Disagreements whether a proposed permanent ban on Internet access taxes should have been included in customs reauthorization legislation have left the bill stalled in the Senate and fogged up the prospect for quick movement of the trade legislation on the Senate floor. Because that language was inserted into the act’s conference report after being omitted from the original customs bills passed by the House and Senate, it could be subject to a point of order, which supporters of the ban would need 60 votes to waive, said a lobbyist and congressional staffer. The House passed the bill, Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act (HR-644), Dec. 11, but the Senate hasn't scheduled a vote on the bill.

The clock is ticking down for U.S. and EU negotiators trying to update the trans-Atlantic data transfer pact by Jan. 31, but several privacy experts who've been closely monitoring the situation said they're unsure whether a deal can be struck by that deadline. Negotiators on both sides of the Atlantic have indicated one is possible (see 1511160032), but it's predicated on several elements, namely limiting U.S. government surveillance access to Europeans' personal data and also giving individuals legal avenues through the Judicial Redress Act (HR-1428) in the U.S. if their personal information is misused. Once that informal deadline passes, national data protection authorities in Europe have said they would "take all necessary and appropriate actions, which may include coordinated enforcement actions." It means they could audit or prosecute companies for inadequately protecting personal data transmitted overseas.

The clock is ticking down for U.S. and EU negotiators trying to update the trans-Atlantic data transfer pact by Jan. 31, but several privacy experts who've been closely monitoring the situation said they're unsure whether a deal can be struck by that deadline. Negotiators on both sides of the Atlantic have indicated one is possible (see 1511160032), but it's predicated on several elements, namely limiting U.S. government surveillance access to Europeans' personal data and also giving individuals legal avenues through the Judicial Redress Act (HR-1428) in the U.S. if their personal information is misused. Once that informal deadline passes, national data protection authorities in Europe have said they would "take all necessary and appropriate actions, which may include coordinated enforcement actions." It means they could audit or prosecute companies for inadequately protecting personal data transmitted overseas.

Disagreements whether a proposed permanent ban on Internet access taxes should have been included in customs reauthorization legislation have left the bill stalled in the Senate and fogged up the prospect for quick movement of the trade legislation on the Senate floor. Because that language was inserted into the act’s conference report after being omitted from the original customs bills passed by the House and Senate, it could be subject to a point of order, which supporters of the ban would need 60 votes to waive, said a lobbyist and congressional staffer. The House passed the bill, Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act (HR-644), Dec. 11, but the Senate hasn't scheduled a vote on the bill.

Disagreements whether a proposed permanent ban on Internet access taxes should have been included in customs reauthorization legislation have left the bill stalled in the Senate and fogged up the prospect for quick movement of the trade legislation on the Senate floor. Because that language was inserted into the act’s conference report after being omitted from the original customs bills passed by the House and Senate, it could be subject to a point of order, which supporters of the ban would need 60 votes to waive, said a lobbyist and congressional staffer. The House passed the bill, Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act (HR-644), Dec. 11, but the Senate hasn't scheduled a vote on the bill.

The FCC "acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner" in denying Dish Network's designated entities Northstar and SNR the use of bidding credits to buy spectrum in the AWS-3 auction, the Phoenix Center said in a notice of intention to file an amicus curiae brief in support of the Dish DEs. The notice, filed Wednesday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, said the Phoenix Center will file its 7,000-word brief on Jan. 19, and that it will include an analysis of AWS-3 auction data that will show FCC conduct "raises serious questions of procedural due process." The FCC didn't comment. The Dish DEs in September appealed the FCC's August decision denying them use of the bidding credits (see 1509180048).

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., touted a presidential endorsement from Consumer Technology Association President Gary Shapiro, mentioning the backing in an update on his campaign website Tuesday. Rubio is seeking the GOP nomination for president. Shapiro is “probably a good guy to listen to about who understands how the American economy is changing,” said the Rubio campaign, citing CES, produced annually by CTA. “And guess what? Gary thinks the best candidate in the Presidential field is ... Marco.” The campaign shared the Medium blog post from Shapiro this month outlining his support. Shapiro said he backs Rubio because the Florida Republican “stands up for free-market innovation in a manner that resonates” and he “continues to champion policies that will unleash America’s potential,” including support for high-skilled immigration reform, stopping “patent trolls” and building “the fixed- and mobile-broadband infrastructure on which American consumers and businesses depend.” Shapiro, who has described himself as an independent, endorsed GOP nominee Mitt Romney in the 2012 race won by President Barack Obama (see 1211080036). Rubio’s campaign website showcases in a special section his views on Internet policy. His positions include repealing “President Obama’s Net Neutrality takeover of the Internet, which will hamper innovation and raise costs for Internet users” and building “off unanimous support of a resolution he introduced (adopted unanimously by the U.S. Senate) to fight proposals from foreign governments to gut current multi-stakeholder governance of the Internet.” The section also mentions his goals to reallocate spectrum, backing for a permanent extension of the Internet Tax Freedom Act and opposition to the Marketplace Fairness Act.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., touted a presidential endorsement from Consumer Technology Association President Gary Shapiro, mentioning the backing in an update on his campaign website Tuesday. Rubio is seeking the GOP nomination for president. Shapiro is “probably a good guy to listen to about who understands how the American economy is changing,” said the Rubio campaign, citing CES, produced annually by CTA. “And guess what? Gary thinks the best candidate in the Presidential field is ... Marco.” The campaign shared the Medium blog post from Shapiro this month outlining his support. Shapiro said he backs Rubio because the Florida Republican “stands up for free-market innovation in a manner that resonates” and he “continues to champion policies that will unleash America’s potential,” including support for high-skilled immigration reform, stopping “patent trolls” and building “the fixed- and mobile-broadband infrastructure on which American consumers and businesses depend.” Shapiro, who has described himself as an independent, endorsed GOP nominee Mitt Romney in the 2012 race won by President Barack Obama (see 1211080036). Rubio’s campaign website showcases in a special section his views on Internet policy. His positions include repealing “President Obama’s Net Neutrality takeover of the Internet, which will hamper innovation and raise costs for Internet users” and building “off unanimous support of a resolution he introduced (adopted unanimously by the U.S. Senate) to fight proposals from foreign governments to gut current multi-stakeholder governance of the Internet.” The section also mentions his goals to reallocate spectrum, backing for a permanent extension of the Internet Tax Freedom Act and opposition to the Marketplace Fairness Act.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., touted a presidential endorsement from Consumer Technology Association President Gary Shapiro, mentioning the backing in an update on his campaign website Tuesday. Rubio is seeking the GOP nomination for president. Shapiro is “probably a good guy to listen to about who understands how the American economy is changing,” said the Rubio campaign, citing CES, produced annually by CTA. “And guess what? Gary thinks the best candidate in the Presidential field is ... Marco.” The campaign shared the Medium blog post from Shapiro this month outlining his support. Shapiro said he backs Rubio because the Florida Republican “stands up for free-market innovation in a manner that resonates” and he “continues to champion policies that will unleash America’s potential,” including support for high-skilled immigration reform, stopping “patent trolls” and building “the fixed- and mobile-broadband infrastructure on which American consumers and businesses depend.” Shapiro, who has described himself as an independent, endorsed GOP nominee Mitt Romney in the 2012 race won by President Barack Obama (see 1211080036). Rubio’s campaign website showcases in a special section his views on Internet policy. His positions include repealing “President Obama’s Net Neutrality takeover of the Internet, which will hamper innovation and raise costs for Internet users” and building “off unanimous support of a resolution he introduced (adopted unanimously by the U.S. Senate) to fight proposals from foreign governments to gut current multi-stakeholder governance of the Internet.” The section also mentions his goals to reallocate spectrum, backing for a permanent extension of the Internet Tax Freedom Act and opposition to the Marketplace Fairness Act.

Disagreements over whether a proposed permanent ban on Internet access taxes should have been included in customs reauthorization legislation have left the bill stalled in the Senate and fogged up the prospect for quick movement of the “Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015” to a vote on the Senate floor. Because that language was inserted into the act’s conference report after being omitted from the original customs bills passed by the House and Senate, it could be subject to a point of order, which supporters of the ban would need 60 votes to waive, said a lobbyist and Congressional staffer. The House passed the bill on Dec. 11, but the Senate has yet to schedule a vote on the bill.