PFF has just published the transcript for an event we hosted last month asking “What Should the Next Communications Act Look Like?” The event featured (in order of appearance) Link Hoewing of Verizon, Walter McCormick of US Telecom, Peter Pitsch of Intel, Barbara Esbin, Ray Gifford of Wilkinson, Barker, Knauer, and Michael Calabrese of the New America Foundation. It was a terrific discussion and it couldn’t have been more timely in light of recent regulatory developments at the FCC. The folks at NextGenWeb were kind enough to make a video of the event and post it online along with a writeup, so I’ve included that video along with the event transcript down below the fold. Continue reading →
I’ll be doing some live-Tweeting from today’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC) workshop, “Will Journalism Survive the Internet Age?” This workshop will feature various experts discussing the FTC’s 47-page “staff discussion draft,” which outlines “Potential Policy Recommendations to Support the Reinvention of Journalism.”
Looks like most people will just be using the #FTC hashtag and perhaps #journalism as well. My Twitter handle is @AdamThierer and I think @BerinSzoka will be here later, too.
Here’s some additional background on why this debate is so controversial:
On June 29th, The Progress & Freedom Foundation (PFF) and the Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI) will co-host a National Press Club briefing entitled “Sending an Online Safety Message to Congress.” This event will feature a discussion about the recently released report of the Online Safety and Technology Working Group (OSTWG), “Youth Safety on a Living Internet.” OSTWG — a congressionally-mandated blue ribbon working group — analyzed the state of online child safety and offered policymakers and parents a wide array of recommendations for how to keep kids safe and secure in today’s “always-on,” interconnected world. [For more background on OSTWG and our final report, see this post.] Several OSTWG leaders will be on hand to discuss the report and outline the next steps that need to be taken on this front. Here are the details.
| What: |
Sending an Online Safety Message to Congress — A discussion about the OSTWG final report and the future of childrens’ online safety and public policy. |
| When: |
Tuesday, June 29
9:00 a.m. – 10:45 p.m. (breakfast provided) |
| Where: |
National Press Club
First Amendment Lounge, 13th Floor 529 14th Street NW Washington, D.C. 20515 |
| Who: |
Hemanshu Nigam, Founder, SSP Blue, and Co-Chair of OSTWG
Larry Magid, Co-Director, ConnectSafety.org
Michael McKeehan, Executive Director, Internet & Technology Policy, Verizon
Adam Thierer President, The Progress & Freedom Foundation
Stephen Balkam Chief Executive Officer, Family Online Safety Institute, (moderator) |
To Register: Space is limited, so an RSVP is required to attend. Please register here.
Final reminder about tomorrow’s PFF event on “Can Government Help Save the Press?” Again, the event will take place from 9 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. in the International Gateway Room, Mezzanine Level of the Ronald Reagan Building on 1300 Pennsylvania Ave, N.W. here in DC. This event will examine the FCC’s “Future of Media” proceeding and debate what role the government should play (if any) in sustaining struggling media enterprises, “saving journalism,” or promoting more “public media” or “public interest” content. The event includes a keynote address by Ellen P. Goodman, who is a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the FCC and is assisting the FCC’s Future of Media team. After Ellen Goodman brings us up to speed with where the FCC’s Future of Media process stands, we’ll hear from a diverse panel of experts that includes:
Hope to see some of you tomorrow morning at 9:00!
We’ve added a couple of new speakers to next Thursday’s PFF event on “Can Government Help Save the Press?” Again, the event will take place on Thursday, May 20, 2010 from 9 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. in the International Gateway Room, Mezzanine Level of the Ronald Reagan Building on 1300 Pennsylvania Ave, N.W. here in DC. This event will examine the FCC’s “Future of Media” proceeding and debate what role the government should play (if any) in sustaining struggling media enterprises, “saving journalism,” or promoting more “public media” or “public interest” content. [PFF filed comments in the proceeding and here’s a list of other “major” comments that were filed.]
Our May 20th event will feature a keynote address by Ellen P. Goodman, who is a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the FCC and is assisting the FCC’s Future of Media team. After Ellen Goodman brings us up to speed with where the FCC’s Future of Media process stands, we’ll hear from a diverse panel of experts that includes:
And I still might add one more. I hope you will come join us next Thursday, May 20th at 9:00 for this exciting event. Please sign up now!
Thought you all might be interested in this upcoming PFF event on “Can Government Help Save the Press?” It will take place on Thursday, May 20, 2010 from 8:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. in the International Gateway Room, Mezzanine Level of the Ronald Reagan Building on 1300 Pennsylvania Ave, N.W. here in DC. This event will consider the FCC’s “Future of Media” proceeding (comments are due this Friday) and debate what role the government should play (if any) in sustaining struggling media enterprises, “saving journalism,” or promoting more “public media” or “public interest” content. [You can find all our essays about this here.]
The event will feature a keynote address by Ellen P. Goodman of the FCC’s Future of Media team. Ellen is one of the sharpest minds in the media policy universe today, and a real asset to the FCC team. She is a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the FCC, a Research Fellow at American University’s Center for Social Media, and a Visiting Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School of Communications. She is also a Professor at Rutgers University School of Law at Camden, specializing in information law and policy. She has spoken before a wide range of audiences around the world on media policy issues, has consulted with the U.S. government on communications policy, and served as an advisor to President Obama’s presidential campaign and transition team.
After Ellen Goodman brings us up to speed with where the FCC’s Future of Media process stands, we’ll hear from a diverse panel of experts that I am still busy assembling. But so far it includes Charlie Firestone of the Aspen Institute, who will be on hand to discuss the work he’s been doing with the Knight Commission on this front. I’ve also invited a rep from the Newspaper Association of America to come and talk about the diversity of new media monetization models that they have been aggregating. (Check out the appendix of their outstanding FTC filing last Nov.) And Kurt Wimmer of Covington & Burling, who represents broadcasters among others, will talk about the need for regulatory flexibility / forbearance, especially on ownership issues. Again, more panelists to come. But please sign up now!
On Friday, May 7th from 9:00 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. at the National Press Club, The Progress & Freedom Foundation will hold a panel discussion entitled, “What Should the Next Communications Act Look Like?” This event will consider the implications of the recent Comcast v. FCC court decision, the FCC’s pending “Net Neutrality” Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, as well as other developments which have lead many experts, officials, policymakers and a diverse array of companies to call on Congress to update the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Leading industry veterans will make their case for change, and explain how their proposals can be implemented. Our expect panel will include:
- Thomas J. Tauke, Executive Vice President – Public Affairs, Policy and Communications, Verizon Communications
- Peter Pitsch, Associate General Counsel and Executive Director of Communications Policy, Intel
- Walter McCormick, President & CEO, United States Telecom Association
- Ray Gifford, Partner, Wilkinson, Barker, Knauer, LLP
- Michael Calabrese, Vice President, New America Foundation
- Barbara Esbin, Senior Fellow, The Progress & Freedom Foundation
Please RSVP here is you plan to join us on May 7th for this event. Again, it will take place from 9:00 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. at the National Press Club (Holeman Lounge, 13th Floor, 529 14th Street NW). Hope to see you there.
Just a reminder that PFF is hosting a panel discussion on “Cable, Broadcast & the First Amendment: Will the Supreme Court End Must-Carry?” this Tuesday (April 27th) from 10:00-11:45 a.m at Hogan & Hartson LLP (555 13th Street NW, Washington, DC). To hold a seat, please RSVP for the event here.
The event features an all-star cast representing all sides (cable, broadcast and programming) of the fight over the FCC’s must-carry rules, which require cable television systems to dedicate some of their channels to local broadcast television stations. The Supreme Court narrowly upheld these “must-carry” rules in the mid-1990s. But last year’s DC Circuit decision striking down the FCC’s 30% cap on cable ownership lead Cablevision to challenge the must-carry rules. The Supreme Court will soon announce whether it will review the Second Circuit’s decision last June upholding the rules. Speakers at our event include:
- Dan Brenner, Partner, Hogan & Hartson LLP; former director of regulatory and legal affairs at the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA)
- Matt Brill, Partner, Latham & Watkins LLP; counsel for Discovery Communications, amicus in Cablevision case; former Senior Legal Advisor to FCC Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy
- Jack Goodman, Counsel, WilmerHale; former general counsel of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB)
- Howard Symons, Member, Mintz Levin; counsel for Cablevision; former Senior Counsel to House Subcommittee on Telecommunications
Berin Szoka and I will co-moderate the session. Hope to see you Tuesday. Register for the event here.
We at The Progress & Freedom Foundation announced a series of eight upcoming policy events today, taking the place of our previously scheduled Sundance Summit. Beginning this month, the events will run through the summer in the nation’s capital. By moving these events closer to home in this manner, PFF will be better positioned to speak to legislators, policymakers, and tech policy press before Washington turns its attention to the midterm elections.
The series of events (which you can add to your calendar here) will include several breakfast and luncheon panel presentations and two half-day conferences. Covering such areas as communications and competition policy, digital property, digital media freedom and Internet freedom, the events will include:
- Tuesday, April 27: “Cable, Broadcast & the First Amendment: Will the Supreme Court End Must-Carry?” — A panel of experts will debate the future of “must carry” rules in the wake of a new challenge to their constitutionality by Cablevision, and what this decision could mean for other media. (RSVP here)
- Friday, May 7: “What Should the Next Communications Act Look Like?” — A discussion with key industry stakeholders about the future of the Telecom Act in the wake of the Comcast v. FCC decision and the looming battle over Title II reclassification of broadband. (RSVP here)
- Thursday, May 20: “Can Government Help Save the Press?” — This conference will discuss the FCC’s new “Future of Media” proceeding and debate what role government should play in subsidizing the press or bailing out failing media enterprises. (RSVP here)
- Monday, June 7: “The Future of Speech on the Borderless Internet” — A panel of leading cyberlawyers will discuss trans-national regulation and litigation of defamation, hate speech, indecency and political dissent. (RSVP here)
- Monday, June 21: “Sports Programming & the Challenges of Digital Piracy“— A discussion of the challenges that digital piracy, including unauthorized streaming, poses to professional and collegiate sports that have traditionally earned revenues from telecasts of games, bouts, etc. Continue reading →
The Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee is hosting their second annual State of the Mobile Net conference this Wednesday, April 21 at the DC Hyatt Regency (400 New Jersey Ave NW). The conference runs 12-5 pm followed by a cocktail reception. This conference and the larger State of the Net conference are probably the two best annual Internet policy events in DC, so I hope you’ll attend! This year’s SOMN includes a bonus: a “Growing Up with the Mobile Net” seminar coordinated by Common Sense Media, 9-11:45 am. I’ll be on the first panel of the morning on Kids’ Privacy on the Mobile Net: Is it PII or TMI? with:
- Amanda Lenhart of the Pew Internet & American Life Project, veritable goddess of cyber-sociological data (check out her terrific Social Media & Young Adults report);
- Phyllis Marcus, who handles childrens’ privacy and COPPA issues at the FTC (and is one of my favorite people there); and
- Alan Simpson, Common Sense Media, a tireless advocate for educating children & parents.
I can only assume Alan asked me to be on this distinguished panel panel to represent kids directly on account of my baby-faced-ness! Jerry Rubin famously said, “Don’t trust anyone over thirty”—so I’ve still got 3.5 months of trustworthiness to go! (Or perhaps he actually read the huge PFF paper Adam Thierer and I did last summer about COPPA and my recent post on the FTC’s recently announced COPPA implementation review or my testimony on Maine’s COPPA 2.0 law.) Anyway, the rest of the day looks great (so register here), including these sessions: Continue reading →
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