CFP96 Plenary Session
ISPs: Common Carriers or the Ultimately Responsible Parties?
Moderator: | Jeff Ubois |
Panelists:
|
Brian Ek
Bruce Fancher
Ed Cavazos
Daniel Dern
Simson Garfinkel
|
Organizer: | Judi Clark |
Internet service providers (ISPs), large and small, corporate and
back-bedroom startup, are the backbone of the Net, but does that make
them culpable for everything that flows over the Internet, in every
country with a TCP/IP network connection? That's the question every
business with a network connection has to answer these days. Yet
there's very little firm information for ISPs to use when making a
decision. It is not clear whether an ISP will be treated as a common
carrier or as a publisher, held to the attendant libel laws and
community standards under which publishers operate. These challenges
are compounded by an unclear regulatory environment, by conflicting
legal precedents concerning liability for transmission of copyrighted
and libelous material, and by the enactment of the Communications
Decency Act.
How do the ISPs view these challenges, what regulatory and legal
environments do they advocate, and are their expectations fair and
reasonable? Many of the largest telecommunications firms with plans to
become ISPs try never to come onto regulators' radar, so can they
effectively lobby for rights on behalf of the online world? Can
corporate ISPs be activists for free expression while carrying out
their legislative agendas on behalf of shareholders? This panel will
look at the choices and responsibilities ISPs face in the rapidly
evolving world of online communications.
Moderator:
Jeff Ubois is a contributor/editor at Digital Media, Internet World,
Macweek, Midrange Systems, and Asiaweek, as well as other
publications. He is also director of the WebArchive 96 project at the
Internet Archive, a joint effort with the Smithsonian to document the
election as it happens on the Web; the Internet Archive is working to
archive publically available information on the net. Jeff has been
writing about the Internet since 1987, and attending CFPs since 1992.
Contact: jubois@netcom.com / (510) 527-2707
Panelists:
- Brian Ek is Vice President, Government Affairs of
Prodigy Services Company, which markets
the PRODIGY online service and stand-alone Internet products. An
11-year veteran of the online industry, Ek is responsible for
Prodigy's government relations on national and state levels, corporate
issues management, pro-social initiatives, and company positioning on
public policy. He is a member of the Steering Committee and Policy
Co-Chair of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's World Wide Web
Consortium PICS group, Vice Chair of the Interactive Service
Association's new consumer education group, a member of the ISA's
Public Policy Committee, and serves on the Executive Committee of the
Information Industry Association's Public Policy and Government
Relations Council. Prior to joining Prodigy in 1985, Ek was
responsible for public relations and advertising for five security
divisions at BorgWarner. He also spent several years with Gannett as
a reporter and editor. He holds an M.A. in Journalism from the
Pennsylvania State University, and a B.A. in English from Upsala
College. Contact: ek@prodigy.com
- Bruce Fancher is a co-owner and co-founder of
Phantom Access Technologies, Inc. and
Evolution Online Systems, Inc.
Phantom Access has owned and operated MindVox, an online service which
was Manhattan's first Internet Service Provider since 1992. Evolution
Online Systems, Inc. is a software development and consulting firm
focused on creating online publishing and communications systems and
assisting mainstream companies enter online markets. He is also
co-founder of Digital Liberty, an electronic civil rights
advocacy group.
Contact: bruce@evolution.com / (212) 843-5535
- Daniel P. Dern, Dern Associates. Contact:
ddern@world.std.com / (617) 969-7047.
- Edward A. Cavazos is an attorney in the litigation section of Houston's
Andrews and Kurth L.L.P. representing a wide variety of clients, with an
emphasis on Internet-related legal issues. Mr. Cavazos is the co-author
of Cyberspace and the Law: Your Rights and Duties in the On-Line World,
MIT Press (1994). Contact: ecavazos@blkbox.com / (713) 220-4195
- Simson Garfinkel is a freelance journalist
temporarily living on Martha's Vineyard. In his spare time, he runs
Vineyard.NET, an internet service provider located in his
basement. Originally started on a lark, Vineyard.NET now consumes
nearly 80 hours of Garfinkel's time a week, although that's better
than a few months ago.
Contact: simsong@vineyard.net / (508) 696-7222
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Last updated March 1, 1996
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