Broadband Breakfast Live Online on Wednesday, July 8, 2020 — Section 230 in an Election Year: How Republicans and Democrats are Approaching Proposed Changes

Is Section 230 the new bugaboo of election years? Will life return to normal in 2021? This panel will explore the combination of forces that have made Section 230 susceptible to political pressure from both sides of the aisle.

WATCH HERE, or on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. 

Panelists include:

• Cathy Gellis, Attorney assisting clients with issues affecting internet intermediaries
• Berin Szóka, Senior Fellow, TechFreedom
• Rob Pegoraro, Freelance Tech Journalist for USA Today Tech, Fast Company and others
• Other panelists have been invited
• Drew Clark (Moderator), Editor and Publisher, Broadband Breakfast

Frustrated that people were making the law without asking her for her opinion, Cathy Gellis gave up a career as a web developer to become a lawyer so that she could help them not make it badly, especially where it came to technology.  A former aspiring journalist and longtime fan of free speech her legal work includes defending the rights of Internet users and advocating for policy that protects online speech and innovation.  She also writes about the policy implications of technology regulation on sites such as the Daily Beast, Law.com, and Techdirt.com, where she is a regular contributor.

Berin Szóka is a senior fellow at TechFreedom, a public interest tech policy think tank that he launched in 2011. Previously, he was a senior fellow and the director of the Center for Internet Freedom at The Progress & Freedom Foundation. Before joining PFF, he was an associate in the Communications Practice Group at Latham & Watkins LLP, where he advised clients on regulations affecting the Internet and telecommunications industries.

Rob Pegoraro is a freelance tech journalist writing about computers, consumer electronics, telecom services, the internet, software and other things that beep or blink for a variety of online and print outlets. His work can be found in USA Today and Fast Company, and he has also covered tech issues for the Computer & Communications Industry Association’s Disruptive Competition Project blog, Discovery News and the Consumer Electronics Association.

This event is part of a three-part event series,“Section 230: Separating Fact From Fiction,” on Broadband Breakfast Live Online that is sponsored by the Computer & Communications Industry Association. 

The three events in the series include:

• Event 1: Wednesday, July 1, 2020, 12 Noon ET — “Content Moderation: How it Works, Why it Works, and Best Practices”
  • This panel will consider how different platforms approach content moderation, comparing reasons for a more active or more laissez-faire approach. It will consider what “best practices” have emerged for ensuring online diversity without permitting online harassment. It will also feature a discussion of how platforms moderate content in the U.S. versus internationally.
• Event 2: Wednesday, July 8, 2020, 12 Noon ET — “Section 230 in an Election Year: How Republicans and Democrats are Approaching Proposed Changes”
  • Is Section 230 the new bugaboo of election years? Will life return to normal in 2021? This panel will explore the combination of forces that have made Section 230 susceptible to political pressure from both sides of the aisle.
• Event 3: Wednesday, July 15, 2020, 12 Noon ET — “Public Input on Platform Algorithms: The Role of Transparency and Feedback in Information Technology”
  • This panel will consider what role governments have, or should have, in reacting to the power of tech platforms vis-à-vis their role in public discourse. It truly aims to consider the pros and cons of government and public involvement and engagement in pushing platforms to adopt greater transparency about the use of their algorithms.

Panelist resources

• Broadband Breakfast’s past coverage of Section 230

Follow upcoming Broadband Breakfast Live Online events. See also other events in the series on “Section 230: Separating Fact From Fiction,” in Partnership with CCIA.