Hatch Bashes Net Neutrality, Outlines Plans for Patent, Cyber Legislation

Keep the Internet free and it will continue to drive our economy forward,” Hatch said at the headquarters of Overstock.com in Salt Lake City, in prepared remarks (http://1.usa.gov/1CW92ij). “In addition to promoting broadband investment, Congress should support policies that encourage increased deployment and adoption of mobile online services and content, including increased access to licensed and unlicensed spectrum.” Hatch, chairman of the Senate Republican High-Tech Task Force and a member of the Judiciary Committee, pressed Congress to address what he referred to as patent trolls through legislation, citing a need for “common-sense reforms to our patent laws -- including fee shifting, heightened pleading and discovery standards, and a mechanism to enable recovery of fees against shell companies.” There should be “a renewed focus to combat online piracy” and “responsible data stewardship,” Hatch said, backing a “long overdue” update to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act that would require a warrant for email searches. He backs a “streamlined” antitrust review process and tax overhaul, he said. Cybersecurity legislation should “provide proper incentives, like liability protection, to encourage the private sector to share cyber-threat information with the government,” he said. “Cybersecurity legislation must also strike the right balance between protecting our nation’s computing infrastructure and protecting individual privacy rights. ... A voluntary, non-regulatory approach is most likely to yield consensus legislation”