VIDEO: Brad Burnham – A Narrative on the Threat to Internet Freedom #netfreedom

Brad Burnham of Union Square Ventures – A Narrative on the Threat to Internet Freedom – in the Computers & Society Speaker Series at the Courant Institute NYC on Nov 29 2012.

The Internet is fundamentally transforming the entire global economy by making it possible for anyone, anywhere to create services quickly and inexpensively and reach a global market immediately. The Internet has opened up markets and unleashed innovation at a scale never seen before. But now that freedom to innovate is being threatened.

A year ago, internet users fought back spectacularly to fend off PIPA and SOPA– two pieces of overreaching copyright legislation—and sent a clear message to policy makers that a frontal assault on Internet freedoms would not work. But no user can track all of the regulatory efforts to limit Internet freedom being put forward in international treaties, state capitals or municipal ordinances. Brad provides a model for evaluating the many efforts to “civilize” the Internet from the perspective of who is really helped and who is harmed by each new regulation.