Personal Democracy Forum 2008
Note by Ms, Kathy Gill:
Set up question from Andrew (moderator): you've been elected president - what one tech policy would you implement on day one with an executive order?
Panel, Right to Left: Vint Cerf (Google) ; ? TechCrunch; Alec Ross (speaking as One Economy, not as Obama campaign); Josh Silver (Free Press); Claudio Prado (Brazil)
one policy on day 1:
Vint: replace the FCC; broadband is impt
Eric: comprehensive IP bill of rights - what are my rights as a consumer, as a biz, as a gov't agency — re access to content — extend to mobile — extend to how can i use content (copyright). civics lesson -> this is a bill proposal, not execOrder
Alec (himself, not Obama campaign): appt of CTO
Vint: technology admin disbanded by bush admin
Alec: obama campaign - elevation of tech to re-invigorate our economy (moved into talking points)
open access requirements - open up TV white spaces - rights of local gov to offer broadband - net neutrality
Claudio Prado: one week for cabinet level to get up to speed, understand digital DNA
CTO is top-down; Net is bottom-up. I'd love to see a more enabling tactic. Not convinced CTO is helpful.
Alec: "citizen-centered" candidacy [more campaign talking points]
VC: another observation about ubiquity of mobile & implications of mobile net.
Josh Silver: are we going to regulate cable on behalf of the cable companies or the people?
Having teleco/cable pump $$$ into the political system a bad thing?
VC: biz are behaving rationally — how do we create incentives for the private sector will do the right thing. create jobs. enable innovation.
Josh Silver: comparing price/competition model in Europe to US. We pay too much for too little. 30euro for triple play. [Somewhat equivalent to Verizon's $100 plan, except theirs is much faster]
Jeff Jarvis - question from audience: if you kill the FCC, what are the necessary functions of gov't to make our broadband world work?
Vint: think about telecom spectrum in the same way we think of roads (infrastructure). Infrastructure like the internet is more like the road system than networks built for a single purpose. Telephony, cable. The internet cuts that binding. Maybe the underlying basic transport should not be a competitive service at all?
??: make access to the internet a civil right that cannot be sold.
Claudio relating Brazilian experience and disconnect with copyright. Also - "America is not only United States." Rethink what piracy means
VC:
controlling copy made sense when it was paper
controlling copy doesn't make sense in digital age
Claudio relating Brazilian experience and disconnect with copyright. Also - "America is not only United States." Rethink what piracy means
Vint responds: you'll have to figure out what biz model will encourage people to create new things. My response: why not the original one in the Constitution — limited copyright (14 years, to the creator)
Josh: gap btwn who have any net access and those who had dial up in 2001 is almost exactly the same between brdband and none at all. 76% making over $55K are connected. one third under $55k. awareness of DD not as strong as it should be is the same as what's going on in Iraq. If we had a draft, there would be a huge anti-war movement right now; instead, we have minorities sent to fight and die.
Alec: internet - most content in english and doesn't have the diversity potential. [Vint responds later]
think about PBS, NPR success. No public-private partnership. Obama/McCain -> one internet channel ... public-purpose media 2.0 for the internet. one of the drivers of people to the network will be relevance. people don't go on because of fear and 'there's nothing on line for me.'
Fom the audience:
How can you have centralized structure promote decentralized outcomes?
Australian election - labor gvt made broadband mjr part of platform. US - internet politics is 3rd or 4th tier, geek issue? Is it possible for something that happened in Aussie to happen here?
Vint: infrastructure - roads, bridges - has taken center stage in VA. If the internet were to be treated like infrastructure, maybe it would become a more central issue
Claudio: regulation should not have the meaning of "free" but should guarantee freedoms
Vint: australia, europe - internet treated as infrastructure and you get competition at higher levels (keg: compete on service, not on the "network")
Claudio: net is a transnational issue
Alec makes point about the need to frame issues so that they relate to the everyday person and congresspeople.
josh: we need fast, affordable, open internet. follow models in korea and europe - faster and cheaper. all because of gov't policy. not being done here because of entrenchment of teleco, cable firms.
Claudio: goal is to empower people.
Panel, Right to Left: Vint Cerf (Google) ; ? TechCrunch; Alec Ross (speaking as One Economy, not as Obama campaign); Josh Silver (Free Press); Claudio Prado (Brazil)
one policy on day 1:
Vint: replace the FCC; broadband is impt
Eric: comprehensive IP bill of rights - what are my rights as a consumer, as a biz, as a gov't agency — re access to content — extend to mobile — extend to how can i use content (copyright). civics lesson -> this is a bill proposal, not execOrder
Alec (himself, not Obama campaign): appt of CTO
Vint: technology admin disbanded by bush admin
Alec: obama campaign - elevation of tech to re-invigorate our economy (moved into talking points)
open access requirements - open up TV white spaces - rights of local gov to offer broadband - net neutrality
Claudio Prado: one week for cabinet level to get up to speed, understand digital DNA
CTO is top-down; Net is bottom-up. I'd love to see a more enabling tactic. Not convinced CTO is helpful.
Alec: "citizen-centered" candidacy [more campaign talking points]
VC: another observation about ubiquity of mobile & implications of mobile net.
Josh Silver: are we going to regulate cable on behalf of the cable companies or the people?
Having teleco/cable pump $$$ into the political system a bad thing?
VC: biz are behaving rationally — how do we create incentives for the private sector will do the right thing. create jobs. enable innovation.
Josh Silver: comparing price/competition model in Europe to US. We pay too much for too little. 30euro for triple play. [Somewhat equivalent to Verizon's $100 plan, except theirs is much faster]
Jeff Jarvis - question from audience: if you kill the FCC, what are the necessary functions of gov't to make our broadband world work?
Vint: think about telecom spectrum in the same way we think of roads (infrastructure). Infrastructure like the internet is more like the road system than networks built for a single purpose. Telephony, cable. The internet cuts that binding. Maybe the underlying basic transport should not be a competitive service at all?
??: make access to the internet a civil right that cannot be sold.
Claudio relating Brazilian experience and disconnect with copyright. Also - "America is not only United States." Rethink what piracy means
VC:
controlling copy made sense when it was paper
controlling copy doesn't make sense in digital age
Claudio relating Brazilian experience and disconnect with copyright. Also - "America is not only United States." Rethink what piracy means
Vint responds: you'll have to figure out what biz model will encourage people to create new things. My response: why not the original one in the Constitution — limited copyright (14 years, to the creator)
Josh: gap btwn who have any net access and those who had dial up in 2001 is almost exactly the same between brdband and none at all. 76% making over $55K are connected. one third under $55k. awareness of DD not as strong as it should be is the same as what's going on in Iraq. If we had a draft, there would be a huge anti-war movement right now; instead, we have minorities sent to fight and die.
Alec: internet - most content in english and doesn't have the diversity potential. [Vint responds later]
think about PBS, NPR success. No public-private partnership. Obama/McCain -> one internet channel ... public-purpose media 2.0 for the internet. one of the drivers of people to the network will be relevance. people don't go on because of fear and 'there's nothing on line for me.'
Fom the audience:
How can you have centralized structure promote decentralized outcomes?
Australian election - labor gvt made broadband mjr part of platform. US - internet politics is 3rd or 4th tier, geek issue? Is it possible for something that happened in Aussie to happen here?
Vint: infrastructure - roads, bridges - has taken center stage in VA. If the internet were to be treated like infrastructure, maybe it would become a more central issue
Claudio: regulation should not have the meaning of "free" but should guarantee freedoms
Vint: australia, europe - internet treated as infrastructure and you get competition at higher levels (keg: compete on service, not on the "network")
Claudio: net is a transnational issue
Alec makes point about the need to frame issues so that they relate to the everyday person and congresspeople.
josh: we need fast, affordable, open internet. follow models in korea and europe - faster and cheaper. all because of gov't policy. not being done here because of entrenchment of teleco, cable firms.
Claudio: goal is to empower people.
