[Chapter-delegates] Appointment of former MPAA CTO Paul Brigner as North American Regional Director of Internet Society

[David Solomonoff]

I am profoundly disturbed by the appointment of Paul Brigner as North 
American Regional Director of the Internet Society.

In his previous position as Chief Technology Officer at the Motion 
Picture Association of America (MPAA) he worked for the passage of PIPA 
and SOPA.

His blog posts are here: 
http://blog.mpaa.org/BlogOS/author/Paul-Brigner.aspx

These bills allowed for the arbitrary shutdown of allegedly infringing 
websites without due process and the potential disruption of the open 
Internet. And the ways in which the MPAA and other industry groups 
maneuvered behind the scenes to pressure legislators are why many 
citizens have become embittered and cynical about the political process 
in this country.

The New York Chapter has succeeded by working over a period of many 
years to build relationships with the Free/Open Source and Free Culture 
communities, local tech industry associations, the startup community as 
well as advocates for open government.

The effective endorsement of MPAA policy positions by the Internet 
Society with the appointment of Brigner threatens to poison those 
relationships and severely damage the good name of the Internet Society.

I respectfully request that you reconsider the appointment of Paul 
Brigner as North American Regional Director of the Internet Society.

Sincerely,

David

-- 
David Solomonoff, President
Internet Society of New York
president at isoc-ny.org
isoc-ny.org