Net Neutrality in Ottawa
Thanks to Kyenta Martins for pointing this out to me:
Net Neutrality: A Public Discussion on the Future of the Internet in Canada
Date and Location:
February 6, 2007 , 7 pm
Admission: Free
Ottawa Public Library Auditorium
120 Metcalfe St.
Moderated by:
Pippa Lawson: Executive Director, Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC) at the University of Ottawa
Panelists:
- Michael Geist: Professor of Law, Research Chair of Internet and E-Commerce Law, University of Ottawa
- Ren Bucholz: Electronic Frontier Foundation Policy Coordinator, Americas
- Andrew Clement: Professor, Faculty of Information Studies, University of Toronto; Principal Investigator, Canadian Research Alliance for Community Innovation and Networking
- Bill St-Arnaud: Senior Director, Advanced Networks for CANARIE, Inc.
Event:
Please join us for a an important public discussion on the future of the Internet in Canada. Network neutrality recently became a major issue in the United States when telecommunications companies issued public statements asking for the ability to charge Internet content-providers for preferential access to Internet users. That meant that big corporations, especially media conglomerates, would get to Internet users fastest while smaller ones, which would be unable to pay the “tolls”, would be left trailing. Meanwhile, Internet users could be restricted from using certain applications, and would likely have to pay more to access content of providers that weren’t part of the telecommunications company’s exclusivity deals.
*snip*
If you are unable to attend, please note that a video of the event will be made publicly available.
More event details are on the LibrarianActivist post.
Posts
2 comments:
It's good you're getting involved in the net neutrality debate. I do some consulting work with the Hands Off the Internet Coaltion and we're educating folks about the dangers of net neutrality.
Actually, nobody can argue the case against net neutrality better than one of the father's of the net, Robert Kahn.
Here is a story that highlights his opinion and warns that net neutrality laws will hurt innovation.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/01/18/kahn_net_neutrality_warning/
It's great to have a strong grasp of both sides of the issue before going in to the discussion.
Hi HandsOff43, I appreciate your point of view and it's certainly the case that it's hard to choose between freedom to innovate and freedom from bias. It's also not hard to understand why the primary interests of researchers (and the organizations that sponsor their research) may conflict with other citizens. That's the advantage to open debate -- certainly a core value of the net neutrality advocates. The true challenge, I guess, is to preserve both values, freedom and innovation.
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