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

[Walda Roseman]

Dear David,

Thank you for your deep commitment to ISOC's principles and positions.  It's
something that we recognize and truly appreciate.  We had anticipated that
Paul's brief time with MPAA could raise some concerns, so we have thoroughly
vetted Paul with regard to both his personal and professional beliefs.  I
can assure you that his views on value of the open Internet, as well as
SOPA, fully align with those of the Internet Society and, indeed, it is in
some large part because of this that he has chosen to come work for us.  I
might add that before Paul exited MPAA, he succeeded in backing the
organization off of DNS blocking.  As part of our vetting process, we also
turned to members of ISOC Washington, DC to get their views, as well as to a
number of others who have worked with and known him.  You will notice the
enthusiastic reviews that he has received from Mike Nelson and others about
the value that he can bring to ISOC generally and the North American region
more specifically.  The views in the press release are just a small sampling
of the support Paul has received from others who firmly support our
principles.   David, if you still have lingering concerns, might I suggest
that you speak with Mike or others who have asked us to make their views
known in the notice that we sent around on his hiring? I would hope that you
would also feel comfortable speaking directly with Paul.   I truly believe
that you'll find that Paul will be a very effective member of the ISOC
community.

With kind regards,

Walda

-----Original Message-----
From: David Solomonoff [mailto:drsolomonoff at gmail.com] On Behalf Of David
Solomonoff
Sent: Wednesday, March 21, 2012 10:57 AM
To: Lynn St.Amour; Walda Roseman; Sally Wentworth; Ted Mooney; Anne Lord;
Chapter Delegates; ISOCNY BOD
Subject: Appointment of former MPAA CTO Paul Brigner as North American
Regional Director of Internet Society

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