News Stories Archives

G20 Highlights 2019 Priority Issues in Leaders Declaration

Published on December 5, 2018

As Japan prepares to assume the role of host of the G20/B20 in 2019, G20 leaders issued a Declaration on December 1, outlining items needed to build consensus for fair and sustainable development.

According to USCIB Vice President for ICT Policy Barbara Wanner, there is noteworthy focus in the Declaration on the digital economy. “Of the 31 points, at least three of the top ten focus on the opportunities and challenges of digital transformation,” noted Wanner. “Points 6-7 focus primarily on potential job displacement and the need for reskilling and vocational training while point 9 draws upon the work of the G20 Digital Task Force. This underscores the importance of bridging the gender digital divide, securing the use of ICTs, and ensuring the free flow of information, ideas, and knowledge ‘while respecting applicable legal frameworks and working to build consumer trust, privacy, data protection, and intellectual property rights protections.’” Point 9 of the Declaration also calls for the establishment of a G20 Repository of Digital Policies to share and promote adoption of innovative digital economy business models.

Beyond the digital economy, G20 leaders pointed out other critical areas of work, such as international trade and investment, which serve as engines of growth, productivity, innovation, job creation and development. However, the group added that the multilateral trading system has fallen short on some objectives and voiced continued support for the necessary reform of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to improve its functioning. The Group also reaffirmed its commitment towards preventing and fighting corruption.

On sustainable development, leaders emphasized commitment to leading the transformation towards sustainable development and support for the United Nations 2030 Development Agenda as the framework for advancing the G20 Action Plan. Regarding the role of energy, the G20 leaders recognize the opportunities for innovation, growth, and job creation, while acknowledging the role of all energy sources and technologies in the energy mix and different national paths to achieve cleaner energy systems.

The G20 focused this year on infrastructure for development, the future of work, and a sustainable food future and a gender mainstreaming strategy across the G20 agenda.

Mixed Messages at Recent Meetings on Global ICT Policy

Published on November 19, 2018
Barbara Wanner, was present at both events, alongside USCIB members, joining global business colleagues under the aegis of ICC-BASIS at the IGF and as part of the Business at OECD (BIAC) delegation to CDEP.
The two meetings could not have provided more different messages about the challenges and opportunities of digital transformation of the economy and how to address them.

 

The 13th Internet Governance Forum (IGF) and meetings of the OECD Committee on Digital Economy Policy (CDEP) and its Working Parties met in Paris, France the week of November 12. According to Barbara Wanner, who leads USCIB’s work on ICT policy, the two meetings could not have provided more different messages about the challenges and opportunities of digital transformation of the economy and how to address them.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who opened the three-day IGF on November 12 at UNESCO, depicted a digital economy fraught with danger from cyber-attacks, the proliferation of hate speech, and anti-democratic forces requiring development of a “better model” featuring regulation of the Internet and its actors. The OECD CDEP, in contrast, proceeded in a workman-like, measured manner to move its Going Digital Project toward completion as well as advance work on Artificial Intelligence (AI). Going Digital (GD) is an ambitious horizontal endeavor involving 14 OECD committees that takes a largely evidence-based and holistic approach to considering both the economic and societal benefits and the challenges of the evolving digital ecosystem.

Wanner, was present at both events, alongside USCIB members, joining global business colleagues under the aegis of ICC-BASIS at the IGF and as part of the Business at OECD (BIAC) delegation to CDEP.

“Our messages, as IGF workshop speakers and BIAC interveners, generally emphasized the commercial and developmental benefits that can be realized through the creation of a pro-innovation policy environment, the effectiveness of business-informed, risk-based approaches to privacy and security, and the importance of the multistakeholder model in considering the complexity of digital economy issues,” noted Wanner.

According to Wanner, by the week’s close, members agreed that the “watershed” moment at the IGF created by President Macron’s remarks will require further internal discussion about what business wants and needs from the IGF and strategies to tackle likely new challenges at the United Nation’s General Assembly and other multilateral organizations. Concerning CDEP’s leadership of the Going Digital Project, members generally were encouraged that the final product – to be issued at a special forum on March 11-12, 2019 – would reflect business inputs and provide a practical guide to tap the potential of digital transformation.

Joint Conference Addresses Digital Taxation

Published on November 13, 2018

The German business association BDI hosted the OECD, Business at OECD, USCIB and other business representatives at a joint conference in Berlin, Germany on November 6 to contribute to the current debate on digital taxation. The OECD is the leading organization in developing a consensus approach to this debate.

Leading global tax experts discussed current business models and value creation, profit allocation and nexus rules, and future challenges of profit taxation. Among them was USCIB Taxation Committee Chair Bill Sample (Microsoft Corporation) who gave a keynote on a panel, “Future Challenges of Profit Taxation.”

Sample spoke about a “borderless world,” with borderless businesses and borderless consumers, which increases the need for governments to work together to reduce the negative impact of hard borders on the digitalized economy.

The event, titled International Taxation in Light of Digitalization, also featured participation by OECD Deputy Secretary General Ludger Shucknecht and Director for the OECD Center for Tax Policy and Administration Pascal Saint-Amans, as well as Head of the International Tax Unit at the German Federal Ministry of Finance Christian Schleithoff.

USCIB Urges Free Data Flows to Achieve Economic Growth

Published on November 13, 2018

USCIB filed comments on November 11 in response to a Federal Register notice from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) regarding a proposed approach to consumer data privacy. NTIA’s proposal is designed to provide high levels of protection for individuals, while giving organizations legal clarity and the flexibility to innovate.

USCIB’s comments highlighted the view that the free flow of data and information is critical for economic development and growth, citing a recent study that the increase in GDP from data flows was an estimated $2.8 trillion.

“Business realizes that the benefits of technology innovation enabled by data flows will only be realized and embraced by consumers, businesses, and governments who trust the online environment and feel confident that the privacy of their personal data will be respected,” stated the letter. “USCIB members are committed to complying with applicable privacy regulations and recognize their responsibility to adopt recognized best practices to ensure that personal data and information is appropriately secured as technology and services evolve.”

However countries such as China, India, Malaysia, Panama and South Korea have proposed restrictive data protection laws that could significantly harm U.S. companies while also undermining efforts to enhance global interoperability.

“These countries’ approaches range from quite onerous data localization requirements to national privacy frameworks that are administratively burdensome and complex, all of which end up imposing economic costs on the country by undermining their attractiveness as destinations for jobs-creating investment and innovation,” warned Barbara Wanner, USCIB’s vice president for ICT policy. “They also create an increasingly fragmented regulatory landscape, which imposes added compliance costs on business that hampers continued innovation.”

The comments also highlighted an example of a proposal made by India that would establish an alarming global precedent and could significantly impede the growth of innovation, investment, entrepreneurship, and industrial growth through strict data localization requirements, restrictions on the cross-border data flows, and extraterritorial application.

“It is vital that the U.S. continue to exercise global leadership in pushing back against this type of protective approach to personal data protection,” said Wanner.

NTIA’s initiative runs parallel to the efforts of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to develop a voluntary privacy framework and the efforts of the Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration to increase global regulatory harmony.

To read USCIB’s comments, please visit our website.

 

 

Business Groups Fire Back Against Proposed Tax on Tech Firms

Published on November 6, 2018

Following the United Kingdom’s plan to impose a new tax on sales by many technology companies, U.S. business groups, including USCIB, fired back warning that the proposal would violate tax agreements by targeting U.S. firms. The proposal includes a 2% tax on sales by large social media platforms, internet marketplaces and search engines from April 2020.

BBC reported on this development and highlighted comments by U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who according to BBC, voiced strong concern about different countries’ efforts to develop digital sales tax. “This tax is a proportionate and targeted interim response that reflects the changing global economy, and how digital businesses derive value from users – it’s not targeted at any country and seeks to ensure the tax system is fair,” said Mnuchin.

USCIB submitted a letter to EU Commissioner Pierre Moscovici in July in response to a proposed EU directive urging the directive not to be adopted.

“The directives reflect a lack of understanding of current and evolving business models and would distort the allocation of revenue or income to functions that do not accurately reflect value creation by the companies earning the revenue or income,” stated USCIB’s letter.

“USCIB supports a consensus-based comprehensive income-tax-based solution applied equally to agreed upon issues in segments of the digitalized economy,” added USCIB Vice President for Tax Policy Carol Doran Klein. “There is agreement that the global economy, businesses and the public sector are digitalizing. Therefore, any solution to agreed upon issues (if any) must apply to the economy broadly, not to narrow segments of the economy. Any solution must also be broadly agreed to by countries to minimize double taxation and controversy, therefore the G20-OECD Inclusive framework is the best forum for this discussion. The EU itself recognizes the importance of a multilateral approach.”

 

ICANN Focuses on Policy Priorities for Domain Names

Published on October 30, 2018

ICANN 63’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) wrapped up on October 25 in Barcelona, Spain, marking the 20th anniversary of ICANN. The AGM brought together roughly 3,000 participants from business, government, civil society, and the technical community from across the world to focus on policy priorities for the domain name system (DNS).

The meeting was dominated by ICANN stakeholder efforts to develop a formal policy to replace the Temporary Specification for gTLD Registration Data (Temp Spec).

“The Temp Spec was designed to ensure that ICANN and the industry of more than 1,000 generic top-level domain (gTLD) registries and registrars meet existing ICANN contractual requirements concerning the collection of registration data, as well as comply with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR),” reflected USCIB Vice President for ICT Policy Barbara Wanner. “A special group of ICANN’s policy-making body spent most of the meeting focused on moving forward the ‘expedited policy development process’ (EPDP) that must replace the Temp Spec by May 25, 2019.”

ICANN’s proposed Draft Framework for a Possible Unified Access Model for Continued Access to Full WHOIS Data (UAM) was also in the spotlight. At ICANN 63, the Business Constituency (BC), of which USCIB is a member, continued to press ICANN to undertake work to implement the UAM concurrent with the EPDP. In addition, the BC urged emergency interim measures to enable third-party access to WHOIS data, citing already extraordinary economic and security costs stemming from spikes in cybersecurity attacks, cybercrime, and brand and IP infringement.

Wanner participated in the October 20-25 meetings in her capacity as the BC’s representative to the Commercial Stakeholder Group (CSG), a position that has enabled greater input to policy discussions at the CSG executive committee-level on behalf of USCIB members and facilitated important meetings with senior ICANN officials and other key constituencies. At ICANN 63, in particular, this entailed coordinating with CSG partners to support the election of USCIB member Keith Drazek (VeriSign) to GNSO Council Chair, a position that will be key to shepherding work on the EPDP and third-party data access.

USCIB Outlines AI Policy Priorities

Published on October 23, 2018
Digital technologies and the online environment enabled by them present unprecedented opportunity to raise productivity and generate economic growth.
Close cooperation with business can ensure that regulatory approaches create a holistic framework that enables business investment.

In response to a Federal Register request for information concerning the National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Research and Development Strategic Plan, USCIB submitted comments outlining AI policy priorities.

“USCIB members believe that digital technologies and the online environment enabled by them present unprecedented opportunity to raise productivity, foster creativity and innovation, generate economic growth, build trust, and enhance social prosperity,” said USCIB Vice President for ICT Policy Barbara Wanner. “Key to realizing these social and economic benefits, however, are policies that ensure an open, safe, secure, stable, interoperable, seamless, and sustainable Internet.”

The comments submitted by USCIB emphasized that serving as essential complements are policies that encourage both private investment and public-private partnerships in the R&D needed to drive innovation and realize the potential of AI and other emerging technologies. Such policies are most effectively developed when informed by stakeholder engagement.

“Government policymakers can benefit from close cooperation with business, academia and other stakeholders to ensure that the legal, policy, and regulatory approaches implemented create a holistic framework that enables sustainable business investment in infrastructure and product innovation, includes technically feasible solutions, and offers appropriate privacy and human rights protections,” added Wanner. “The participation of a full complement of stakeholders best ensures that decisions concerning R&D and related policies avoid unintended consequences or outcomes that fall short of expectations. Importantly, a multistakeholder approach will help to build trust and dispel fears that could undermine realization of AI’s economic and societal benefits.”

Robinson Contributes Letter to FT on Making Internet Affordable to All

Published on October 23, 2018

FT featured a letter by USCIB CEO and President Peter Robinson in response to an editorial “The web should be open to all the world’s citizens” on October 11.

In the letter, Robinson emphasizes the important role of public-private partnerships as crucial to broadening access to the internet, noting that companies such as Google, Ericsson, Facebook, Intel and Microsoft are already moving ahead in this regard.

“Focused on driving prices down to meet the UN Broadband Commission target of entry-level broadband services priced at less than 5 percent of monthly income, they are working with governments and other stakeholders in countries as diverse as Nigeria, the Dominican Republic and Myanmar to make the internet more affordable and accessible,” writes Robinson.

The full letter can be found here, subscription to FT required.

USCIB, USTR Discuss World Trade Organization Updates

Published on September 5, 2018
L-R: Rob Mulligan (USCIB), Chris Wilson (USTR)
Meeting was an opportunity to receive WTO updates and to raise questions regarding U.S. government negotiations or initiatives in Geneva.
USTR highlighted areas that the U.S. delegation is working on, such as over-fishing and e-commerce.

 

Members of USCIB’s Trade and Investment Committee sat down with Chris Wilson, deputy chief of mission at USTR’s Geneva office, on August 30 in Washington DC. The meeting was a timely opportunity for USCIB to receive the latest developments at the World Trade Organization (WTO) and to raise questions regarding specific U.S. government negotiations or initiatives underway in Geneva.

Wilson highlighted some of the areas that the U.S. delegation is “actively and constructively” working on with the WTO, such as multilateral negotiations to develop new disciplines with respect to subsidies that contribute to over-fishing and an emerging plurilateral initiative on e-commerce.  Wilson also outlined some of the areas the U.S. sees as needing reform in the WTO, including concerns with the Appellate Body.

“As trade disruptions over the past year have escalated, more USCIB members have raised concerns about the potential impact on the WTO and how business can help move forward reforms at the WTO,” said USCIB Senior Vice President for Policy and Government Affairs Rob Mulligan. “Our discussion with Chris helped clarify U.S. government views and informed us, as well as our members, of possible steps to take.”

 

USCIB Urges Nomination of Ombudsperson for Privacy Shield

Published on August 21, 2018

U.S.-EU Privacy Shield Framework facilities trans-Atlantic data transfers and is essential to almost every U.S. industry.
Software contributes more than $1 trillion to the U.S. economy and supports more than 10 million U.S. jobs.

 

USCIB joined with BSA, The Software Alliance and other industry leaders in sending a multi-industry letter to U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo on August 20 urging him to put forward a qualified candidate to serve as the Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment.

In addition to advocating for open markets and fair trade policies, the Under Secretary plays a critical role as Ombudsperson for the U.S.-EU Privacy Shield Framework, which facilities trans-Atlantic data transfers and is essential to almost every U.S. industry. Businesses must be able to move data freely around the world in order to realize the benefits of software, which contributes more than $1 trillion to the U.S. economy and supports more than 10 million U.S. jobs.

“Through your distinguished leadership, U.S. companies look to the Under Secretary to advocate open markets and fair trade policies and negotiate international agreements with economic impact,” states the letter.