SIIA Event to Examine Software’s Transformative Impact on the US Economy & Employment

Join SIIA for lunch and dialogue with business leaders on how software is transforming the U.S. economy, and reinventing the way businesses and consumers operate. The event, “The Software Century: Analyzing Economic Impact & Job Creation,” will take place on September 17 from 11:30am-1pm in Room HVC 215 of the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center. Featuring an exclusive interview with Deputy Secretary of Commerce Bruce Andrews.RSVP HERE.

At the event SIIA will unveil its new report, “The U.S. Software Industry: An Engine for Economic Growth and Employment.” This SIIA report is a comprehensive review of the software industry’s economic impact, authored by former Undersecretary of Commerce for economic Affairs, Robert Shapiro. For more information, or to register, click here.

SIIA to Participate in in FTC Workshop on Big Data and Discrimination

The FTC recently made available the agenda and list of participants for its upcoming Workshop “Big Data: A Tool for Inclusion or Exclusion?” which will take place on Monday, Sept. 15. Mark MacCarthy, SIIA’s Vice President for Public Policy, will be participating on the panel focused assessing what is on the horizon for big data, exploring both the benefits and potential harms for particular populations of consumers. The workshop will include a range of academics, consumer advocates, industry and technology experts, including SIIA member SAS on a panel covering the current landscape of big data analytics. The workshop is a follow-up to the Administration’s white paper released in April.

SIIA and Tech Industry Press Enactment of USA Freedom Act

On Monday, SIIA joined with a group of technology industry associations in sending a letter to U.S. Senate leaders Harry Reid (D-NV) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY) urging the Senate to act in a bipartisan fashion and swiftly pass the USA FREEDOM Act (S.2685). In sending the letter, SIIA highlighted the need for surveillance reform in the U.S. as an essential part of restoring the public trust and providing support for U.S. businesses internationally. The USA FREEDOM Act modifies legislation already passed by the House in May, and it balances critical U.S. national security objectives and individual privacy needs. At this time, Senate leadership has not indicated when the legislation will be considered. With very few days of the congressional session remaining this month, consideration of the legislation could slip to the lame duck session after the November elections.

New European Commissioners Likely to be Announced this Week

The President-Elect of the European Commission, former Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claud Juncker, is expected to announce the portfolio allocation of the next European Commission sometime this week. The Commission is the executive branch of the European Union. Besides Italy’s Federica Mogherini, nominated to be the Commission High Representative for Foreign Affairs, we do not know who will take over the different Directorates General (akin to government departments) of the Commission. After the nominations are announced, the European Parliament has to give its consent, including for Juncker and Mogherini.

From an SIIA member standpoint, the Directorates General in charge of trade, justice and the internal market are the most significant because they control trade, intellectual property and privacy/data flow issues. Given that there will be a new Commission and a new Parliament, we can expect significant activity affecting SIIA member interests. Juncker’s “Political Guidelines for the Next European Commission” suggest that this will be the case. The Guidelines lay out ten priorities. Priority number two is called: “A Connected Digital Market.” Juncker plans to “swiftly” conclude negotiations on new European data protection rules. (Note: Interestingly the political declaration does not specify whether the rules will take the form of a Regulation or a Directive. The current draft of the new rules is a Regulation. Regulations become law in Member States without the Members having to change their laws for the Regulation to come into effect. Directives need to be “transposed” into Member State law through national legislation.) Juncker also plans on “modernizing copyright rules in the light of the digital revolution and changed consumer behavior.” Priority number six calls for: “A Reasonable and Balanced Free Trade Agreement with the U.S.” The Resident-Elect says he will “not sacrifice data protection standards “on the altar of free trade.”

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 @SIIAPolicy.