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[ NNSquad ] Brigner flunks on NN


Brigner flunks on NN:

http://isoc-ny.org/p2/?p=3159

(A good group of ISOC NY folks met up with Brigner in the Club Acela
room in Penn Station.  He mentions the Google-Verizon pact in a way
that one might easily think suggests he was involved in it.  He takes
a "deregulation helps Verizon's engineers" line on NN, Joly MacFie
alludes to an ISOC statement regarding NN, Joe Plotkin sets the NN
discussion off in the right place, with good follow up by others
including David Solomonoff.  I would have asked him whether he was
involved in GOOG-VZN, as there was indeed an advance in the policy
discussion wrought by that deal and NN advocates missed a chance to
use that to get the FCC on a productive track.  However, Brigner
doesn't get it.  He thinks the reclassification of Internet as an
information service was good, and that that "is working" -- which it
is, for Verizon.  He says "if it stops working," there will be a
policy discussion on that and ISOC will be in the middle of that.  And
he says legislators aren't going to "let the Internet be abused by
ISPs" -- all very, very telling statements.  He then addresses a
question about what layer he's talking about when he characterizes the
issue in terms of regulation by moving immediately to decrying
regulation of apps -- without addressing the character of the IP
layer, let alone competition among ISPs [and end users] based on their
access to lower layers.  He then jumps to the lower layer "legacy
regulations" which he calls a "major threat" to services and apps and
protocols running on the network -- which they are, for a
communications incumbent that decides it also wants to be an app [or
Internet] provider.  And he extols the fact ISOC has a group for
dealing with regulating apps.  Brigner completely outlines the
colonization of ISOC, even if he personally doesn't think he's taking
an incumbent line.)

On Sat, Apr 7, 2012 at 1:42 AM, Lauren Weinstein <lauren@vortex.com> wrote:
>
> Paul Brigner: ISOC's amazing flexible man
> http://j.mp/Ho8dWB  (This message on Google+)
>
>  - - -
>
> You may recall some days ago I expressed surprise at ISOC's hiring
> of Paul Brigner for a key role.  CNET discussed aspects of this
> controversial appointment at the time:
>
> http://j.mp/H6IWPT  (CNET)
>
> Mr. Brigner when at Verizon was publicly opposed to Net Neutrality.
> When at the MPAA -- where he was before the ISOC hiring -- he
> specifically spoke and blogged in favor of PIPA legislation --
> apparently expressing his own views, not just those of his employer.
> And all of these views in question would appear to be in direct
> conflict with ISOC positions.
>
> Now comes word that Brigner has become a foe of the SOPA/PIPA approach that
> he was vigorously endorsing such a short time ago.  Fascinating.
> And how very convenient:
>
> http://j.mp/Ho7nsS  (CNET)
>
> Of course people can have a genuine change of heart, sometimes
> dramatically.  On the other hand, the great satirist Tom Lehrer wrote
> a song about a famous technologist whose views were those of ...
> expediency.
>
> I don't know Mr. Brigner personally.  I'm not in a position to see
> into his head, or his heart.
>
> But I still find it remarkable, with all the qualified people available
> who have been stalwartly supporting ISOC positions for many years, that
> ISOC made this particular choice -- and I have to wonder why.
>
> --Lauren--
> Lauren Weinstein (lauren@vortex.com): http://www.vortex.com/lauren
> Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org
> Founder:
>  - Data Wisdom Explorers League: http://www.dwel.org
>  - Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org
>  - Global Coalition for Transparent Internet Performance: http://www.gctip.org
>  - PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com
> Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
> Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
> Google+: http://vortex.com/g+lauren / Twitter: http://vortex.com/t-lauren
> Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com
> _______________________________________________
> nnsquad mailing list
> http://lists.nnsquad.org/mailman/listinfo/nnsquad

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