Net Neutrality 2.0

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Thursday, 3:00 p.m., webcast at http://cfp2010.org

Net Neutrality is a core component of maintaining an open and universal Internet infrastructure supporting and sustaining our culture and democracy. It should be a central civil, social, and societal concern for the Internet ecosystem. The panel will focus on Net Neutrality regulations and the activities at the Federal Communications Commission. We will discuss the rules being developed, and the impact of the rules on innovation and on the digital divide.


Speakers

  • Catherine Sandoval: Professor of Law, Santa Clara University School of Law.
  • Barbara van Schewick: Assistant Professor of Law and (by Courtesy) Electrical Engineering, Director, Center for Internet and Society, Stanford Law School

Detailed Description

The Federal Communications Commission is currently conducting a rulemaking proceeding on the subject of Net Neutrality. This panel will focus on the rulemaking proceeding, and will give the audience an overview of the process and an update on the status of the proposed rules and their potential impact on innovation and the digital divide.

Panelists will discuss the proposed rules in the context of the Comcast Bit Torrent controversy, the Comast-NBC merger and the National Broadband Plan. Panelists will also discuss whether the proposed rules will promote or frustrate the emergence of the next Silicon Valley boom, and whether all citizens will be able to participate in that boom and benefit from it.

Although the impact of net neutrality on innovation and entrepreneurship is a matter of significant concern, net neutrality is not merely a business issue. It is a core component of the broader goal of creating an open and universal Internet infrastructure, capable of supporting and sustaining our culture and our democracy. It is therefore a central civil, social, and societal concern for all those involved in the Internet ecosystem, including the users and the content and application developers, particularly as those lines blur. Panelists will address these issues as well.