i2Coalition Statement on White House “Big Data” Report

Washington, DC – Internet Infrastructure Coalition (i2Coaliton) Co-Founder and Board Chair Christian Dawson released the following statement on the release of the White House report “Big Data:  Seizing Opportunities, Preserving Values,” which included a recommendation for updating ECPA:

“Updating the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) has long been a priority for i2Coalition, and we are encouraged to see the White House recommend in this report that the legislation be updated.   ECPA is in need of reform.  The law remains unchanged since it was enacted in 1986, while technology has advanced by leaps and bounds.

“However, government surveillance issues remain the biggest policy issue facing our industry. It would be shortsighted to believe that this report exhausts the studying that must be done on data issues as a whole.

“Mass surveillance tactics employed by the U.S. government undermine Internet security and are hurting U.S.-based companies in the global marketplace, losing the U.S. economy billions of dollars of capital and significant job growth in the Cloud.  Indeed, the majority of the Cloud and the majority of the digital economy are made up of small to medium businesses that have no direct connection with Big Data, and they are being harmed most by the lack of movement on true surveillance reform.  We can’t pretend when we are talking about privacy on the Internet that the conversation should center around Big Data.  A much broader conversation is immediately essential.”