roundtable: Live from the Summit - Report # 7

roundtable: Live from the Summit - Report # 7

Live from the Summit - Report # 7

Lisa Kimball (lisa@tmn.com)
Tue, 29 Mar 94 17:38:11 EST 

Date: Tue, 29 Mar 94 17:38:11 EST
From: lisa@tmn.com (Lisa Kimball)
Message-Id: <9403292238.AA13174@tmn.com>
To: roundtable@cni.org
Subject: Live from the Summit - Report # 7


Live from the Summit - Report # 7

  The 4th panel is focused on "Making Democracy Work."   The
moderator is Sonia Jarvis, Executive Director of the National
Coalition for Black Voter Participation.

  Members of the panel are:

     Brian Banks, Policy Research Action Group
     Jim Butler, American Association of Retired Persons
     Mitchell Kapor, Electronic Frontier Foundation
     Sally Katzen, Information Policy Committee, IITF
     Ralph Nader, Center for the Study of Responsive Law
     Nadine Strossen, ACLU

  What is all this new technology going to do about such
problems as violence in the schools, put more real people
into the Office of Managment and Budget, mega-billion dollar
overselling of unused software?  (Can you guess who is saying
this?  Yes.  Ralph Nader.)

  Nadine Strossen says the critical issues of access and
universal access are important -- but security and privacy
are equally important.  We have to absolutely certain that
there are no censorial controls over the content on the Net.
Those who operate the NII must be considered common carriers.
All of us must lobby for privacy protection -- and we must
fight the clipper chip.

  Brian Banks commented on the importance of local grass roots
groups being advocates.  Don't leave policy development up to
the national advocacy organizations.

  If you're not hands-on, all you're going to get is hand-outs.
You must do whatever you personally need to do in order to
get online and start learning and using.  Ask for help, but
don't wait for a national give-away.  (Mitch Kapor)

  There is enormous democratic potential in the Internet --
but it's not easy to use.  It's time to develop free software
to make these networks easy to use.  (Mitch Kapor)

  On the clipper chip (ha ha ha... just as Sally Katzen began
to speak about this, a shreak of electrical feedback came
through the PA system)...   The Clinton administration looked
very carefully at all the issues and potentials before supporting
the clipper chip.

  But we have NOT heard a persuasive argument that the clipper
chip will actually accomplish any thing really useful.  (Nadine
Strossen)

  Mitch Kapor says there are highly encouraging signs that
online networks will enable people at local levels to get
more involved in local politics -- and he mentioned the work
of Dave Hughes in Colorado Springs as an example.

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