[Hague-jur-commercial-law] Cato's Who Rules the Net?

[Michael Sondow]

It looks like Jeffrey Kovar is getting involved in the Internet
governance mania. I wonder if he knows what he's letting himself in for.

I see that Marc Pearl, everybody's favorite fast-talking industry rep in
the Hague negotiations, is putting his two cents in as well. I guess he
couldn't pass up the chance for a little gratis media exposure.

But where are the representatives of Internet users? Not a one, from
what I can see, has been invited to this conference, which seems to be
made up almost exclusively of private-sector lawyers (I'm doing my best
to be respectful here and not call them "shysters", or "mouth-pieces",
or some such pejorative, no matter how well it fits in the present
context). The Cato hasn't invited the ICANN people, either, so maybe
it's a fair trade-off.

Miriam Nesbitt sent this in, but the ALA isn't speaking at the
conference. Maybe they think it's a waste of time. (What could give them
that idea?)

As to the premise of the conference, the question "Who rules the
Internet?", that's a red herring. Everyone knows that the Internet is
ruled by the same people who rule everything else: American big
business, with the collaboration of American big-business-backed
government. They're still letting us consumer-victims fool around on the
Net so that we get used to it and become dependent on it, but pretty
soon they'll be lowering the boom (taxes, access fees, etc.).

But who knows, maybe our rulers won't do anything to restrict our access
to the Internet. If they did, how could their "security services"
collect "data" about us with their email and webpage hit spy programs?

What surprises me most about this trumped-up conference is that the Cato
Institute, which is supposed to be a libertarian free-enterprise
organization, has invited nothing but spokespeople for government and
big business. The conference room is named the Hayek Auditorium, but
Hayek would roll over in his grave if he saw what they were putting on
under his auspices.

M.


Manon Ress wrote:
> 
> Miriam Nisbet asked me to post this:
> 
> http://www.cato.org/events/techconf03/index.html
> 
> Who Rules the Net?
> Debating Internet Jurisdiction and Governance
> The Cato Institute’s Seventh Annual
> Technology & Society Conference
> Tuesday, October 21, 2003
> 8:00 a.m.–12:45 p.m.
> 
> Cato Institute
> F.A. Hayek Auditorium
> 1000 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
> Washington, D.C. 20001
> Watch the Event Live in RealVideo
> Listen to the Event in RealAudio (Audio Only)
> 
> Many people have praised the Internet for its ubiquitous and
> “borderless” nature and argued that this global medium is revolutionary.
> Indeed, the World Wide Web increasingly challenges traditional concepts
> of jurisdiction, governance, and sovereignty. In the universe of
> cyberspace there are no passports, and geography is often treated as a
> meaningless concept.
> 
> But does that mean that traditional concepts of jurisdiction and
> governance are obsolete? When legal disputes arise in cyberspace, or
> when governments attempt to apply clashing legal standards or cultural
> norms to the Internet, how are such matters to be adjudicated?
> 
> The variance in regulatory preferences from country to country is
> highlighted by policy disputes over free speech and libel, privacy,
> intellectual property, antitrust policy, and domain name registration,
> among other things. Myriad laws and regulations for “real” space are now
> being directly challenged by the rise of the parallel electronic
> universe known as cyberspace.
> 
> Who is responsible for setting the standards in cyberspace? Is a “UN for
> the Internet” or a multinational treaty appropriate? If not, whose
> standards should govern cross-border cyber disputes? Are different
> standards appropriate for cyberspace and “real” space? Those nagging
> questions are being posed with increasing frequency.
> 
> This year’s Technology & Society conference marks the release of the new
> Cato book Who Rules the Net? Internet Governance and Jurisdiction. The
> conference will explore the newest developments in Internet jurisdiction
> and assess the future of public policy online.
> 
> This conference is free of charge. For more information, call (202)
> 218-4633 or e-mail techandsociety@cato.org. Registrations must be
> received by Wednesday, October 15, 2003.
> 7:30–8:00 a.m. Registration–F.A. Hayek Auditorium Foyer
> 8:00–8:10 a.m. Welcoming Remarks
> Clyde Wayne Crews Jr.
> Director of Technology Policy, Cato Institute
> Adam D. Thierer
> Director of Telecommunications Studies, Cato Institute
> 8:15–8:45 a.m. Opening Keynote Address
> Hon. Christopher Cox (R–Calif.)
> Chairman, House Policy Committee
> Panel 1: "Governance: Debating the Rise of Legal and Technological
> Borders on an Open Internet"
> 9:00–10:30 a.m. Tim Wu
> University of Virginia Law School
> David Post
> Temple University Law School
> Bruce Kobayashi
> George Mason University School of Law
> Peter Trooboff
> Covington & Burling
> Gary Jackson
> Quova
> 10:30–10:45 a.m. Break
> Panel 2: "Who Rules? Current Clashes and the Future of Online Jurisdiction"
> 10:45 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Robert Corn-Revere
> Davis Wright Tremaine
> Kurt Wimmer
> Covington & Burling
> Michael Greve
> American Enterprise Institute
> Jonathan Band
> Morrison & Foerster
> Marc Pearl
> IT Policy Solutions
> 12:00–12:45 p.m. Luncheon Keynote Address
> Jeffrey J. Kovar,
> U. S. Department of State Chief U. S. Negotiator, Hague Convention, and
> Assistant Legal Adviser for Private International Law
> 12:45 p.m. Lunch—Wintergarden
> 
> From:
> M. Nisbet
> Legislative Counsel
> American Library Association
> 1301 Pennsylvania Ave. NW - #403
> Washington, D.C. 20004-1701
> Voice: 202-628-8410, x. 202,
> or 800-941-8478, x. 202
> Fax: 202-628-8419
> e-mail: mnisbet@alawash.org <mailto:mnisbet@alawash.org>
> http://www.ala.org/washoff