[IP] Re: Techdirt: Net Neutrality Debate Again Descends Into Shouting, Farce

[David Farber <dave@farber.net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Kevin Werbach <kevin@werbach.com>
Date: June 24, 2007 11:39:19 AM EDT
To: dave@farber.net
Subject: [IP] Re: Techdirt: Net Neutrality Debate Again Descends Into  
Shouting, Farce

Dave-

I'm the organizer of the Supernova conference, where the session in  
question took place.  I'm at SFO waiting for my flight home, so I  
can't comment at length, but suffice it to say that characterizations  
of a "shouting match" and "farce" are exaggerated.

It was at times an intense discussion, in which both sides had strong  
views.  But that's a healthy thing on such an important issue, and  
frankly, all too rare.  Supernova is a chance to break out of the  
echo chambers that we often fall into, which is why I brought someone  
like John Kneuer, who is the head of NTIA at the Department of  
Commerce, to talk to a tech industry audience.

You can read a detailed account of John's presentation and the  
audience comments on our Conversation Hub site:

http://conversationhub.com/2007/06/22/day-1-john-kneuer-tech-policy- 
expert/

It did get emotional, but to his credit, John expressly welcomed the  
debate when audience members started criticizing his position.  No  
one was prevented from expressing their views.  It's disappointing to  
see this reported as a shouting match, when it was one of the more  
refreshingly direct interactions between opposing views in this area  
that I've seen in a while.

There are probably others on the list who were in the room, so they  
can comment as well if they like.

-k-



--
Kevin Werbach
Department of Legal Studies and Business Ethics, The Wharton School
Founder, Supernova Group LLC  -- http://www.supernovagroup.net  
kevin@werbach.com   ---   1 (877) 803-7101   ---   http://werbach.com

** SUPERNOVA 2007 -- June 20-22 -- http://www.supernova2007.com  **


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