NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad
[ NNSquad ] Stanford talk on Network Neutrality by Martin Ammori
Network Neutrality and the First Amendment, According to Verizon http://tinyurl.com/alaoea4 http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/events/network-neutrality-and-first-amendment-acc ording-verizon [Background: I'm a geek, not a lawyer. I have no connection with Stanford other than living nearby and taking advantage of their talks that say "public welcome".] I thought it was a very good talk. I can't quite put my finger on why I don't call it great. I'll certainly pay attention if I see his name again and encourage anybody to go hear him if you get the chance. He's a good/clear speaker and knows the material. Roughly, he was in law-prof mode explaining to non-lawyers all the lawyer stuff behind the first amendment as it applies to network neutrality. It's the sort of talk where I don't come away with a neat story that I can tell my friends. There was no big picture, just a lot of small pieces that all fit together. I think I picked up a lot of good background about how lawyers think about constitutional issues. Picked-up is probably too strong. Maybe got exposed to. I wish I could listen to his talk again. Verizon is saying "We are a newspaper. We get to publish what we want." --------- He had a good quote about the first amendment. (I should have grabbed pen and paper.) I think it came from a court case. The key idea is encouraging discussion, so the first amendment may be stronger than just can't-prohibit-X. There is a big cut-out in the network neutrality rulings for cell-phone providers. They can block Skype and lots more. That was politics so AT&T wouldn't fight it. The FCC stuff is complicated/messy. Or maybe I just don't understand it. Probably both. Lawyer stuff: Lawyers used to file suit in the circuit court that seems more friendly to their view. A while ago, the courts fixed that. All suits on the same topic filed within a 10 day window go into a hat and they pick one. Lawyers still game the system by filing multiple suits to bias the odds. (He was grumping about loosing twice and getting the DC court both tries.) ---------- The talk was on the main campus rather than over at the Law School. I think it was part of a series that I'm not plugged into. It wasn't as well attended as the usual CIS lunch time talks. I didn't spot any A/V guys so I doubt if it will get to the web. (He didn't even have a microphone. They pulled everybody close to the podium so he didn't have to shout.) -- These are my opinions. I hate spam. _______________________________________________ nnsquad mailing list http://lists.nnsquad.org/mailman/listinfo/nnsquad