are a few important developments to note:

Market Backlash: Studies and surveys have suggested a possible backlash against cloud providers and technology companies generally.  Here’s a summary of some of them:

  • CSA Survey: In July a survey from the Cloud Security Alliance reported  that  “10% of 207 officials at non-U.S. companies have canceled contracts with U.S. service providers following the revelation of the NSA spy program last month…the survey also found that 56% of non-U.S. respondents are now hesitant to work with any U.S.-based cloud service providers.”
  • ITIF Study: By comparing projected growth of US cloud computing sales with a variety of hypothetical sales losses, ITIF suggests that US cloud companies could miss out on as much as $35 billion in additional overseas sales over the next three years.
  • Forrester Study: Forrester thinks the potential impact could be as high as $180 billion by 2016, taking into account the reactions of U.S. and non-US companies, the impact on non-US cloud providers and the effects on the rest of the hosting and outsourcing market.

Repercussions for Tech: The NSA revelations continue to have larger repercussions for tech companies in the form of localization requirements and new challenges to the multi-stakeholder form of Internet governance.  Here are updates on several of these challenges:

  • Brazil’s controversial new internet plans, calling for server and data localization, a local encrypted email service and a separate transatlantic cable connection to Europe that bypasses the US.
  • UN General Assembly Address: After canceling a US state visit over NSA spying, Brazil’s Dilma Rousseff issued an announcement called the interception of Brazilian communications “illegal” and said such a “grave fact” was an “assault” on sovereignty and “incompatible with a democratic coexistence between friendly countries.”  She then delivered the opening speech at the UN General Assembly today, rejecting U.S. government surveillance programs as inconsistent with human rights and a violation of national sovereignty, and calling for “multilateral mechanisms for the worldwide network that are capable of ensuring principles such as:
  1. Freedom of expression, privacy of the individual and respect for human rights.
  2. Open, multilateral and democratic governance, carried out with transparency by stimulating collective creativity and the participation of society, Governments and the private sector
  3. Universality that ensures the social and human development and the construction of inclusive and non-discriminatory societies
  4. Cultural diversity, without the imposition of beliefs, customs and values.
  5. Neutrality of the network, guided only by technical and ethical criteria, rendering it inadmissible to restrict it for political, commercial, religious or any other purposes.

She concludes: “Harnessing the full potential of the Internet requires, therefore, responsible regulation, which ensures at the same time freedom of expression, security and respect for human rights.”

Civil Society Calls for Principles: International civil society groups have issued a call for government surveillance principles consistent with human rights.

EU Response: Viviane Reding’s address in Brussels last week held up the Data Protection regulation as the EU’s response to the fear of US government surveillance, explicitly took privacy issues off the table for discussion in TTIP, and suggested the formation of an EU-area cloud that would compete globally on the basis of better privacy rules and streamlined government regulation.

Mark MacCarthy, Vice President, Public Policy at SIIA, directs SIIA’s public policy initiatives in the areas of intellectual property enforcement, information privacy, cybersecurity, cloud computing and the promotion of educational technology. Follow Mark on Twitter at @Mark_MacCarthy

 

 

Share|
Filed Under: Policy, Policy - Privacy, Software Tagged With: , ,

SIIA Digital Policy Roundup: Draft Cyber Framework Released, GAO Issues Patent Litigation Report, SIIA Promotes Mobile Privacy Code, Highlights Serious Business Challenges Posed by NSA Surveillance

September 5, 2013 By

The DPR has been on recess for most of August, we hope you missed us! Here’s a recap of highlights from August, and we will return to our regular weekly schedule next week.

Draft Cyber Framework Released
Heading into Labor Day weekend, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released with little fanfare last Thursday a preliminary cybersecurity draft framework outlining standards, best practices and guidance expected to be codified in October as directed by President Barack Obama’s February executive order. The report is a discussion draft intended to generate feedback and discussion NIST’s 4th Cybersecurity Framework Workshop in Dallas on Sept. 11-13.

SIIA Promotes Mobile Privacy Code of Conduct over Regulation
As a follow-up to the mobile privacy code of conduct developed through the Department of Commerce multistakeholder discussions, The Hill published an op-ed from SIIA President Ken Wasch touting the promise of industry self-regulation to provide a trusted environment for mobile device users. Wasch notes that in a time of rapidly evolving technology, this approach is the only way to effectively maintain the right balance between consumer confidence and continued innovation — a balance that government regulation or legislation would most certainly fail to accomplish.

SIIA highlights Serious Business Challenges Posed by NSA Surveillance Revelations
Recent revelations about the National Security Agency’s (NSA) surveillance efforts have clearly changed the privacy landscape for the remainder of 2013, if not much longer. This is a complex policy issue with very broad implications. Importantly for SIIA members, it is one that poses the following serious business challenges: (1) enhanced privacy concerns among customers around the world, (2) policymakers around the world seeking to restrict the cross-border flow of data and enact technology localization requirements, and (3) conflation of private sector data collection with government surveillance as an inseparable public-private partnership that necessitates strict new commercial privacy legislation or regulations.

SIIA has been very engaged in policy debates surrounding this issue for several months, and we expect to remain highly engaged to combat these challenges for months to come. SIIA President Ken Wash attended a meeting at the White House in early August, which was one of several consultations leading up to the President’s call for reforms to NSA programs

GAO Issues Long-Awaited Patent Litigation Report
In late August, The GAO issued its long awaited report on patent abuse litigation. The report examines (1) the volume and characteristics of recent patent litigation activity; (2) views of stakeholders knowledgeable in patent litigation on key factors that have contributed to recent patent litigation; (3) what developments in the judicial system may affect patent litigation; and (4) what actions, if any, PTO has recently taken that may affect patent litigation in the future.

The GAO report documents the existence of a large and growing problem and looks favorably on a number of possible improvements to the patent system such as improved patent quality and limitations on patent litigation discovery. The report identifies numerous concerns with the patent litigation system including but not limited to, the high-cost of patent litigation, the potential for large patent damage awards, poor quality of certain types of patents and recent increases in the amount of patent litigation. While the report notes that various efforts by the courts and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office have been implemented to try and address these issues it also notes that these concerns still exist. In the report, the GAO also recommended that the PTO consider examining trends in patent infringement litigation and consider linking this information to internal patent examination data to improve patent quality and examination.

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. Follow the SIIA public policy team on Twitter at @SIIAPubPolicy.

Share|
Filed Under: Digital Policy Roundup, Policy Tagged With: , ,

Serious Business Challenges Posed by NSA Surveillance Revelations

August 20, 2013 By

Recent revelations about the National Security Agency’s (NSA) surveillance efforts have clearly changed the privacy landscape for the remainder of 2013, if not much longer. This is a complex policy issue with very broad implications.

Importantly for SIIA members, it is one that poses the following serious business challenges:  (1) enhanced privacy concerns among customers around the world, (2) policymakers around the world seeking to restrict the cross-border flow of data and enact technology localization requirements, and (3) conflation of private sector data collection with government surveillance as an inseparable public-private partnership that necessitates strict new commercial privacy legislation or regulations—FTC Commission Julie Brill has recently made this connection in an op-ed, which has also come from influential thought-leaders such as former White House Chief of Staff John Podesta.

As a preliminary assessment, the Information Technology Innovation Foundation (ITIF) estimates that the U.S. cloud computing industry alone could lose up to $35 billion over the next three years if foreign customers decide the risks of storing data with a U.S. company outweigh the benefits.

SIIA has been very engaged in policy debates surrounding this issue for several months, and we expect to remain highly engaged to combat these challenges for months to come.  Recently, SIIA President Ken Wash was invited to a meeting at the White House in early August, which was one of several consultations leading up to the President’s call for reforms to NSA programs on August 9.

As a follow-up to the discussion with Administration officials and the SIIA this week joined with other leading technology trade associations in sending a letter to Administration officials urging that discussions about national security must be kept separate from conversations about commercial privacy issues, as the policy considerations in these two areas are distinct. In the letter, SIIA and industry partner organizations made the following recommendations for action that are likely to frame our priorities for the remainder of 2013:

  1. Implement transparency with respect to national security programs – in order to separate fact from fiction regarding the intersection of private sector IT companies and the U.S. Government, it is critical that the Administration enhance transparency and enable companies to share information publicly about the scope and frequency of Government inquiries;
  2. Promote policies that allow for unimpeded cross-border data flows such as the U.S.-EU Safe Harbor Framework – We are already seeing that longstanding and effective cross-border data mechanisms are being questioned in light of the recent disclosures about the U.S. government surveillance programs. For instance, recent statements by government officials in the EU indicate a lack of “trust” in the U.S.-EU Safe Harbor framework, which allows for the transfer of information from the EU to the U.S. for participating companies. This is one of many critical policies that facilitate digital trade for U.S. companies, and it is critical that U.S. government must vigorously engage with the international community to promote cross-border data flows while addressing privacy and civil liberties concerns; and
  3. Support reforming the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) to enhance privacy in law enforcement investigations – SIIA has been a leading supporter of ECPA, seeking to update the outdated statue by correcting the double-standard that inappropriately provides for a lower level of privacy for communications stored remotely, or “in the cloud.” Currently, the law provides for a challenging legal environment for industry and a disincentive for customers to embrace hosted information and communications technology solutions as an alternative to on-premise solutions.

SIIA believes that these are critical steps to ensuring that concerns about U.S. Government surveillance do not impose an unnecessary impediment to U.S. information technology businesses.  We are also closely monitoring a range of proposals in Congress that would seek to enhance transparency surrounding U.S. Government surveilance.  The  Surveillance Transparency Act of 2013 (S.1452) was introduced by Senator Al Franken on August 1st, 2013, and the Surveillance Order Reporting Act of 2013 (H.R.3035) was introduced by Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren on August 2nd, 2013.  SIIA has not endorsed any bill at this point, but the Lofgren-Franken approach goes in the right direction by allowing companies to reveal how many national security requests they have received, how many they have complied with and how many users or accounts are affected.

We will continue to focus heavily on this critical issue to promote the ability of U.S. businesses to thrive in the U.S. and markets around the world.  To that end, we will provide further updates regarding new developments.

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. Follow the SIIA public policy team on Twitter at @SIIAPubPolicy.

Share|
Filed Under: Content, Education, Education Policy, Policy, Policy - Privacy, PSIG, Software Tagged With: , ,