Internet & Technology
Senator Wyden has long been out front of efforts to create, promote and protect a free and open Internet. As author of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 -- a landmark law establishing the principle that website owners can not be held liable for user-generated content -- Wyden has been credited with helping lay the groundwork for the 21st century Web and sites like Wikipedia, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
In 1998, he coauthored the Internet Tax Freedom Act barring federal state and local governments from taxing Internet access and imposing discriminatory taxes that would have discouraged Internet deployment and usage. He has overseen two campaigns to renew that law and keep thousands of state and local taxing authorities from setting up tollbooths on the Internet. He wrote the very first electronic privacy bill which laid the framework for a system that would ensure consumer confidence while allowing the development of new business models. And he authored the Electronic Signatures law making it possible to approve documents digitally. Wyden was among the first to speak out in defense of “net neutrality” and he blocked action on the Telecommunications Act of 2006 because it failed to include language preventing network discrimination.
Wyden, however, may be best known for his lone stance against Senate legislation that would have given rights’ holders the ability to censor websites accused of copyright infringement. In late 2010, Wyden place a “hold” on the “Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeit Act” (COICA) citing its overreaching provisions which would have rolled back the Internet’s Section 230 protections while undermining Internet security and free speech. By preventing COICA from being passed by unanimous consent, Wyden’s hold effectively killed the legislation which many predicted was on a glide path to becoming law as it was backed by powerful interest groups and passed the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously. In 2011, Wyden placed a similar hold on COICA’s successor legislation, the “PROTECT IP Act.” His relentless efforts to draw attention to the problems with the bill encouraged other legislators to join his hold and made way for the historic Internet protests held on January 18, 2012. These protests ultimately eroded support for PROTECT IP and its House companion legislation, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA).
In 2007, PC World included Wyden on its list of “The 50 Most Important People on the Web” and he has received countless awards for his work on Internet and technology policy including: the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s 2011 Pioneer Award, Public Knowledge’s 2011 IP3 Award, and the Consumer Electronic Association’s 2012 Digital Patriot Award.
Latest
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Legislation Ends Discrimination Against Internet Radio in the Digital Marketplace
Since the passage of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act in 1998, Internet Radio providers have been forced to pay royalty rates for the songs they broadcast that are considerably higher than their competitors in this digital marketplace. These unfair and discriminatory ro...…Read More
Posted on 09/21/12 -
Wyden Statement on Vote Against Cloture of the Cybersecurity Act
U. S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) issued the following statement today regarding his vote against the motion to invoke cloture on the Cybersecurity Act: “Today’s vote was one in which Senators were asked to sacrifice Internet users’ privacy...…Read More
Posted on 08/02/12 -
Wyden Amendments to Cyber Bill Clarify Rules for GPS Tracking; Seek Privacy Protection in the Cloud
As the technological capabilities of cloud storage and location tracking continue to grow, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) has filed amendments to the Cybersecurity Act being debated in the Senate to provide clear rules for how and when the government can access location tracking...…Read More
Posted on 07/31/12 -
Amendments offered to the Cybersecurity Act of 2012
Amendments being offered by Wyden to the Cybersecurity Act of 2012...…
Amendments being offered by Wyden to the Cybersecurity Act of 2012
… Posted on 07/30/12 -
Clear Geolocation Guidelines Are Needed to Protect Privacy Rights
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Posted on 06/25/12 -
Wyden Calls for Digital Bill of Rights at #PDF12
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Posted on 06/12/12 | -
PDF 12 | Senator Ron Wyden and Representative Darrell Issa in Conversation with Andrew Rasiej
Posted on 06/11/12 |