Updates from the Hedgie on the Hill

First and foremost, it has been happily rumored that the Senate will not even take up a vote on CISPA, which passed in the House earlier this month.   Diligence is still needed to make sure that any legislation being brought forth in either the House or the Senate preservers the rights of Internet users.

To that end, we are very pleased of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s unanimous decision to advance the Electronic Communications Privacy Act Amendments Act of 2013, S. 607:  Hedgehog Hosting was one of over 100 companies that signed a letter addressed to Senate Judiciary lawmakers urging the committee to adopt the Leahy-Lee amendment ensuring that law enforcement officials “can obtain electronic communications in all appropriate cases while protecting Americans’ constitutional rights.” 

These two great steps forward will help us to protect our client's interests with regards to their online data privacy while still doing all we can to help law enforcement if the need should arise.

Take action to help defeat CISPA in the Senate.

The House of Representatives passed the controversial Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) today.  As we move on to the Senate, (where it previously failed in February of 2012) we must be diligent in reminding our lawmakers to be mindful of the numerous privacy concerns raised by the bill in its current form. While the goal of CISPA is to increase security online and make it easier to identify potential cyber threats, any reform must be made in an open manner and in a manner that preserves the civil liberties of everyone.

Last week, the House Intelligence Committee passed CISPA in a closed door hearing. It is imparative that any discussions on privacy and accessibility be transparent and include all stakeholders involved in the process to build consensus.  Hedgehog Hosting and other i2Coalition members will continue to push for this transparency.

While there is anticipation that the White House will veto CISPA if it passes the Senate, we must all continue to speak out against this legislation in its current form.  As has been shown in past efforts with SOPA and PIPA, contacting your members of Congress to show your opposition will have an impact.

Compared to past years, pro-CISPA forces have spent upwards of 140 times more in lobbying that their opponents.  If you share our privacy concerns and want to help, please contact your Representative today and ask him/her to vote no on CISPA!

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How do I contact my elected officials?  There is an app for that! - "Contact Congress" by Airship Software on your apple device or visit http://www.congress.org/news/communicating-with-congress/

CES on the Hill was a showcase of great startup talent and our elected officials took notice!

What I found after attending the CES on the Hill event this week is that the startup community is still booming and their range of products and services are still so very exciting. I am also pleased that the Consumer Electronics Association, of which Hedgehog is a proud member, is actively engaging our elected officials on the Hill to provide startups with new legislation that will help foster the growth of these vital new companies.

 With their continued support of the Startup Act, now in version 3.0, companies like ours have joined the efforts and are providing support for this bipartisan bill that will jumpstart our economy through the creation and growth of new businesses, especially in the much needed STEM field.

 While there is much debate on the Hill about the best way to grow our economy, I think we can all agree that making it easier for companies such as the ones that were represented at CES on the Hill to grow and flourish will surely help. I am sure the next great company lies somewhere in this mix of budding young startups.