INTRODUCTORY REMARKS BY:
The Honorable Larry Strickling, Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information
and Administrator, National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)
U.S. Department of Commerce [Bio]
Abstract: Last spring the Department of Commerce announced that it would relinquish its last vestige of control over the technical functions of the Internet. The U.S. government said it would irretrievably transition key Internet domain name functions to the global multistakeholder community and asked ICANN to develop a plan for that transition.
Let’s face it, if there were a year we’d all like to forget, it would be 2014 in terms of confronting our cyber insecurity. Yes, we’ve had bad years before but 2014 felt different -- like something out of a movie script. Many are left wondering whether the Internet technology the U.S. pioneered is being used against us.
Policymakers, law enforcement, industry leaders and civil liberties advocates have long been working on proposals to better secure our networks and data. Just recently the President has announced a renewed focus for cyber security.
Our panel of experts will explore the state of our cyber security and what steps can be taken to secure the Homeland.
The intense scrutiny of the IANA transition illustrates how much things have changed in the Internet governance. We seem to recall that during our “Internet governance” breakout panel at the 1st annual State of the Net Conference (over a decade ago) the speakers almost outnumbered the attendees. Now more and more businesses, governments, advocates, citizens, law enforcement agencies, the military and NGOs are recognizing that the stakes involved in the evolution of the Internet governance framework could be absolutely enormous. The truly breathtaking part of this evolution is that it is not quite clear what path it will take and how it will turn out. With regard to the Internet, it simply has never been done before. We have assembled a panel of speakers to discuss the high stakes involved in Internet governance and where things go from here.
If it were possible, 2015 promises an even more interesting year for efforts to ensure an open Internet than either 2014 or 2013 (and that’s saying something). At the end of 2014 the President suggested a way forward to preserving an open Internet and FCC Chairman Wheeler seems inclined to take that suggestion. At the same time (at its own prerogative), the new 114th Congress is planning to explore the issue legislatively, while others maintain that the Internet is sufficiently open and additional rules are not needed at all.
Our panel will discuss the landscape for an open Internet in 2015 and beyond. You won’t want to miss this collegial discussion at State of the Net.
Web 1.0 and 2.0 have come and gone. We can now see a future of connected devices, the possibilities presented by social sharing, big data analysis, consumer wearables collecting our most sensitive bodily changes, and ubiquitous mobile computing. American consumers consistently express concern about the collection of their information from business and the government alike. With this better focus on the future, isn’t it time to craft a flexible, future-proof set of rules to safeguard consumers’ privacy while allowing for innovation?
Yet some say it’s too soon to place rules on the collection, use, and transfer of information about consumers. They say the future is still a long way away, consumer expectations of privacy continue to evolve, and we don’t know how data will be used to the benefit of Americans.
Our panel will feature experts who will work through these issues and discuss plans to safeguard user data.
