SIIA Submits Comments on U.S. Department of Commerce Green Paper On Friday, SIIA submitted comments to the Internet Policy Task Force in response to its request for public remarks on its Copyright Green Paper. Addressing a majority of the Task Force’s questions, SIIA’s response focused in on the Task Force’s examination of the first sale defense in the digital environment. In summary, SIIA is concerned that potential application of the first sale doctrine to licensed material, or other undue restrictions that may be placed on either the ability of publishers to license or the manner in which publishers license, will make it more challenging for publishers to recoup the investment they have made to develop new products and update existing ones and to widely distribute their products and services to the public in the manner that consumers enjoy today.

First weeks of 2014 Promise a Busy Year on Student Data Privacy Senator Edward Markey (D-MA) announced plans today to introduce student data privacy legislation, likely amending the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). The announcement was made at an EPIC event and featured reaction from CLIP’s Joel Ridenberg and USED CPO Kathleen Styles, among others. Senator Markey’s legislationwould restrict the use of student data for commercial purposes, require parental access and correction, require minimum security safeguards, and require private companies to delete information no longer needed to serve those students. SIIA responded that Federal Laws Protect Student Privacy. This week’s USED response to questions from Senator Markey similarly reinforced current federal protections. Meanwhile, state legislatures are considering bills across the country ranging from parental opt-in or opt-out to Parent’s Bill of Right ...