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

Fri Jul 11 11:20:37 PDT 2014

Very reasonable approach.

John More

On Jul 11, 2014, at 12:43 PM, Dave Farber <dave at farber.net> wrote:

> 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 choosing  financial disclosure in telecom policy could make a difference. 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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