2023 Flagship Conference
In the more than two decades since Silicon Flatirons launched its first inquiry into the nascent “Digital Broadband Migration,” the Internet and its constituent players have evolved from a disruptive, competitive technology to the cornerstone of nearly every aspect of the modern world. Work, education, healthcare, transportation, financial systems, agriculture, democracy, social and cultural interactions – nearly every facet of modern life is inextricably entangled with a wide range of Internet service providers and platforms that help shape and define the day-to-day experiences of billions of people.
But the optimism and forward-looking nature of discussions about the Internet’s potential, as highlighted in the Digital Broadband Migration days, has given way to dissatisfaction. A mounting array of problems rooted in the Internet’s sprawling ecosystem present difficult challenges that must be untangled. Among other things, fears of mis- and disinformation, hate speech, and abuse, algorithms that often amplify rather than eradicate discrimination and inequality, the increasing toxicity of political discourse, the decline of journalism and its traditional business model, the erosion of competition, economic contraction, and questions about the federal government’s traditional hands-off approach to much of the Internet ecosystem have emerged as the commercial Internet ages past the quarter-century mark of its inception.
At the 2023 session of our annual conference, a range of speakers from academia, government, civil society, and industry will train their attention on the good, the bad and the ugly—where we have come from and where we are headed as we grapple with the challenges created by the Internet’s midlife crisis.
All times Mountain Standard (MST).
Sessions
Day One Check In and Breakfast
@ Wolf Law Building: Foyer and Boettcher Hall
Attendees are welcome to check-in and enjoy a continental breakfast buffet before the day’s programming gets underway.
Welcoming Remarks
@ Wolf Law Building, Wittemyer Courtroom
- Dean Lolita Buckner Inniss
Dean and Provost’s Professor of Law, University of Colorado Law School
The Future of Agencies
- Phil Weiser — Moderator
Attorney General, State of Colorado - Babette Boliek — Panelist
Professor of Law, Pepperdine University, Caruso School of Law - Julie Brill — Panelist
Chief Privacy Officer and Corporate Vice President Global Privacy and Regulatory Affairs, Microsoft, Former Commissioner, Federal Trade Commission - Tejas Narechania — Panelist
Robert and Nanci Corson Assistant Professor of Law, University of California, Berkeley, School of Law - Maureen Ohlhausen — Panelist
Partner, Baker Botts, Former Acting Chair and Commissioner, Federal Trade Commission - Tom Wheeler — Panelist
Former Chairman, Federal Communications Commission
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- Attorney General Phil Weiser
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- Babette Boliek
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- Julie Brill
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- Tejas Narechania
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- Maureen Ohlhausen
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- Tom Wheeler
Break
Recognizing Student Leaders
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Colorado Technology Law Journal (CTLJ)
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Silicon Flatirons Student Group (SFSG)
The Tech Journalist Perspective on Tech Policy
- Casey Fiesler — Moderator
Associate Professor, Information Science, University of Colorado Boulder - Steve Heuser — Panelist
Global Technology Editor, POLITICO - Cristiano Lima — Panelist
Reporter, The Washington Post - Adi Robertson — Panelist
Senior Reporter, The Verge
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- Casey Fiesler
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- Steve Heuser
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- Cristiano Lima
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- Adi Robertson
Lunch Break
A catered lunch will be provided onsite.
Implementation of Platform Regulation in Europe
- David Sullivan — Moderator
Executive Director, Digital Trust & Safety Partnership - Gerard de Graaf — Panelist
Senior Envoy for Digital to the U.S. and Head of the new EU Office in San Francisco, EU Delegation to the US - Emma Llanso — Panelist
Director, Free Expression Project, Center for Democracy & Technology - Julie Owono Assevini — Panelist
Board Member, Meta Oversight Board - Chris Riley — Panelist
Distinguished Research Fellow, Annenberg Public Policy Center, University of Pennsylvania
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- David Sullivan
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- Gerard de Graaf
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- Emma Llanso
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- Julie Owono Assevini
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- Chris Riley
Break
Silicon Flatirons Annual Writing Competition Award
Sponsored by WilmerHale
Making Sense of U.S. Platform Policy in Congress and the Supreme Court
- Blake E. Reid — Moderator
Clinical Professor, University of Colorado Law School - Jennifer Huddleston — Panelist
Research Fellow, Cato Institute - Chris Lewis — Panelist
President & CEO, Public Knowledge - Corynne McSherry — Panelist
Legal Director, Electronic Frontier Foundation - Derigan Silver — Panelist
Associate Professor & Chair, Department of Media, Film and Journalism Studies, University of Denver
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- Blake E. Reid
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- Jennifer Huddleston
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- Chris Lewis
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- Corynne McSherry
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- Derigan Silver
Break
Fireside Chat
- Alan Davidson
Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and National Telecommunications and Information Administrator, U.S. Department of Commerce - Anna Gomez
Senior Advisor for International Information and Communications Policy, U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy
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- Alan Davidson
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- Anna Gomez
DEBATE: Promote Tech Giants or Startups?
Debate Topic: “We should prefer a system that promotes either startups (the founding of innovative, if often unruly, new tech companies) or tech giants (the sustenance and oversight of tech companies that operate at scale).”
Moderator
- JP de Vries — Director Emeritus and Distinguished Advisor, Silicon Flatirons
Tech Giants
- Paul Ohm — Professor of Law; Chief Data Officer, Georgetown University Law Center
- Meg Leta Jones — Associate Professor, Georgetown University
Startups
- Brad Bernthal — Associate Professor, University of Colorado Law School
- Orly Lobel — Warren Distinguished Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Employment and Labor Policy (CELP) , University of San Diego
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- JP de Vries
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- Brad Bernthal
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- Orly Lobel
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- Paul Ohm
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- Meg Leta Jones
Community Celebration
@ Kittredge Central Hall, Multipurpose Room
Conference attendees and speakers are encouraged to gather in Kittredge Central Hall on the CU Boulder campus, just a two-minute walk from Wolf Law Building, to celebrate with the Silicon Flatirons community. Heavy hors d’oeuvres and refreshments provided. Walking Directions.
Day Two Check In and Breakfast
@ Wolf Law Building: Foyer and Boettcher Hall
Attendees are welcome to check-in and enjoy a continental breakfast buffet before the day’s programming gets underway.
Keynote
@ Wolf Law Building, Wittemyer Courtroom
- Tim Wu
Julius Silver Professor of Law, Science and Technology, Columbia Law School
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- Tim Wu
The Role of Competition Policy in Mediating the Crisis
- Kristelia García — Moderator
Associate Professor, University of Colorado Law School - Elettra Bietti — Panelist
Postdoctoral Fellow, NYU - Renata Hesse — Panelist
Partner, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP - Hal Singer — Panelist
Professor of Economics and Director of the Utah Project, University of Utah - Christopher Yoo — Panelist
John H. Chestnut Professor of Law, Communication, and Computer & Information Science, University of Pennsylvania
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- Kristelia García
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- Elettra Bietti
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- Renata Hesse
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- Hal Singer
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- Christopher Yoo
Break
The Aches and Pains of Broadband Deployment and Adoption
- Gabrielle Daley — Moderator
Director of the Schaden Experiential Learning Program, University of Colorado Law School - Kathryn de Wit — Panelist
Project Director, Broadband Access Initiative, The Pew Charitable Trusts - Justin Faulb — Panelist
Chief of Staff and Wireline Advisor to Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, Federal Communications Commission - Francella Ochillo — Panelist
Executive Director, Next Century Cities - Nirali Patel — Panelist
Senior Vice President, Policy & Advocacy , USTelecom – The Broadband Association - Brandy Reitter — Panelist
Executive Director, Colorado Broadband Office, Governor's Office of Information Technology
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- Gabrielle Daley
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- Kathryn de Wit
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- Justin Faulb
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- Francella Ochillo
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- Nirali Patel
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- Brandy Reitter
Lunch and Learn: Digital Crossroads Revisited
@ Wolf Law Building, Room 204
- Jonathan Nuechterlein
Partner, Sidley Austin LLP - Howard Shelanski
Professor, Georgetown University School of Law
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- Jonathan Nuechterlein
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- Howard Shelanski