On December 11 2019 the Internet Society held a Special Community Forum to launch its 2020 Action Plan. Presenters included Andrew Sullivan, President & CEO, Rinalia Abdul Rahim, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Implementation; Joseph Lorenzo Hall, Senior Vice President, Strong Internet, and Jane Coffin, Senior Advisor to the CEO, Connectivity & Infrastructure. A Q&A session was moderated by Joyce Dogniez, Vice President Community Engagement and Development. Finally, the winners of the 2019 Chapterthon were announced.
On Wednesday December 2 2019, at 4:30pm ET (21:30 UTC), the Internet Society Washington DC Chapter, DiploUS, and IGF-USA will host a roundtable to follow up on the 2019 Internet Governance Forum. From 25 to 29 November 2019 over 3,600 people gathered in Berlin to move the dialogue forward on some of the most pressing issues and questions facing the Internet, focusing on 3 main themes: Digital Inclusion; Data Governance; and Security, Safety, Stability, and Resilience. In addition, a major topic was “IGF Plus,” which has been proposed as a way to strengthen the current IGF structure to address the perceived shortcomings of the forum, such as a lack of actionable outcomes, or limited participation by governments and the private sector. Remote participation will be available via Zoom, as well as Livestream.
On December 6 2019 at 6pm CET (17:00 UTC) the Internet Society Serbia Belgrade Chapteris organizing a panel event in Belgrade with the theme Open Internet & 5G: A Challenge to Net Neutrality. 5G networks will radicalize many aspects of society such as health care, transport, public safety – just to mention a few. As this next generation of wireless service integrates into everyday life, there is an apparent conflict between 5G and net neutrality. New applications will depend on unprecedented levels of connectivity in terms of latency, bandwidth, and reliability. This can be achieved by techniques such as “slicing” the network according to the needs at hand. Yet, net neutrality relies on the view that “all bits are created equal”, that is to say, Internet Service Providers must treat all of the traffic equally. How then can 5G providers conform with net neutrality principles and regulations? Our panel of experts will take a close look at this and other related questions.
SPEAKERS Thomas Lohninger – epicenter.works Maja Mitić – Serbian Regulatory Agency for Electronic Communications (RATEL) Slobodan Marković – United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Bojan Kovačević – Vip mobile a member of the Telekom Austria Group
Moderator: Aranđel Bojanović, Internet Society Serbia Belgrade Chapter
On Tuesday 10 December 2019 at 18:00 UTC (1pm EST) Chatham House hosts a discussion ‘Who Runs the Internet: Internet Consolidation and Control‘ in London. In recent years, there has been a growing debate around the influence of a few large internet technology companies on the internet’s infrastructure and over the popular applications and social media platforms that we use every day. The internet which was once widely viewed as a collective platform for limitless, permissionless innovation, competition and growth, is now increasingly viewed as a consolidated environment dominated by a few. Such market dominance threatens to undermine the internet’s fundamental benefits as a distributed network in which no single entity has control.
The panel will examine the risks of consolidation throughout the internet’s technology stack such as the impact on complex supply chains that support applications, including cloud provisions, ‘as a service’. It will also explore the potential benefits, for example, when building out essential infrastructure to support faster and cheaper internet services in developing economies, consolidation can create economies of scale that bring the resource-intensive building blocks of the internet economy within the reach of new start-ups and innovators. The panel will provide an interdisciplinary perspective exploring the relationship between consolidation and evolutions in the internet infrastructure as well as unpacking its policy implications.
Participants Andrew Sullivan, President and CEO, Internet Society Jennifer Cobbe, Research Associate, Department of Computer Science and Technology, University of Cambridge Jesse Sowell, Assistant Professor, Department of International Affairs, Bush School of Government and Public Service, Texas A&M University
Chair: Emily Taylor, Associate Fellow, International Security, Chatham House, Editor, Journal of Cyber Policy
On Thursday December 5 2019 at 12pm EST (17:00 UTC) the Congressional Internet Caucus Academy hosts a panel “Blockchain Is Revolutionizing Your Digital Identity And Government Can Lead The Way” at Rayburn House in Washington DC. Blockchain technology is maturing rapidly and is opening new possibilities for innovation across spectrums. For example, digital identity initiatives such as ID2020, Workday’s Digital Credentials, or even the US Government as outlined in a recent NIST report. With the promise of transformative impacts comes higher expectations on efficiency, privacy, and security. Congressional policy can play a key role in spurring the technology by creating an underlying legal framework that supports its use.
Speakers: Tiffany Angulo, Legislative Director for Rep. David Schweikert; Dan Bachenheimer, Unique Identity Services, Accenture; James Cross, VP Product Strategy, Workday; Amy Davine Kim, Chief Policy Officer, Chamber of Digital Commerce; Dr. James Shook, Mathematician, Computer Security Division, NIST. Moderator: Lydia Beyoud, Reporter Bloomberg Law.
On Saturday December 7 2019, from 11am-3pm (14:00-18:00 UTC), the Internet Society NY Chapter (ISOC-NY) will join theNAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF) and co-partners to host Automating Bias: How Computers Are Making Decisions About Your Life. New York City agencies are relying on algorithms or Automated Decision Systems (ADSs) to make decisions about every major area of New Yorkers’ lives, including Public Housing, Education, Employment, Child Welfare, and Policing. While ADSs are pitched as being “objective,” these technologies frequently target and harm communities of color, low-income residents, youths, immigrants and religious communities, communities with disabilities, and more. This is a community-led event to learn more about this widely-used technology, and how NYC residents can demand change in its adoption and operation. The event will be webcast live on the Internet Society Livestream Channel.
On Tuesday November 19 2019 at 1pm EST (18:00 UTC) the Internet Society Jamaica Chapter (ISOC Jamaica) will present its inaugural public seminar – Now and Beyond – Data Accessibility, Technology and Innovation. This seminal initiative by ISOC Jamaica is two-fold: 1) to officially launch our Chapter, and 2) to facilitate discourse on topical areas that should, and must, be of interest to the Government, private sector organisations, academia, and citizens. The event will be co-hosted by the CompTIA and the University of the Commonwealth Caribbean (UCC) and will be webcast live via the Internet Society Livestream Channel.
PROGRAM:
Keynote Speaker – Honourable Fayval Williams, Minister of Science, Energy and Technology
Special address by Mr. Leonard Wadewitz, CompTIA Director, Latin America and the Caribbean
Panel Discussion No. 1: Open Data, Open Standards, and Blockchain
Panel Discussion No. 2: IoT and Cybersecurity. Special Guest: Mr. Shernon Osepa
Today Monday November 18 2019 at 11am EST (16:00 UTC) the Internet Society Livestream Channel will restream of the Accessibility NYC Meetup from last Tuesday. Presenter Thomas Logan reviews a recent W3C workshop ‘Inclusive Design for Immersive Web standards‘ held in Seattle. The aim is to establish Virtual and Augmented Reality (XR) standards for the Web. The presentation includes:What are XR Accessibility User Needs; Key principles of making XR experiences accessible; Lessons from existing Accessible XR products & prototypes; Conclusions from the Workshop.
On December 11 2019 the Internet Society held a Special Community Forum to launch its 2020 Action Plan. Presenters included Andrew Sullivan, President & CEO, Rinalia Abdul Rahim, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Implementation; Joseph Lorenzo Hall, Senior Vice President, Strong Internet, and Jane Coffin, Senior Advisor to the CEO, Connectivity & Infrastructure. A Q&A session was moderated by Joyce Dogniez, Vice President Community Engagement and Development. Finally, the winners of the 2019 Chapterthon were announced.
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