Barbara Wanner Archives

USCIB Weighs in on Chinese Banking Regulations

Published on September 16, 2015

As President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping get set to hold their highly anticipated summit meeting next week, USCIB joined twelve business organizations in signing a letter to the Chinese Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), urging China to implement regulations that reflect global banking principles rather than localized solutions.

China’s proposed new banking regulations would require foreign technology companies to give source code and encryption keys to Beijing officials. The global business community has argued that these regulations discriminate against foreign providers of information and communications technologies (ICTs) and would effectively shut foreign firms out of China’s banking sector.

In a letter whose signatories represent companies from Asia, Europe and North America and do business across all industry sectors in China, USCIB and others encouraged China to “implement a prudential regulatory framework which reflects [internationally recognized] principles, allowing appropriate industry-level benchmarking and avoiding the pitfalls associated with mandating prescriptive mechanisms of technology and cybersecurity standard-setting.”

Read the full letter.

The letter summarizes a list of principles for enhancing IT security in the banking sector on which signatories encourage China to base its regulations. These high-level principles include:

  • Transparency in the policymaking process – together with sufficient time for consultation with industry on proposed approaches.
  • Polices that are flexible and adaptable to confront emerging threats while enabling companies to continue to innovate.
  • A risk-based approach to examining whole systems for cyber threats to foster a prudential regulatory framework that can be more efficient and more effective than focusing on individual functions or processes.
  • Reliance on global security standards based on consensus industry processes, which will ensure that the best practices from around the world are incorporated and that security requirements will be regularly updated to respond to evolving threats.
  • An important role for market-based approaches that achieve desirable outcomes.

“Use of such standards also avoids the insurmountable challenge of asking international firms with global platforms to comply with conflicting rules and regulations between markets,” the letter stated. “To that end, we urge the CBRC to consult with other national regulators for rules that avoid exclusive use of localized solutions, prescriptive technologies and restrictions on data flows.”

The signatories noted that the best approach for developing technology policies is “open and transparent formulation and implementation, which allows stakeholders to provide helpful input to regulators.” They urged China to base its banking regulations on internationally accepted principles to ensure that global financial systems are as secure as possible.

 

 

Business Urges U.S., China to Minimize Tech Economy Barriers

Published on August 12, 2015

Computers_loresNew York, N.Y., August 12, 2015 – The United States Council for International Business (USCIB) has joined leading American business and technology groups in urging President Obama to use his upcoming summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping to improve the bilateral relationship for the U.S. information and communications technology (ICT) sector.

In a joint letter, the groups noted that the two countries have, for nearly four decades, “consistently pursued a mutually beneficial policy of encouraging economic openness and reducing barriers to bilateral trade and investment, including in the ICT sector.” But they said the benefits of that cooperation “are now at risk, as a result of increasing and proliferating threats to national cyber-security as well as China’s approach to defining its national security interests.”

The business groups said that, since the last U.S.-China summit in November 2014, China has “increasingly pursued policies that have adversely affected the ability of U.S. ICT firms to do business in China.” They called on the two countries to reaffirm their commitments to open markets, particularly in the ICT sector.

The groups also urged the U.S. and China to ensure that measures to protect national security affecting the ICT sector are necessary, narrowly-focused and minimize disruption to open trade and competition.

The full text of the industry letter is available at https://uscib.org/uscib-content/uploads/2015/08/2015_08_11_china_ict_letter.pdf.

About USCIB:

USCIB promotes open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development and corporate responsibility, supported by international engagement and regulatory coherence. Its members include U.S.-based global companies and professional services firms from every sector of our economy, with operations in every region of the world. With a unique global network encompassing leading international business organizations, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide, and works to facilitate international trade and investment. More at www.uscib.org.

Contact:
Jonathan Huneke, USCIB
+1 917.420.0039, jhuneke@uscib.org

Progress in Digital Economy Policy in Run Up to OECD 2016 Ministerial

Published on August 10, 2015

Computers_loresAt the end of June, the OECD Committee on Digital Economy Policy (CDEP) discussed progress and updates on several initiatives of the committee and related working parties. A new landmark publication, the Digital Economy Outlook, was launched and CDEP and BIAC conferred on key themes and outputs for the 2016 Digital Economy Ministerial to take place in Cancún, Mexico, in July 2016. The participants had an opportunity to discuss the companion document to the revision of the OECD Recommendation of the Council on Digital Security Risk Management for Economic and Social Prosperity to be formally launched during the next CDEP meeting from November 30 to December 4, and presented during the 2016 Ministerial.

The CDEP Ministerial meeting will aim to promote policy dialogue on prominent issues and define the mandate for the committee’s future work. As the event approaches, BIAC members are participating in shaping the agenda, arranging events such as a corresponding BIAC Business Day and a “Hack-a-thon,” an event designed to engage with young programmers and app developers on creative solutions for the future of the digital economy.

Preparing for WSIS+10: ICTs Needed for Sustainable Development

Published on July 13, 2015

WSIS+10As United Nations Member States prepare for the General Assembly’s 10-year review of the World Summit on the Information Society, USCIB participated in a stakeholder consultation in New York on July 2 during which members emphasized that information and communication technologies (ICTs) facilitate the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. USCIB members also pointed out that private sector investment is critical for the continued roll-out of Internet access, so it is imperative for governments to create an environment that encourages investment in broadband and ICTs.

USCIB members had important speaking roles in the July 2 program, which featured three panels aimed at exploring (1) progress made in implementation of the WSIS outcomes, (2) ICT technology gaps and areas for continued focus in bridging the digital divide; and (3) harnessing ICTs for development going forward. Members included Joseph Alhadeff, ICC digital economy commission chair and USCIB ICT policy committee vice chair (Oracle); Carolyn Nguyen (Microsoft); Cheryl Miller (Verizon); and Chip Sharp (Cisco).

Each panel included speakers from business, civil society, and the technical community, as well as respondents from governments and stakeholder groups. The speaker’s remarks and subsequent rich commentary provided by respondents and the interactive Q&A will serve as important inputs to the UN Secretariat’s development of a “non-paper” – to be released at the end of August 2015 – which will serve as the substantive foundation for the final outcome document to be endorsed by the UN General Assembly at the High-Level Meeting in December.

USCIB Statement on ICANN Accountability Represents Business Consensus

Published on June 3, 2015

USCIB filed comments on the first draft of ICANN’s (Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers) Cross-Community Working Group (CCWG) on Enhancing ICANN Accountability proposed Accountability Enhancements on Wednesday, June 3. These comments represented an important cross-sectoral and cross-community consensus of USCIB’s member companies.

Overall, USCIB members applauded the work of the CCWG in developing accountability mechanisms that will replace the “back stop” function currently provided by the contract between the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and ICANN concerning stewardship of the IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority) functions. That contract is set to expire on September 30, 2015, but likely will be extended for a limited period to give the ICANN community additional time needed to thoughtfully develop a sound transition plan. In particular, USCIB supported elements of the draft proposal that would give the ICANN multistakeholder community power to reject a budget or strategic plan as well as recall Board members if deemed necessary. USCIB further urged inclusion of a new Bylaw aimed at preventing government capture or undue ICANN influence on public policies unrelated to ICANN’s core mission.

“A spirit of cooperation prevailed as USCIB members across the ICT sector as well as the contracted and non-contracted houses of ICANN worked hard to reach a consensus ultimately aimed at ‘getting the transition right’,” said Barbara Wanner, USCIB’s vice president for ICT policy.

Read USCIB’s comments.

WSIS Forum: ICTs Necessary for Sustainable Development

Published on May 29, 2015

WSISDuring the 2015 World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum in Geneva, convened under the auspices of the United Nations, governments underscored the importance of information and communication technologies (ICTs) as engines for economic growth and as crucial elements of the post-2015 UN Sustainable Development Goals, reports Barbara Wanner, USCIB’s vice president for ICT policy.

Further enriching the forum’s discussions, USCIB member companies such as Intel, Microsoft, Oracle, Verizon, The Walt Disney Company, and Wiley Rein made important contributions to both plenary sessions and workshops on topics as diverse as privacy and security, child online and digital citizenship, empowering women to innovate, and innovation in accessibility technologies.

Government officials, business leaders and members of civil society and the technical community assembled in Geneva from May 25 to 29 for the WSIS stock-taking meetings to review a decade-long progress on promoting the use of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) as engines of economic and social development. The forum was hosted by the UN’s International Telecommunications Union (ITU), together with co-organizers UNESCO, UNCTAD and UNDP.

A recurring theme in speakers’ remarks throughout the week was the importance of broadening awareness about the indispensable role played by ICTs in realizing the post-2015 SDGs.

“ICTs are cited in only four of the 17 sustainable development goals,” ITU Secretary General Houlin Zhao noted in launching a special high-level session on May 26, suggesting that this is not a proper reflection of their developmental potential. “ICTs are a catalyst and enabler in development; they support capacity building efforts in areas as diverse as health, gender equality and sustainable farming,” Zhao said.

“This year’s forum, which marks the tenth anniversary of WSIS, was especially important because the UN General Assembly will evaluate its progress and decide its future at a special High-Level Meeting that likely will be held during the week of December 14,” said Wanner. “Virtually all speakers therefore sought to highlight the developmental value of the WSIS process.”

Other themes included the importance of business investment as an impetus for developing new technologies, the need for all stakeholders to be involved Internet governance, renewing the mandate of the Internet Governance Forum as a neutral space for exchanging best practices and capacity-building expertise, and the use of ICTs to empower youth and achieve gender equality.

Addressing a high-level dialogue on gender empowerment, USCIB Member Cheryl Miller (Verizon) described digital gender empowerment as “a community issue, not just a man’s or a woman’s issue.” Miller also shared the success of Verizon’s “Tech Girls” initiative, which brings to the United States young women from Africa and the Middle East to learn coding as well as shadow senior executives at Verizon.

Speaking on the same panel, Paul Mitchell (Microsoft) elaborated on various initiatives Microsoft has undertaken to close the digital gender gap. Digi Girls, for example, teaches High School-aged girls how to do podcasts, create web pages, and so forth. Microsoft recognizes that increasing women in technology and computing has the potential to greatly improve the design of products and services, he said.

On the subject of leveraging ICTs to empower youth, Ellen Blackler (The Walt Disney Company) explored Disney’s investment in entertainment products designed to develop critical thinking skills that the younger generation will need for future success as a productive contributors to the digital economy. Disney recognizes that the Internet “is essential to everything going forward [so that] the biggest risk is that kids will not have the [requisite] digital skills,” she said.

Business plays a central role in harnessing ICTs for economic and social development. USCIB’s ICT Policy Committee Vice Chair Joseph Alhadeff (Oracle), who delivered a policy statement on behalf of ICC-BASIS, highlighted how business investment has served as an important impetus for economic growth and development of technologies benefitting society. For this reason, we must have a policy environment that enables emerging economies to tap the developmental potential of emerging technologies such as cloud computing, Big Data, and the Internet of Things, he urged.

Internet Governance Forum: Key Advisory Group Endorses USCIB Workshop Proposals

Published on May 22, 2015

IGF 2015 logoThe Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MAG) of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) wrapped up its second, three-day Open Consultation today, making important headway in planning the 2015 IGF, which will be held November 10-13 in João Pessoa, Brazil. Barbara Wanner, USCIB’s vice president for information, communications and technology policy, reports from Geneva.

The MAG approved two USCIB-proposed workshops – from among the more than 250 proposals submitted by stakeholders from business, government, civil society, and the technical community. The group also made preliminary decisions concerning the substantive focus of the main IGF plenary sessions, which support the overarching theme of “Evolution of Internet Governance: Empowering Sustainable Development.” Finally, the Brazilian organizers announced the launch of the IGF 2015 website, which will be continually updated in the coming months with important information about the program and logistics.

The two workshops put forward by USCIB will showcase industry expertise on 1) the intersection of trade, inclusion and trust, and 2) using ICTs to address disabilities. In addition to Wanner, panelists will include Eric Loeb (AT&T), chair of USCIB’s ICT Policy Committee, and Jacquelynn Ruff (Verizon). The MAG also approved three workshops championed by USCIB and the International Chamber of Commerce on extending the IGF’s mandate, jobs and the digital economy, and ICTs and sustainable development.

According to Wanner, the MAG consultations made progress in numerous other aspects of planning for the 2015 IGF. “In sum, it was a productive meeting that produced agreement on 100 workshops and stimulated discussions that ultimately will produce a substantively rich conference,” she said.

 

Business Urges China to Halt Controversial Cyber Banking Regulations

Published on April 15, 2015

Computers_loresUSCIB joined a coalition of 31 trade associations from around the world urging the Chinese Communist Party to end banking regulations that require foreign technology companies to give source code and encryption keys to Beijing officials. The global business community has argued that the China Banking and Regulatory Commission guidelines discriminate against foreign providers of information and communications technologies (ICTs) and would effectively shut foreign firms out of  China’s banking sector.

In a letter sent to the Chinese Communist Party on April 13, USCIB and 30 other trade associations called on Chinese leaders to suspend the cyber banking guidelines and open up to stakeholder input.

“Sovereign interest in a secure and development-friendly cyber economy is best served, in any country, by policies that encourage competition and customer choice, both of which necessitate openness to non-indigenous technologies, as well as an ongoing dialogue between industry and government,” wrote USCIB and other associations in the letter. “Approaches that keep out certain technologies would likely render China’s affected industries slower to innovate, more costly to operate, and less capable of managing dynamic security threats leaving Chinese networks less secure.”

Officials from the U.S., the European Union and Japan have criticized the banking rules. U.S. officials say China is using cyber security as an excuse for protectionism.

UPDATE: China issued written notification on April 16, 2015 that it had temporarily suspended implementation of these regulations.

New ICC Cyber Security Guide Outlines Practical Steps for Business

Published on April 15, 2015

ICC_Cyber_Security_NowAvailableThe International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) published a new, straightforward guide to help companies of all sizes manage their approach to cyber security and mitigate threats posed by cybercrime. The pragmatic ICC guide stands out as the first of its kind, responding directly to the need for material tailored to help business management frame cyber security discussions with information technology professionals – and vice versa – to put a collaborative and ongoing management approach in place.

“The digital economy is playing an increasingly important role in opening up new markets and opportunities for global business,” said ICC Secretary General John Danilovich. “But in today’s global economy many businesses adopt modern information and communications technologies without fully realizing the new types of risks to be managed as a result. ICC’s guide offers a way to recognize these risks and map out a process to deal with them.”

Noting that absolute security is an elusive goal, the free-to-download ICC Cyber security guide for business demonstrates how improving an organization’s cyber security is possible through a risk management process. This clear guide has been prepared for management and information technology teams to use together – featuring a security self-assessment questionnaire and a set of five principles to reduce risk associated with cyber security incidents. The principles are supported by a checklist of six essential steps every company should take to set managers on a course towards information security excellence.

Produced by the ICC Commission on the Digital Economy, the ICC Cyber security guide for business is informed by global cyber security guidelines and national strategies offering businesses a framework to consider the question of security online.

“So many documents and guidelines exist that it can be difficult to know what to start reading and what kinds of documents are appropriate to your organization,” said Gerard Hartsink, Chair of the ICC Task Force on Cyber Security. “The range of material available is considerable but the cyber security risk management concepts outlined in the guide will help companies overcome fears and improve risk awareness to rise to the information security challenge of this fast changing environment. The guide should be shared with business partners in the supply chain of goods and services and with the public sector to enhance resilience as broadly as possible.”

ICC has also launched an online appendix of resources to complement the guide serving as a living resource to provide more specific advice as these materials are developed – from standards of practice to technical standards and more.

Catalogued on the www.iccwbo.org/cybersecurity the portal includes a listing of pertinent global frameworks, resources and contacts and will evolve and be enhanced over time with more local frameworks and translations.

For more information, visit the Task Force on Cyber Security web page.

 

 

Promoting Inclusive Growth in the Digital Economy

Published on March 12, 2015
Daniel Sepulveda (U.S. Department of State) gives the keynote luncheon address on the OECD’s role in shaping the future of the digital economy.
Daniel Sepulveda (U.S. Department of State) gives the keynote luncheon address on the OECD’s role in shaping the future of the digital economy.

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) hold tremendous potential to create economic opportunity, address social challenges and include everyone in the digital economy. In just a few years, the Internet and related technologies have gone from being mere tools to supporting the foundation of the entire global economy. As an editorial in The New York Times today noted, about half of the world’s population had mobile phone service last year, while one-third of all people used mobile networks to connect to the Internet. Countries that can better leverage the Internet to serve their needs will prosper.

Everybody stands to benefit from the Internet. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has pioneered the multi-stakeholder model for Internet governance, ensuring that governments, businesses, members of the technical community and civil society are engaged in dialogues about how the Internet is managed. It is crucial that policymakers understand the role the OECD plays as a forum for building consensus around principles in the ICT space, helping to inform policies that both tap the transformational potential of the Internet for economic growth while ensuring that the benefits of that growth are distributed deeply into society.

To that end, USCIB partnered with the OECD and the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD (BIAC) to host the ICT conference “Promoting Inclusive Growth in the Digital Economy: The Evidence and Practice Base,” to highlight the OECD’s role in framing policy discussions about the future of the Internet. During this day-long conference, sessions focused on why the ICT sector warrants engagement with all stakeholders, how to enable the benefits of digital innovation across all sectors and what the best ways are to promote trade, inclusion and trust in the digital ecosystem.

“Never has a strong business role in this area been more important than now,” said USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson in his opening remarks. “It’s important for business executives and government officials to recognize the unique role OECD plays to involve all stakeholders to tap the potential of the Internet.”

Many speakers weighed in on the OECD’s role in shaping the digital economy, including Andrew Wyckoff, the director of the OECD Directorate for Science and Technology, Christopher Painter, U.S. Department of State coordinator for cyber issues and Houlin Zhao, secretary general of the International Telecommunications Union.

Over 100 representatives from government, business, the technical community and the OECD attended the conference. Keynote addresses included an overview of Mexico’s national plan to scale up its ICT infrastructure by Raul Rendon Montemayor, director general for innovation, services and domestic commerce at Mexico’s Ministry of Economy, as well as a review of U.S. efforts to protect privacy and data security in an increasingly connected world by U.S. Federal Trade Commissioner Julie Brill.

“Basic consumer protection principles apply to exciting new technologies,” Brill concluded. “We need to keep consumers front and center.”

Ensuring multi-stakeholder engagement

The OECD stands at the precipice of a global conversation about connectivity that has brought 3 billion people together. During the conference keynote luncheon discussion, deputy assistant secretary of state Daniel Sepulveda, who will serve as vice chair of the OECD steering group for the 2016 Digital Economy Ministerial in Cancun, Mexico, talked about how to ensure that this new connectivity fosters innovation, lifts people out of poverty, increases the productivity of workers, raises wages, and supports the interconnectivity of supply chains.

Sepulveda reiterated that the multi-stakeholder Internet governance model pioneered by the OECD is necessary because it produces better outcomes. He also warned that there is no guarantee that the Internet will evolve in a way that will allow all stakeholders to use it safely and equally. To achieve the twin goals of fairness and safety, governments must embrace the OECD’s principles on digital inclusion and data privacy so as to maximize the benefits of the digital economy.

Participants agreed that private sector opportunities to invest, good infrastructure and cross-border data flows are essential for leveraging the Internet’s transformational power to address economic challenges and raise living standards. The OECD’s multi-stakeholder model has much to be admired, and even though key challenges remain – such as how to properly organize the participation of stakeholders to tap their particular expertise – the best defense of the multi-stakeholder governance model lies in the current resilience and dynamism of the Internet.

The conference ended with a warning about the dangers of forced localization requirements as they relate to the flow of information from one country to another.

“Leveraging the benefits of the cloud doesn’t mean it has to be in your country,” said Joseph Alhadeff, vice president of global public policy at Oracle and chair of BIAC’s Committee on Digital Economy Policy. “The utility of the technology is worth more than its physical location.”

View conference photos (Flickr)