NTIA Relinquishing Hold Over Management of the Internet

Friday, the NTIA announced its intent to end its oversight role of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). Come September 2015, NTIA’s current contract with ICANN is set to expire. Transitioning to global stewardship, ICANN needs to develop a new governance model. The NTIA has made clear that the openness of the Internet must be maintained stating, “NTIA will not accept a proposal that replaces the NTIA role with a government-led or an inter-governmental organization solution.”

EU Parliament Approves Proposed Data Privacy Regulation

The European Parliament’s Wednesday vote, resulted in overwhelming support for theproposed European General Data Protection Regulation. In a press release the European Commission stated that for the proposed regulation to become law, it “has to be adopted by the Council of Ministers using the ‘ordinary legislative procedure.'” Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) also backed a resolution calling for suspension of the Safe Harbor deal. For a more detailed look at the implications take a look at this article.

Georgia Student Privacy Act, A Barrier to Student Learning

Legislation in Georgia is receiving much debate, centered largely on its primary task of pulling the state back off of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). But also included in the controversial bill is Part II, the so-called “Student Right to Privacy Act.” The bill creates barriers and disincentives to local school systems to enhance their use of modern technologies and data systems for educational innovation and improvement, just at a time when the state is making continued investments in technology infrastructure and digital learning access. The bill will have a chilling effect.

In short, SIIA is concerned that SB167, while well-intentioned, is overly inclusive and restrictive. Transparency is critical, but one-size-fits-all requirements will detrimentally limit innovation, appropriate local school decisions, and appropriate educational services that benefit Georgia students. For service providers, there are significant risks and costs that may discourage doing business in Georgia. For more information, read SIIA’s Digital Discourse Blog.

The European Commission Should Consider Licensing Models as a Critical Element in the EU Review of Copyright Rules

In early March, SIIA filed comments with the European Commission’s Directorate General for the Internal Market regarding the public consultation on the review of the EU copyright rules. Licensing is a critical way for both the software industry and traditional publishers to deliver high quality and increasingly varied content. SIIA is working to ensure that the Commission makes licensing models a central component of the review. SIIA looks forward to working with the Commission and interested stakeholders on the many important and complex issues surrounding the review, and to promote the software and information industries in Europe and the United States.

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.