Support Encryption: U.S. Internet Firms Look to Trump to Ease Regulations

• By: Staff Editor
• Date: November 16, 2016
• Source: http://www.reuters.com

A little in tune with President-elect Donald J. Trump’s proposed policies, the Internet Association sought his support in listing their priorities; key among them - immigration reform, stronger encryption, and ensuring liability protection for content that users share on their social platforms.

The Internet Association, a trade group of 40 prominent internet businesses including Alphabet's Google, Facebook Inc., Amazon Inc., Twitter, Uber and others, has cited immigration reform as part of its core priorities, in the wake of Trump’s softening approach towards H-1B visas for skilled workers.

In a statement, Michael Beckerman, president of the Internet Association, said the internet industry looked forward to working closely with Trump and lawmakers in Congress to "cement the internet's role as a driver of economic and social progress for future generations."

While some policy goals seem alike between the association and the new administration, such as easing regulation on the sharing economy and lowering taxes on profits from intellectual property, there are others that are likely to conflict – such as supporting strong encryption in tech products against efforts by law enforcement agencies and mandating access to data for criminal investigations.

In all, dubbed as an early move by the Silicon Valley to set amicable terms with the President-elect, the response to these propositions is much awaited by the tech industry.