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White House Promises to Keep Internet Open
February 01, 2012
The National Journal reported that following the recent backlash against pending online privacy legislation, the White House has made it clear that it will oppose any legislation meant to crack down on digital theft and counterfeiting that would diminish the openness of the Internet.
“While we believe that online piracy by foreign websites is a serious problem that requires a serious legislative response, we will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet,” said a statement posted on January 14 by the Obama administration’s top technology officials.
“Any effort to combat online piracy must guard against the risk of online censorship of lawful activity and must not inhibit innovation by our dynamic businesses large and small,” the statement said.
According to the article, the posting by Victoria Espinel, intellectual property enforcement coordinator at the Office of Management and Budget, Aneesh Chopra, chief U.S. technology officer, and Howard Schmidt, cyber security coordinator for the White House national security team, was a response to online petitions of more than 52,000 signatures that urge the president to block any efforts by Congress to regulate the Internet and veto any bills, including the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) moving through the House of Representatives.
The article noted that the Internet bills have generated a debate both online and in the business world about balancing openness on the Internet with the need to protect both cybersecurity and intellectual property rights.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Thomas Donohue pledged to work with all sides in the debate to broker a compromise.
“We knew this would be a difficult issue,” Donohue said at a news conference on January 12. “We believe that there are serious objections and legitimate ones that have been raised by some of our friends in the Internet business and we’re working very, very hard to get those resolved.”
The White House technology team said the issues are not just matters for Congress to address through legislation. “We expect and encourage all private parties, including both content creators and Internet platform providers working together, to adopt voluntary measures and best practices to reduce online piracy,” the statement said.
According to the article, in order to minimize the risks to innovation and openness, the White House officials said, “new legislation must be narrowly targeted only at sites beyond the reach of current U.S. law, cover activity clearly prohibited under existing U.S. laws, and be effectively tailored, with strong due process and focused on criminal activity.”
Additionally, they have stressed that efforts to combat piracy must not undermine security or “the underlying architecture of the Internet.”
“Proposed laws must not tamper with the technical architecture of the Internet through manipulation of the Domain Name System (DNS), a foundation of Internet security. Our analysis of the DNS filtering provisions in some proposed legislation suggests that they pose a real risk to cybersecurity and yet leave contraband goods and services accessible online,” the statement said.
House Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) said in a statement that he has already taken action on that issue.
"Yesterday, I announced that I will remove the DNS blocking provision from the Stop Online Piracy Act so that the Committee can further examine and study the issues surrounding this provision," Smith said.
The National Journal reported that the White House statement emphasized that steps must be taken to strengthen protection of intellectual property.
“Let us be clear – online piracy is a real problem that harms the American economy, threatens jobs for significant numbers of middle class workers and hurts some of our nation's most creative and innovative companies and entrepreneurs. It harms everyone from struggling artists to production crews, and from startup social media companies to large movie studios.
“While we are strongly committed to the vigorous enforcement of intellectual property rights, existing tools are not strong enough to root out the worst online pirates beyond our borders. That is why the Administration calls on all sides to work together to pass sound legislation this year that provides prosecutors and rights holders new legal tools to combat online piracy originating beyond U.S. borders while staying true to the principles outlined above in this response. We should never let criminals hide behind a hollow embrace of legitimate American values,” the White House officials wrote.
According to the article, the two groups that have opposed provisions of SOPA and the Senate’s Protect Intellectual Property Act, also known as PIPA, issued statements on Saturday responding to the White House posting.
"We appreciate the Administration's recognition that our ability to innovate, invest, and grow the economy is dependent upon keeping the Internet open and free," said Markham Erickson, executive director of the NetCoalition that represents Google, Yahoo, and other Internet companies.
"The White House has made a valuable contribution to the ongoing debate over the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) in the Senate," said Sherwin Siy, deputy legal director of the advocacy group Public Knowledge. "The statement ... affirms the message that legislation tampering with the Domain Name System (DNS), one of the fundamental building blocks of the Internet, poses real risks to the security and stability of the Internet," Siy continued.
For more, visit the original source: http://www.nationaljournal.com/tech/white-house-vows-to-protect-web-openness-while-fighting-online-piracy-20120114?mrefid=site_search&page=1
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