State of the Net Conference 2023: Full Schedule

8:00am EST

Registration and Breakfast

Monday March 6, 2023 8:00am - 9:00am EST
Convene 600 14th Street Northwest, 4th Floor, Washington, DC, 20005

Break / Networking

9:00am EST

Welcome and Opening Remarks

Monday March 6, 2023 9:00am - 9:15am EST
Convene 600 14th Street Northwest, 4th Floor, Washington, DC, 20005

Panel

Room Convene Forum

9:15am EST

Keynote with Alexander "amac" Macgillivray

Alexander “amac” Macgillivray is a Deputy Assistant to the President and Principal Deputy United States Chief Technology Officer. In this role, he and the U.S. CTO team work to maximize the benefits of technology and data for all Americans. He held a similar post in the Obama-Biden Administration. Previously, he worked on the Biden-Harris Transition Team and co-founded the Trust & Safety Professional Association, Trust and Safety Foundation, and Alloy.us. He was a board member at Creative Commons and the Data & Society Research Institute, and an advisor to the Mozilla Tech Policy Fellows. Macgillivray served as Twitter’s general counsel, and as the company’s head of corporate development, public policy, communications, and trust and safety. He was also deputy general counsel at Google, where he created the product counsel team. He has served on the board of the Campaign for the Female Education (CAMFED) USA, was one of the early voices at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, and was certified as a first-grade teacher by the State of New Jersey.

Speakers

Alexander "amac" Macgillivray

Deputy Assistant to the President & Principal Deputy United States Chief Technology Officer, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy

Monday March 6, 2023 9:15am - 9:30am EST
Convene 600 14th Street Northwest, 4th Floor, Washington, DC, 20005

Keynote

Room Convene Forum

9:30am EST

Fireside Chat with Jonathan Kanter, with Brian Fung

Moderators

Brian Fung

Technology Reporter, CNN

Speakers

Jonathan Kanter

Assistant Attorney General, The United States Department of Justice

Monday March 6, 2023 9:30am - 9:50am EST
Convene 600 14th Street Northwest, 4th Floor, Washington, DC, 20005

Fireside Chat

Room Convene Forum

9:50am EST

Fireside Chat featuring Alan Davidson, with Nancy Scola

Speakers

Alan Davidson

Administrator, National Telecommunications and Information Administration

Nancy Scola

Journalist

Monday March 6, 2023 9:50am - 10:10am EST
Convene 600 14th Street Northwest, 4th Floor, Washington, DC, 20005

Fireside Chat

Room Convene Forum

10:10am EST

Coffee Break

Monday March 6, 2023 10:10am - 10:30am EST
Convene 600 14th Street Northwest, 4th Floor, Washington, DC, 20005

Break / Networking

10:30am EST

Achieving Digital Equity: Filling In The Adoption Gaps

Thanks to once-in-generation support from the federal government, there is a historic opportunity to advance digital equity by ensuring that all low income families can get connected. States are moving forward with developing their digital equity plans, pursuant to the Digital Equity Act, to meet the national goal of making sure all Americans have the skills and technology to succeed in a digital world. This panel will discuss solutions to overcoming the myriad barriers to broadband adoption that unconnected families face – so that our nation can meet this historic moment.

Moderators

Saul Hernandez

Principal, theGROUP

Speakers

Katie Spiker

Managing Director of Government Affairs, National Skills Coalition

Deborah Lathen

President, Lathen Consulting LLC

Annette Taylor

Director, Digital Equity & Literacy, North Carolina Department of Information Technology

Monday March 6, 2023 10:30am - 11:30am EST
Convene 600 14th Street Northwest, 4th Floor, Washington, DC, 20005

Panel

Room Central Hub

10:30am EST

Making Sense of Section 230: A Deep Dive Into Recent Legal Battles

In recent years, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act has become a heavily contested issue, particularly in the context of social media platforms and online content moderation. As lawsuits and legislative proposals continue to pile up, the Supreme Court has emerged as a key battleground for the future of Section 230. The panel will feature a diverse set of perspectives, including lawyers who have litigated Section 230 cases, tech policy experts who have studied the impact of the law on online platforms, and journalists who have covered the debates surrounding Section 230 in the media. We will examine specific cases, including Gonzalez v. Google and Twitter v. Taamneh, and others that the Supreme Court is almost certain to take up in the coming months. The panel aims to provide a balanced approach to Section 230 reform and its impact on online platforms. What are the origins and purpose of Section 230, and how has it been applied in practice? What are the key legal challenges to Section 230, and what are the potential implications of Supreme Court rulings on Section 230 for online speech, content moderation, and platform liability? What are the policy considerations for lawmakers and regulators in crafting a balanced approach to Section 230 reform?

Moderators

Shane Tews

Board Vice-Chair, Internet Education Foundation

Speakers

Matt Wood

Vice President of Policy & General Counsel, Free Press

Mary Anne Franks

Professor of Law and Michael R. Klein Distinguished Scholar Chair, University of Miami School of Law

Alex Abdo

Litigation Director, Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University

Steve DelBianco

President & CEO, NetChoice

Monday March 6, 2023 10:30am - 11:30am EST
Convene 600 14th Street Northwest, 4th Floor, Washington, DC, 20005

Panel

Room South Hub

10:30am EST

What’s Next in AI Governance? Frameworks, Regulations, & Impact Assessments

AI governance is maturing fast. Earlier this year, NIST released its pioneering AI Risk Management Framework. Lawmakers, together with academia, industry, and civil society, are turning to impact assessments as a tool to address AI risks and advance accountability. State and local governments, meanwhile, are taking action, with a New York City law on automated hiring tools entering into effect this past January. How do policymakers strike a balance between enabling responsible innovation and advancing trust in AI? What approaches to AI governance can reasonably be advanced today and what should be left to when AI standards are mature? This panel will explore the state of AI governance and the frameworks, tools, and regulations that will shape its future.

Moderators

Ashley Gold

Tech Reporter, Axios

Speakers

Elham Tabassi

Chief Of Staff, Information Technology Laboratory, NIST

Evangelos Razis

Senior Manager, Public Policy, Workday

Bertram Lee Jr.

Senior Policy Counsel for Data Decision Making, and AI, Future of Privacy Forum

Michael Richards

Director, Policy, Technology Engagement Center, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Monday March 6, 2023 10:30am - 11:30am EST
Convene 600 14th Street Northwest, 4th Floor, Washington, DC, 20005

Panel

Room Convene Forum

11:30am EST

Cybersecurity Today: Navigating Current Threats and Challenges in the US

As the digital landscape continues to evolve and expand, the threat of cyber attacks remains a top concern for individuals, businesses, and governments alike. In 2020 the Congressionally-mandated Cyber Solarium issued "an urgent call to action" regarding the nation's cybersecurity. In 2021 President Biden released the National Cyber Strategy executive order, laying out strategies for improving cybersecurity. Two and three years later, our panel will explore how the US is meeting the Solarium's urgent call and what developments have resulted from the executive order.

Moderators

Rikki George

Cyber Exercise Program, CME Group

Speakers

Marshall Erwin

Chief Security Officer, Mozilla

Kathryn Condello

Senior Director, National Security / Emergency Preparedness, Lumen Technologies

Jameeka Green Aaron

Chief Information Security Officer, @AuthØ / Okta

Megan Stifel

Chief Strategy Officer, Institute for Security & Technology (IST)

Monday March 6, 2023 11:30am - 12:30pm EST
Convene 600 14th Street Northwest, 4th Floor, Washington, DC, 20005

Panel

Room Convene Forum

11:30am EST

Internet From Space! Who Is LEO Internet For?

In the past few years, we’ve seen huge investments in LEO satellite constellations from big players like Starlink and Kuiper. LEO broadband, with its low latency and high speeds, is incredibly exciting. LEO broadband can connect the most remote, unconnected people — Ukrainians cut off from broadband, Tribal communities, remote libraries and everything in between. Where does deployment stand now? What are its limitations and where does LEO Internet fit into the mix of our daily Internet usage?

Moderators

Rebecca Heilweil

emerging tech freelance journalist

Speakers

Jonathan Cannon

Policy Counsel, Technology & Innovation, R Street Institute

Darren Achord

Director, Public Policy, Project Kuiper & Connectivity, Amazon

Monday March 6, 2023 11:30am - 12:30pm EST
Convene 600 14th Street Northwest, 4th Floor, Washington, DC, 20005

Panel

Room Central Hub

11:30am EST

Section 230: How Will Lawmakers Seek To Reform It?

As the legal battles over Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act continue to heat up, the calls for revising, updating, and clarifying the law have taken the spotlight. If the Court makes changes to 230, Congress would have to determine what new regulations or liability rules should be put in place for online platforms. At the same time state legislatures continue to press ahead with revisions of their own. In this panel, legal experts, policymakers, and tech industry insiders will discuss the challenges and opportunities for Congress and the states as they navigate this complex issue, and explore potential changes and updates to Section 230.

Moderators

Rebecca Kern

Tech Policy Reporter, POLITICO

Speakers

Joel Thayer

President, Digital Progress Institute

Billy Easley

Senior Public Policy Lead, Reddit

Matt Perault

Director, Center on Technology Policy at University of North Carolina

Yaël Eisenstat

Vice President; Head of Center for Technology and Society, Anti-Defamation League

Monday March 6, 2023 11:30am - 12:30pm EST
Convene 600 14th Street Northwest, 4th Floor, Washington, DC, 20005

Panel

Room South Hub

12:30pm EST

Networking Lunch

Monday March 6, 2023 12:30pm - 1:30pm EST
Convene 600 14th Street Northwest, 4th Floor, Washington, DC, 20005

Break / Networking

1:30pm EST

Fireside Chat featuring Nathan Simington, with Rick Lane

Moderators

Rick Lane

Chief Executive Officer, Iggy Ventures

Speakers

Nathan Simington

Commissioner, Federal Communications Commission

Monday March 6, 2023 1:30pm - 1:55pm EST
Convene 600 14th Street Northwest, 4th Floor, Washington, DC, 20005

Fireside Chat

Room Convene Forum

2:00pm EST

Fireside Chat Featuring Navrina Singh, with Renée Cummings

Navrina Singh is the Founder and CEO of Credo AI, a Governance SaaS platform empowering enterprises to deliver Responsible AI. A technology leader with over 18+ years experience in Enterprise SaaS, AI and Mobile, Navrina has held multiple product and business leadership roles at Microsoft and Qualcomm. Navrina is a member of the U.S. Department of Commerce National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee (NAIAC), which advises the President and the National AI Initiative Office. Navrina is an executive board member of Mozilla guiding their trustworthy AI charter. Navrina is also a young global leader with the World economic forum & was on their future council for AI guiding policies & regulations in responsible AI.

Moderators

Renée Cummings

Data Science Professor of Practice, University of Virginia

Speakers

Navrina Singh

Founder and CEO, Credo AI

Monday March 6, 2023 2:00pm - 2:25pm EST
Convene 600 14th Street Northwest, 4th Floor, Washington, DC, 20005

Fireside Chat

Room Convene Forum

2:30pm EST

Generative AI: What Powerful New Tools Mean For Washington … and Homework

(writen by ChatGPT) Generative AI, which refers to artificial intelligence systems that can generate content such as text, images, and music, has the potential to revolutionize a wide range of industries and applications. However, it also raises important policy implications that need to be carefully considered. For example, there are concerns about the potential for generative AI to be used for malicious purposes, such as creating fake news or deepfake videos. There is also the potential for AI-generated content to infringe on intellectual property rights, or to be used to automate the creation of content that would otherwise be created by humans, potentially leading to job displacement. It will be important for policy makers to carefully consider the potential risks and benefits of generative AI, and to develop appropriate regulations and guidelines to ensure that it is used ethically and responsibly.

Moderators

Austin Carson

President, SeedAI

Speakers

Renée DiResta

Research Manager, Stanford Internet Observatory,

Patrick K. Lin

Author of 𝘔𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘚𝘦𝘦, 𝘔𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘋𝘰

Renée Cummings

Data Science Professor of Practice, University of Virginia

Adam Thierer

Senior Fellow, Technology & Innovation, R Street Institute

Monday March 6, 2023 2:30pm - 3:30pm EST
Convene 600 14th Street Northwest, 4th Floor, Washington, DC, 20005

Panel

Room Convene Forum

2:30pm EST

Getting the Latest Binge to Your TV: Investments in Streaming

What does it take to deliver Stranger Things and Yellowstone? Will Wednesday and Star Trek Strange stream in 4K at 120 fps or even 8K? Over 100 million households in the U.S. purchase at least one streaming service, and almost all Americans with broadband access watch online video. This panel will explore the current state of streaming content delivery, the investments made to ensure seamless delivery, and the challenges and opportunities facing the sector. Join us for a thought-provoking conversation on the key trends shaping the future of content delivery.

Moderators

Anne Keeney

Vice President, Glen Echo Group

Speakers

David Don

Senior Vice President, Public Policy, Comcast

Angie Kronenberg

President, INCOMPAS

Alexandra Veitch

Lead, Public Policy, Americas and Emerging Markets, YouTube

Kerem Durdag

President and Chief Operating Officer, GWI

Thomas Volmer

Head of Global Content Delivery Policy, Netflix

Christopher Lewis

President/CEO, Public Knowledge

Monday March 6, 2023 2:30pm - 3:30pm EST
Convene 600 14th Street Northwest, 4th Floor, Washington, DC, 20005

Panel

Room South Hub

2:30pm EST

Horizons In Trust, Safety, & Transparency

Social media companies are under enormous pressure to moderate all sorts of content on their platforms. New legislation is emerging in legislatures all over the world. More and more court cases over awful content are making their way through the judicial system. All the while teams of trust and safety professionals continue to work to make their platforms safe for users. Our panel will delve into the current state of content moderation. What role will AI and algorithms play in policing content online? Will platforms make their operations and decisions more transparent to users, policymakers, and researchers? What is the future of third party content managers and oversight boards?

Speakers

Ashkhen Kazaryan

Senior Fellow, Free Speech & Peace, Stand Together

Tomer Poran

VP Solution Strategy, Active Fence

David Ryan Polgar

Founder, All Tech Is Human

Rebecca MacKinnon

Vice President of Global Advocacy, Wikimedia Foundation

Suzanne Nossel

CEO / Board Member, PEN America / Oversight Board

Monday March 6, 2023 2:30pm - 3:30pm EST
Convene 600 14th Street Northwest, 4th Floor, Washington, DC, 20005

Panel

Room North Hub

2:30pm EST

The Future of Children's Online Privacy & Safety: Keeping Pace with Technology

With several ongoing lawsuits against social media, search engine and gaming companies for violation of children and minors’ privacy, this panel will delve into the complexities and nuances of child privacy and safety laws and regulations, with a focus on the California Child Privacy Bill, the Kids Online Safety Act of 2022 and Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. We will also examine how these laws compare to similar legislation in the United Kingdom, such as the Online Safety Bill. How do these laws and regulations balance the protection of children's personal information online with the need for parental control and oversight? How do they take into account the rapidly evolving technological landscape and the diverse needs and experiences of children from different backgrounds and cultures? What are the challenges of effectively enforcing these laws and regulations, particularly in a globalized and interconnected online environment? How can we ensure that children are protected from the full range of online harms including misinformation, and other forms of harmful content? How can we address the issue of addiction in children's online behavior in a holistic and developmentally appropriate way, considering the complex interplay of social, emotional, and cognitive factors?

Moderators

Lauren Feiner

Tech Policy Reporter, CNBC

Speakers

Natalie Dunleavy Campbell

Internet Society, Senior Director, North American Government and Regulatory Affairs

Caitriona Fitzgerald

Deputy Director, Electronic Privacy Information Centre

Dayo Simms

Privacy Counsel, TikTok

Jane Horvath

Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher

Jamie Susskind

Tech Policy Advisor, U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), United States Senate

Monday March 6, 2023 2:30pm - 3:30pm EST
Convene 600 14th Street Northwest, 4th Floor, Washington, DC, 20005

Panel

Room Central Hub

3:30pm EST

Coffee Break

Monday March 6, 2023 3:30pm - 3:45pm EST
Convene 600 14th Street Northwest, 4th Floor, Washington, DC, 20005

Break / Networking

3:45pm EST

Fireside Chat Featuring Kemba Walden, with Ari Schwartz

Moderators

Ari Schwartz

Managing Director of Cybersecurity ServicesManaging Director of Cybersecurity Services, Venable LLP

Speakers

Kemba Walden

Acting National Cyber Director, Executive Office of the President

Monday March 6, 2023 3:45pm - 4:05pm EST
Convene 600 14th Street Northwest, 4th Floor, Washington, DC, 20005

Keynote

Room Convene Forum

4:05pm EST

Keynote with TikTok's Will Farrell on Project Texas

With 1 billion users around the world, TikTok has grown to become an enormously popular platform for emerging creators on a global scale. In this session, TikTok U.S. Data Security's Will Farrell breaks down TikTok's plan to develop and implement a new privacy and security framework for American user data here in the United States.

Speakers

Will Farrell

Interim Security Officer, U.S. Data Security, TikTok U.S.

Monday March 6, 2023 4:05pm - 4:20pm EST
Convene 600 14th Street Northwest, 4th Floor, Washington, DC, 20005

Keynote

Room Convene Forum

4:20pm EST

Fireside Chat Featuring Travis LeBlanc, with Amie Stepanovich

Speakers

Amie Stepanovich

Vice President of U.S. Policy, Future of Privacy Forum

Travis LeBlanc

Board Member, Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board

Monday March 6, 2023 4:20pm - 4:40pm EST
Convene 600 14th Street Northwest, 4th Floor, Washington, DC, 20005

Fireside Chat

Room Convene Forum

4:40pm EST

NAIRR Task Force Fireside Chat

In the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, Congress took action toward strengthen and democratize the AI innovation ecosystem by providing people across the country with the computing power, data, curriculum, and tools needed to research AI. That legislation mandated the formation of a task force to develop the blueprint for a National AI Research Resource (NAIRR), led by Co-Chairs from the Office of Science and Technology Policy and the National Science Foundation. After 18 months of deliberation and public input, the Task Force unanimously approved a final report and delivered it to Congress.

Last week, SeedAI worked with the Task Force to hold a public engagement on the report. In this fireside chat, the founder of SeedAI will interview the Co-Chairs of the NAIRR Task Force on what we learned at the event, the importance of building a resource for people across the country to perform AI research, and how the audience can get involved in the coming months.

Moderators

Austin Carson

President, SeedAI

Speakers

Tess deBlanc-Knowles

Senior Policy Advisor, National AI Initiative Office, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy

Manish Parashar

Director, Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure (OAC), National Science Foundation

Monday March 6, 2023 4:40pm - 5:00pm EST
Convene 600 14th Street Northwest, 4th Floor, Washington, DC, 20005

Fireside Chat

Room Convene Forum

5:00pm EST

Cybersecurity Mixology Presentation by Dr. Allan Friedman

Join CISA's Dr. Allan Friedman for an Internet Policy Mixology Session. He'll show you how to make a “It’s nuts that we don’t have SBOMs” cocktail or a “TLP: Green” mocktail, while connecting with colleagues. Enjoy delicious drinks, and also engage in meaningful discussions about current cybersecurity and Internet policy issues. Dr. Friedman is Senior Advisor and Strategist at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and Co-author of "Cybersecurity and Cyberwar: What Everyone Needs to Know"

Speakers

Dr. Allan Friedman

Senior Advisor and Strategist, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency

Monday March 6, 2023 5:00pm - 5:30pm EST
Convene 600 14th Street Northwest, 4th Floor, Washington, DC, 20005

Break / Networking