The Free State Foundation's policy seminar titled, "Thinking the Unthinkable: Imposing the 'Utility Model' on Internet Providers" heldFriday, November 14, 2014, at the National Press Club is available on two YouTube videos. A video of the opening remarks by Rep. Bob Latta, Vice Chairman, House Communications and Technology Subcommittee, and FCC Commissioners Ajit Pai and Michael O'Rielly is available here. The second video of the lively panel discussion, moderated by FSF President Randolph May, on the pending FCC net neutrality proceeding is here, with panelists Robert Crandall, Nonresident Senior Fellow of the Economic Studies Program at Brookings Institution, and member of FSF's Board of Academic Advisors; Gerald Faulhaber,Professor Emeritus of Business Economics and Public Policy at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and former FCC Chief Economist; Deborah Taylor Tate, FSF Distinguished Adjunct Senior Fellow and former FCC Commissioner; and Michael Weinberg, Vice President of Public Knowledge. Separate printed versions of the opening remarks are also available: Rep. Bob Latta, Vice Chairman, House Communications and Technology Subcommittee’s speech is available here; FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai’s speech is available here; and FCC CommissionerMichael O'Rielly’s speech is available here.
Register for the Free State Foundation’s policy seminar titled, "Thinking the Unthinkable: Imposing the 'Utility Model' on Internet Providers" on Friday, November 14, 2014, at the National Press Club. Prominent experts, who will focus on the Federal Communications Commission's pending Net Neutrality proceeding, include: Rep. Bob Latta, Vice Chairman, House Communications and Technology Subcommittee, and FCC Commissioners Ajit Pai and Michael O'Rielly, delivering Opening Remarks; Robert Crandall, Nonresident Senior Fellow, Economic Studies Program, Brookings Institution, and member of FSF's Board of Academic Advisors; Gerald Faulhaber, Professor Emeritus of Business Economics and Public Policy at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and former Chief Economist, FCC; Jeff Pulver, Internet and VoIP Pioneer; Deborah Taylor Tate, FSF Distinguished Adjunct Senior Fellow and former FCC Commissioner; Michael Weinberg, Vice President of Public Knowledge; and Moderator: Randolph May, President of Free State Foundation. To register, click here. For additional information, click here.
Free State Foundation President Randolph May will participate in a webinar, titled "Net Neutrality: FCC and Congressional Options and Alternatives for an Open Internet," on October 16 at 2 p.m. EDT. The webinar is hosted by the Digital Policy Institute (DPI), an interdisciplinary research organization based at Ball State University. Mr. May will join other distinguished panelists to discuss the legal, technical, and policy issues involved in the Net Neutrality proceedings at the Federal Communications Commission and embodied in legislative proposals being advanced in the Congress. Registration and additional information for the webinar is here.
On October 14, 2014, Free State Foundation President Randolph May will participate on a panel discussing why the media should care about net neutrality. The program is sponsored by the Society of Professional Journalists and co-sponsored by Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. With an introduction by Ellen Shearer, director of the Medill Washington Program, Mr. May and other nonprofit, government, and media representatives will discuss the importance of net neutrality to journalists, how accurately media have covered the issue, and how net neutrality is related to the First Amendment or free speech.
On October 9th, Free State Foundation President Randolph May participated in a session with former FCC Commissioner Michael Copps at the 2014 Akamai Edge Conference in Miami, Florida, to discuss the hot topic of net neutrality and the FCC’s Open Internet proceeding. By all accounts, it was an informative and lively program. Akamai’s innovative products and services have played a significant positive role in fostering the steady growth of the Internet ecosystem across the globe – and the conference’s sessions offered many opportunities to glimpse the prospects for continued exciting advancements. In light of the FCC’s consideration of proposals to adopt new net neutrality regulations, the subject, obviously, is very timely. To watch the video of the net neutrality discussion, which is posted on Akamai’s website, please click here.
Free State Foundation President Randolph May is a panelist in the first session of the FCC’s Open Internet Roundtable series scheduled for September 16, 2014. This first Roundtable session, titled “Tailoring Policy to Harms,” will address “Policy Approaches to Ensure an Open Internet.” Two fundamental questions will be discussed: what are the harms to Internet openness in the absence of open Internet regulations, and what are the right policies to address those harms? Mr. May’s fellow panelists are Althea Erickson, Etsy; Julie Kearney, Consumer Electronics Association; Barbara van Schewick, Stanford University; Michael Weinberg, Public Knowledge; and David Young, Verizon, along with moderators Julie Veach, Chief, Wireline Competition Bureau, FCC and Matthew DelNero, Deputy Chief, Wireline Competition Bureau, FCC. The roundtables are free and open to the public, and the FCC also will stream them live at http://www.fcc.gov/live. For addition information, click here.
Free State Foundation President Randolph May is a panelist during a three-day conference at the FCC, cosponsored by the American Enterprise Institute’s Center for Internet, Communications, and Technology Policy and the University of Nebraska College. The conference will highlight the latest academic thinking on broadband regulation and give regulators the opportunity to interact with leading scholars in the field. On September 11, Mr. May will discuss Elon University’s Enrique Armijo’s paper “Government‐Provided Internet Access Terms of Service as Speech Rules,” along with Jason Llorenz of Rutgers University. Professor Armijo’s paper will examine the implications of government‐provided access to high‐speed Internet for public safety, free expression, and digital development in urban spaces. For additional information, click here.
A video of the Free State Foundation's policy seminar titled, "Reforming Communications Policy in the Digital Age: The Path Forward," held on June 25, 2014, at the Capitol Visitors Center is available on YouTube here. Senator John Thune, the Ranking Member of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, delivered the Opening Keynote Address, followed by FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai, who provided a view from the FCC. Panel participants John Bergmayer, Public Knowledge, Scott Cleland, Precursor LLC, and Adam Thierer, Mercatus Center at George Mason University, discussed their divergent views on the proper path forward for communications policy.
Reminder! Next Wednesday, June 25 is the Free State Foundation's policy seminar titled, "Reforming Communications Policy in the Digital Age: The Path Forward," at the Capitol Visitors Center. Senator John Thune, the Ranking Member of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, will deliver the Opening Keynote Address, followed by FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai, who will provide a view from the FCC. The discussion will continue with reactions from John Bergmayer, Public Knowledge; Scott Cleland, Precusor LLC; and AdamThierer, Mercatus Center at George Mason University. To register, click here. For addditional information, click here.
Randolph May, President of the Free State Foundation and a Public Member of the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS), is participating in the ACUS 60th Plenary Session on June 5-6, 2014, in Washington, DC. ACUS is an independent federal agency. Its mission is to promote improvements in the efficiency, adequacy, and fairness of the procedures by which federal agencies conduct regulatory programs, administer grants and benefits, and perform related governmental functions. The ACUS membership is composed of federal officials and experts with diverse views and backgrounds from both the private sector and academia.
Free State Foundation President Randolph J. May appeared on the PBS NewsHour on March 24, 2014, to discuss the Administration's plans to transfer control of the Internet to a yet-to-be-determined organization. He appeared with Vint Cerf, a former Chairman of the Board of ICANN and currently a Vice President and so-called chief Internet evangelist for Google. You can view the video at this link.
Thanks to C-SPAN for covering our entire conference on March 18. The C-SPAN videos may be accessed here. Some of the conference photos may be viewed here and above.
The Free State Foundation is pleased to announce the release of the agenda for its Sixth Annual Telecom Policy Conference, Tuesday, March 18, 2014, at the National Press Club. The Opening Keynote Address will be delivered by FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, and FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly will participate in the lunchtime "Conversation" with FSF President Randolph May. FTC Commissioner Maureen Ohlhausen will provide the Closing Keynote Address. For details on the expert panelists, please see the agenda. Registration for the conference is complimentary, but you must register to attend. To register, please click here.
Free State Foundation President Randolph J. May discusses the consequences of the D.C. Circuit Court's Net Neutrality decision. You can access the video on FSF's YouTube channel here.
Free State Foundation President Randolph J. May and distinquished members of FSF's Board of Academic Advisors submitted a Response today to Questions in the First White Paper, "Modernizing the Communications Act," before the Committee on Energy and Commerce, U.S. House of Representatives. In addition to Mr. May, the members of FSF's Board of Academic Advisors submitting this Response are Richard A. Epstein, Justin (Gus) Hurwitz, Daniel Lyons, James B. Speta, and Christopher S. Yoo.
The Free State Foundation will hold its Sixth Annual Telecom Policy Conference on Tuesday, March 18, 2014, from 8:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m., at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. Keynoters at the policy conference, themed "A New FCC and a New Communications Act: Aligning Communications Policy with Marketplace Realities," include FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly, who will participate in a lunchtime “Conversation” with FSF President Randolph May, FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, and FTC Commissioner Maureen Ohlhausen. As in the past, an outstanding line-up of leading experts from government, industry, and academia will discuss and debate the most important communications policy issues of the day. To register, click here. For additional information, click here.
For more information, contact: info@freestatefoundation.org Mailing Address: The Free State Foundation, P. O. Box 60680, Potomac, MD 20859 Office Location: 6259 Executive Blvd., Rockville, MD 20852 Phone: 301-984-8253