Congress Hears Tech Policy Debates

AI Regulation Roundup: Where Are We Now?

Digital Identity: Cybersecurity’s New Hope?

Europe’s Digital Markets Act (DMA): Competition Perspectives from the European Commission

Chips & Glass: Supply Chain Stumbling Blocks To Biden’s Broadband Infrastructure Plan?

More Podcasts Chips & Glass: Supply Chain Stumbling Blocks To Biden's Broadband Infrastructure Plan? This is audio from the April recess event "Chips & Fiber: Supply Chain Stumbling Blocks To Biden's Broadband Infrastructure?" We've invited experts to discuss the challenge the Biden Administration faces in spending the broadband infrastructure funds allocated by Congress. The government has a historic opportunity to ensure that every American has broadband Internet — and a very small...

Blockchain, Brokers & Web3: Can Congress Fix The Infrastructure Bill and Grow The Decentralized Web?

Blockchain Is Revolutionizing Your Digital Identity And Government Can Lead The Way

The D.C. Circuit Court Ruled on Net Neutrality. What Now?

More Podcasts The D.C. Circuit Court Ruled on Net Neutrality. What Now? https://www.netcaucus.org/audio/2019/20191007netneut.mp3   This Is A Podcast: On Monday, October 7, 2019, a panel of Academy experts discussed the D.C. Circuit’s decision, as well as next steps for Congress and any broader implications for the Internet ecosystem. These panelists represent diverse perspectives on the decision and what it means for Congress and for the Internet. Speakers Included: Matthew Brill,...

Who’s A Bigger Music Mogul, Jay-Z or Congress?

More Podcasts Who’s A Bigger Music Mogul, Jay-Z or Congress? https://www.netcaucus.org/audio/2019/20190729musicmoguls.mp3 There are a lot of music moguls out there. Jay-Z, Taylor Swift, Quincy Jones. But possibly the biggest mogul in the music industry is Congress itself. Congress and its oversight functions make it a significant player in music industry revenues. In the modern era Congress has spun the music turntables with legislation several times, most recently with the Music Mode...

Will The California, EU, and State Privacy Laws Be Addressed By Congress?

Last month the California legislature hastily passed sweeping privacy regulations to stave off even more sweeping rules that would have emerged from the state's ballot initiative process. These regulations from the state of California, which is the world's 5th largest economy and home to the most dominant data companies on the planet, will apply to a huge swath of data on the Internet, and offline as well. These rules follow the massive European privacy law, the GDPR, which started its enfor...

Blockchain Beyond Bitcoin: Building Trust in A Digital World

While there is a lot of hype around Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies, cryptocurrencies are only the tip of the iceberg. Blockchain – the technology underlying cryptocurrencies – offers a host of other transformative use cases, including supply chain management, digital identity management, and smart contracts. Blockchain is a distributed ledger technology which promises to authenticate transactions without the need for a trusted third-party. Forward-looking companies are deployi...

Wayfair: Internet Sales Tax Discussion

The Supreme Court recently issued a momentous decision in Wayfair v South Dakota. In overturning a 26-year precedent, SCOTUS has opened the floodgates for states to impose sales tax on online purchases. While critics of the decision claim it will cripple small online businesses, supporters argue that it will allow states to recoup taxes already owed to them and allow traditional retailers to compete fairly with e-commerce companies. Listen to an expert panel to discuss SCOTUS’s decision and ...

Carpenter: How SCOTUS Defines Constitutional Privacy In The Digital Age

VIDEO YouTube Video FacebookLive Video PHOTOS Flickr Photos Listen Carpenter Briefing https://www.netcaucus.org/audio/2018/20180629carpenter.mp3 Moments ago the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) issued its ruling in cellphone privacy case, Carpenter v. U.S. Join us for a popup briefing next Friday as a panel of Academy experts parses the Court's decision and what it means for the future of privacy. The Carpenter case may potentially transform our understanding of our Constitutional privacy...

Antitrust & The Internet: A New Way Of Looking At Competition?

“Antitrust and competition policy is exciting stuff,” said no one ever (except, of course, the very few who follow this arcane field of economics and algorithms). Yet in recent months on Capitol Hill competition policy buzzwords have started to be overheard in conversations outside of the traditional antitrust policy bastions such as the Antitrust subcommittees. Is all this “excitement” around competition policy because folks are curious how the new Administration will approach mergers and ma...

EU Privacy Countdown: What the GDPR Regulations Mean For Your Constituents

In May of this year, The European Commission (EC) will issue an expansive set of privacy rules for U.S. companies operating overseas. These rules, otherwise called The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), will require companies across the world to amend their policies and practices to comply with its many regulations. In many ways, the GDPR will become the baseline privacy regime for the Internet. According to PwC, over half of U.S. multinational companies say the GDPR is their top data...

What’s Next For Net Neutrality? Litigation, Legislation, and the Lay of the Land

It seems like talk about net neutrality never stops, and with our busy schedules, it’s hard to keep up. We’ve organized a panel of experts to provide a “lay of the land” on what’s going on with this dynamic topic. We’ll talk about the latest FCC action, developments on the state level, the prospects for litigation, and possibilities on Capitol Hill.  Like all of our discussions, we’ve assembled an expert panel with an array of different perspectives on the issue. SPEAKERS Matthew Brill, Pa...

Blending Data Analytics and AI: Policy Implications

Data analytics is becoming an essential part of companies’ operations, planning and innovation. In the Internet age, companies are generating an unprecedented amount of data, and an entire industry has grown out of the need to process and understand it. How have these insights helped change the way businesses interact with consumers? What is the difference between Artificial Intelligence and Big Data, and how are these technologies used to inform decision making? At the same time, with the a...

Hacking: What Color Is Your Hat? Vulnerability Disclosures and the Law

White hat researchers look for vulnerabilities in information systems and play an increasingly crucial role in our nation’s cyber security defenses. Yet, the rules of the road for these types of “hackers” have been slow to evolve in terms of civil and criminal liability. Speakers included: Leonard Bailey – Special Counsel for National Security, Computer Crime & Intellectual Property Section, U.S. Department of Justice, Harley Geiger – Director of Public Policy, Rapid7, Franck Journoud – C...

Carving Out Exceptions to Section 230: How Will It Affect The Internet?

Over 21 years ago, at the dawn of the commercial Internet, Congress passed a seemingly minor  amendment to the massive Telecom Act of 1996 — Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (HR 1555). HR 1555 was designed to limit liability of Internet providers for content posted by their users and also to give them a safe harbor to manage objectionable behavior on their platforms. There is no question that with Section 230 Congress enabled the meteoric growth of the Internet. The impact of Se...

The War for the Web: Countering ISIS and Violent Extremism Online

In the wake of the recent terrorist attacks in London UK Prime Minister has been at the forefront of international calls for the technology companies to do more to combat online extremism. The British Government has announced its intention to stamp out extremism “in all its forms, both across society and on the internet”. Within the United States, the Department of Homeland Security just announced a $10 million grant for two-year programming to organizations that will work to improve security...

Balancing National Security & Privacy. What will Congress do about FISA’s 702?

Without Congressional action Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) will cease to be a law enforcement tool at the disposal of law enforcement. In the aftermath of 9/11 Congress empowered America’s top law enforcement agencies to  the collect the data on non-US persons. Critics say that 702 surveillance enables law enforcement to gather data in bulk as well as data incidental and unrelated to legitimate threats. Law enforcement maintains that 702 is a critical tool in...

Data Warrants From Across the Pond: Fighting Crime While Preserving Privacy

Fighting crime and thwarting terrorism is not what it was 20 years ago.  Globally, law enforcement agencies are demanding more and more ready access to social media company data about customers — most of which is held by U.S.-based Internet giants like Google, Facebook, Twitter and Snap. However, expedient access to that data is hampered by privacy rules and our Constitution's 4th amendment. Now, the U.S. Department of Justice, working with allies around the globe, have proposed that Congress...

Work in the age of AI, Automation, and the Gig Economy: A well oiled machine?

What does the future of work, in the age of continued automation, look like? Startups continue to follow the path set by companies such as Uber: short term 'gigs' that allow workers more freedom to chose their work hours but also bring with it more uncertainty. At the same time, manufacturing jobs continue to be supplemented and replaced by automation. Finally, AI looms large on the horizon as software promises to replace not only blue collar but also white collar labor. Will American worke...

Broadband Infrastructure Funding: What Should The Plans Be?

SUMMARY Download Audio The Internet has become essential for Americans as they participate in commerce, culture and democracy. The Internet and the Internet of Things is rapidly becoming an important part of how our cities and transportation networks operate. Increasingly rural communities are incorporating Internet-enabled technologies into their communities and lifestyles. The possibilities seem endless. Do the Trump Administration's impending infrastructure plans and tax plans include ap...

Net Neutrality in Transition – The Future of the Open Internet

SUMMARY Download Audio Ever since the November election the FCC's Open Internet order has been under serious review. Some critics of the former Chairman Wheeler's approach to Net Neutrality argue that Congress should rewrite the rules for traffic on the Internet. Supporters argue that the FCC's Title II rules are the only way to assure that traffic is handled equally. And now that Chairman Ajit Pai is firmly in the driver's seat, it has been reported that he favors a different approach. So w...

To Pay, Or Not To Pay – Living in the Age of Ransomware

Download Audio SUMMARY Ransomware is now a global epidemic. It strikes an estimated 40% of businesses in the US, UK, Canada and Germany and is now is hitting one out of every six consumers, according to Kaspersky Lab. Today, ransomware has replaced credit card theft as the preferred scam of online criminals and they are extorting billions globally. But the epidemic is nearly silent because few want to admit they’ve been victimized and blackmailed into paying ransom. At this Internet Caucus...

Data Warrants Across the Pond: Envisioning A More Sustainable Process

View Flickr Photos Documents: UK-USDOJ Proposed United States – United Kingdom Agreement on Secure and Privacy - Protective Exchange of Electronic Data for the Purposes of Countering Serious Crime, Including Terrorism Legislative Language White Paper Due to the global popularity of U.S. electronic communications services, foreign countries increasingly require access to electronic evidence held by U.S. providers for their legitimate public safety needs. Yet the labor-intensive mutual legal...

The Future of Hacking Disclosures: What Are The New Rules of Engagement?

DC Court Rules On Net Neutrality: What Does The Decision Mean for the Internet?

    [thaudio href="https://www.netcaucus.org/audio/2016/20160620Netneutrality.mp3"]Listen to Audio[/thaudio] Download Audio   Today the U.S. Court of Appeals issued its ruling on the Federal Communications Commission's Open Internet Order (A.K.A. Net Neutrality). The decision is creating headlines across the country. We’ve assembled panel of F.C.C. experts to explain what the court’s decision means and what it will mean for the Internet going forward. Please join us for a balanced debate ab...

Disrupting ISIS Online: The Challenges Of Combating Online Radicalization

[thaudio href="https://www.netcaucus.org/wp-content/uploads/20160506isisonline.mp3"]Listen to Audio[/thaudio] Download Audio   View Photos on Flickr. Date: Friday May 6, 2016 12pm-1:15pm Location: Rayburn House Office Building Room Room 2226 RSVP: Via Eventbrite here. Follow: @NetCaucusAC | #ISISOnline Social media has flourished in large part because platforms have been freed from liability for content posted by independent users. But as instigators of violence and terrorism have figured...

Encryption: Balancing Privacy, Security and Law Enforcement Needs

[thaudio href="http://netcaucus.org/audio/2016/20160422cryptobalance.mp3"]Listen to Audio[/thaudio] Download Audio View Photos on Flickr. Location Rayburn House Office Building Room 2237 Follow: @NetCaucusAC | #CryptoBalance While a last minute hack averted some major courtroom drama between the F.B.I. and Apple the tension around strong encryption has only risen. There are still ongoing court cases where law enforcement wants access to encrypted devices. Recently both the House and Senate...

New FCC Privacy Rules for Broadband Providers: What Will They Mean For Privacy?

This discussion covers the new privacy rules proposed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to cover broadband service providers. The FCC plans to vote on the proposed rules on Thursday, March 31. Friday’s briefing is your opportunity to hear from a panel of experts what the new rules might mean for consumers, for  businesses and for the state of privacy generally. Speakers Jim Halpert, DLA Piper (Bio) Katharina Kopp, Center for Democracy & Technology (Bio) Laura Moy, Georgetown ...

Consumer Privacy Across The Atlantic: Exploring The New EU-US Privacy Shield

Date: Thursday, March 24, 2016 Description: The predecessor to the Privacy Shield was the EU-US Safe Harbor, which was invalidated by a European Court back in October over surveillance concerns (watch prior event here). That court ruling triggered widespread concern over the effect on Internet businesses in the U.S. Our event features officials from the European Commission and from the U.S. Department of Commerce, the entities that negotiated the EU-US Privacy Shield. Speakers Andrea Glor...

Gagged by the Fine Print: Protecting Consumer Rights to Share Reviews Online

Date: Friday, January 15, 12:00 pm Location: Rayburn House Office Building Room 2226 Follow: @NetCaucusAC | #ConsumerSpeech Online review sites have enabled millions of consumers to share feedback about products and businesses — even the federal government has begun to encourage the public to review its services as a way to improve performance. But some businesses are less open to customer feedback. By including gag clauses in contracts and user agreements, these businesses try to prevent cu...

An EU Court Just Sank The U.S. Digital Privacy Safe Harbor: Must Congress Pass An Internet Privacy Law Now?

Date: Friday, October 13 Speakers:  Damien Levie, Head of Trade Section, Delegation of the European Union to the United States (Bio) Mary Ellen Callahan, Partner, Jenner & Block, Moderator (Bio) Adam Schlosser, Director, Center for Global Regulatory Cooperation International, U.S. Chamber of Commerce (Bio) Abigail Slater, VP, Legal and Regulatory Policy at the Internet Association (Bio) Amie Stepanovich, U.S. Policy Manager, Access (Bio) Details: On Tuesday the European Court of Justi...

Julia Hartz, President and Co-Founder of Eventbrite | Speaker Series

Date: Tuesday, September 25 Speaker: Julia Hartz Details: Join the Advisory Committee to the Congressional Internet Caucus and the Women’s High Tech Coalition for a fireside chat about re-imagining the workplace with Julia Hartz, Co-Founder & President of Eventbrite. As co-founder and President of Eventbrite, Julia Hartz has evolved the company from an innovative ticketing platform to the world’s largest marketplace for live experiences. Since the company founding in 2006, Eventbrite has...

The Past and Future of WiFi: How The FCC’s Junk Saved The Mobile Internet

Date: Friday, September 25 Details: Join us for a discussion on the history of WiFi and the role it plays in everyone’s mobile data usage. Our panel will explain how clever engineers developed WiFi in a backwater band of spectrum that the FCC set aside in the 80’s for “junk” common household appliances like cordless phones, microwave ovens, garage door openers and baby monitors. This junk band was unique in that the FCC did not require an application to use the spectrum nor did it require a...

The Third Era of Currency: How the Internet, Mathematics, & Bitcoin are Innovating Money

Date: Friday, September 18 Details: From sheckels to silver dollars, the medium with which we exchange for goods and services has always been indicative of the times. Today we explore the next era of currency, one backed by mathematics, powered by the Internet, driven by the market and delivered by the innovative open source protocol known as Bitcoin. Experts will discuss the social and economic benefits as well as the challenges in reinventing currency. The panel will explore how the Inter...

The Internet Takes Flight: Commercial Drones and the Online Economy

Date:Monday, August 3, 2015 Details: Details: In just ten years, the commercial drone sector is projected to become a multi-billion-dollar industry, creating thousands of jobs and putting over 80,000 new vehicles in the air. These Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have extended the Internet to the skies, bridging the gap between atoms and bits and promising to bring connectivity to remote corners of the world. From expanding Internet access for rural populations to rapid delivery services, p...

Data Across Borders: Treaties, Law Enforcement, and Digital Privacy in the Aftermath of Snowden

Date:Friday, July 24, 2015 Details: Do warrants allow law enforcement to reach into data centers across borders? Can 19th-century international legal processes keep up with 21st-century speed? Join us for a briefing on the law and policy that determines the reach of law enforcement into data stored outside of the United States and the important questions and issues the debate has raised: the need to modernize and make more efficient Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties (MLATs) why starting an...

Taylor Swift or Congress? Who Has More Power in the Digital Music Streaming Marketplace?

Date:Friday, July 17, 2015 Details: Did you know Congress is a major player in the music streaming business? Really, Taylor Swift and Apple have nothing on the House and Senate. Congress has been at the policy turntables a long time making key decisions on how music is distributed through every new medium from radio to cable, satellite, and the Internet. In the mid-1990s, Congress crafted a law that determined how licensing and royalty rates would be set for digital music streaming. As a r...

Will Frivolous Defamation Suits Be the End of the Internet?

Date: Friday, July 10, 2015 Details: The explosion of online platforms enabling public participation -- blogs, comment sections, review websites, and social media, among others -- has let millions of individuals share opinions and exercise their freedom of speech online. However, such public declarations can also expose contributors to retaliation by the subjects of their commentary under the guise of defamation or libel suits. Strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPP) are law...

Internet Governance, ICANN and Congress.Sucks: Where is Control of the Internet Going?

Date: Friday, June 5, 2015 Our expert panel debates the latest developments in the international drama that is Internet governance. There is much fodder for discussion: the federal government’s decision to cede control of key Internet functions to ICANN, ICANN’s efforts to become an accountable steward of these functions, attempts by international organizations such as the U.N. to exert greater control over Internet decisions in fora like WSIS+10, and the .sucks domain name controversy. Spe...

PODCAST: Sunsetting the PATRIOT Act’s NSA Surveillance Authorities: Should Congress Reauthorize, Reform or Retire?

Date: Friday, May 1, 2015 On June 1, 2015 a set of key provisions of the PATRIOT Act will expire unless Congress reauthorizes them. The provisions due to sunset without Congressional reauthorization have become extremely controversial in the wake of the revelations by NSA leaker Edward Snowden. The PATRIOT Act serves as the basis the most controversial government program — the NSA’s “bulk collection program.” Civil liberties advocates and some Internet industry coalitions have called on Cong...

PODCAST: Cyber Security: Will The Sharing of Threat Information Secure The Homeland or Erode Privacy?

Date: Friday, April 10, 2015 President Obama has made the public-private sharing of threat information one of the most pressing priorities in his massive push to protect the nation’s cyber infrastructure. In February at the Cyber Security Summit, the President signed an executive order to promote better sharing of threat information, “both within the private sector and between government and the private sector.” As part of that strategy, he has called upon Congress to pass legislation to inc...

Encrypting Smartphones and Internet Messages: Are Americans More or Less Secure?

Date: Thursday, March 12, 2015 Recently the “Crypto Wars” debate started anew when FBI Director Comey suggested that Apple and Google’s encrypting their smart phones presented grave concerns to law enforcement. He suggested that law enforcement should hold to the keys to such communications. UK Prime Minister David Cameron amplified that concern in the wake of the Paris terrorist attack suggesting that encrypted communications should be beyond the ears of law enforcement. And just recently P...

FCC Net Neutrality Rules Briefing

Date: February 27, 2015 Panelists debate and discuss the new FCC "Open Internet" rules approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) the prior day. Panelists review what may be in new rules and what the future holds for net neutrality law and policy. Panelists: Anna-Maria Kovacs, Visiting Senior Policy Scholar, Georgetown University Tim Lordan, Executive Director, Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee (moderator) Geoffrey A. Manne, founder and Executive Director, Int...

Should Congress be Caring About Sharing?

Date: December 8, 2014 Companies like Uber, Lyft, and Airbnb are high profile examples of the so-called sharing economy, in which ordinary people use online platforms to rent (rather than sell) products and services to each other. Also known as collaborative consumption, or peer to peer commerce, this new way of doing business uses the Internet to connect individual sellers and consumers, and is changing the economy in many ways. Despite the successes of sharing economy pioneers, there is a...

The Legal Underpinnings of Digitally Exposed Private Images and What Congress Needs to Know

Date: November 6, 2014 “Hunger Games” Actress Jennifer Lawrence stated in November’s Vanity Fair that exposure of her personal nude photos was a “sex crime.” Was it? If not, what kind of legal recourse does Jennifer Lawrence — or an everyday American citizen like you — have against hackers and web sites that peddle such photos? Today’s digitized era raises new, complicated questions regarding non-consensually shared private photos. What are the legal and social underpinnings in scenarios spa...

Does the Internet Need a Revised Communications Act?

Date: October 16, 2014 Since the last update of the Communications Act (in 1996) many leaders have proposed updating the act for the digital age. Our panel discusses whether the Internet — which started out digital — needs to be part of a rewrite that includes broadcast, cable, telephone, and satellite services. Speakers: Doug Brake, Information Technology Innovation Foundation Justin "Gus" Hurwitz, Nebraska College of Law Sarah Morris, New America Open Technology Institute Cathy Sloan, Co...

What New Internet & Mobile Phone Taxes Would Mean For Constituents & The Economy

Date: September 29, 2014 A panel of experts explains what the Internet tax moratorium is and what failing to reauthorize it will mean for constituents and for the economy. Speakers: Scott Mackey, KSE Partners Katie McAuliffe, Americans for Tax Reform Dr. Nicol Turner-Lee, Vice President and Chief Research and Policy Officer, Minority Media and Telecommunications Council