US ISPA FOUNDING PRINCIPLES

The U.S. Internet Service Provider Association represents the interests of companies that operate Internet networks and/or provide a variety of different Internet services, together "ISPs." The policy principles on which the Association was founded are as follows:

Security, Privacy, and Cybercrime

• As a general rule, criminal laws should be consistent in the online and off-line worlds. The responsibilities of intermediaries who maintain evidence relevant to criminal investigations should be consistent in the online context (e.g., ISPs) and the off-line world (e.g., travel agents, hotel operators, etc.)
  
  
• The privacy rights of ISP customers are very important, as is the need for effective law enforcement on the Internet. Accordingly, ISPs should cooperate with law enforcement investigations pursuant to clearly defined laws and procedures.
  
  
• ISPs must be granted reasonable reimbursement for assistance provided to law enforcement, must be made immune from liability in connection with good faith efforts to assist law enforcement, and must not be subject to a general requirement to retain data for which the ISP has no business purpose.
  
  
• Governments should ensure that law enforcement rules and privacy rules are consistent so that ISPs are not subject to conflicting legal obligations.
  
  
• US ISPA is strongly opposed to the transmission of "spam." Spam degrades networks, generates customer complaints, and imposes significant costs on ISPs and their customers.

Internet Content

• As a general rule, liability for Internet content should rest with the creator or initiator of the illegal content and not with an entity that retransmits, hosts, stores, republishes, or receives such content.
  
  
• When serving as conduits for Internet traffic in transit, ISPs should have no liability or responsibility for the content of such traffic. However, ISPs should have the right to block or filter such traffic in order to protect the interests of the ISP or others and should obtain "Good Samaritan" immunity from liability for such action.
  
  
• When serving as the hosts for Internet content, whether on a website, news group, chat room, third-party transaction site or other application, ISPs should have no liability for content that was not created by the ISP. But ISPs should accept responsibility for disabling access to such hosted content in accordance with procedures in an applicable law, such as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, or a court order. ISPs should retain the right to voluntarily disable access to content that they host and should obtain "Good Samaritan" immunity from liability for such action.
  
  
• An ISP's obligation to disable access to hosted content should be based upon: (a) clear and specific identification of the content in question; (b) the technical and economic feasibility of disabling access to the content in question; and (c) a legal framework or court order establishing the ISP's obligation to disable access to the content in question, and immunity from liability if they do so.
  
  
• As a general rule the law applicable to Internet content should be the law of the jurisdiction in which the content is stored. Such a rule creates predictability and incentives for safe and secure electronic commerce.