INET 2001 to Feature High-Level Panel on Internet Self-Regulation
Stockholm, Sweden – The Internet Society today announced that a panel discussion entitled “Quest for Global Self-Regulation – Lessons Learned” will be a featured component of the INET 2001 Conference to be held in Stockholm from 5-8 June 2001.
The panel brings together some of the leading figures in the Internet community to examine issues related to self-regulation, including many of the challenges that must be overcome to ensure an effective self-regulation system.
Participants include Carl Bildt, former Prime Minister of Sweden, and Marc Rotenberg, Director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC). The panel will be moderated by Hans Klein, Chair of Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility.
From new Top-level Domains to hate speech and content rating, the Internet is facing difficult and inevitable global challenges. As people interact, trade and work together globally instantly over the Internet, such traditional frameworks as national borders, taxes and duties, censorship, and copyrights strain under the pressure.
One answer commonly proposed is “self-regulation”. But as ICANN’s recent At-Large membership election illustrates, enforcing effective self-regulation globally is not an easy task. This panel will examine possible ways in which to overcome difficulties inherent to any self-regulation scheme.
Panel members include those who support industry-led self-regulation, those who support leadership by technical experts, and those who would give ultimate authority to Internet users, or “netizens.” Each will present their own views and evaluate the extent of common ground that exists at present.
Profiles of Panel Participants:
Carl Bildt is an international statesman and information technology advisor, Mr. Bildt’s current duties include Special Envoy of the Secretary General of the United Nations to the Balkans, Member of Parliament of Sweden, Senior Advisor to Swedish Internet and technology investment firm IT Provider, and Board Member of several corporations and international organizations. Mr. Bildt sits on the Boards of numerous IT companies, including HiQ AB, Humany AB, Internet Capital Group, Melody Interactive Solutions AB, and Teleoptimering AB (Chairman of the Board). A Member of Parliament in Sweden since 1979, Mr. Bildt served as the country’s Prime Minister, leading a four-party coalition, from 1991 to1994.
Jeanette Hofmann received the second highest votes in Europe for the ICANN At Large Board election in 2000. Since that time, she has been an active member of NAIS (NGO and Academic ICANN Study), an independent study group on ICANN’s At-Large membership. Ms. Hoffmann is a political scientist who has been a netizen and Internet researcher for seven years, whose research has included an extensive study on the development of the next generation of the Internet Protocol IPv6 and, in relation to this, on the decision-making procedures of the Internet Engineering Task Force.
Marc Rotenberg is Director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) in Washington, DC. He teaches information privacy law at Georgetown University Law Center and has testified before Congress on many issues, including access to information, encryption policy, computer security, and communications privacy. He has served on several national and international advisory panels, including the expert panels on Cryptography Policy and Computer Security for the OECD and the Legal Experts on Cyberspace Law for
UNESCO.
Ola-Kristian Hoff is Director of the European branch of the Internet Content Rating Association. He holds a law degree from the University of Oslo and has specialized in computer law, in particular technological and political strategies in the Information Society. Having broad experience from public administration, he combines experience of political processes on national and European levels, with knowledge of the technologies.
Panel moderator Hans K. Klein is Assistant Professor in the School of Public Policy at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He has also served on the faculty of the Institute of Public Policy at George Mason University. In year 2000 he has been a Visiting Researcher at the Center for the Sociology of Innovation at the Ecole des Mines in Paris, France. Klein’s research interests include national technology policies in the development of large-scale systems in communications, transport, space, and defense.
About INET:
INET is the premier event in the Internet industry, providing an international forum for advancing the development and implementation of Internet networks, technologies, applications, and policies.
The world’s Internet leaders meet at INET conferences to exchange experiences and shape the future of the Internet. INET attendees examine strategic issues emanating from the Internet’s impact on commerce and finance, education, technologies and societies. INET 2001 presents a strong technical program with all papers peer reviewed by industry experts from around the world.
INET 2001 is the eleventh annual Internet Global Summit, and will be held in Stockholm from 5-8 June 2001. This year’s theme is “A Net Odyssey – Mobility and the Internet.” More information is available from http://www.isoc.org/inet2001.
About ISOC:
The Internet Society ISOC provides an international forum to address the most important economic, political, social, ethical and legal initiatives influencing the evolution of the Internet. This includes facilitating discussions on key policy decisions such as taxation, copyright protection, privacy and confidentiality, and initiatives towards self-governance of the Internet. ISOC created the Internet Societal Task Force as an on-going forum for discussion, debate, and development of position papers, white papers, and statements on Internet related societal issues. ISOC is the organizational home of the International Engineering Task Force, the Internet Architecture Board, the Internet Engineering Steering Group, and the Internet Research Task Force – the standards setting and research arms of the Internet community. These organizations operate in an environment of bottom-up consensus building made possible through the participation of thousands of people from throughout the world. Contact Information Lance Laack Manager, Public Affairs and Communications Internet Society 11150 Sunset Hills Road, Suite Reston, VA 20190-5321 USA Tel: +1 703 326 9880 Fax: +1 703 326 9881
