Top 10 policy ideas from IIA's Digital Economy Paper

6. Consult the public before signing ACTA

The IIA stopped short of requesting the Federal Government reject the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) outright. But it did call for greater transparency in ensuring any signing of such a treaty would meet the public's interest (particularly the industry's interests).

"Australia should not agree to sign on to any concluded Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement text without first allowing a full and proper public consultation and debate to occur," the report said.

Any consideration of ACTA would also require greater industry protection under "safe harbour", the report said.

At present, telcos and ISPs are granted "safe harbour" - a form of legal protection - under the Copyright Act for the actions of their subscribers. But many IIA members - such as web hosts, search engines and universities, are not afforded the same protection.

"Political parties must commit to reforming the Copyright Act to extend safe harbour protection beyond ISPs to pick up content hosts, universities, auction platforms, user generated content sites and other online services consistent with spirit of the AU/USA Free Trade Agreement," the report said.

7. Encourage the use of commercial models to solve P2P problems, not the courts

Considering one of the IIA's clients is the target of a legal challenge in an attempt to address rampant copyright abuse on the internet, it came as no surprise that the IIA continued to push for content to be made "accessible, affordable, and legally available" online as an alternative to lawsuits.

The paper argued that at the right price and right level of convenience, the incentive to download pirated material would be reduced on a considerable scale.

8. Don't go overboard with 4G spectrum auction

Telcos the world over felt aggrieved at being squared off against each other in auctions for 3G mobile spectrum at the turn of the decade.

As the next generation of services matures, the Federal Government is considering the auctioning off of the 'digital dividend' spectrum that is currently used for analogue free to air television.

The IIA's paper asks that the Government first conducts a "public benefit test" to ensure that any spectrum allocation "is based on national interest considerations, recognising spectrum's role in broadband, and broadband's role as an enabler of innovation across the economy."

In other words, if spectrum is priced too high, telcos will have to charge high prices for services. The Government needs to balance the state of its coffers with the price Australians will expect to pay for mobile services.

9. Continue to make Government data accessible

The report recommended the Federal Government continue on its journey to make public sector information "open, accessible and reusable." This, the paper said, would help drive adoption of high-speed broadband services.

10. Don't over-regulate

The report calls for the Government to "benchmark" local regulations and initiatives against other Western democracies, with a view to ensuring Australia becomes a "Net-friendly destination for innovation and investment.

"We don't seek to argue against appropriate regulation," the paper said, in one of its more eloquent moments.

"But we must be aware of what we're dealing with. The internet is not a monolithic media form but an inconceivably vast and rapidly evolving series of interconnected technology platforms serving almost two billion people, involving hundreds of millions of machines, accessible and alterable in real time (increasingly by mobile devices), relying increasingly on encryption for privacy and security and recognising no jurisdiction other than cyberspace itself."

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