D.C. Internet Policy Groups Unveil 2007 Agendas

CDT urged legislators not to “treat the Internet as a problem to be solved rather than a valuable resource that must be supported.” That means leaving decisions of where to visit to users, and what services to offer -- and costs to incur -- to businesses. Congress should “adequately fund” parental education efforts regarding filters and “media literacy,” CDT said, calling U.S. efforts relative to the world “piecemeal.” It urged Congress to reject the followup to last year’s Deleting Online Predators Act (HR-5319), S-49 by Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Stevens (R- Alaska), which would require schools and libraries to block commercial social networking sites from children, calling the proposals “unconstitutional and ineffective.”

S-49 also resurrects efforts to enact mandatory labeling of Web content considered “sexually explicit,” another provision sure to be struck down in court given labeling’s judicial history, CDT said. The group said Sen. McCain’s (R- Ariz.) Stop the Online Exploitation of Our Children Act (S- 4089) from last year, imposing rules on social networking sites, is “certain to be reintroduced,” and it runs afoul of the liability shields for ISPs and content providers in the Communications Decency Act’s Sec. 230.

Congress should pass “comprehensive” consumer privacy legislation, because the most urgent Internet policy goal is to “ensure trust in the online world,” CDT said. The Privacy Act needs an update to improve govt. disclosure of data leaks to consumers, empower agency privacy officers and create rules for govt. use of commercial data. CDT supports HR-1, already passed by the House this Congress, which would increase the independence of the DHS chief privacy officer, and the group wants the Specter-Leahy bill (S-1332) from last year, strengthening the Privacy Act, brought back. Congress should consider whether allowing the FTC to seek higher penalties against spyware purveyors would improve prosecution and deterrence, and enact data breach legislation that goes beyond “what states are already doing to protect consumers.” The Financial Services Committee’s HR-3997 last year was singled out by CDT as a “backwards step that should be avoided” this year.

The Electronic Communications Privacy Act needs revamping in light of advancing technology, especially “networked storage of e-mail,” and should get Hill hearings, CDT said. “Serious questions remain” about the Bush Administration’s domestic surveillance after its promise to submit to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, CDT said. It supports HR-11, affirming the “exclusivity” of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), and opposes other legislation amending FISA before there’s a “full understanding” of its current interpretation. Extending the “design mandate” of the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act by expanding its application to a “broad range of Internet services” would only increase the danger of identity theft, the group said. Imposing data retention requirements on ISPs “threaten to place unnecessary burdens” on industry and “jeopardize the privacy of innocent users,” and should be avoided.

Net neutrality doesn’t have to be all-or-nothing, CDT said, calling for “specific and targeted legislation” that focused on the “portion of broadband networks dedicated to the Internet.” But simply banning the blocking of sites and services is “inadequate,” and Congress should investigate actions “short of outright blocking” that may discriminate, CDT said. “Closed, proprietary services” should largely get a pass on regulation, and more competition or network capacity “jumps” should lead Congress to reevaluate neutrality mandates, the group said.

On copyright, CDT advocated a less interventionist role for Congress. Legislators should keep an eye on World Intellectual Property Organization broadcast treaty negotiations and copyright liability in court decisions, which may require changes to U.S. law, the group said. Congress shouldn’t “rush through” broadcast flag legislation, and shouldn’t give the FCC new authority through the audio flag or design mandates.

Govt. information should be more widely available online, CDT said. It backs S-223, which would require electronic filing of Senate campaign reports in a timely manner, as well as the Open Government Act from last Congress. Reports by the Congressional Research Service, funded by taxpayers, should also be online, CDT said. It operates a site, OpenCRS.com, that makes available reports in the public domain.

PFF will push for “more focus on antitrust enforcement instead of preemptive regulations” from agencies regarding communications and net neutrality. The Universal Service Fund and spectrum allocation should have a “more market- oriented approach,” the group said. It said competition in broadband markets and operators’ desire to “maximize network use” will “ensure consumers’ needs will be met.”

DRM is here to stay, and is no more imperfect than locks on doors; both are the “front line” in keeping out thieves, PFF said. Congress shouldn’t interfere in copy-protection schemes because “competition and consumer demand will shape what form any restrictions take,” the group said. The scope of fair use is likely to shrink as “technology reduces transaction costs” and makes negotiating with copyright owners more practicable. “Modest” patent reform, such as improving incentives to innovate, and better tools for patent examiners to reduce “patent conflicts” are all that Congress needs to do on patents, PFF said.

“Broadcast-era content controls” should be avoided on Internet and mobile media platforms, PFF said. Data security and privacy proposals should be subject to a “careful cost- benefit analysis,” as costs to consumers may rise if “information flows” to business are limited, the group said. ICANN threatens to become an “economic regulatory agency” and should let the market determine introduction of new TLDs, it said. PFF called for “limited,” “targeted” data preservation for short times, rather than open-ended requirements to retain personal information, which it said would hurt the economy and endanger privacy.