[Chapter-delegates] ISOC's great opportunity to inspire ethical policy discussion

[Dave Farber]

Sorry but it is common on the NRC (National Research Council) and the ISOC
Board to ask people to state their biases and conflicts prior to a meeting.
That does not disqualify anyone it just means we understand where they come
from.


On Fri, Jul 11, 2014 at 10:17 AM, JOHN MORE <morej1 at mac.com> wrote:

> Dave
>
> As Paul Brigner said the IGF USA 2014 is not essentially a DC Chapter
> event. The Chapter is coordinating the administration. There are only a few
> of us working on the event.
>
> I agree about the outsized influence of money in US politics. But I would
> have thought as a supporter of privacy you would not call for financial
> disclosure from non-politicians. It is an invasion of privacy. Further we
> ask for disclosure from politicians because their decisions can affect our
> lives. It might be a great thing if IGF USA was able to make decisions and
> implement them. It cannot.
>
> I have no financial interests here. I don't work for anyone with respect
> to any aspect if the Internet. What is your financial interest?
>
> I agree that the Internet should. Be managed for all and the US is myopic
> about the rest of the world.
>
>
> John More
> DC Chapter
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Jul 10, 2014, at 10:29 PM, Dave Burstein <daveb at dslprime.com> wrote:
>
> Next week's US-IGF, essentially an ISOC event, is a great opportunity to
> address the power of money in policy.
>
> I'm introducing
> ​
> a
> ​ ​
> simple motion
> ​ ​
> at tomorrow morning's open steering committee meeting:
> ​for that event. (Email me for callin if you like.)​
>
>
> *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*
>
> * ​*
> ​
>     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.
>  ​​
>  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.
>
> ​​
>    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.
>
> ​  ​
>   Disclosure is the right thing to do, even if we don’t win this battle.
> ​
> ​
> ISOC c
> ​hoosing ​
> f
> inancial
> ​d
> isclosure in
> ​t
> elecom
> ​p
> olicy
> ​c​
> ould
> ​m​
> ake a
> ​d​
> ifference
> ​. Washington D.C. is rife with "astroturf" lobbyists and many others
> taking corporate money. That's spreading worldwide.  ​
> ​
>
>  ​    ISOC CEO Kathy Brown & NA leader Paul Brigner both post their emails
> http://www.internetsociety.org/who-we-are/staff-and-advisors , They
> understand these issues in depth.
>
>    ​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.
>
> *I'm also introducing another motion*
>
> *2-  We urge all speakers to concentrate on improving governance in the
> U.S. rather than Americans preaching to others what to do. *
>
> ​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.
>
>    Americans should first put out own house in order.
> Dave Burstein
> daveb at dslprime.com
>
> Editor, Fast Net News, Net Policy News and A Wireless Cloud
> Author with Jennie Bourne  DSL (Wiley, 2002) and Web Video: Making It
> Great, Getting It Noticed (Peachpit, 2008)
>
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