Tech policy issues play a prominent role in the Democratic Party's 2012 platform, released this week for the party's national convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. The document touts an active federal role in a wide variety of tech policy issues, from copyright enforcement to the expansion of broadband Internet access.

Both major US party platforms endorse "Internet freedom"—but for both parties the phrase comes with important caveats. Last week, the Republicans called for "vigorous enforcement of current laws on all forms of pornography and obscenity," as well as the preservation of the ban on online gambling. The Democrats are silent on pornography and gambling, but they make the case for "vigorous" copyright enforcement efforts.

Vigor!

"The administration is vigorously protecting US intellectual property," the new Democratic platform declares, through "better enforcement and innovative approaches such as voluntary efforts by all parties to minimize infringement while supporting the free flow of information." That's a reference to things like the "graduated response" system in which ISPs would penalize their users if they were accused of copyright infringement six times. (The White House helped brokered the deal between major ISPs and Hollywood.)

Another policy that fits the theme of "vigorous" enforcement (though it isn't named specifically) is Operation In Our Sites. Under that program, the federal government has seized hundreds of allegedly infringing domain names before the site owners had a chance to be heard.

President Obama also has his party's backing on the use of trade negotiations as a lever to pressure other countries to adopt American-style copyright and patent laws. While it doesn't mention the controversial ACTA treaty, the Democratic platform promotes the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement and praises "free trade" agreements with Panama and Colombia for "protecting labor rights, the environment, and intellectual property."

Democrats also take credit for having "reformed the patent system to speed approval of investors’ patents and provide alternatives to wasteful litigation." That's a reference to last year's America Invents Act, which—as we predicted—has not slowed down the surge in patent litigation. The platform contains no mention of the continued problems with the patent system or the need for more substantive reforms.

The Republican platform, released last week, was largely silent on patent and copyright issues. These issues are mentioned only in the context of accusing foreign countries—especially China—of failing to protect Americans' copyright and patent rights.

Defining freedom

The Democrats' stance on these issues is especially frustrating because many advocates of copyright and patent reform hail from the political left. (Copyright reformer Larry Lessig was a strong supporter of the Obama campaign in 2008, for instance). Yet advocates of reforming the copyright and patent systems appear to have had modest impact on either Obama administration policies or on the 2012 Democratic platform. If anything, the Democrats appear to have adopted an even more Hollywood-friendly stance than the Republicans.

Some public interest groups have gamely tried to spin the two platforms as a victory for Internet freedom. David Segal of Demand Progress, a group that played a key role in stopping the Stop Online Piracy Act earlier this year, called it a "huge victory for the Internet" that both the Democratic and Republican platforms formally endorse the concept.

But specifics speak louder than generalities. Obviously, everyone is happy to endorse "Internet freedom" in the abstract. But the administration's actions over the last three years suggests that it places a premium on currying favor with Hollywood, just as the Republicans' nominal commitment to Internet freedom takes a back seat to conservatives' opposition to pornography and gambling. Or consider net neutrality, where supporters want to use government power to keep the Internet "free" for users, while opponents want to keep the Internet "free" from the application of such power. Both sides use the same words, but they're not talking about the same things.