News

25.10.2013

SIIA Cites Global Mistrust as Impediment to Economic and National Security

WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 24, 2013) -- Today, the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) filed joint comments to the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) in response to its upcoming hearing on U.S. Surveillance Programs.

In filing the comments, SIIA President Ken Wasch highlighted the importance of the board’s review of the government’s intelligence-gathering programs and their forthcoming recommendations to the Obama Administration to balance national security with civil liberties. Wasch said:

“The recent revelations about U.S. intelligence programs and concerns about U.S. government access to privately held user data by U.S. companies is eroding trust in U.S. IT products globally. At this time, our major trading partners Brazil and the European Union are considering strict measures that threaten the ability of U.S. companies to do business in these critical markets.

"Specifically, the EU parliament this week approved a new data privacy regulation that creates a Catch 22 for U.S. companies, requiring them to obtain approval from European regulators prior to responding to U.S. government requests for information—under this approach, U.S. companies could not effectively comply with conflicting national laws. And Brazil is considering a proposal to require IT companies to operate within their borders to house all operations there or restrict the transfer of data outside their jurisdiction.

"Measures such as these would not only have a significant negative impact on U.S. businesses, but would also undermine IT innovation and economic growth around the world. SIIA believes that economic and national security are deeply connected to civil liberty, and that there are clear steps that the U.S. government can take to accomplish these goals, beginning with a greater commitment to transparency and oversight.”

Also joining with the SIIA were BSA (the Software Alliance), the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) and TechNet.

About SIIA

SIIA is the leading association representing the software and digital content industries. SIIA represents approximately 800 member companies worldwide that develop software and digital information content.  Information technology (IT) and software security are critical issues to SIIA’s members, many of whom strive to develop safe, secure and state-of the-art products that effectively serve their commercial and government customers alike, while protecting their intellectual property. To learn more, visit www.siia.net.