<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">Next week's US-IGF, essentially an ISOC event, is a great opportunity to address the power of money in policy. </div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">
<br></div>I'm introducing<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;display:inline"> </div>a<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;display:inline"> </div>simple motion<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;display:inline">
</div>at tomorrow morning's open steering committee meeting:<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;display:inline">for that event. (Email me for callin if you like.)</div> <br><br><b>1- All speakers be requested to provide information on recent financial ties or funding requests that might pose a conflict. In general, we hope everyone chooses to disclose payments from companies and their associations that have important policy goals</b><br>
<div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.800000190734863px"><b><i><br></i></b></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.800000190734863px"><i><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;display:inline">
</div></i><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;display:inline"></div> I carefully am not accusing anyone of corruption; in fact many of those lobbying have high personal ethics. Rather, I believe the DC policy debate suffers from "publication bias," with corporations and those who agree with them and.or take money from them able to dominate the debate.<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;display:inline">
</div> I phrased this carefully as a “request,” not a requirement, to make it easy to support. What should be disclosed was left to the speakers’ discretion.</div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.800000190734863px">
<br><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;display:inline"></div> Nearly every major medical journal requires authors to disclose ties, usually in a note to the article. The medical people have developed massive evidence that “publication bias” affects science as well. In policy, those with the time and money to attend events often predominate. In some recent D.C. events, I’ve noticed over 80% of those involved are current or former lobbyists and their friends in the government.<br>
<br><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;display:inline"> </div> Disclosure is the right thing to do, even if we don’t win this battle.<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;display:inline">
</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;display:inline"></div>ISOC c<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;display:inline">hoosing </div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;display:inline">
f</div>inancial <div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;display:inline">d</div>isclosure in <div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;display:inline">t</div>elecom <div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;display:inline">
p</div>olicy <div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;display:inline">c</div>ould <div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;display:inline">m</div>ake a <div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;display:inline">
d</div>ifference<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;display:inline">. Washington D.C. is rife with "astroturf" lobbyists and many others taking corporate money. That's spreading worldwide. </div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;display:inline"></div></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.800000190734863px"><b><br></b></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">
ISOC CEO Kathy Brown & NA leader Paul Brigner both post their emails <a href="http://www.internetsociety.org/who-we-are/staff-and-advisors">http://www.internetsociety.org/who-we-are/staff-and-advisors</a> , They understand these issues in depth. </div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"> Do reach out to them; the easiest and most profitable path in D.C. is to "go along to get along" but that's not the best way to deliver the Internet for everybody. Too many of those offering money in D.C. have a strong interest in raising the price of Internet access. High speed in the U.S. typically costs 30-60% more than our peers in Europe because broadband competition fell to two players, DSL & cable.</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><i>I'm also introducing another motion</i></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">
<br></div><b>2- We urge all speakers to concentrate on improving governance in the U.S. rather than Americans preaching to others what to do. </b><br><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">
I'm on the U.S. State Department ITAC. Far too much of what I hear in D.C. is "White Man's Burden" thinking, ignoring the great strides being made around the world. China has twice as many broadband subs as the U.S. By around 2017, both Africa and India will have more Internet users than the U.S.; continued domination by U.S. companies and governments will be unsustainable.</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"> Americans should first put out own house in order. </div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">
Dave Burstein</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><a href="mailto:daveb@dslprime.com">daveb@dslprime.com</a></div></div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr">Editor, Fast Net News, Net Policy News and A Wireless Cloud<br>
Author with Jennie Bourne DSL (Wiley, 2002) and Web Video: Making It Great, Getting It Noticed (Peachpit, 2008)</div>
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