On Tuesday January 24 2017 the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society presented US Communications at a Crossroads at Harvard Law School. Professor Susan Crawford talked to outgoing Chair of the Federal Communications Commission Tom Wheeler about his work at the FCC, and where telecommunications might go under the next administration. Video is below:
On Thursday January 26 2017 USTelecom – a trade association representing broadband service providers and suppliers – hosted a ‘summit’ – Broadband First: Investing in America’s Infrastructure in Washington DC. Noting President Donald Trump’s “America’s Infrastructure First” policy calling for $1 trillion in new infrastructure investment, participants, including members of President Trump’s transition team, broadband innovators and leading policy experts, focused on the path forward for broadband infrastructure investment and policy. Speakers: Mark Jamison, Advisor to the Trump FCC transition team, Visiting Fellow with AEI’s Center for Internet, Communication, and Technology and the director and Gunter Professor of the Public Utility Research Center at the University of Florida; Kathleen Abernathy, Executive Vice President, Frontier; John Branscome, Senior Counsel, U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation; Robert Hunt, USTelecom Chairman and Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Business Operations, GVTC; David Redl, Chief Counsel, Communications and Technology, House Committee on Energy and Commerce; Marty Rubin, President & CEO, Smart City; Eric Small, Vice President, Commercial and MDU Solutions, AT&T; Jonathan Spalter, President & CEO, USTelecom. Video is below:
The Internet Society calls on all governments to stop Internet shutdowns. We are concerned by the increasing number of shutdowns around the world, often used in the context of elections, demonstrations or other tense social situations.
We believe such measures are disproportional and have a wide-range of negative effects on citizens, national and regional economies, the Internet’s stability and, ultimately, the country itself.
After some details bolstering the above, the statement concludes by strongly suggesting support for AccessNow’s Twitter Campaign aimed at key Cameroon decisionmakers.
Today Thursday January 26th, 2017 from 8am to Noon ET the first Trinidad and Tobago Internet Governance Forum (TTIGF) will be held in Port of Spain, Trinidad. The TTIGF will include a panel discussion on the theme “The Role of the Internet and the Digital Economy in the Sustainable Development of Trinidad and Tobago”. A live webcast is available on bothYouTube and the Internet Society Livestream Channel.
On Monday January 23 2017 the Internet Education Foundation(IEF) will host the 2017 State of the Net Conference at the Newseum in Washington DC. As the 115th Congress kicks off, attendees include some 300 congressional staff and other policymakers. Speakers include, from the Internet Society, Trustee Jason Livingood, North America Director Mark Buell, and Trust & Identity Program Lead Steve Olshansky. Other familiar names include Milton Mueller, George Sadowsky, Gigi Sohn, Andrea Glorioso, and Susan Aaronson. Congress will be represented by, from the House, Representatives Suzan DelBene and Bob Goodlatte and, from the Senate, Senators Brian Schatz and John Thune. The entire event will be webcast live on the Internet Society Livestream Channel.
On Tuesday January 24 2017 Future Tense will hold a lunchtime discussion – Will The Internet Always Be American? at the New America Foundation in Washington DC. Many leading Internet players are U.S. firms. What will resurging nationalism portend for the future of the American-centric internet and the values that initially defined it? Speakers: Rebecca MacKinnon, Director, Ranking Digital Rights, New America; Emily Parker, Future Tense Fellow, New America; Nu Wexler, Senior Manager of Communications, Twitter; Carolyn Nguyen, Director of Technology Policy, Microsoft; Ross Schulman, Senior Policy Counsel, Open Technology Institute; Jennifer Daskal, Associate Professor of Law, American University; Hao Wu, Fellow, New America; Ellery Roberts Biddle, Advocacy Director, Global Voices; Joshua Keating, Staff Writer, Slate. Moderator: Andrés Martinez, Editorial Director, Future Tense. The event will be webcast live on the New America YouTube Channel. Viewers are requested to RSVP.
Mark Buell, Regional Bureau Director, North America, Internet Society writes:
2017 promises to be a big year for the Internet and technology, with both great promise and great challenges ahead. 2016 brought some unexpected developments in the political realm, and the consequences for the Internet are only beginning to be felt across North America and the rest of the world.
This year also marks an important milestone for the Internet Society. In 2017, we will be celebrating ISOC’s 25th anniversary of championing an open and secure Internet for everyone. We have a number of activities planned, and look forward to continuing to work with all of you as we look forward to the next 25 years.
Whatever 2017 brings, the Internet Society will continue to advocate for policies and develop our own programs which support an open, accessible and multi-stakeholder-led model of Internet governance and expand access to more individuals and communities throughout North America and worldwide. Particularly on our radar in in North America for the new year will be issues surrounding cybersecurity and the Internet of Things, access and evolving Internet policies, but we will remain responsive to new developments as they occur. (More …)
On Friday Jan 13 2017 outgoing FCC Chair Tom Wheeler gave his final public address in the post – Communications at a Crossroads: Charting the Course Forward – at the Aspen Institute in Washington DC. He noted the many achievements during his term, including the Open Internet Order. He spoke passionately and forcefully about the importance of strong net neutrality rules to preserve the Open Internet as a platform for free expression and innovation, suggesting that the rules are working well, and that, historically, such constraints were always required on dominant networks. He also emphasized the vital civic role the FCC has to play in protecting privacy and security of US communications. See below:
Connecting.nyc Inc.’s founding director Tom Lowenhaupt will present an overview of his organization’s development plans for the JacksonHeights.nyc domain on Thursday, January 12, at 8 PM. The presentation will be made at the Jackson Heights Jewish Center, 37-06 77th St., a short walk from the Roosevelt Avenue – Jackson Heights subway stop on the E, F, M, and R trains, and the 7 train’s 74th Street station. The occasion will be the regular monthly meeting of theNew Visions Democratic Club. All are welcome to this free event.
Tom’s presentation will begin with a description of the .nyc TLD and the city’s hopes for its neighborhood names licensing program. Then, after a project history and timeline, he’ll describe the system’s initial features – a neighborhood resource directory and common calendar – and the ways neighbors and organizations may join in developing and using them. He’ll then speak of the long term potential as social and civic features are developed and introduced.
He’ll conclude with a discussion of the ways existing neighborhood organizations might benefit, and of the plans to transition control of the endeavor from Connecting.nyc to neighborhood residents.
On Tuesday January 24 2017 the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society presented US Communications at a Crossroads at Harvard Law School. Professor Susan Crawford talked to outgoing Chair of the Federal Communications Commission Tom Wheeler about his work at the FCC, and where telecommunications might go under the next administration. Video is below:
Gene Gaines is discussing. 
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