7th International Conference on Internet, Law & Politics (IDP 2011): Net Neutrality

[Michel Bauwens]

Via Mayo Fuster-Morell:

 

7th International Conference on Internet, Law & Politics (IDP 2011): Net Neutrality and other challenges for the future of the Internet

Barcelona, 11-12 July, 2011

Presentation

Net Neutrality, the general principle that the network must remain
neutral as to the contents transmitted over it, avoiding any
discrimination based on the nature or the origin of the data, has become
a hot topic worldwide. It is generally seen as a key feature of the
Internet, one that has allowed the exponential growth of new services in
the recent years. Attempts to introduce certain traffic management
schemes by telecom operators seem to threaten the possibilities of
future development of the Internet and have an adverse effect on freedom
of speech. Different stakeholders, academics and policy makers debate
how and to what extent such a principle should be preserved and whether
specific regulation is needed.

The 7th International Internet Law & Politics Conference (IDP,
Internet, Derecho y Política ; Internet, Law and Politics), which will
be held in Barcelona on the 11th and 12th of July, 2011, will focus on
the current Net Neutrality debate, and its consequences for the
development of the Internet, from the legal and political standpoints.
The conference will cover as well other core issues in the fields of
cyberlaw, e-government and e-democracy that represent important
challenges for the future of the Net, including data protection;
copyright; privacy; web governance and policies; the right to access
public information, or democratic action on the web.

The six Internet Law & Politics conferences held to date have
consolidated IDP Conference's position as an annual meeting point for
researchers, scholars and practitioners interested in the consequences
of using information and communication technologies in the fields of law
and politics. Leading academics and researchers have participated as
keynote speakers on previous editions of the Conference, including
Benjamin Barber, Lilian Edwards, Jane Ginsburg, James Grimmelmann,
Ronald Leenes, Helen Margetts, Eben Moglen, John Palfrey, Yves Poullet,
Stephano Rodotà, Alain Strowel and Jonathan Zittrain.

The conference is developed and organised by the Universitat Oberta de
Catalunya (Open University of Catalonia, UOC) Law and Political Sciences
department under the auspices of the Internet Interdisciplinary
Institute (IN3) – the institute that brings together the research
activity carried out at the UOC which focuses, for the most part, on the
study of the effects of technology on people, organisations and society
in general.

CALL FOR PAPERS

We herby invite scholars, practitioners and policy makers to participate
in the 7th Internacional Conference on Internet Law & Politics (IDP
2011): Net Neutrality and other challenges for the future of the
Internet by submitting papers, from either legal or political science
perspectives, focusing on the following topics:

Net Neutrality issues, considering its effects on innovation, freedom of
speech, creative content, security, universal access to ICTs,
competition, telecommunication markets, digital divide and development.

Legal topics relevant to the current and future state of the Internet
such as online privacy, data protection, intellectual property rights,
intermediaries' liability, freedom of expression, online advertising,
e-commerce or cybercrime among others.

Questions related to e-government and e-democracy such as open data,
public sector information, online political participation, e-procurement
or Internet governance.

Interested participants should submit an abstract (a 300-word outline)
of their paper in the first place, by 18 February, 2011. The abstract
will be peer-reviewed and authors will be notified of the outcome by 4
March, 2011. Authors of accepted abstracts will be required to send the
full paper by 23 May, 2011. Full papers should not exceed 8,000 words in
length including notes and references. They should use the conference
template that will be available to download from the web. All papers
will be peer-reviewed. All papers accepted will be included in the
proceedings of the Conference, which will hold either an ISBN or an ISSN
number. Accepted papers may also be selected for oral presentation at
the Conference.

Important dates

Abstract submission: please submit a 300-word outline by 18 February,
2011
Notification of acceptance of abstracts: 4 March, 2011
Full paper submission: please submit the full paper by 23 May, 2011
Please send all submissions by electronic mail in a .DOC or .ODT
document to: [e-mail]