[Web4lib] Net Neutrality Discussion in Ottawa

[Andrew Hankinson]

Net Neutrality: A Public Discussion on the Future of the Internet in  
Canada
February 6, 2007 , 7 pm
Admission: Free
Ottawa Public Library Auditorium
120 Metcalfe St.

Moderated by Pippa Lawson, Executive Director, Canadian Internet  
Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC) at the University of Ottawa

Panelists:
* Michael Geist:  Professor of Law, Research Chair of Internet and E- 
Commerce Law, University of Ottawa
* Ren Bucholz:  Electronic Frontier Foundation Policy Coordinator,  
Americas
* Andrew Clement:  Professor, Faculty of Information Studies,  
University of Toronto; Principal Investigator, Canadian Research  
Alliance for Community Innovation and Networking

Please join us for a an important public discussion on the future of  
the Internet in Canada. Network neutrality recently became a major  
issue in the United States when telecommunications companies issued  
public statements asking for the ability to charge Internet content- 
providers for preferential access to Internet users. That meant that  
big corporations, especially media conglomerates, would get to  
Internet users fastest while smaller ones, which would be unable to  
pay the "tolls", would be left trailing. Meanwhile, Internet users  
could be restricted from using certain applications, and would likely  
have to pay more to access content of providers that weren't part of  
the telecommunications company's exclusivity deals.

Net neutrality has been an issue in Canada for at least two years,  
but the release in March 2006 of the Telecommunications Policy Review  
Panel's Final Report renewed both corporate and public interest in  
the topic. In the United States, net neutrality is currently on hold  
as legislators debate the issue; in Canada, the federal government is  
considering major changes to telecommunications regulation and its  
commitment to network neutrality is uncertain - hence the need for  
public debate before more decisions are made.

We are also inviting politicians to attend this panel discussion, and  
we hope that with a good turnout, our policy-makers will understand  
what an important issue network neutrality is for Canadians, and that  
the separation of telecommunications companies from content providers  
is in the interest of all Internet users. While the Internet has  
largely been managed as a democratic commons there are hints that it  
can become a privately-controlled medium. The 2005 move by Telus to  
block customer access to the "Voices For Change" Telecommunications  
Workers Union website is but one example of a private-sector threat  
to network neutrality.

For more information on the topic, please visit the following  
websites and online news articles:

Battle over 'net neutrality' arrives in Canada
http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2006/11/02/tech-neutrality.html

The Telecom Policy Review: The Rest of the Story
http://michaelgeist.ca/index.php? 
option=com_content&task=view&id=1181&Itemid=85

The Alternative Telecommunications Policy Forum
http://www3.fis.utoronto.ca/research/iprp/cracin/ 
alttelecompolicyforum.ca/

Net Neutrality in Canada
http://www.neutrality.ca/


If you are unable to attend, please note that a video of the event  
will be made publicly available. Please contact us for link information.

We hope to see you there! Please do not hesitate to contact us if you  
have any questions, comments, or suggestions.

Cheers,
Sabina Iseli-Otto (sabina at alumni.uwo.ca) & Danielle Dennie   
(danielle.dennie at mail.mcgill.ca), librarians at large