Invitation: Why Real Net Neutrality Matters
WASHINGTON -- Since the court decision in Verizon v. Federal Communications Commission, the Net Neutrality debate has gone mainstream. Millions of comments have flooded the Federal Communications Commission, late-night comedians are ranting, and there’s more public interest and enthusiasm about the issue than ever before.
There is widespread concern about an FCC proposal to create a pay-to-play Internet — with a fast lanes for the privileged few and slow lanes for the rest of us. Does the FCC’s rhetoric about the open Internet match the reality of its proposal? How can the FCC create real Net Neutrality rules that will prevent blocking and discrimination online? How should Congress get involved?
Join us for a panel discussion with policy experts, investors, innovators and content creators that will clarify what’s at stake and what it will take to truly protect free speech and innovation online.
Event Details:
Innovation, Creativity and the Future of the Internet: Why Real Net Neutrality Matters
Date: Tues., July 8, 2014
Time: 3:30–5 p.m.
Location: 385 Russell Senate Office Building
Al Franken will deliver opening remarks.
Free Press President and CEO Craig Aaron will moderate a panel discussion featuring:
Althea Erickson, policy director, Etsy
Ruth Livier, actress and Web series creator
Alexis Ohanian, investor and founder of reddit
Barbara van Schewick, professor, Stanford Law School, and director, Stanford Center for Internet and Society
Please RSVP to cwilliams@freepress.net
Presenter bios:
Craig Aaron took the leadership of Free Press and the Free Press Action Fund in April 2011. He joined Free Press in 2004 and speaks across the country on media, Internet and journalism issues. Craig is a frequent guest on talk radio and is quoted often in the national press. His commentaries also appear regularly in the Guardian and the Huffington Post. Before joining Free Press, he was an investigative reporter for Public Citizen's Congress Watch and the managing editor of In These Times magazine. He is the editor of two books, Appeal to Reason: 25 Years of In These Times and Changing Media: Public Interest Policies for the Digital Age. He is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.
Althea Erickson is director of public policy at Etsy, the marketplace for creative people to buy and sell unique goods. Althea leads Etsy’s government relations and advocacy efforts, focusing on educating and advising policymakers on the issues that micro-entrepreneurs and creative businesses face. She is also responsible for developing and advancing Etsy’s position on issues ranging from taxes and regulation, to open Internet and free trade, to IP and privacy policies. Prior to joining Etsy, Althea was the advocacy and policy director at Freelancers Union, where she helped build the membership into a powerful political constituency, leading its successful campaign to repeal unfair tax laws and promoting legislation to protect freelancers from unpaid wages. Previously, Althea worked at the Rockefeller Foundation, where she focused on strategies to build economic security within the U.S. workforce. She has a B.A in government and public policy from Wesleyan University.
Ruth Livier was featured on the cover of the Writers Guild of America’s Written By magazine for being the first writer to join that union via her work in New Media. Her bilingual Web series, Ylse (Ylse.net), won the first Best Web Series Award in Imagen Awards history and has garnered worldwide recognition. She has been featured in interviews with Al Jazeera and Japan’s NHK network and was invited by Northwestern University’s Dr. Christian to write about her experiences in new media. She’s been a panelist/guest speaker at: LMU, U of A, USC, Emerson College, SAG, WGA, NALIP, NHMC, the FCC and Digital Hollywood. As an actress, Ruth has worked extensively in both English- and Spanish-language media. Her credits include: starring in the groundbreaking, award-winning Showtime series Resurrection Blvd., starring as Lolita opposite Val Kilmer’s Zorro in the 2012 Grammy-nominated The Mark of Zorro, and having a lead role on tour with Eugenio Derbez. She has also been directed by the iconic Franco Zeffirelli.
Alexis Ohanian is a startup founder and investor in Brooklyn. After graduating from UVA in 2005, Alexis and his co-founder Steve Huffman started reddit, a top-50 U.S. website. Now a reddit board member, Alexis focuses his time and energy to founding and investing in companies that fit his model of making something people love and making the world suck less. Alexis helped launch hipmunk and ran marketing/pr/community before becoming an advisor and joining the fight against SOPA and PIPA. He invests in and advises over 80 tech startups. He's Y Combinator's Ambassador to the East, and wrote a national bestselling book, Without Their Permission. Along the way, Alexis spoke at TED, volunteered in Armenia as a Kiva Fellow, and was named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list two years in a row (and then turned 30).
Barbara van Schewick is a professor of Law and Helen L. Crocker Faculty Scholar at Stanford Law School, director of Stanford Law School’s Center for Internet and Society, and associate professor (by courtesy) of electrical engineering in Stanford University’s Department of Electrical Engineering. Van Schewick's research on the economic, regulatory, and strategic implications of communication networks bridges law, networking and economics. This work has made her a leading expert on network neutrality. Her book Internet Architecture and Innovation (MIT Press 2010, Paperback 2012) is considered to be the seminal work on the science, economics and policy of network neutrality. Her papers on network neutrality have influenced regulatory debates in the United States, Canada and Europe and have been cited by academics, stakeholders, regulatory agencies and other public entities worldwide. The FCC's Open Internet Order, which adopted Network Neutrality rules in the U.S. for the first time, relied heavily on her work.
