This post was written by Hatchet staff writer Matthew Kwiecinski.
Technology experts from federal agencies and the State Department called Congress’s proposed anti-piracy legislation fruitless in a series of one-on-one interviews in the Marvin Center Ballroom Wednesday.
Officials from the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Trade Commission and the State Department discussed the future of technology and the growth of information with law professor Jeffrey Rosen and editors from The New Republic magazine.
The House of Representative’s Stop Online Piracy Act and the Senate’s Protect IP Act are Internet regulation bills that may have noble intentions in their efforts to halt piracy, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said, but should still preserve Internet freedom.
Genachowski expressed concerns about the legislation, but stressed the need for balance as emerging technologies present new issues for legislation. Supporters say the bills will fight against copyright infringement while opponents counter that the measures represent a slippery slope toward censorship.
Alec Ross, the senior adviser for innovation to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, said regulators would never be able to completely control the transfer of information on the Internet.
“[Government] can’t pick and choose what it wants online, given political, economical, and social topics,” Ross said. “It’s all one Internet.”
Ross echoed the White House’s opposition to the bill, which called for narrower focus on future anti-piracy legislation.
Edward Felten, the FTC’s chief technologist, added that opponents see the legislation as an attempt to redesign the Internet, creating backlash from technology companies like Wikipedia, Reddit and Craigslist. The websites went dark today to protest the bills that they say will squelch Internet freedom.
Some House Republicans pulled their support of the bill Wednesday.
“Limiting the ability of technology is raising concerns [that it] doesn’t stop piracy actively, but instead negatively affects legitimate actors,” Felten said.
The forum also focused on broader trends in new technology and information growth.
Genachowski called for further growth of information through mobile and online connections, stressing the importance of broadband Internet for education and innovation.
“Teachers want to embrace and employ the Internet to get students ready for 21st century economy and society,” he said. “The problem is that some students have broadband at home, while others do not, especially in public school districts like D.C.”
