Outline 12-point plan for tech policy

Tech groups including ITI, CCIA and The App Association have published their tech policy wish list in an open letter to the G7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the United States) headed to a Leader's Summit in Biarritz, France, at the end of the month.

They outlined a 12-point plan for "enabling digital technologies that power growth, development, entrepreneurship, job creation, and innovation..." That includes targeted deregulation of data flows and pro-growth and innovation policies on AI.

"Businesses across all sectors now rely on digital technologies to produce, move, market, and sell products and services. The flow of data across borders underpins all of these activities and has created economic opportunities for billions of people," they said in the letter. "This Summit is an opportunity to capitalize on this moment by reducing discriminatory and other problematic regulatory measures and by crafting high-standard trade rules that promote inclusive innovation, growth, and development."

The 12-point plan is as follows:

1. "Reach early agreement on the WTO Joint Statement Initiative on E-Commerce through promoting ambitious and inclusive international digital trade rules;

2."Make permanent the WTO Moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions;

3. "Facilitate the free flow of data across borders and refrain from imposing measures requiring the local storage or processing of data or the use of local computer facilities;

4. "Commit to achieving a multilateral approach to tax policy issues arising from digitalization and refrain from pursuing unilateral digital tax measures;

5. "Extend high levels of privacy protection that ensure international interoperability and conform with OECD Guidelines on the Protection of Privacy and Transborder Flows of Personal Data;

6. "Enhance cybersecurity by using risk-based approaches grounded in global, consensus-based, industry-led standards and best practices;

7. "Protect consumers from fraudulent or deceptive commercial activities on the internet through cooperation among national consumer protection bodies;

8. "Continue to expand participation in WTO agreements, such as the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) and Information Technology Agreement (ITA);

9. "Oppose measures that force disclosure of source code, algorithms, encryption keys, or other sensitive information as a condition of doing business;

10. "Encourage the responsible and ethical design and deployment of AI systems, including addressing safety mechanisms, using robust and representative data, promoting transparency, and enabling greater interoperability;

11. "Support the development of AI standards through global, consensus-based, industry-led processes to enable technical interoperability, non-discriminatory market access, and innovation; and

12. "Facilitate open format and machine-readable data sets to foster innovation and competitiveness in AI technologies and enhance and generate business opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises."