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8th - 9th December 2021

Washington DC Telecommunications and Media Forum (Online)

Virtual Event, Telecommunications & Media Forum (TMF)

Wednesday 8 and Thursday 9 December 2021

The IIC’s annual Washington DC Telecommunications and Media Forum (TMF) returned in December, albeit virtually, kindly sponsored by Amazon.

We took the topical themes discussed during Communications Policy & Regulation Week in October and looked at them through the Americas lens. As always it was the perfect opportunity for leaders of telecom, tech and media businesses and regulatory bodies to share their policy and regulatory priorities and roadmaps in an international, collegiate environment.

This year’s discussions considered:
• Multilateral, plurilateral and bilateral cooperation around the tech/trade/geopolitical nexus. How will cooperation on tech policy, regulation and supply chains work in practice? Spotlight on the TTC
• New rules for the Internet / Section 230 reforms – what might ‘well-crafted’ regulation look like? How to reach consensus?
• Infrastructure legislation and implications of broadband ‘everywhere’ rollout – supply and demand perspectives
• Policy frameworks for 5G and beyond – vendor diversity, use cases, spectrum management
• Privacy, data protection and trust – from cookies to metadata to AI to data localization – how to enable innovation and competition whilst protecting consumers?
• Broadcasting and video-on-demand content – what’s on the regulatory reform agenda? What role for international collaboration / harmonization?
• Competition policy – is reform needed? For example, to support the digital economy, to level up internet access and connectivity, to adapt to the changing nature of work, and to accommodate sustainability and the green agenda?

 

 

Delegate Fees

IIC Members
Free to attend

Non-Members
£125

 

 

 

 

Washington DC TMF 2021 Summary Report

A full report on the IIC Annual Washington DC TMF which took place on 8-9 December 2021.

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Speakers

Adam Krinsky Partner, Wilkinson Barker Knauer, LLP

As a partner in the wireless policy practice group at Wilkinson Barker Knauer, LLP, Adam combines keen analytical thinking and practical guidance to counsel clients ranging from the nation’s largest and most dynamic communications providers and industry trade associations to start ups just entering the marketplace. Adam provides strategic, legal and policy advice on a broad array of communications issues before the Federal Communications Commission and other government agencies, with a particular focus on spectrum and wireless industry issues.

Alan Friel Partner and Co-Chair, Global Data Privacy, Cybersecurity & Digital Assets Practice, Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP

Alan Friel is the co-chair of Squire Patton Bogg’s Global Data Practice and is a thought leader on issues related to information governance, digital communications and commerce and disruptive technology. He counsels companies regarding consumer privacy, including the California Consumer Privacy Protection Act, including defensing them before the Federal Trade Commission and the California Attorney General. He is an ad junct professor at Loyloa Law School and on the Board of Cal. State Chico’s Cybersecurity Education Program.

Alastair Mactaggart Board Chair and Founder, Californians for Consumer Privacy

Alastair Mactaggart is a real estate developer and investor based in San Francisco and for the last twenty years he has been a partner at Emerald Fund, one of that city’s leading developers.

In 2016-2018 he created and led a ballot initiative which resulted in the passage of California law AB 375, the most extensive consumer privacy legislation ever passed in the United States.

Mr Mactaggart is committed to community involvement, and was deeply involved for many years as a volunteer on the board of San Francisco’s non-profit California Pacific Medical Center hospitals, culminating in the approval and construction of two major new hospitals in that city in 2014.

He is a past board member of Room to Read, the San Francisco Mission YMCA, and board chair of the Sutter Physicians Foundation at California Pacific Medical Center. Currently, he serves on the Harvard College Fund Executive Committee and is co-chair of the Harvard West Coast Committee.

Ann LaFrance Independent Consultant

Ann LaFrance retired from Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP on 30 June 2022.  She was a senior partner in the New York office of Squire Patton Boggs and a founding member of the Firm’s global Data Practice. She was also an active participant in the Firm’s Communications Law Practice. Her experience covers a broad range of issues affecting the provision and regulation of advanced digital services and applications in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and the Caribbean.

Ms LaFrance began her legal career in 1980 with Squire in Washington, DC, where her practice focused on US and international telecommunications transactions, regulation and legislation. In 1996, she moved in-house to work as Chief International Counsel of MCI Communications Corp. (now Verizon), based in Washington, Brussels and London. Following her return to private practice in the Firm’s London office in 2004, she has advised a broad range of tech, telecom and multinational clients operating across a variety of sectors, as well as government and regulatory bodies, on data protection policy, GDPR compliance, international transfer agreements, AI ethical guidelines, blockchain, regulation of dominant operators, and the interplay between regulated “electronic communications” status and privacy laws in Europe, the U.S. and around the globe. Since her return to the U.S. in 2019, Ms LaFrance continues to advise on complex cross-border data protection, e-privacy and cybersecurity matters, including transfer risk assessments post Schrems II and integrated approaches to global data protection compliance. She is currently advising clients on the new wave of U.S. state privacy laws that will take effect in 2023.

Ms LaFrance served as the Firm’s first Data Protection Officer in the UK and the EU and on the Firm’s data governance board. She is a Member of the Board of the International Institute of Communications and currently serves as its Vice President.

She is admitted to practice in New York, Massachusetts and the District of Columbia and is a Registered Foreign Lawyer in England and Wales.

 

Chantal Davis Senior Director, Regulatory Policy, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED)

Chantal Davis is Director of Regulatory Policy at Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. In her current role, she is responsible for developing plans and policies related to spectrum use and spectrum auctions. In her over 20-year career at ISED, Ms Davis has been responsible for domestic and international spectrum planning, engineering and standards related to mobile communications including broadband, public safety, engineering practices for interference management and land mobile radio. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Applied Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Ottawa.

Chris Chapman Former President, International Institute of Communications 2016-2024; Chairman, Nihilent Australia Pty Limited

Chris Chapman was appointed President of the International Institute of Communications on 1 April 2016. He is also Chair of the IIC Nominations Committee.

Mr Chapman previously held the position of Chairman and CEO of the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA). He was appointed in February 2006 and was re-appointed for a 2nd five year term in October 2010 until April 2016. He was appointed an Associate Member of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in September 2007.

Mr Chapman is a seasoned executive with experience in the media, broadcasting and film, internet, telecommunications, sports rights and infrastructure development worlds.

Before joining ACMA, Mr Chapman held a number of senior management positions with the Seven Network, Stadium Australia Management, Optus and Babcock & Brown. He has also been the Chairman of Film Australia and Sports Vision Australia, and a previous member of the National Film and Sound Archives’ Advisory Council.

Mr Chapman has a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of New South Wales and has completed the Harvard Business School AMP program.

Christopher Calabrese Senior Director Privacy Policy, Microsoft

Christopher Calabrese is Senior Director Privacy Policy, Microsoft.  He works with Microsoft’s Chief Privacy Officer to lead their global public policy work on privacy and responsible data use.

Mr Calabrese has previously worked in senior roles at the Center for Democracy & Technology and the American Civil Liberties Union advocating for the responsible use of new technologies.  He has testified before Congress and appeared in many media outlets, including National Public Radio, Fox News, New York Times and Associated Press.  He has also led several national ACLU campaigns on privacy and was named one of Washington’s Top Lobbyists by The Hill newspaper.

Mr Calabrese graduated with a Juris Doctor, Law from Harvard University and a BA Psychology from Georgetown University Law Center.

Christopher Mitchell Director, Community Broadband Networks, Institute for Local Self-Reliance

Christopher Mitchell is the Director of the Community Broadband Networks Initiative.

Mr Mitchell’s work focuses on telecommunications — helping communities ensure the networks upon which they depend are accountable to the community. He is a leading national expert on community broadband networks and speaks at conferences across the United States on the subject, occasionally to directly debate opponents of public ownership.

He was honored as one of the 2012 Top 25 in Public Sector Technology by Government Technology, which honors the top “Doers, Drivers, and Dreamers” in the nation each year. That same year, the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors named ILSR the Broadband Organization of the Year. In 2011, that organization also honored Mitchell for his policy work.

On a day-to-day basis, Mr Mitchell runs MuniNetworks.org, the comprehensive online clearinghouse of information about community broadband. In April, 2012, he published three in-depth case studies of citywide publicly owned gigabit networks, called “Broadband at the Speed of Light.” In April 2011, Mitchell released the Community Broadband Map, a comprehensive map of community owned networks.

His Twitter identity is @communitynets

He is also a professional sports photographer, shooting regularly for the University of Minnesota’s Golden Gophers and other clients in Minnesota. He has also worked as a server administrator, web geek, and in automated quality assurance for software.

Mr Mitchell earned a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the Hubert Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Macalester College.

 

Danielle A Davis Tech and Telecom Policy Counsel, Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council

Danielle A. Davis, Tech and Telecom Policy Counsel, supports MMTC’s work on three focus areas in the tech, media, and telecommunications (TMT) sectors. The sectors include Technology, Data Privacy, Artificial Intelligence, and “Civil Rights in the Digital Age.”

Prior to joining MMTC, Ms Davis served as the Tech and Telecom Policy Fellow for the National Urban League Washington Bureau. Early in her career, she served as an MMTC Earle K. Moore Fellow and has also served as Tech and Telecom Fellow for the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) advising NCNW membership on issues at the intersection of civil rights, tech, and telecom.

Ms Davis has spent the last year providing counsel on technology and telecommunication issues with a racial justice lens to senior management at the National Urban League. While there, she conducted research on the digital divide, Section 230 and content moderation, and privacy issues.

In law school, she served as a Senior Editor on Barry Law Review. Also, she simultaneously served as the Editor-in-Chief of a regional law journal, The Southern Journal of Policy and Justice — the last Black student-run law journal left in the National Black Law Students Association network.

In 2012, Ms Davis graduated cum laude from Florida Atlantic University with a Bachelor of Science in Economics and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. In 2018, she graduated from Barry University School of Law with her Juris Doctor.

Danielle Coffey Executive Vice President & General Counsel, News Media Alliance

Danielle Coffey is Executive Vice President and General Counsel for the News Media Alliance, which represents 2,000 news media outlets worldwide. Ms Coffey leads the organisation’s advocacy and strategy. While focusing on a digital future for news, which includes building a more favorable legislative and regulatory environment for the digital distribution of news content, her government affairs and policy advocacy is driven by news publishers’ core mission of a flourishing, free and independent press.

Before joining the News Media Alliance, Ms Coffey was Vice President and General Counsel for the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) where she led advocacy efforts for member companies on issues that affected the internet ecosystem, broadband deployment, content regulation and international trade. She was responsible for informing and educating government representatives about member companies’ technologies and advocated for policies that facilitate innovation.

Ms Coffey is a member of the Board of Directors of the Copyright Alliance.

Ms Coffey earned her JD from the Catholic University Law School, with a specialization in Communications Law.

David A Gross
David A Gross (Ambassador) Partner, Wiley Rein LLP, USA

Ambassador David Gross co-chairs Wiley’s Telecom, Media & Technology Practice. He is widely recognised as one of the world’s foremost experts on international telecommunications and Internet policies, having addressed the United Nations (UN) General Assembly and led more U.S. delegations to major international telecommunication conferences than anyone else in modern history. Noted as bringing “innovation and vision to the rapidly changing TMT industry” by Who’s Who Legal and as one of the “Top 30 Telecommunications lawyers in the world” by Euromoney, Ambassador Gross draws on more than 30 years of experience as a lawyer, global policymaker, and corporate executive to assist US companies seeking to enter or expand international businesses. He also advises non-US companies, and industry organizations seeking to invest in, monitor, and understand the US and international markets, as well as national governments. Ambassador Gross advises companies and others on international and domestic telecoms, Internet, and high-tech strategy focusing on both specific markets and international organizations such as the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), as well as many regional organisations.

David Sullivan Executive Director, Digital Trust & Safety Partnership

David Sullivan is the founding Executive Director of the Digital Trust & Safety Partnership. An experienced human rights and technology policy practitioner, he brings together unlikely allies to solve global challenges related to rights, security, and democracy in the digital age.

Most recently, Mr Sullivan served as Program Director at the Global Network Initiative (GNI), a unique collaboration between leading technology companies and human rights groups to protect and advance freedom of expression and privacy rights online. During nearly a decade at GNI he played a key role growing and globalizing the initiative’s membership, implementing its unique assessment process, and advocating for rights-based approaches on issues such as terrorist and extremist content and Internet shutdowns.

Mr Sullivan previously led the research and policy team at the Enough Project at the Center for American Progress, where he oversaw field research and policy analysis on mass atrocity prevention in Africa. There, he helped pass landmark legislation and changed government and company behavior around supply chains contributing to conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Earlier in his career he worked for international NGOs providing election assistance to Pakistan and humanitarian assistance in West and Central Africa.

He has published extensively on technology, security, and human rights, with commentary appearing in Slate, Lawfare, and Just Security.

Based in Boulder, Colorado, he is a Humanity in Action Senior Fellow and serves on the Advisory Board of the Silicon Flatirons research center at the University of Colorado Law School. He holds a B.A. from Amherst College and an M.A. from the Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies.

Dileep Srihari Senior Policy Counsel, Access Partnership

Dileep Srihari is Senior Policy Counsel in Access Partnership’s Washington, DC office. He focuses on data policy, cybersecurity, and telecommunications infrastructure issues, including diversification and security of the information and communications technology (ICT) supply chain.

Mr Srihari joined Access Partnership from the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA), where he represented tech companies through policy development and advocacy before Congress, the Executive Branch and agencies including the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). He also spent eight years at the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) where he worked with ICT vendors on spectrum and broadband infrastructure deployment policy.

Mr Srihari was earlier an attorney at WilmerHale, with a practice that included appellate litigation and regulatory advocacy on topics including wireless interference protections, television program access and process safety management. He previously worked on Capitol Hill for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York.

Mr Srihari holds an undergraduate degree in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering from Cornell University and a law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center.

Dwayne Winseck
Dwayne R. Winseck (Prof) Professor, School of Journalism and Communication and Director of the Canadian Media Concentration Research Project and the Global Media & Internet Concentration Project, Carlton University

Dwayne R. Winseck is a Professor at the School of Journalism and Communication, with a cross-appointment to the Institute of Political Economy, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada. His research interests include the political economy of telecommunications, the Internet and media as well as communications and media history, theory, policy and regulation. He is also the Director of the Canadian Media Concentration Research Project and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council funded Global Media and Internet Concentration Project.

 

 

Ernesto Falcon Senior Legislative Counsel, Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)

Ernesto Falcon is Senior Legislative Counsel at the Electronic Frontier Foundation with a primary focus on intellectual property, open Internet issues, broadband access, and competition policy.

He represents EFF’s advocacy, on behalf of its members and all consumers, for a free and open Internet before state legislatures and Congress. Ernesto’s work includes pushing the state of California to pass the strongest net neutrality law in the country in response to federal repeal efforts, as well as leading EFF’s research and advocacy to promote universally available, affordable, and competitive fiber broadband networks.

Evelyn L Remaley Partner, Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP

Evelyn Remaley is a recognized leader in the government and private sector and has spearheaded efforts throughout her career on broadband funding, cybersecurity, Internet policy and spectrum management. In her current role as Partner at Wilkinson, Barker, Knauer, Ms Remaley provides legal strategy and program management expertise to her clients across a range of communications and technology regulatory and policy matters. Evelyn most recently served as Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and Acting Administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. At NTIA, Ms Remaley led a team of experts providing senior policy guidance to the Secretary of Commerce and the White House on government priorities, including broadband funding to close the digital divide, cybersecurity, supply chain risk management, privacy, the free flow of information, encryption, spectrum, and the Internet of things. As a leader in government, she helped to advance access to innovative communications services and enhance trust and safety in the digital economy. Prior to her work within the federal government, she led a Cybersecurity and Internet Policy Team at Booz Allen Hamilton in McLean, VA. Ms Remaley also worked for a leading Internet service provider in its Internet Privacy and Security Federal Practice and spent time deploying the Internet across communities through her work with public libraries.

Finucan Logan Senior Manager, US, Access Partnership

Logan Finucan supports the implementation of advocacy strategies of several leading ICT clients including device manufacturers, cloud and digital services providers, as well as satellite and telecommunications operators. He regularly advises clients on the impacts to business units and technical design of policy in key markets in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, supports campaigns to shape spectrum management policies, and advises on the US policy process. Areas of expertise include privacy and data protection law, international trade and data flows, regulation of emerging digital technology, Internet governance, and multilateral processes.

Mr Finucan holds an MA in International Relations and Economics, specialising in European and Eurasian Studies, from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington DC. He also holds a BA in Political Science and International Studies from Loyola University, Chicago. He is a Certified Information Privacy Professional in European Data Protection (CIPP/E).

Giuseppina Curreli Director of Political Relations, Millicom

Giuseppina Curreli has over 15 years of international affairs and government relations. An Italian national, she unfolded her professional path operating in different Countries.

Prior to joining Millicom Curreli was Director of International Affairs in Madrid for Vinces Consulting developing public and government affairs and operations strategies for businesses across Europe. She worked at AT&T developing the international regulatory affairs strategy covering Canada, Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean. Previously, Ms Curreli held the position of Chief of Staff to the Secretary General of the European People’s Party in Brussels.

Ms Curreli has a degree in International and Diplomatic Sciences from the University of Trieste and a Master of Arts in Nationalism Studies from the Central European University in Budapest.

Gordon Moir Partner, Wiggin LLP

Gordon Moir was appointed a Partner with Wiggin LLP in November 2020.

Mr Moir is well known in the telecommunications space and is a global leader in the delivery of complex projects involving aligned legal, regulatory, public affairs and media strategies and the leading of multi-disciplinary teams. Mr Moir was Chair of the well-respected International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Task Force on Telecoms and ICT, driving their work on international market access, internet policies and dispute settlement and resolution models globally as well as internet policy.

Mr Moir was previously General Counsel and on the executive of BT Retail (1999-2009), as well as having responsibility for BT’s global antitrust and regulatory activity. During his ten years at BT, he secured access to markets and wholesale facilities across the world as well as dealing with a vast array of commercial, legal and regulatory matters. He was recognised by the Lawyer magazine as one of the UK’s top 100 lawyers for his work on telecommunications regulation and regulatory policy.

Post BT, Mr Moir was head of the London office of Webb Henderson (2011-2014), a boutique regulatory firm, before taking his team across to Shepherd and Wedderburn to continue that work in 2014 until 2020 after successfully building the practice.

Mr Moir has had a Placement with Judge Edward, European Court of Justice. He is also an Author of works on the Maastricht Treaty, and previously editor of Encyclopaedia of European Union Law, both Sweet and Maxwell

Mr Moir has an LLM from College of Europe, Belgium, cum laude, a Dip LP from University of Aberdeen and andLLB (Hons) from University of Aberdeen.

Ian Scott Chairperson and CEO, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)

As Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer, Ian Scott supervises and directs the work and staff of the Commission. He also chairs Commission meetings and participates in public hearings and consultations.

Mr Scott has over 25 years of policy and regulatory experience in broadcasting and telecommunications both in the public and private sectors.

After working at the Competition Bureau, he joined the CRTC from 1990 to 1994, where he collaborated on the development of a framework for long-distance telephone service competition in Canada. Between 2007 and 2008, as part of the Executive Interchange Program, he was Senior Policy Advisor to the Chairman at the CRTC.

Before rejoining the CRTC in 2017, Mr Scott held various executive positions in the communications industry, including at Telesat Canada, Telus and Call-Net Enterprises, one of the first companies to offer competition in the Canadian long-distance market. He also provided leadership on broadcasting policy and regulatory issues as an executive at the Canadian Cable Television Association.

Mr Scott has served on various boards, including Women in Communications and Technology and Ski Quebec Alpin.

Mr Scott has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, McGill University

His Term ends January 4, 2023

Jared Carlson Deputy Chief, Office of International Affairs, Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

The Office of International Affairs is responsible for the Commission’s engagement of international regulatory authorities, including multilateral and regional organizations. As Deputy Chief, Mr Carlson coordinates the FCC’s participation and involvement in international standards-setting efforts.

Mr Carlson has recently returned to the FCC after having spent 19 years in industry – at a U.S. operator (NEXTEL, which was acquired by Sprint during Mr Carlson’s time there) and at Ericsson, heading regulatory policy in Ericsson’s Washington, D.C., office. He has been a board member of the United States Telecommunication Training Institute (USTTI) and in that capacity organized, and spoke at, multiple training sessions for officials from developing countries on the topics of spectrum policy, cybersecurity, net neutrality, and broadband buildout.

Mr Carlson holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the University of Virginia, and an Juris Doctor from the College of William and Mary School of Law.

Jeffrey Marks Vice President, Government and Policy Advocacy, Ericsson

Jeffrey Marks serves as Vice President, Government and Policy Advocacy at Ericsson, a global communications equipment manufacturer. In that role, Jeff leads Ericsson’s advocacy efforts before U.S. regulatory agencies and the Administration. He draws on his deep knowledge and experience on a wide range of key telecom policy issues, including broadband deployment, spectrum, net neutrality, open network architectures, and national security. Jeff joined Ericsson from Nokia, where he spent over 12 years leading regulatory policy development and advocacy. He also spent over 10 years at major law firms, including in the Communications Practice Group at Latham and Watkins. Jeff resides with his family in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, DC.

Jennifer Manner Senior Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, EchoStar Corporation

Bio coming soon

Kate Sheerin Global IP and Content Regulation Public Policy Lead, Google

Bio coming soon …..

Kate Tummarello Executive Director, Engine

Bio coming soon …..

Lynn Robinson Director General, International Institute of Communications

Lynn Robinson became Director General of the International Institute of Communications (IIC), in March 2020.

Lynn is an experienced senior director and trustee / non exec-director, having held key senior leadership positions in the technology, built environment, regulation, accreditation and dental industries. She has extensive experience of professional membership bodies working within the full spectrum including, Regulatory bodies, Industry associations and Chambers of Commerce. Lynn is a well-known and established ambassador in these areas having led on many strategic programmes to aid engagement, growth, retention, change management, stakeholder and political engagement.

An experienced Trustee / Non-Executive Director as Vice Chair at Arnos Vale Cemetery Trust, a unique heritage site in the heart of Bristol (UK), Lynn is also a Trustee / Non-Executive Director at The Bristol and Bath (UK), Parks Foundation.

Reflecting on becoming Director General at the IIC at the outbreak of a pandemic, Lynn said, ‘these last two years have been like no other we have known, with many challenges coming our way. In 2020 we successfully pivoted the organisation through a digital transformation programme to maintain a full schedule of events and by increasing the outputs delivered. Transforming the programme enabled us to continue to deliver the professional service and increase our engagement with IIC members and stakeholder community to remain connected to them through such a difficult time.

As we move through 2022, I am delighted to return to a combined in-person and online programme and to continue to evolve the IIC in to the next phase, with the vision and strategic focus to deliver our objectives and to build on our growth, engagement and retention’.

 

Maureen K Ohlhausen Partner & Section Chair - Antitrust & Competition Law, Baker Botts LLP

Maureen K Ohlhausen chairs the firm’s Global Antitrust and Competition practice. Her practice focuses on antitrust, privacy and data security and consumer protection investigations and litigation both in the U.S. and abroad. She advises top-tier clients across a wide variety of industries including technology, retail, telecommunications, social media, and life sciences.

Ms Ohlhausen is sought after for her depth of experience both nationally and globally on antitrust and Federal Trade Commission (FTC)-related matters. She is known for her relationships with officials in the U.S. and abroad, with a particular emphasis on Europe and China.

Ms Ohlhausen most recently led the FTC as Acting Chairman and Commissioner where she directed all aspects of the FTC’s antitrust work, including merger review and conduct enforcement, and steered all FTC consumer protection enforcement, with a particular emphasis on privacy and technology issues. She regularly led the U.S. delegation at international antitrust and data privacy meetings and is the only FTC Commissioner to have received the Robert Pitofsky Lifetime Achievement award in recognition of her knowledge of and contributions to the Commission.

Prior to her role as Commissioner, Ms Ohlhausen led the FTC’s Internet Access Task Force, which produced an influential report analyzing competition and consumer protection legal issues in the areas of broadband and internet.

Maureen Mahoney Senior Policy Analyst, Consumer Reports

Maureen Mahoney is a Senior Policy Analyst at Consumer Reports. Her areas of focus include state data privacy, security, and data breach notification legislation; state right to repair legislation; and robocalls policy. In 2018, she testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection Subcommittee Hearing on “Do Not Call: Combating Robocalls and Caller ID Spoofing.” She has co-authored CR’s Model State Privacy Act and Right to Repair Model State Law.

Ms Mahoney completed her undergraduate work at The University of Chicago and received an MA and a PhD in history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Michael O’Rielly President, MPORielly Consulting, LLC

Michael O’Rielly is currently Principal at MPORielly Consulting, LLC, a Visiting Fellow at the Hudson Institute’s Center for the Economics of the Internet, and a Senior Fellow at the Media Institute.

He served as a Commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission from 2013 through 2020. Before joining the FCC, Mr O’Rielly held a variety of leading staff positions during 20 years on Capitol Hill in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, ending as Policy Advisor in the Office of the Senate Republican Whip.

Nievia Ramsundar Executive Director, Caricom Competition Commission

Nievia Ramsundar currently holds the position of Executive Director/CEO of the CARICOM Competition Commission, located in Suriname. She is an attorney at law with over 20 years’ experience. Her experience has focused primarily on telecommunications and broadcasting law and regulation, competition law, utilities regulation, commercial practice, intellectual property law, international environmental law and regulation.

Ms Ramsundar formerly held the position of Corporate Secretary/Executive Officer Legal and Regulatory Affairs at the Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (TATT). She has previously worked at Mair and Co, the former investment promotion agency T.I.D.C.O. and was also Head, Legal Services at the Ministry of Public Utilities and Environment (now Public Utilities). She contributed significantly to the policy and legislative reform of the tourism, environmental, utilities and communications sectors in Trinidad and Tobago. Her main work currently focusses on ensuring economic integration in the Caribbean Community Single Market and Economy.

Peter Fatelnig Minister-Counsellor, Digital Economy Policy, Delegation of the European Union to the USA

Bio coming soon

Philip Marnick General Director, Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), Bahrain; Director, International Institute of Communications

Philip Marnick is the General Director of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA). He was appointed early January 2022 by the Members of the Board, to assume the position, paving the way for a more effective regulatory framework by continuing the evolution of the telecom sector liberalization.

Mr Marnick leads the TRA, including the development of consumer protection initiatives and resolving disputes. The TRA develops regulatory rules that promote competition, innovation, and investment in broadband services and facilities, as well as developing a more comprehensive and competitive framework that aligns with international best practices. Ensuring that Bahrain remains a center of innovation and that its telecommunications sector serves everyone while supporting Bahrain’s strategic objectives.

Before assuming his role at the TRA, Mr Marnick managed and directed at Ofcom in the UK, where he was the Group Director of Spectrum responsible for all aspects of UK national and international spectrum management – from strategy to delivery including awards, clearance and enforcement. Mr Marnick has worked in the telecommunications sector for over 30 years. He has served as a senior executive in technology, operations, and strategy. Mr Marnick has worked in both start-ups (from inception to sale) and major corporations, in firms such as UK Broadband, O2, Orange, BT, J-Phone in Japan (now Softbank Mobile), Extreme Mobile, and SpinVox (now Nuance).

From analogue to 5G, he has engaged across every mobile generation. Throughout his carrier he has been at the forefront of industry developments – in both fixed and mobile. He has collaborated on the first deployments of mobile networks utilizing new technologies and standards, this has also included innovative products such as the first camera phone and photo messaging service, as well as mobile internet and hosted voice services.

Ramiro Camacho Castillo Commissioner, Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT), Mexico

Ramiro Camacho Castillo was appointed Commissioner of the Federal Telecommunications Institute of Mexico (IFT) in March of 2019 for a period of nine years.

Commissioner Camacho has worked as an economist at the competition and telecommunications authorities of Mexico for the past twelve years. He was General Director of Economic Consulting at IFT and Deputy General Director of Economic Studies at the Competition Commission (COFECE). Previously, he was an Associated Professor at the University of Guadalajara for eleven years.

Commissioner Camacho holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics from the University of Guadalajara, and three master’s degrees: In Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison; in Operations Research from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM); and in Energy Economics from Scuola Superiore Enrico Mattei in Italy.

 

Sam Schofield Policy Advisor, Office of Digital Services Industries (ITA-ODSI), U.S. Department of Commerce – International Trade Administration

Sam Schofield is Policy Advisor, Office of Digital Services Industries (ITA-ODSI).  Mr Schofield is an International Trade Specialist on the Global Data Policy team with responsibility for monitoring data policies in Latin America and developing mechanisms to build interoperability between U.S. and Latin American data privacy regimes to sustain cross-border trade. His portfolio also covers Australia, Korea, New Zealand, and Vietnam and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Digital Economy Steering Group (DESG). Sam also leads reviews of Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) cases and contributes to the Artificial Intelligence Working Group. Mr Schofield has 13 years of diverse experience in international development, management consulting, and the federal government.

Mr Schofield has an MBA from American University and a B.A. in International Affairs from the University of New Hampshire.

Suzan DelBene Congresswoman, U.S. House of Representatives

Congresswoman Suzan DelBene represents Washington’s 1st Congressional District, which spans from northeast King County to the Canadian border and includes parts of King, Snohomish, Skagit, and Whatcom counties.

First sworn into the House of Representatives in November 2012, Ms DelBene brings a unique voice to the nation’s capital with more than two decades of experience as a successful technology entrepreneur and business leader.

Ms DelBene takes on a wide range of challenges both in Congress and in the 1st District. She is a leader on issues of technology, health care, trade, taxes, environmental conservation, and agriculture, and is a champion for working families.

She currently serves as the Vice Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, which is at the forefront of the debate on a fairer tax code, health care reform, trade deals, and lasting retirement security. She serves on the Select Revenue Measures and Trade Subcommittees.

Ms DelBene also serves as Chair of the forward-thinking New Democrat Coalition, the largest ideological caucus among House Democrats, and is co-chair of the Women’s High-Tech Coalition, Internet of Things Caucus, and Dairy Caucus. She is also a member of the Pro-Choice Caucus.

Ms DelBene spent part of her early childhood in Newport Hills and Mercer Island before her father lost his job. After fourth grade, her family moved all over the country in search of work. Through hard work and financial aid, she earned her BA in biology from Reed College.

She started her career in immunology research before earning an MBA from the University of Washington and embarking on a successful career as a technology leader and innovator. Over more than two decades as an executive and entrepreneur, she helped to start drugstore.com as Vice President of Marketing and Store Development and served as CEO and President of Nimble Technology, a business software company based on technology developed at the University of Washington. Ms DelBene also spent 12 years at Microsoft, most recently as corporate vice president of the company’s mobile communications business.

Before being elected to Congress, Ms DelBene served as Director of the Washington State Department of Revenue. During her tenure, she proposed reforms to cut red tape for small businesses. She also enacted an innovative tax amnesty program that generated $345 million to help close the state’s budget gap while easing the burden on small businesses.

Ms DelBene’s mix of real-world experience in the private and public sector gives her a deep understanding of how to build successful businesses, create jobs, implement real fiscal accountability, and adopt policies that provide individuals with access to opportunity.

Some of Ms DelBene’s priorities include:

  • Making sure that every American has the opportunity to succeed and is treated fairly in society.
  • Protecting Washington jobs and families.
  • Preserving our future by taking on issues around climate change, data privacy, and rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure.
  • Ensuring that all Americans have access to quality health care at an affordable price.

Some of Ms DelBene’s accomplishments include:

  • Championing the expanded Child Tax Credit to provide working families with monthly support and help rebuild our middle class. Suzan continues to fight to make this benefit permanent, a long-term investment that is estimated to cut childhood poverty in half.
  • Fighting to expand affordable housing production by strengthening the low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC). The enhanced tax credit is estimated to build or preserve an estimated 2 million more affordable units nationwide over the next 10 years and over 66,000 affordable housing units in Washington state.
  • Passing the National Landslide Preparedness Act to help save lives, protect communities and property, and improve natural disaster emergency preparedness in honor of the 2014 Oso Landslide.
  • Extending how long state, local, and tribal governments can use CARES Act funding to help support the public health response to COVID-19 and pay police, firefighters, teachers, and other essential workers.
  • Securing $200 million to expand job-training opportunities, including $22 million for Washington.
  • Expanding the Alpine Lakes Wilderness and protecting Illabot Creek.
  • Expanding access to mental health telemedicine for seniors on Medicare.
  • Fighting to secure emergency funding for Skagit Valley to immediately rebuild the I-5 bridge after it collapsed in May 2013.
  • Creating community-based substance use diversion programs to help address the opioid epidemic.

Tobias Schmid (Dr) Director, Media Authority of North Rhine-Westphalia; Commissioner for European Affairs of the German Media Authorities

Dr Tobias Schmid is Director of the Media Authority of North Rhine-Westphalia. He is also elected as the European Affairs Commissioner of the Conference of Directors of the German Media Authorities (DLM).

Dr Schmid is also Chairman of the Federal Media Committee of the German Music Council. Since 1st April 2021, he is also a Member of the Expert Committee for Communication and Information of the German UNESCO-Commission.

Dr Schmid holds a doctorate in law.

Vitelio Ruiz Bernal General Director of Investigation and Verification of the Private Sector, National Institute of Transparency, Access to Information and Protection of Personal Data (INAI), Mexico

Vitelio Ruiz Bernal currently works as Verification Director at the General Direction for Investigation and Verification of the Private Sector at the National Institute of Transparency, Access to Information and Protection of Personal Data.

Mr Ruiz Bernal is a Visiting Professor at the Diploma of Transparency and Access to Information given by the Center for Graduate Studies in Law; August 2017. Visiting Professor at Master in Law of Information and Communication Technologies of Infotec 2019, Co-author of the book Puebla la Otra Batalla, The Protection of Private Life in Natural Disaster Situations and Contingency, Mexico 2018 Co-author of the Article Obligation to notify the authority in the case of security breaches regarding personal data differences between the public and the private in published in the Research Journal of the Escuela Libre de Derecho.

Mr Ruiz Bernal has a Law Degree from the Universidad Panamericana campus Mexico City; Master in General Regulations for the Protection of Personal Data, Uned 2020. Diploma in Privacy, Regulation and Data Governance given by the Center for Economic Research and Teaching, 2018; Diploma in Information Technology Law, Institute of Legal Research of the U.N.A.M, 2012.

Wednesday 8 December 2021

09.55 Welcome

Chris Chapman, President, International Institute of Communications

10.00 Protecting and connecting citizens

Ian Scott, Chairperson and CEO, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)

10.15 New rules for content on the Internet / Section 230 reforms – what might ‘well-crafted’ regulation look like? How to reach consensus on preserving the Internet as a forum for open discourse?

Chair
Logan Finucan, Senior Manager, US, Access Partnership

Speakers
David Sullivan, Executive Director, Digital Trust & Safety Partnership, DTSP
Kate Tummarello, Executive Director, Engine
Danielle A Davis, Tech and Telecom Policy Counsel, Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet
Kate Sheerin, Global IP and Content Regulation Public Policy Lead, Google

11.30 Competition dynamics in digital markets – is reform needed?

Chair
Gordon Moir, Partner, Wiggin LLP

Speakers
Danielle Coffey, Senior Vice President & General Counsel, News Media Alliance
Maureen K. Ohlhausen, Partner & Section Chair – Antitrust & Competition Law, Baker Botts LLP
Nievia Ramsundar, Executive Director, CARICOM Competition Commission
Dr Tobias Schmid, Chairman, European Regulators Group for Audiovisual Media Services (ERGA); Director, Media Authority of North Rhine-Westphalia
Ramiro Camacho Castillo, Commissioner, Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT), Mexico
Dwayne R. Winseck, Professor, School of Journalism and Communication and Director of the Canadian Media Concentration Research Project and the Global Media & Internet Concentration Project, Carleton University

13.00 Close of day one

Thursday 9 December 2021

08.10 Welcome

Lynn Robinson, Director General, International Institute of Communications

08.15 National and international policy objectives and priorities

Chair
Ambassador David A. Gross, Partner, Wiley Rein LLP

Speakers
Evelyn Remaley, Acting Assistant Secretary, National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), US Department of Commerce
Peter Fatelnig, Minister-Counsellor, Digital Economy Policy, Delegation of the European Union to the USA

09.00 Infrastructure legislation and implications of broadband ‘everywhere’ rollout – supply and demand perspectives

Moderator
Dileep Srihari, Senior Policy Counsel, Access Partnership

Speakers
Jeffrey A. Marks, Vice President Regulatory Affairs, Nokia
Christopher Mitchell, Director, Community Broadband Networks, Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Ernesto Falcon, Senior Legislative Counsel, Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
Jennifer Manner, Senior Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, EchoStar Corporation
Giuseppina Curreli, Director of Political Relations, Millicom

 

10.30 Policy frameworks for 5G and beyond – vendor diversity, use cases, spectrum management

Chair
Adam Krinsky, Partner, Wilkinson Barker Knauer, LLP

Speakers
Jared Carlson, Vice President, Government Affairs and Public Policy, North America, Ericsson
Philip Marnick, Group Director for Spectrum, Ofcom
Chantal Davis, Senior Director, Regulatory Policy, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
Michael O’Rielly, President, MPORielly Consulting, LLC

12.00 Privacy, security, data protection and trust - from cookies to metadata to AI to data localization - how to enable innovation and competition whilst protecting consumers?

Session Chair
Alan L Friel, Partner and Co-Chair, Global Data Privacy, Cybersecurity & Digital Assets Practice, Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP

Opening Speakers
Suzan DelBene, Congresswoman, U.S. House of Representatives
Alastair Mactaggart, Board member, California Privacy Protection Agency

Moderator
Ann LaFrance, Senior Partner, Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP and Vice President, International Institute of Communications

Speakers
Maureen Mahoney, Senior Policy Analyst, Consumer Reports
Sam Schofield, Policy Advisor, Office of Digital Services Industries (ITA-ODSI), U.S. Department of Commerce – International Trade Administration
Vitelio Ruiz Bernal, General Director of Investigation and Verification of the Private Sector, National Institute of Transparency, Access to Information and Protection of Personal Data (INAI), Mexico
Christopher Calabrese, Senior Director Privacy Policy, Microsoft

13.45 Close of Forum
Download the agenda (PDF)
Event details
Date:
8th - 9th December 2021
Location:
Online meeting
Region:
Americas

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