USIIA Public Policy Platform

• The first priority in all Public Policy initiatives of the Association will be to encourage the growth and development of the online communications industry and to protect the interests of members of the Association consistent with this development.

• Public Policy initiatives will not be used to further the interests of any single member or group of members, but rather the majority of all members or the industry as a whole. In the event that the interests of individual members are in conflict, the Association will first attempt to take a neutral position. If this is not consistent with the good of the majority of members or the industry, the position taken will be that deemed in the best interests of the majority of members.

• The Association will support public policy initiatives that more effectively define the nature of the industry so long as those definitions do not serve to limit the growth and development of the industry.

• The Association will not engage in partisan politics, believing that neutrality and the ability to work with members of any political affiliation are necessary to the attainment of USIIA goals.

• The Association will not engage in public policy debate or initiatives in areas that lie beyond the interests of its members or the fostering of industry growth.

• The free exercise of human rights, including freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and the protection of personal privacy, is essential to the communication process. USIIA will work to safeguard these rights on behalf of its members so long as these do not present conflicts with the primary purpose of the public policy initiatives as outlined. USIIA does not subscribe to or endorse absolute freedom of speech or freedom of privacy beyond the express tenets of the Constitution of the United States and the law. The exercise of responsibility, constraint and judicious infringement on these rights are deemed necessary in some situations in order to act within the law and in the public interest.

• The Association will engage in activities and projects that heighten public awareness of the industry, its contributions to society and its effectiveness as a communication channel, particularly among legislators, regulators, the consuming public and the mass media.

• USIIA will in principle support initiatives that work to protect consumers, define the rights of consumers, and provide better and more accurate information to the consuming public that encourages the use of online communication systems by the public. Such support will not extend to initiatives that are disadvantageous to the lawful and legitimate interests of USIIA members.

• The expansion of communication technology, including research, development, standardization and promulgation will be supported, and efforts made to foster the adoption of new technologies as they become available.

• The Association supports the extension of copyright protection to electronic versions of works currently protected by law. USIIA favors use of a "fair and reasonable precautions" test for violation of copyright on uploaded or transferred materials, similar to the guidelines established for corporations as defined under existing copyright law.

• The Association opposes legislation enabling law enforcement organizations to search, seize or otherwise interrupt communication without a fair and reasonable belief that the communication is actively in violation of the law and that no other reasonable method of investigation or remediation is possible.

• The Association is opposed to the formation of oversight or regulatory agencies at the federal or state level for online communication services, or the expansion of authority for existing agencies to those services.

• The Association is opposed to the taxation of online services, including the imposition of sales and use or recreation taxes on information, downloads or other services provided by online communications services.

• The Association supports efforts to standardize laws between states and countries, and to limit the liability of operators of online communication systems to the laws of the locality, state and country in which the system is physically located and operated.

• The Association supports the right of the individual to use encryption technologies to maintain the privacy of communications, and to have the integrity of that communication violated only following due process and the issuance of a search warrant specifically for those communications.

• The Association supports placement of liability for the actions of users of online communications systems with the user rather than the system. USIIA will oppose attempts to place liability for individual communications or actions on the owners, operators, managers or shareholders of online systems.

• The Association supports efforts to eliminate the unlawful use of online communications systems.