With vote expected, tech industry remains divided over FOSTA
Associate Director-Tech and Innovation Policy Charles Duan said the R Street Institute has issues with the “last-minute” approval process in the House, which resulted in the combined version of FOSTA and SESTA. “We would hope that the Senate would take on a more reasoned debate over some of the unintended consequences and potential ramifications of that sort of odd combination.” He echoed comments from Engstrom, saying the high startup costs for monitoring and compliance could substantially affect small companies trying to drive innovation. Content filters that are overbroad can censor legal speech, and there are concerns about internet users’ free expression, Duan said. Court said the “internet freedom” argument is a “phony issue. This is really one example of some issues are bigger than either party and even Silicon Valley’s ability to stop.”
