Internet companies reach out to new U.S. leadership

An organization representing four-dozen major online-based companies has reached out to president-elect Donald Trump, congratulating him on his victory while proposing digital policy planks for his administration to consider. “The internet industry looks forward to working with you on policies that encourage this kind of growth, innovation, and consumer choice,” the Internet Association said in the letter posted Monday to its website. The association’s membership includes Facebook Inc., Netflix Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Twitter Inc., Spotify AB, and Amazon.com Inc. “Our country’s foundation of digital entrepreneurship flows from policy decisions the United States government made long ago to encourage continued innovation and a vibrant e-commerce marketplace,” said the letter, signed by association president and CEO Michael Beckerman. Along with the letter, the association submitted “a roadmap of key policy areas that have allowed the internet to grow, thrive, and ensure its continued success and ability to create jobs throughout our economy.” According to a report from an American think tank during the presidential campaign, Trump’s telecom policies were mostly undefined, though media reports said that he was taking advice from Jeffrey Eisenach, described as a “crusader against regulation.” Among the policies recommended by the Internet Association was upholding the protection for Internet platforms and service providers from liability for users’ actions, including copyright infringement. The association also highlighted copyright safeguards, such as fair use, and recommended policy changes to “fully bring the legal framework governing musical works in the digital era.” It asked the new administration to avoid policies that stand in the way of data-based innovation, including “taking a harms-based approach to consumer privacy, instead of a collection-based approach, and stopping data minimization efforts.” The association also advocated for “strong digital trade policies that promote the free flow knowledge and information across borders, and advancing a fully balanced copyright framework that reflects U.S. law” and that trade negotiations “be more inclusive to ensure smaller entrepreneurial businesses and the diverse voices of the internet community are heard." The letter also called for open internet and that “any net neutrality rules must apply equally to mobile broadband” alongside a recommendation to promote broadband access, connectivity in underserved and underprivileged communities, while not “preclud novel business ideas” such as zero-rating.

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Internet companies reach out to new U.S. leadership

Brief | November 14, 2016

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