Last night, President Obama addressed the U.S. Congress and the nation in his 6th State of the Union Address. Although the President touched on a number of issues that are currently facing the nation and the world, President Obama discussed a few policy issues that are important to Internet-enabled small businesses, including cross border trade and the promotion of an open and free Internet.
See below for excerpts from the President’s speech:
Last night, after the President’s State of the Union Address, a group of over 100 eBay-enabled small businesses sent a letter to President Obama not only commending him for his commitment to pursue an ambitious trade agenda this year, but also calling for the modernization of the United States’ trade policies.
Last week, PayPal co-sponsored an event with Google about the future of online authentication entitled “Replacing Passwords: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly". The event was also an opportunity to introduce the FIDO Alliance and their new authentication standards. The FIDO (Fast IDentity Online) Alliance is a non-profit organization formed in July 2012 to address the lack of interoperability among strong authentication devices as well as the problems users face with creating and remembering multiple usernames and passwords.
This week, Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, circulated a draft Internet sales tax bill. As Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Congressman Goodlatte has jurisdiction over interstate commerce issues, including Internet sales taxes.
Last week, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law Chairman Tom Marino (R-Pa.), Congressman Steve Chabot (R-Ohio), and Congressman Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) introduced H.R. 235, the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act (PITFA). The bill would make permanent the law that prevents state and local governments from imposing new taxes on Internet access, and prohibits any multiple or discriminatory taxes on e-commerce.
Last week, while speaking at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman, Tom Wheeler, hinted that he's in favor of President Obama's net neutrality proposal, which would classify broadband Internet service under Title II of the Communications Act. On November 10th, President Obama issued a statement that called on the FCC to issue a rule that protects network neutrality and the Open Internet.
We wanted to alert our Main Street members to a unique opportunity available to small businesses looking to grow the potential of their business. The U.S. Commercial Service, in cooperation with NASA, will host a three-day business forum in Silicon Valley, February 9-11, 2015, focused on opportunities for U.S. companies to meet global demand for sustainable solutions. According to the U.S.