Post Tagged with: "digital economy"

Guardian on UK Digital Economy Bill

The Guardian's editorial on the UK bill pulls no punches: The digital economy bill is misnamed. A more honest title for the legislation, recently introduced in the Lords, would be the copyright protection and punishment bill. It is less about creating the digital businesses of the 21st century than protecting […]

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November 25, 2009 Comments are Disabled News

Reflecting on the Digital Economy Conference

Ottawa has played host to many digital economy-type conferences over the years.  Many have the same feel with pretty much the same people saying pretty much the same thing.  Yesterday's conference titled Canada's Digital Economy: Moving Forward was different. The primary reason was leadership (the noteworthy impact of Twitter on the proceedings and Terry Matthews' warning against mimicking the U.S. on copyright which he said "has become so extreme that it inhibits creativity and innovation" rank a close behind).  Both Industry Minister Tony Clement and Canadian Heritage James Moore left no doubt that they get it and are determined to craft laws and policies that look ahead rather than behind.

Clement closed the conference by noting how much has changed in the year since Bill C-61 was introduced. Clement said that it was "at least a somewhat different" public policy environment and committed to a copyright consultation this summer:

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June 23, 2009 23 comments News

Reflecting on the Digital Economy Conference

Ottawa has played host to many digital economy-type conferences over the years.  Many have the same feel with pretty much the same people saying pretty much the same thing.  Yesterday's conference titled Canada's Digital Economy: Moving Forward was different. The primary reason was leadership (the noteworthy impact of Twitter on the proceedings and Terry Matthews' warning against mimicking the U.S. on copyright which he said "has become so extreme that it inhibits creativity and innovation" rank a close behind).  Both Industry Minister Tony Clement and Canadian Heritage James Moore left no doubt that they get it and are determined to craft laws and policies that look ahead rather than behind.

Clement closed the conference by noting how much has changed in the year since Bill C-61 was introduced. Clement said that it was "at least a somewhat different" public policy environment and committed to a copyright consultation this summer:

Read more ›

June 23, 2009 1 comment Stop CDMCA

Canada’s Digital Economy: Toward A Safer, Stronger Online Marketplace

I appeared earlier today at Industry Minister Tony Clement's Canada's Digital Economy Conference.  I shared the stage with Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart and Tim Wilson from Visa Canada on a panel titled Toward A Safer, Stronger Online Marketplace.  My prepared remarks are posted below:

Canada’s Digital Economy: Toward A Safer, Stronger Online Marketplace

Michael Geist, June 22, 2009

Let me begin by thanking Minister Clement – both for the invitation to speak here today and more importantly for his leadership on this critical issue.  We all recognize the importance of the digital environment for commercial, cultural, educational, and communication purposes.  Canada was once a proud leader in this arena and I think most would acknowledge that we have failed in recent years to articulate much-needed vision, strategy, and perhaps most importantly – urgency.

Minister Clement opened today’s conference by citing confidence as one of his key concerns.  I think he’s identified a crucial concern.  Privacy and security are key components in instilling this confidence, but there are other issues.  I recently wrote about a digital action plan and I want to tease out several points that arise within the context of building confidence. 

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June 22, 2009 13 comments News

Conference Board of Canada Responds, Stands By Its Report

The Conference Board of Canada has issued a response to my posting on its Digital Economy report.  The organization defends the report, arguing that there was only one case of a missed citation (which it has corrected) and acknowledging that "some of the cited paragraphs closely approximate the wording of […]

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May 25, 2009 21 comments News