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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Tori Katz
July 11, 2007
(410) 466-0049
   
Free Speech, Parental Controls, and Online Safety to be Discussed at 2007 Aspen Summit
Harvard Prof. Laurence Tribe and Representatives from
AT&T, Entertainment Software Association, Microsoft, MySpace, and others to Discuss Free Speech Issues in a Multimedia World

WASHINGTON D.C. - The 13th Annual Aspen Summit hosted by The Progress & Freedom Foundation (PFF) will highlight the challenges that information and media sector providers face in a multimedia world. Toward that end, this year's event will feature a panel and a dinner discussion about free speech-related public policy issues as well as a keynote address on the future of the First Amendment by noted Harvard University constitutional law scholar Laurence Tribe.

Prof. Tribe's keynote address on "Freedom of Speech and Press in the 21st Century: New Technology Meets Old Constitutionalism," will focus on how technological change and the evolution of media markets effect the First Amendment treatment of old and new media providers alike. Tribe, who serves as the Carl M. Loeb University Professor at Harvard Law School, will address whether broadcasting will continue to be treated differently than other media platforms in the future, or if those new platforms will come to be regulated like broadcasting.

Related issues will be debated at Aspen during a panel and working dinner. A panel discussion on "Building Awareness about Parental Controls and Online Child Protection Efforts," will be moderated by Adam Thierer, Senior Fellow and Director of Center for Digital Media Freedom for PFF. Experts from academia, industry and government will convene to discuss how companies, trade associations, non-profits, and government organizations can better promote parental control tools, ratings systems, and online child protection efforts. The panel discussion will feature the following speakers:

Session Title:  "Building Awareness about Parental Controls and Online Child Protection Efforts"

  • Adam Thierer [Moderator], Senior Fellow, The Progress & Freedom Foundation
  • Jeff Brueggeman, Vice President of Regulatory Planning and Policy, AT&T              
  • Mike Gallagher, President, Entertainment Software Association
  • David George, Director, Strategic Planning – One Care, Microsoft 
  • Tim Lordan, Executive Director, Internet Education Foundation
  • Hemanshu Nigam, Senior Vice President, Fox Interactive & Chief Security Officer, MySpace.com

Thierer will also moderate a working dinner discussion on "Current and Future Threats to Free Expression" featuring other respected leaders from industry, government and non-profits. The discussion will highlight a wide variety of pressing public policy issues, including: efforts to regulate violent television programming; "a la carte" mandates; data retention; age verification; mandatory website labeling; and calls for the regulation of existing ratings systems.

Other prominent speakers and experts and further details will be announced as the conference approaches. Further details about the 2007 PFF Aspen Summit at the St. Regis Hotel in Aspen, Colorado can be found on our web site and registration can be performed online. Members of the media should contact Tori Katz to register or for more information at tkatz@abelcommunications.net or (410) 466-0049.

The Progress & Freedom Foundation is a market-oriented think tank that studies the digital revolution and its implications for public policy. It is a 501(c)(3) research & educational organization.

 

 

The Progress & Freedom Foundation