Sharon Kriech – Remote Participant Manager, ICANN Samiran Gupta – VP Stakeholder Engagement and Managing Director Asia Pacific, ICANN Kristy Buckley – Lead for Next Round’s Applicant Support Program, ICANN Org Aisha Harrell – Applicant Counselor for ASP Program, ICANN Org
APRALO Representatives
Amrita Choudhury – APRALO Justine Chew – APRALO
Pro Bono Service Providers & Mentors
Thomas Barrett – EnCirca Ahmad Aghar – WinSync Framework Vivek Goyal – LdotR Hong-Fu (Tom) Meng – DotChinese Christa Taylor – TLDz.school Henry Chan – Nominet UK Venkatesh Venkatasubramanian – DotUP Edmon Chung – DotAsia Shayan Rostam – Internet Naming Company Phil Buckingham -TLD Advice Alan Woods – CleanDNS Mark Datysgeld – Governance Primer
In the case of Cox v. Sony, in 2019, a Virginia jury awarded roughly $1 billion in statutory damages to a group of record labels, led by Sony, ruling that Cox had ‘secondary liability’ for copyright infringement by its users. In 2024, the Fourth Circuit validated that decision, but vacated the award and ordered a new damages trial. Cox successfully petitioned the Supreme Court to review the decision, asking whether an Internet service provider can be held secondarily liable for subscribers’ alleged copyright infringement—based largely on infringement notices and “repeat infringer” accusations—simply for continuing to provide access, and what legal standard should govern that liability.
In September 2025 the Internet Society (ISOC) filed an Amicus Brief in the case, urging the Supreme Court to reverse the Fourth Circuit’s secondary-liability rule, arguing it would force ISPs to police users and terminate whole accounts on mere allegations of copyright infringement. The brief warns this would disconnect innocent people from essential connectivity, undermine the Internet’s layered, multi-intermediary architecture, and incentivize privacy-eroding surveillance, while rights holders can instead sue account owners directly.
On September 16-18, 2025, the Indigenous Connectivity Institute (ICI) hosted the 9th Indigenous Connectivity Summit (ICS 2025) in Algonquin territory in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada This community-led forum is a focal point for Indigenous leadership and their partners to gather and collaborate on building a digital future on their terms.
01 Welcome and Opening Ceremony Fred McGregor – Emcee Elder Karen MacInnis YOUTUBE | PODCAST | SUMMARY EN / FR | TRANSCRIPT
02 Introducing the ICS Calls to Action Mark Buell Natalie Campbell – Internet Society / ICI YOUTUBE | PODCAST | SUMMARY EN / FR | TRANSCRIPT
03 Case study – Rapid Lynx Telecommunications Sherry McCuller – Rapid Lynx Telecommunications YOUTUBE | PODCAST | SUMMARY EN / FR | TRANSCRIPT
04 What Role Can AI Play in Digital Equity? Norman Valdez – CERIC / BrainTrainr Jeff Doctor – Animikii Olivia Craggs – First Nations Information Governance Centre (FNIGC) Dan Clouston – First Nations Technology Council (FNTC) Moderator: Gerry Lawson – UBC Commentary: Fred McGregor YOUTUBE | PODCAST | SUMMARY EN / FR | TRANSCRIPT
05 LEOs: the good – the bad – and the ugly Michelle Beck – Telesat Brenda Norris – First Mile Lyle Fabian – Katlotech Communications Madeleine Redfern – CanArctic Inuit Networks Moderator: Dr. Gordon Gow – University of Alberta YOUTUBE | PODCAST | SUMMARY EN / FR | TRANSCRIPT
06 Data Center Opportunities for Indigenous Communities Sharayah Lane – Internet Society (virtual) Michael McCormick – Wiikwenkoong Unceded Territory Skylee-Storm Hogan Stacey – FNIGC Moderator: Asennaienton Frank Horn YOUTUBE | PODCAST | SUMMARY EN / FR | TRANSCRIPT
07 Information Session – KatloTech Communications Lyle Fabian – CEO – KatloTech Communications YOUTUBE | PODCAST | SUMMARY EN / FR | TRANSCRIPT
08 Information Session – Sustainability and Efficiency in Networks Joaquin Wray – Equitable Origin YOUTUBE | PODCAST | SUMMARY EN / FR | TRANSCRIPT
12 The Role of Mentorship in Workforce Development Sarah Jacknife YOUTUBE | PODCAST | SUMMARY EN / FR | TRANSCRIPT
13 Engaging in Youth Policy Advocacy Courtney Comber – North End Connect, Winnipeg Jessica Brooks Darryl Blackbird Collin Obey Moderator: Majedah Hawk YOUTUBE | PODCAST | SUMMARY EN / FR | TRANSCRIPT
14 Changing Political Landscapes in Canada and the US: What Does It Means for Digital Equity? John Perrino – Internet Society Brenda Cook – Mohawk Network Davida Delmar – Navajo Nation / NDIA Moderator: Natalie Campbell – Internet Society YOUTUBE | PODCAST | SUMMARY EN / FR | TRANSCRIPT
16 Spectrum Advocacy: Are We Headed in the Right Direction? Lope Trjillo-Perdomo – Not2Far / IEEE Jonathan Fleury – Norway House / Cree Nation Tricia Toso – on behalf of Eeyou Communications Network Moderator: Dr. Gordon Gow – University of Alberta YOUTUBE | PODCAST | SUMMARY EN / FR | TRANSCRIPT
18 Have we made progress in building an Indigenous workforce in networking? Shawn Yellowbird – Standing Rock Innovations Peter Leaton – Sichuun Nikki Muswaggon – Manitoba SchoolNet Tricia Toso – on behalf of Eeyou Communications Network Moderator: Asennaienton Frank Horn – ICI YOUTUBE | PODCAST | SUMMARY EN / FR | TRANSCRIPT
19 First Mile Connectivity Consortium Update Tim Whiteduck – First Mile Connectivity Consortium Sally Braun – Western James Bay Telecom Network (Retired) Bill Murdoch – Norway House / Clear Sky Connections David Coty – Western James Bay Telecom Network Brian Macagee – Western James Bay Telecom Network Tricia Toso – on behalf of Eeyou Communications Network YOUTUBE | PODCAST | SUMMARY EN / FR | TRANSCRIPT
20 Mentoring Program for Indigenous Youth Asennaienton Frank Horn – ICI Candace Bennett – First Nations Housing Authority YOUTUBE | PODCAST | SUMMARY EN / FR | TRANSCRIPT
On September 6, 2025, BetaNYC hosted CityCamp NYC at the CUNY School of Law. This was the first such civic tech unconference in the city since 2014. Only the initial plenary session was a/v recorded, but scribes were assigned to every session. The event was sponsored by Reinvent Albanyand Database Tycoon.
On 2 September 2025, the Internet Society held its Q3 Chapters Call for the Middle East region, with the theme ‘Internet Infrastructure ‘Challenges in the MENA Region‘. A panel discussion explored key areas such as: the high cost and affordability of Internet services; persistent infrastructure gaps, particularly in rural and underserved areas; and outdated regulatory and policy hurdles. It was kicked off by a fun quiz on the functioning of the Chapters Advisory Council (ChAC).
SPEAKERS Christine Saegesser Baethge – Senior Director, Chapters and Special Interest Groups Flavio Wagner – Chair, Chapters Advisory Council Steering Committee Nermine El Saadany – Regional Vice President – Middle East, Internet Society Jad El Cham – Regional Manager, Public Policy, RIPE NCC Maher Alahmad – ISOC Palestine Ahmad Alsadeh – ISOC Palestine Heba Sayed – Vice Chair, Chapters Advisory Council Steering Committee Jack Bakaev – ISOC Lebanon Rami Elshaheibi – ISOC Libya Tarik Merghani – ISOC Sudan Hanna Kreitem – Director, Internet Technology and Development, Internet Society Abdulrahman Abotaleb – ISOC Yemen Rehab Alamour – President, Cooperation for Community Development Association, Palestine
Moderator / Host: Hanna Sabbagh – Community Engagement Manager, ME & Africa, , Internet Society
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