President Donald Trump signed a cybersecurity executive order Thursday that also aims to jump-start White House efforts to modernize federal IT. The EO mirrored aspects of previous drafts, including those from the original version that direct the Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Homeland Security to assess all federal agencies' cybersecurity risks and required agencies to manage their risk using the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Cybersecurity Framework. The White House ditched its original plan for Trump to sign in January (see 1701310066).
Jimm Phillips
Jimm Phillips, Associate Editor, covers telecommunications policymaking in Congress for Communications Daily. He joined Warren Communications News in 2012 after stints at the Washington Post and the American Independent News Network. Phillips is a Maryland native who graduated from American University. You can follow him on Twitter: @JLPhillipsDC
James Lankford, R-Okla., and other Senate Homeland Security Committee members urged the White House Wednesday to press forward on developing a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy. A day earlier, Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., scolded President Donald Trump's administration for not completing work on a promised plan for combating cyberwarfare before a self-imposed deadline (see 1705090066). Homeland Security Chairman Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and cybersecurity experts used a hearing to emphasize the need for the U.S. to address emerging threats.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., admonished President Donald Trump's administration Tuesday for not completing work on a promised plan for combating cyberwarfare. Trump promised in early January that his team would complete a plan within 90 days of his Jan. 20 inauguration to “aggressively combat and stop cyberattacks” (see 1701060060).
Acting Solicitor General Jeffrey Wall's stand against petitions to the Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari to review the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling in Lenz v. Universal may hinder the chances the top U.S. court will review the case, observers told us. A three-judge 9th Circuit panel ruled in 2015 in Lenz -- popularly known as the “dancing baby” case -- that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act “requires copyright holders to consider fair use before sending a takedown notification” (see 1509140070). The full 9th Circuit issued an amended opinion in 2016 that affirmed much of the original ruling but removed language that implied computer algorithms and automated programs were sufficient means for rights holders to do a fair use analysis. The Electronic Frontier Foundation and Universal Music Group (UMG) both sought a Supreme Court review of the case. The top court asked the Solicitor General’s office in October to opine (see 1611010024).
Senate procedures and jurisdictional hurdles remain a double-edged sword for the Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act, making it difficult to clarify the bill's timeline and prospects, supporters and opponents said in interviews. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and ranking member Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., filed a Senate version Tuesday (see 1705020057). S-1010 and its House-passed equivalent (HR-1695) would make register a presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed position with a 10-year term (see 1703230068 and 1704260062).
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and ranking member Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., moved Tuesday to file the Senate version of the Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act. The bill mirrors the House-passed version of the legislation, lobbyists told us. The Grassley-Feinstein bill and HR-1695, which the House approved last week 378-48, would make register a presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed position with a 10-year term (see 1703230068 and 1704260062). Chatter about HR-1695's Senate companion spread as House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., indicated he intends to gather more feedback on additional legislation on Copyright Office modernization.
MPAA CEO Chris Dodd’s planned departure later this year is unlikely to shift the association’s role in copyright policy lobbying, but may lead to changes in tactics, executives and lobbyists told us. MPAA said Friday evening that Dodd, who has led the industry group since 2011, will depart as CEO Sept. 4 and as chairman at the end of the year (see 1704280066). MPAA’s board met Saturday to officially choose former Obama administration Assistant Secretary of State-Economic and Business Affairs Charles Rivkin as Dodd’s successor, a spokesman said. Dodd is a former Democratic senator from Connecticut.
Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., is to unveil his plans Tuesday for House Judiciary Committee work on “innovation agenda” items, the panel said Friday. He at some point is expected to announce plans for further Copyright Office modernization legislation, lobbyists said. The House passed Goodlatte’s Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act Wednesday. HR-1695, which still must clear the Senate, would make register a presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed position with a 10-year term (see 1703230068 and 1704260062). The congressman has taken significant interest in House Judiciary taking the lead on legislation aimed at revamping copyright and patent litigation laws, lobbyists said. Goodlatte cited the committee’s ongoing IP legislative work during a February speech. He noted plans for eliminating the Chevron precedent, which gives deference to agency interpretations of statutes, and eliminating disparities in rules that DOJ and the FTC use for reviewing takeovers (see 1702010069). Goodlatte is expected to speak at 10:15 a.m. in 2141 Rayburn.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative maintained the 11 countries included on its 2016 mid-tier priority watch list for copyright and other IP rights violations and 23 countries on that year’s lower-tier watch list (see 1604270049) in the same rankings for USTR’s 2017 Special 301 report on the global status of IP rights enforcement. On the 2017 priority watch list: China and India, which perennially appear on that list because of ongoing IP rights enforcement problems. The office again didn't include any countries on its top-tier priority foreign country list.
House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, touted progress Thursday on several upcoming cybersecurity bills, including legislation to reorganize the Department of Homeland Security’s National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD) as the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Agency. McCaul and other officials separately noted during a Thursday CTIA event the potential for President Donald Trump’s delayed cyber executive order (see 1701310066 and 1702280065) to shape policymaking on the issue, including the order’s growing association with an ongoing effort to modernize federal IT systems.