Today, Wednesday May 2 2018, Internet Society President & Ceo Kathy Brown delivered keynote remarks at the Cyber South School on Internet Governance in Washington DC. As well as her prepared remarks about trust and security, she answered a question about network neutrality. Video is below.
This week, Monday-Wednesday February 26-28 2018, the Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network and the Government of Canada host the 2nd Global Internet and Jurisdiction Conference in Ottawa, Canada. Representatives from a wide range of stakeholder groups will address one of the great global governance challenges of today: how to manage the coexistence of national laws on the internet and, at the same time, work toward the development of policy standards and operational solutions to fight abuses, protect human rights, and enable the global digital economy. Speakers: Kathy Brown, President & CEO, Internet Society, Vint Cerf, Co-Founder, Internet Society, Nii Quaynor, Internet Hall of Fame, Rebecca MacKinnon, Director of Ranking Digital Rights, New America Foundation, Anriette Esterhuysen, Director of Policy and Strategy, Association for Progressive Communications; Joseph Cannataci, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Privacy, plus senior representatives of many countries and corporations. Plenary sessions will be webcast live via YouTube. Ottawa is on EST, same as NYC (UTC-5).
Today Sep 22 2017, is the 12th annual One Web Day. Founded in 2006 by Susan Crawford One Web Day is a counterpart to Earth Day on April 22, with a focus on celebrating and sustaining a fully connected planet. Every year there is a theme, and the 2017 theme is “Open The Pipes“, in recognition of the need for cheap and accessible backhaul for Community Networks. The highlighted video is a section of Kathy Brown‘s speech atthe Mobile World Congress in Shanghai earlier in the year.
As you will hopefully be aware, today July 12 is a designated ‘Internet-wide Day of Action‘ with the main purpose of creating sufficient ruckus to make the FCC think twice about rescinding its Open Internet Order.
I write, personally, rather than institutionally, to clarify hopefully the Internet Society’s position on this, which is somewhat nuanced.
Firstly, we welcome the day of action, and indeed any activity that raises the awareness of the network and its governance. Secondly, we thoroughly endorse the principles and spirit of openness that drive it.
That said, there are certain aspects of the Net Neutrality concept and effort that give us pause, the main one being the idea that central authorities should tell people how to run their networks. The historical reason the Internet grew, while its peers vanished, was just this lack of control, husbanded by an ad hoc system of organization, exemplified by the IETF, of multistakeholder collaboration. This came to be called, in fact, ‘the Internet model’.
Globally as, increasingly, authoritarian impulses drive attempts to control, or shatter the integrity of, the Internet abound, ISOC’s role to advocate against such efforts is clear. Oe of the main ways we do this, and I recommend a viewing ofKathy Brown’s keynote at the Mobile World Congress in Shanghai a couple of weeks back, is to encourage continuing local-driven growth at the edges i.e. community networks. In that speech, Kathy strongly urges cell carriers to support, and open their networks to, traffic from such communities, arguing that the resulting network effects will benefit everyone.
This, I would suggest, is where the struggle lies today, in building sustainable modes of bottom up access to the network, rather than campaigning against yet-to-be manifested horrors of monopolistic manipulation. Fast lanes and slow lanes are beside the point. The rallying cry should be “OPEN THE PIPES!“
Joly, Thank you for your excellent post on Day of Action.
So very important that the open nature of our Internet not be lost, but Verizon and their lawyers prefer to attempt to work to degrade the Internet to become a scarce, costly resource.
They are wrong, the tides of history, technology, evolution are against them. They will lose, but are in process of harming the Internet as they try to undercut progress.
Verizon is using the Federal Communications Commission to continue what we call “astroturfing”.
No honor here for what has become a shambles of a telephone company, as they continue to resist progress. They have lost, perhaps can find survival in becoming a remote alarm company.
Today Thursday May 11 2017 the Internet Society and Royal Institute of International Affairs present A Brave New World: How does the Internet Affect Societies? at Chatham House in London UK. Part of the Internet Society’s 25th Anniversary program, a roundtable will examine the question: Is the Internet eliminating divisions in society, or is it accentuating them? . Keynote: Prof. Dr. Erik Huizer, CTO SURFnet. Speakers: Dr. Ismail Syed Shah, Chairman, Pakistan Telecommunications Authority; Mr. James Arroyo, OBE, Director for Data, Foreign and Commonwealth Office; Ms. Unoma Ndili Okarafor, Ph.D. Founder & CEO at Herbal Papaya, WAAW Foundation; Ms. Rebecca MacKinnon, Director of the Ranking Digital Rights project at New America. Moderator: Ms. Kathryn Brown, President and CEO, Internet Society. The event will be webcast live on theInternet Society Livestream Channel and YouTube. London is 5 hours ahead of NYC.
On April 8 2017 ISOC-NY received the following memo from the Internet Society Global Policy team’s Constance Bommelaer:
As G20 discussions wrap in Düsseldorf, we wanted to share with you the Digital Economy Declaration that was adopted today, outlining a path for a strong digital future. But as world leaders head home, we must remember there is still work to be done.
In the months leading up to the high-level meeting, The Internet Society sent a strong message that a sustainable digital economy depends on an Internet we trust, and that encryption can help make it happen.
We need to keep saying this.
To that end, our President and CEO – Kathy Brown – has published an opinion piece today on The Internet Society’s website
We ask that you share this post with your contacts and on channels.
This marks the acceleration of our efforts to send the message to governments that encryption is a positive thing. As Kathy Brown wrote in a comment to Morning Tech, “It is time to stop kicking the encryption football up and down the field. Instead, we should recognize that encryption is key to the future digital economy and stop treating it as simply an obstacle to law enforcement. We need to deconstruct the issues faced by law enforcement and agree together how we can achieve a trusted digital economy underpinned by encryption.”
If you want to read more coverage of our message, please see the following news articles:
Today Monday June 5 2016 the Internet Society will present a session “Connected Women” at the African Internet Summit 2016 in Gaborone, Botswana. The Connected Women event will explore how we can all work together to overcome cultural barriers and promote greater involvement of women developing and utilising Internet technology across Africa. It will be centered on shining the light on Africa’s digital trailblazers; celebrating the success of African women and men who have brought about significant change through their work in ICT and promoting open dialogue amongst participants in the room. Speakers: Evelyn Namara, Founder & CTO, Innovate Uganda; Dorcas Muthoni, Founder & CEO, OpenWorld Ltd (Kenya); Agang Ditlhogo, Co-Founder, The Clicking Generation (Botswana); Michuki Mwangi, Regional Development Manager – Africa & Middle East, Internet Society. Moderator: Kathryn Brown, President & CEO, Internet Society. The session will be webcast on the Internet Society Livestream Channel.
Today, Tuesday May 10 2016 theMicrosoft Innovation & Policy Center and the Greater Washington DC Chapter of the Internet Society (ISOC-DC) for a panel discussion Is The Internet Fragmenting? in Washington DC. Recent developments related to the Internet have prompted alarming questions about whether it is fragmenting. They include a diverse set of technical, economic, and policy developments and decisions that have been taken in response to the continued growth and globalization of the Internet, and its evolving role as critical infrastructure for the digital economy. Examples include a rise in DNS content filtering, deployment of distinct IPv4 and IPv6 networks, introduction of zero rating services, and an increasing number of laws related to data localization and restriction of cross-border data flow. Taken together, they raise an overarching concern over whether the global Internet is moving from a universal system to one characterized by various types of fragmentation that are caused either by intended or unintended consequences of technical, commercial, and/or political decision taken without full consideration of their potential impact. Policy stakeholders, including government, the technical community, civil society, industry, and other organizations to consider these issues more fully. Panelists will discuss the different types of Internet fragmentation, their associated technical, economic, and political impacts and when fragmentation may be desirable or problematic. Additionally, the panelists will examine how these should be taken into consideration in policy making. Keynote: Ambassador Daniel A. Sepulveda, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, U.S. Department of State. Panel: Kathryn Brown, President and Chief Executive Officer, Internet Society; Dr. Laura DeNardis, Professor and Associate Dean, School of Communication at American University, Director of Research, Global Commission on Internet Governance; Danil Kerimi, Head of Digital Economy, World Economic Forum; Paul Mitchell, Senior Director of Technology Policy, Microsoft; Jeremy West, Senior Policy Analyst, Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The event will be streamed live via Skype by Microsoft, and relayed on the Internet Society Livestream Channel.
Today, Wednesday May 2 2018, Internet Society President & Ceo Kathy Brown delivered keynote remarks at the Cyber South School on Internet Governance in Washington DC. As well as her prepared remarks about trust and security, she answered a question about network neutrality. Video is below.
Vrikson Ivan Acosta Velasquez are discussing. 
Gene Gaines is discussing. 
On April 8 2017 ISOC-NY received the following memo from the Internet Society Global Policy team’s Constance Bommelaer:
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