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NY Convergence ORIGINAL

#NYTMEngine Event Covers Politics, Open Internet Reform

October 30, 2012 at 8:18 am

From left: Andrew Rasiej, Fred Wilson, Clay Shirky, and Susan Crawford ad they discuss the implications of SOPA/PIPA (Photo Credit: Brittany Vanbibber)

The 2012 election is a week away, but for the NY tech community, the bigger question lies in what the winning candidate  will do for Internet access in the United States. Last week  at NYU’s Stern School of Business, the NY Tech Meetup hosted an event with SF-based Engine Advocacy to discuss the open Internet and the 2012 Election. The panel featured Clay Shirky, NYU professor and tech guru, Fred Wilson, venture capitalist for Union Square Ventures and author of A VC blog, and Susan Crawford, professor at Benjamin N. Cordozo School of Law and former Special Assistant for Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy for President Barack Obama. Moderating the event was Andrew Rasiej, chairman of NY Tech Meetup and senior advisor to the Sunlight Foundation. 

The night began with a discussion of the letters sent to NY Tech Meetup from each presidential candidiate last week. “Obama has done good stuff on crowdfunding,” Wilson said about the letters, “He actually gets it. So I think the words in the Obama letter are way better than the words in the Romney letter. The Romney letter is boilerplate.” Before long, the topic had shifted to the reasons why tech has fallen out from the political discussion. Shirky cited the negative effects that recessionary times can have on innovation. All three panelists agreed that there had been a disappointing lack of action from Obama, and that they feared they would see even less from Governor Romney if elected.
A large portion of the night centered on laws like SOPA and PIPA and how government regulation thwarts the efficiency of Internet. The three panelists asked for government participation on the local level for issues with innovation. Government involvement and knowledge of the tech industry was highlighted. “I’m worried about state by state or city by city regulations,” Shirky said, “especially with things like telecomm.”
The second half of the night the panelists answered questions from the audience, which had attendees like David Lerner, entrepreneur and angel investor, in addition to others who had been involved in the intersection of tech and politics, like Kathryn Peters, cofounder of Turbovote. Questions ranged from venture capital to the prospect of jobs in the United States. One final takeaway that Shirky left for the crowd was, “The [open] Internet means not having to ask anyone permission before trying something.” 

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