[Air-l] Fwd: [ISOC members] ISOC Public Policy Announcement - 4/18/03

jeremy hunsinger jhuns at vt.edu
Fri Apr 18 17:53:29 PDT 2003


Begin forwarded message:

> From: Internet Society <anne at isoc.org>
> Date: Fri Apr 18, 2003  4:18:40 PM US/Eastern
> To: globalmembers at isoc.org
> Subject: [ISOC members] ISOC Public Policy Announcement - 4/18/03
>
> Earlier this year, I asked Michael Nelson to replace David Maher as
> the Internet Society's Vice President for Public Policy.  David left
> this role to take up a position as the Chair of the Board of Directors
> of the Public Interest Registry (PIR), and I'd like to take this
> opportunity to once again thank David for his many contributions.
>
> Michael is well known to many of you as he has been involved with the
> Internet Society for many years.  He served on the Program Committees
> for INET2000 and INET2001 and was Co-Chair of INET 2002, held in
> Washington, DC last June.
>
> Michael has been involved in Internet policy since 1988, when he came
> to Washington to work for then-Senator Gore, when he was the Chairman
> of the Science, Technology, and Space Subcommittee.  He helped draft 
> the
> High-Performance Computing Act of 1991, which enabled the
> commercialization of the NSFNET backbone.  When Senator Al Gore was
> elected to the White House in 1992, Michael followed him.  For four 
> years,
> he worked closely with Vice President Gore on Internet, e-commerce,
> and telecommunications issues.  He left the White House to spend a
> year and a half as Director for Technology Policy at the Federal
> Communication Commission (FCC) and since July 1998, Michael has been
> at IBM, where he is Director for Internet Technology and Strategy.
>
> Michael's background has given him a deep understanding of both 
> Internet
> technology and policy.  In his new role as Vice President for Public
> Policy, he will help the Internet Society have a greater impact on key
> public policy decisions by working more closely with governments and
> organizations around the world.  The Internet Society is uniquely 
> qualified
> to help these entities understand how Internet technologies are 
> evolving,
> to ensure that their actions spur the growth of the Internet around the
> world, and that it is for the benefit of all.  He will of course be 
> looking
> to ISOC Chapters and members to help him in these efforts, both in the
> formulation of policy as well as in our outreach efforts.
>
>
> Michael has drafted a set of policy goals, included below, and we are
> looking forward to your comments and  active participation.  Please 
> join me
> in welcoming Michael as he assumes this important role and please note 
> that
> a new ISOC discussion list - "MemberPubPol" has been set up to 
> facilitate
> member participation.  You may join this list at:
> http://www.isoc.org/members/discuss/policy.shtml
>
> Regards,
> Lynn St.Amour
> President & CEO
> Internet Society
>
> ----------------------------
>
> Michael R. Nelson
> ISOC VP Public Policy
> mnelson at isoc.org
>
> I'm very grateful to Lynn and the Internet Society Board for
> selecting me as the Vice President of Public Policy and I
> look forward to working with all of you.
>
> When I spoke to Lynn about the job, we agreed there was a need
> for the nternet Society to focus its public policy efforts on a
> few broad topic areas, rather than trying to weigh in on every
> hot issue that might arise. There are just too many issues for
> any single organization to engage in every Internet-related policy
> debate.
>
> Instead, we should play to our strengths: (1) the Internet Society's
> reputation for being able to tap the brightest technical and social
> minds in the Internet community, (2) our understanding of
> leading-edge Internet technologies, (3) our involvement in the
> standards process both at the IETF and elsewhere and (4) our truly
> global perspective and outreach.  To me that means that ISOC should
> avoid weighing in on policy issues where decisions will be based
> primarily on economic analysis or legal precedents.  Other
> Internet-related organizations are more appropriate and have more
> standing here.
>
> We should also think carefully before getting involved in issues
> which seem to affect only a handful of countries, and do so only if
> we fear that what is happening in those countries could be replicated
> or mimicked elsewhere later.  In many countries, we have chapters that
> have the talent and the credibility needed to influence local policy
> debates, and ISOC's role should be to support them in their efforts.
>
> It is going to take time to fully enunciate our public policy agenda.
> I want to involve as many people as possible in that process.
>
> I have drafted a first version of a series of policy goals, which I
> believe can guide our public policy efforts and provide focus.  Here
> is my first attempt at defining five goals for the Internet Society's
> public policy
> program:
>
> Since its inception more than twelve years ago, members of the
> Internet Society have played key roles in the evolution of Internet
> technologies and in providing training on the uses of the Internet in
> countries around the globe.  ISOC serves as the organizational home
> for the Internet Engineering Task Force, which develops the standards
> that ensure the stability, reliability, security, and scalability of
> the Internet.  In addition, the Internet Society has provided valuable
> advice on key Internet-related policy decisions in order to ensure
> the continued rapid growth of the Internet.
>
> Today, Internet policy is more important than ever before.  The
> Internet is at a critical juncture in its development.  In many
> countries, it is becoming a mass medium and as a result there is
> increasing pressure on policy makers to regulate it like radio,
> television, or other mass media. The spread of broadband technologies
> is enabling new powerful uses of the Internet, such as Grid computing,
> voice over IP, peer-to-peer applications, and Web services.  The 
> Internet
> is more than just a means for communications (through e-mail and 
> instant
> messaging) and content distribution (through the World Wide Web).  It
> is becoming a platform for collaboration and distributed computing.
> With this new phase of development of the Internet comes new technical
> and policy challenges, and even more need for the kind
> of advice and education that the Internet Society can provide.
>
> POLICY GOALS:
>
> The Internet Society is committed to working with governments,
> industry, and Internet users around the world to ensure that the
> Internet develops in a way that ensures that all Internet users can
> harness the full power of the Internet.  Accordingly, we work to ensure
> that all users enjoy the following:
>
> 1)  The Ability to Connect -- We want to preserve the essential,
> end-to-end nature of the Internet and will oppose efforts to establish
> standards or practices that would make it difficult or impossible for
> some users of the Internet to use the full range of applications being
> developed for Internet users.
>
> 2)  The Ability to Speak -- The Internet offers a powerful tool for
> self-expression and is becoming a new mass medium.  We will work to 
> ensure
> that the Internet will continue to allow private and where appropriate,
> anonymous, means of communication and collaboration.  Accordingly, we 
> will
> oppose efforts to censor what Internet users can read or distribute 
> over
> the Net.
>
> 3)  The Ability to Innovate -- The explosive growth of the Internet and
> the incredible variety of Internet applications are a direct result of
> the fact that the key standards for the Internet and the Web are open.
> Any company, regardless of size or location, has been able to develop 
> and
> distribute its new "killer application" for the Internet.  We will
> oppose efforts by government and others to restrict how technology can
> evolve in the future.
>
> 4)  The Ability to Share --  The many-to-many nature of the Internet
> makes it a powerful tool for sharing, education, and collaboration.
> It has enabled the global, open source community that developed many
> of the key technological components of the Internet, such as the
> Domain Name System, the Web, and Apache (the most common Web server
> software).  The Internet has also made the vision of digital libraries
> a reality.  Accordingly, we will foster the development of open source
> software and oppose new technologies and legislation that would limit
> the well-established concept of fair use, which is essential to
> scholarship, education, and collaboration.
>
> 5)  The Ability to Choose -- The growth of the Internet has been
> fastest where markets are the most free and open.  Unfortunately,
> in too many countries, particularly many less developed countries
> that could most benefit from the power of the Internet, government
> regulation and the economic power of incumbent telecom monopolies
> severely limit the ability of new competitors to provide new, better,
> cheaper, and innovative Internet-related services.  We will continue
> to advocate for government policies that foster competition in
> telecommunication services, Internet service provision, 
> Internet-related
> software, and e-commerce applications.
>
> In the past, most of ISOC's successful efforts to influence
> Internet policy and standards fit comfortably into one or more of
> these five categories.
>
> For instance:
>
> -Promotion of IPv6 -- Ability to Innovate
> -Opposition to censorship -- Ability to Speak
> -Digital Divide -- Ability to Choose (because competition drives
> down prices)
> -Promotion of new wireless technologies (e.g. 802.11) -- Ability
> to Connect and Ability to Innovate
> -Opposition to new database protection legislation -- Ability
> to Share
> -Opposition to Panama's restrictions on Voice over IP --  Ability
> to Connect and Ability to Choose
> -Opposition to provisions requiring ISP's to retain user data in
> Council of Europe Cyber-crime treaty -- Ability to Speak
> -Accessibility for the Disabled -- Ability to Connect
> -Opposition to encryption controls -- Ability to Innovate and
> Ability of Speech
> -Opposition to legislation dictating Digital Right Management
> standards -- Ability to Share
>
> Most of the Internet Society's public policy efforts should focus
> on the "lower part of the stack."  We are uniquely positioned to
> address policy issues related to the transport of bits and to the
> middleware that supports applications.  Many other organizations
> weigh in on public policy issues that impact applications software
> and the business models that e-commerce companies might adopt.  In
> areas such as on-line consumer protection and taxation of Internet
> commerce, I would recommend that the Internet Society actively
> support the work of other organizations but not take a leadership
> role.
>
> Defining the Internet Society's public policy role and developing
> new mechanisms for impacting policy debates will depend critically
> upon Internet Society chapters and individual members.  Local chapters
> can help identify the key policy issues that matter in their countries.
> More importantly, they can help deliver Internet Society positions
> and white papers within their country.
>
> In addition, the Internet Society's educational programs can help
> distribute information on key policy issues, particularly in developing
> countries.
>
> CONTRIBUTIONS WELCOME:
>
>
> I would welcome your comments on the public policy goals outlined
> above.  I would also welcome suggestions on how the Internet Society
> can have an even greater impact on policy debates around the world.
> And most of all, I would welcome volunteers willing to help articulate
> and share our public policy messages with policy makers, the press,
> NGOs, and the general public. Please feel free to contact me at
> mnelson at isoc.org or join the ISOC Policy discussion list at:
> http://www.isoc.org/members/discuss/policy.shtml.   I
> look forward to hearing from you.
>
> Michael R. Nelson
> ISOC VP Public Policy
> mnelson at isoc.org
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Globalmembers mailing list
> Globalmembers at isoc.org
> http://www.isoc.org/mailman/listinfo/globalmembers
>
>
Jeremy Hunsinger
Center for Digital Discourse and Culture
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