Political Quotes

“Mr. President, in addition to my strong and unequivocal support for the USMCA, I note that my committee is about to undertake a yearlong review of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, with the goal of modernizing it. Back in 1998, the internet was still a fledgling industry, so much so that it is difficult to recall a time when email was a novel form of communication and you could go take a coffee break in hopes that the web page you wanted would have fully loaded on your computer by the time you returned. It was in this era that the DMCA attempted to strike a reasonable balance between content creators and the operators of online billboards. The DMCA offered immunity to new, emerging platforms in exchange for reasonable enforcement efforts, including quickly taking down copyrighted materials they learned about violations. In 1998, there were no iPhones. There was no Facebook and no YouTube. Netflix opened that year as a mail-order DVD store. For a time, the DMCA worked. President Trump has led the way to establish a new paradigm for trade agreements that protect American interests, and the USMCA provides for long overdue updates to NAFTA, but the mechanisms of the DMCA to deter copyright infringement need to be updated. Technology has changed faster than anyone could have ever imagined, and the existing DMCA simply isn't able to address these new developments.…”