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Symantec participates in shaping public policy around issues that affect its industry, business, products, and customers. We partner with business and trade organizations and work with local, regional, and national lawmakers and government agencies to influence policy and legislation. These activities allow Symantec to better accomplish its mission to protect the integrity and unimpeded flow of the world’s information.
The public-policy issues we face are broad and cover many aspects of consumer privacy, cybersecurity, and intellectual property protection.
Symantec’s top public-policy priority is to protect governments, businesses, organizations, and individuals from threats to the integrity and free flow of information.
Protection of Privacy/Personal Data
Symantec supports legislators’ effort to protect privacy. In the European Union (EU) where personal data protection is of key importance to citizens, legislation on personal data breach notification is being developed in order to maximize on-line privacy. Symantec supports an independent EU Advisory Body on Data Protection and Privacy and advocates for the widening of notification obligation to include data brokers, banks and other online service providers.
Symantec supports efforts to curb unwanted and illicit spyware. We believe that anti-spyware legislation must be carefully crafted in order to protect consumers yet still preserve legitimate technologies. In the United States, Symantec was active in efforts to ensure that anti-spyware legislation at the Federal and State level does not restrict certain features legitimately sought by Symantec consumers.
The issue of spyware is also an emerging international topic. Symantec briefed government officials and industry leaders on spyware at the first security seminar organized by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a multilateral organization comprising the leading global economies, and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), which represents the United States and Asia-Pacific rim economies.
Policymakers, particularly in the United States, continue to seek ways to address consumer complaints about unsolicited commercial email, known as spam. Symantec has worked closely with the US Federal government and several states, including the Wisconsin governor’s office and the Wisconsin State Senate sponsor regarding anti-spam legislation. Symantec has also developed an anti-spam prosecution solution to help states collect, interpret, and present the necessary data for the successful prosecution of spammers.
On an international level, Symantec participated in the drafting of the OECD Anti-spam tool kit launched in 2006 to support the development of an inclusive and coherent answer to the spam issue. The Anti-Spam “Toolkit” is the first step in a broader initiative to help policy makers, regulators and industry players orient their policies relating to spam solutions and restore trust in the Internet and e-mail.
Symantec is a leading member of the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA). We supported the recent NCSA launch of a national cybersecurity-awareness campaign, complete with televised public-service announcements and the "Stay Safe Online" website, which is aimed at helping consumers, small businesses, and educational organizations protect themselves against online threats.
Symantec also worked with US legislators to designate October 2006 as National CyberSecurity Awareness Month. As a result of our efforts, the United States House of Representatives and thirty-eight state State Attorneys General thirty Governors issued proclamations to this effect.
Through our partnerships with various trade associations, we have taken a leading role in building industry consensus for balanced and workable legislation regarding consumer notification of significant data breaches. Symantec believes that requirements for prompt notification would lead businesses to improve the security of their enterprises and thereby better protect consumer data.
Software piracy
Every year, billions of dollars are lost to software piracy, which is the illegal distribution and/or copying of software for personal and/or business use. The harmful effects of software piracy reach far beyond the software publisher. While companies suffer a direct loss of sales, consumers also suffer because companies are often forced to raise prices or cut research and development funding to make up for revenue shortfalls due to piracy.
Symantec works closely with governments around the world to strengthen copyright protection for software, both in digital and physical form. According to industry estimates, in 2004 the global market value of software piracy climbed to an astonishing $33 billion. While piracy rates around the world have fallen modestly, the total dollar value of pirated software continues to rise.
In Asia, Symantec has helped to strengthen governmental efforts to fight software piracy. Singapore has criminalized corporate “end-user” piracy. Symantec is in close contact with government officials to ensure that a planned governmental campaign against end-user piracy targets entry-level security products. Similarly, Symantec has been monitoring efforts by the Chinese government to implement regulations that establish liability of internet service providers for hosting infringed content, including pirated software.
Symantec is a World Wide member of the Business Software Alliance (BSA), an organization formed in 1988 that spans 65 countries across North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. The mission of BSA is to advance free and open world trade for legitimate business software by advocating strong protection of intellectual property.
Partnering with consumers to fight crime
While we can draw upon BSA resources to prosecute software pirates, our best information comes from our consumers. If you know of or suspect an organization or an individual of committing software piracy, either through conventional distribution or over the internet (web or ftp site), please let us know. To report software piracy, use the BSA hotline number to call the chapter in your area or complete the report online.
Alternatively, if you would like to contact Symantec concerning a possible case of software piracy, please write to:
Symantec Corporation, Legal Department
20330 Stevens Creek Blvd.
Cupertino, California 95014-2132
or send an email message to the Symantec Webmaster. Be sure to include the words "piracy report" in the subject line of your message. Our investigators can use the information you provide to determine whether the case in question is indeed a case of software piracy, and whether any legal action is appropriate.
As we have grown over the past several years—we are now the fourth-largest software company in the world—we have become increasingly engaged in the political processes of the countries in which we make and sell our products.
In the United States, Symantec has formed a political action committee (PAC), which makes contributions to candidates for the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate. The PAC is funded by voluntary donations made by senior-level Symantec employees and company shareholders. Symantec evaluates potential recipients of PAC funds based on their support and understanding of our key public policy issues such as intellectual property protection, data security, privacy, and e-commerce and trade.
Symantec is a member of the following organizations
For information on Symantec government relations please visit our website
http://www.symantec.com/about/news/resources/press_kits/
detail.jsp?pkid=government
