Research
& Policy

The MPA believes that universal access to high-speed broadband for all Americans is of paramount importance to the growth and competitiveness of the U.S. economy. We commend the Working Group’s efforts to support this goal by considering reforms to the USF, which has helped American consumers access vital communications services. However, as described more fully in our comments, MPA believes proposals to expand the USF contribution base to video streaming services would not constitute sound public policy and present numerous logistical and technical challenges, none of which proponents of such proposals have adequately addressed. Moreover, expanding the contribution base to video streaming providers would disregard the considerable investments they make to support the Internet ecosystem. Adoption of such proposals also could slow national broadband adoption, harm market competition and video streaming industry diversity, and threaten the investments that video streaming providers make on a global scale to contribute to the competitiveness of the national economy. MPA thus urges the Working Group not to recommend expansion of the funding base to include video streaming providers.

While the title of the July 12 hearing indicated a focus on copyright, much of the discussion centered on a separate, non-copyright issue: the potential enactment of a new federal statute regulating the use of individuals’ names, images, and likenesses (“NIL”), as a means to address some of the concerns raised by recent developments in artificial intelligence. The MPA has been deeply engaged on NIL issues in state legislatures for many decades and stands willing to work with Congress and other stakeholders to address the concerns of recording artists, actors, and others about the use of digital replicas to replace their performances without their consent, as well as uses that deceive the public. Many of these concerns, and the proposed legislative responses to them, have been framed under the rubric of the “right of publicity.” As described in this statement, however, many of the concerns animating the discussion and proposed solutions have little in common with the traditional right of publicity—an area in which there exists a robust and established body of legal jurisprudence, the development of which the MPA and its members have been actively engaged in to ensure the protection of important speech-related interests.

The MPA believes that universal access to high-speed broadband for all Americans is of paramount importance to the growth and competitiveness of the U.S. economy. We commend the Working Group’s efforts to support this goal by considering reforms to the USF, which has helped American consumers access vital communications services. However, as described more fully in our comments, MPA believes proposals to expand the USF contribution base to video streaming services would not constitute sound public policy and present numerous logistical and technical challenges, none of which proponents of such proposals have adequately addressed. Moreover, expanding the contribution base to video streaming providers would disregard the considerable investments they make to support the Internet ecosystem. Adoption of such proposals also could slow national broadband adoption, harm market competition and video streaming industry diversity, and threaten the investments that video streaming providers make on a global scale to contribute to the competitiveness of the national economy. MPA thus urges the Working Group not to recommend expansion of the funding base to include video streaming providers.