The Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity and its forthcoming recommendations to the White House are likely to have at least some policy currency in President-elect Donald Trump's administration, said industry executives and lawyers in interviews. President Barack Obama directed the formation of CENC in February as part of the White House's Cybersecurity National Action Plan. The commission has until Dec. 1 to deliver a set of recommendations to the White House aimed at actions the private and public sectors can take over the next decade to improve cyber defenses and raise cyber awareness (see 1602090068).
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
Intergovernmental communication provisions embedded in the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield will ensure a “smooth continuation” of the agreement’s implementation after President-elect Donald Trump’s administration takes office in January, said International Trade Administration Data Flows and Privacy team lead Shannon Coe during a FCBA event Monday. Experts have been left guessing about how Trump will handle privacy issues, though FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez said she doesn’t believe the change in administration will affect Privacy Shield implementation (see 1611090016). Some believe the shield will need Trump administration backing to remain effective (see 1611100039).
President-elect Donald Trump's cybersecurity policy focus should be on increasing coordination between the federal government and private sector stakeholders, said government officials and policy experts during a Bipartisan Policy Center event Friday. Cybersecurity policy is seen as an area in which stakeholders perceive a likelihood that the incoming administration will take an active role in collaboration with Congress. That isn't likely to shift the U.S. cybersecurity policy approach away from the broad consensus seen during President Barack Obama's administration (see 1611090039).
Content owners and tech sector stakeholders again stuck to their stated positions on the need for new permanent exemptions to Digital Millennium Copyright Act Section 1201's provisions barring the circumvention of technological protection measures in reply comments due late Wednesday. Stakeholders have viewed the consistency of all participants' positions on Section 1201 as making it likely that the Copyright Office will make recommendations for a revamp of the process for granting exemptions to the ban (see 1610270063 and 1611010059). Content owners used the reply comments to caution the CO against making legislative recommendations in their Section 1201 study report and instead focus on using its existing authority to fix issues with its triennial process for reviewing nonpermanent TPM exemptions. The tech sector again urged the CO to proceed with its proposed new permanent exemptions in addition to fixes to the triennial review process.
House Commerce Committee Republicans didn't dismiss the possibility of limited cybersecurity regulation of IoT-connected devices, during a hearing Wednesday. They emphasized that any solution would need private sector leadership. However, experts urged the House Communications and Trade subcommittees to seek a solution in which the federal government plays a leading role in developing IoT security standards, as expected (see 1611150059). The subcommittees scheduled the hearing in response to last month's distributed denial of service attacks against DynDNS (see 1610260067).
A trio of cybersecurity experts is expected to recommend Wednesday that the federal government consider some form of intervention to fix IoT devices' security in the wake of recent attacks. Level 3 Chief Security Officer Dale Drew and two other experts are set to testify during a joint House Communications Subcommittee/House Commerce Trade Subcommittee hearing on IoT cybersecurity. The hearing will examine how cyberattacks are evolving because of the proliferation of connected devices and how to mitigate future attacks (see 1611090063). The subcommittees sought testimony in part because of the October distributed denial of service attacks against DynDNS (see 1610260067). The panel is set to begin at 10 a.m. in 2175 Rayburn.
The DOJ sought a 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals review of a U.S. District Court ruling in New York against a portion of the department's review of American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers and Broadcast Music Inc. consent decrees, as expected (see 1609190062 and 1611100051). Judge Louis Stanton ruled in September that DOJ's Antitrust Division erred in its concluding statement saying the department continues to believe existing decrees mandate 100 percent licensing. DOJ will likely return to the same legal foundation it used in Stanton’s court and argue he didn't adequately consider the department's argument, music industry stakeholders said in interviews.
Music licensing law experts diverged on how Donald Trump's election as president may impact DOJ's decision on whether to appeal a U.S. District Court ruling in New York against a portion of the department's review of American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers and Broadcast Music Inc. consent decrees. Most stakeholders previously anticipated that DOJ will appeal the summary judgment by District Judge Louis Stanton, who ruled in September that the department's Antitrust Division erred in its concluding statement saying the department continues to believe existing decrees mandate 100 percent licensing (see 1609190062).
The incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump is likely to have more influence in shaping policymaking on cybersecurity than IP, at least in the first stages of the 115th Congress, industry executives and lobbyists said in interviews Wednesday. Republicans retained slightly narrowed majorities in both houses (see 1611090001 and 1611090032). The Republicans’ retention of both houses of Congress likely means a continuation of key committees’ overall policy stances on both policy areas, lobbyists said. Several cybersecurity and IP-focused Republican lawmakers seen as vulnerable ahead of the election ultimately won or were leading in the returns at our deadline.
The close contest between House IP Subcommittee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Democratic challenger Doug Applegate is clearly the marquee congressional race for IP policy matters, copyright and patent lobbyists said in interviews. Lobbyists also indicated they will be following which party controls the Senate following Tuesday’s elections because of its implications for how the Senate Judiciary Committee will proceed with possible copyright and patent litigation revamp legislation during the 115th Congress. Current Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, would be all but certain to continue to lead the committee if the Republicans retain control. Senate Judiciary ranking member Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., is seen as likely to become committee chairman if the Democrats regain control.