Dive Brief:
- Internet Association president and CEO Michael Beckerman wrote President-elect Donald Trump and his transition team a detailed letter outlining policy areas that are key to the continued growth of the internet, and extended an invitation to keep an open dialog going.
- The letter pointed out that the internet sector is responsible for 6% of the economy, which totaled almost $1 trillion of GDP in 2014, and that around $8 trillion in e-commerce continues to be exchanged globally. The internet also accounted for 21% of GDP growth in advanced economies over the last five years.
- Policy areas covered in the letter include: intermediary liability, copyright, privacy and data security, trade and global internet policy, patent reform, on demand or sharing economy, emerging technologies, open and accessible internet and a 21st century workforce.
Dive Insight:
Industry groups across business sectors are waiting with bated breath to see what a Trump administration behaves like policy-wise, but the IA, whose members include Facebook, Google, Snapchat, Amazon, Salesforce, and other leaders in the industry, is probably worried about two sectors that particularly affect digital marketers — privacy and data security, and trade and global internet policy.
Trump will be appointing heads to the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission, two organizations that wield great power over the regulations marketers and online advertisers have to adhere to. The FCC in particular has taken flak from the industry recently for appearing to take a more stringent and onerous approach to privacy, and rulings that users should be allowed to opt-in for the collection of data on things such geolocation, browsing history and app-usage information. The hope for advertisers would be that Trump takes a more laissez-faire attitude, though much of his policy remains nebulous at the moment.
The IA also appears to be concerned over Trump's isolationist approach and opposition to deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
"To combat the rise of digital protectionism and strengthen U.S. export leadership in the digital economy, the internet industry supports the continued inclusion of comprehensive pro-internet policies in trade agreements and U.S. diplomacy," the letter stated. For trade and global internet policy, supporting the free flow of knowledge and information across borders built on a framework of U.S. law was described as “vital” to advancing a vision of modern and inclusive trade.
The affects of Trump's administration are already expected to slow ad spend, especially heading into Q1 of 2017. The ANA also forecasts Trump policies could increase industry tax burdens by anywhere from $169 to $200 billion over the next 10 years.
