Tech Policy Summit blog

Where Are You?

I admit that I've become addicted to the status updates in Twitter and Facebook. Even when I'm not revealing what I'm up to, I enjoy knowing what others are doing. It's an easy way to keep tabs on friends and associates I wouldn't otherwise interact with on a daily, or moment to moment, basis.

Increasingly, though, it's not just about what others are doing. But about where they are.

The social sharing revolution is giving rise to a growing number of location-aware services like Loopt and Dopplr that enable users to reveal their whereabouts to others via mobile and Web-based interfaces. Just yesterday, Yahoo formally launched an open platform called Fire Eagle that allows users to enter their location data and manage its use by third-party developers.

Of course, location-based technologies are not new -- and neither are the privacy and security concerns they raise. What does seem to be changing is the pervasiveness of these services and, at least among early adopters like techies and teens, the willingness to trade their privacy for the convenience (or novelty) of knowing more about the people and neighborhoods around them.

As for me, I'll be sharing my location on a need to know basis.

LA Times Gives Props to Arrington's Clout

Thanks to Twitter, I discovered a recent Los Angeles Times' article about über blogger Michael Arrington's foray into 2008 election politics. 

It recounts how, impressively, the TechCrunch founder landed interviews with almost all of the presidential candidates back when the field was still crowded. What's more, if the accompanying photo is representative, Arrington was able to reach those political heavyweights while working (barefoot) from his home office in Silicon Valley. A testament to how the Internet has indeed changed politics.

Throughout last fall, Arrington asked Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain, along with other candidates at the time like John Edwards and Mitt Romney, for their views on tech policy issues such as the annual cap on H-1B visas and net neutrality. He also hosted an online presidential primary for his readership, after which he endorsed Sens. Obama and McCain, even though TechCrunch's crowd favorite was overwhelmingly Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX). 

According to the LA Times, "Arrington says now is the time for techies to have a greater voice in politics as Facebook, YouTube and other technologies shake up how candidates campaign."

Hear, hear!

Let's just hope they wear shoes.

Like MySpace, Facebook Strikes Net Safety Deal with AGs

TechCrunch broke the news this morning that Facebook is adopting a set of "Key Principles Of Social Networking Safety" as part of an agreement with attorneys general from 49 states and the District of Columbia that will require the social networking site to take steps to better protect kids (Texas is the only state not signed on). You may remember that MySpace made a similar announcement last January.

The policy was announced by Connecticut attorney general Richard Blumenthal as part of the ongoing efforts of a coalition called the Multi-State Attorney General Executive Committee. Mr. Blumenthal gave the following statement in a press release:

"We are raising the safety bar, first for MySpace and now Facebook, and soon for other sites as we fight for an industry gold standard. Facebook and MySpace are showing how to aim higher and keep kids safer. Our ultimate goal is age and identity verification technology -- safeguards against child molesters and inappropriate material. Checking ages and identities is vital to better shielding underage users from predators and pornography."

It's that last point about using age verification technology that concerned Internet safety expert Adam Thierer when the MySpace agreement was made earlier this year. As he wrote in this January post on the Progress and Freedom Foundation blog, "even assuming we could find a way to make it [age verficiation] work, there are many other considerations that must be taken into account, such as the burden it might impose on freedom of speech or individual privacy."

More details on Facebook's agreement are available at TechCrunch.

News From Who's Who

Below is a quick roundup of recent press releases from Tech Policy Central's Who's Who, which profiles nearly 100 think tanks, coalitions and trade associations.

• Net neutrality adovcate group Free Press published the testimony of its policy director Ben Scott, who was among the witnesses at this morning's net neutrality hearing held by the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet. Mr. Scott joined NCTA chief Kyle McSlarrow, RIAA CEO Mitch Bainwol, Christian Coalition vice president Michele Combs and others who appeared before the Subcommittee to discuss Chairman Ed Markey's (D-MA) proposed bill, H.R. 5353, The Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2008. We shared brief notes from the hearing via Twitter.

• In response to today's hearing on H.R. 5353, the Competitive Enterprise Institute released a statement by its technology policy analyst Cord Blomquist opposing the proposed net neutrality bill. According to Mr. Blomquist, "this bill does more than prohibit bad actions that will never happen. It also prevents ISPs from employing sensible network management that is vital for addressing the growing demands of Internet users."

Sen. Kerry Turns to Blog for NN Feedback

In advance of tomorrow's Senate Commerce Committee hearing on the future of the Internet, Senator John Kerry (D-MA) is asking net neutrality supporters what they'd like to see discussed in the meeting.

In his second guest post at SaveTheInternet.com blog, a pro-net neutrality site operated by Free Press, Sen. Kerry writes:

This may be the only place I don't feel the need to play up the importance of tomorrow's Commerce Committee hearing on Net Neutrality.

When I've talked to other people - and when I post on other blogs - about this hearing, I always try to grab people's attention and tell them that, even with the primary tomorrow, we need to keep our eyes on the ball when it comes to Net Neutrality and the future of the Internet.

I know I don't have to tell all of you at SavetheInternet.com about that.

I know you realize the importance of the government setting the rules so that some traffic is not discriminated against in relation to other traffic...

The Senate hearing is scheduled for 10:00am ET; witnesses include actress Justine Bateman, Christian Coalition exec Michele Combs, Stanford professor Larry Lessig, NCTA's CEO Kyle McSlarrow, Patric Verrone of the Writers Guild of America and Dr. Robert Hahn of the American Enterprise Institute.

Tech Policy Summit '08 Podcasts Available

We're happy to report that the podcasts from the 2008 Tech Policy Summit, which took place at the Renaissance hotel in Hollywood last month, are now available for your listening pleasure. You can find audio of all 24 sessions in the Media Vault, along with photos from our conference photographer Terry.

They're posted in chronological order, so be sure to click through to the second page for more podcasts, including the March 27th keynote by FCC commissioner Robert McDowell and the one-on-one interviews with craigslist founder Craig Newmark and BitTorrent president Ashwin Navin.

Even if you were at this year's Summit, you'll find something new in the podcasts since there were six concurrent breakout sessions on the opening afternoon that are definitely worth checking out. 

Those topics include:

• Using Social Media as a Policy Tool
• The Role of Privacy and Trust in the Innovation Economy
• Building a More Effective Public Policy Organization
• Copyright in a Converged World
• Maintaining a Competitive Edge: [How] Can the U.S. Tech Workforce Stay on Top in a Flat World?
• The Future of Wide-Area Public Broadband

Enjoy!

Kara Swisher at Tech Policy Summit

Kara Swisher of AllThingsD.com hosted two roundtables at last week's Tech Policy Summit in Hollywood. The first one featured AOL's chief privacy officer Jules Polonestky, Center for Democracy and Technology president and CEO Leslie Harris and Joanne McNabb of California's Office of Privacy Protection talking about the challenges of personalization and privacy.

She also led a discussion with JibJab Media CEO Gregg Spiridellis, Cult of the Amateur author Andrew Keen and USC professor Jonathan Taplin about how new media is changing content distribution. Following both sessions, Kara videotaped brief interviews with several of the speakers -- we've posted both of her videos in the Media Vault (podcasts of her on stage sessions will be available next week).

Chinese Sites "Volunteer" to Self-Censor

According to Reuters, China has asked Web site owners to voluntarily pledge to censor their content as part of its ongoing effort to regulate online video and audio. Eight Chinese media organizations including the Xinhua news agency and The People's Daily have already signed on to the pact to remove pornography and violent material from their sites.

Which begs the following question: If the Chinese goverment asks you to sign a "voluntary pact," is it really voluntary?

While you contemplate that koan, here is an excerpt from the announcement by China's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television:

The signatories should actively disseminate healthy, beneficial audio-visual programs meeting socialist moral norms...Decadent, backward thoughts and culture must be boycotted by all.

Also, if you haven't already seen it, check out this in-depth article by Atlantic correspondent (and Tech Policy Summit advisor) James Fallows about how the Chinese government controls Internet activity within its borders. Fallows has been reporting from China for over a year now and offers an interesting perspective on the topic.

The Countdown to China's Video Crackdown

Tomorrow is the day when new regulations on Internet video content go into effect in China, and it's still unclear what the full impact of the rules will be.

Never one to shy away from monitoring its citizens' online activities, the Chinese government announced late last year that it would require any Web site that features video content to censor its users and to report content violations to Chinese authorities (or face stiff penalties).

The new policy also forces site owners to get a license that is only available to companies that qualify as state-owned. That includes video sharing sites where the majority of the content is user-generated. According to the Associated Press, it's "a break from other online content rules, which compel private companies to enforce censorship but let them operate on their own."

While the AP's report suggests that site owners will find ways to circumvent the rule about state-ownership in order to keep operating, it remains to be seen how the new rules will be applied when it comes to individual Web users who want to share videos within China. For more, check out the AP article here and visit our Tech Policy Central site for other policy-related news and research.

The Davos Question

The World Economic Forum's (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland opens in less than a week and, while some critics question the gathering's effectiveness, no one doubts its ability to attract prominent world leaders from the public and private sectors.

This year's theme will challenge Davos participants to consider "The Power of Collaborative Innovation." To put that concept to the test, organizers have teamed up with YouTube to share brief interviews with some of the participants, including the CEOs of Deloitte, DuPont, Infosys. There are also clips from AT&T's CEO Randall Stephenson, AMD's CEO Hector Ruiz and Cisco Systems' CEO John Chambers, which we've added to the Media Vault.

There's also a YouTube channel where anyone can post a response to "the Davos question:" What one thing do you think countries, companies or individuals must do to make the world a better place in 2008?

Viewers can vote for their favorite clips, and the highest-rated videos will be screened for participants at the WEF meeting where responses will be recorded and uploaded to YouTube as well. There are already a wide range of responses from individuals -- we selected two for the Media Vault. For more info on how you can submit your own response by the January 21 deadline, visit YouTube.