Internet Infrastructure Coalition Hosts Internet Education Day on Capitol Hill

Cornyn, Lofgren receive “Champion of Internet Innovation” awards

Washington, DC – The Internet Infrastructure Coalition (i2Coalition) hosted a program on Wednesday with leaders of the Internet infrastructure industry and members of Congress to discuss best practices, policy goals and the potential for growth of the Internet economy when all parts of the industry’s ecosystem are working together. Cindy Southworth, Vice President of National Network to End Domestic Violence, Ximena Hartsock, President of Phone2Action, and Christian Dawson, i2Coalition Co-Founder and Board Chair, each spoke at the event. In recognition of their efforts to keep the Internet open and free, Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) and Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) each received the i2Coalition’s “Champion of Internet Innovation” award. Dawson also announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Messaging, Malware and Mobile Anti-Abuse Working Group (M3AAWG).

“Members of i2Coalition are dedicated to making the Internet community a safe, secure environment that protects their customers while continuing to be an engine for economic growth, and we thank Senator Cornyn and Congresswoman Lofgren for their continued support of our industry.” said Dawson. “Today we demonstrated that achieving these goals means seeking input from a variety of stakeholders, and we plan to continue to build partnerships with groups and organizations that recognize the importance of a healthy, free and open Internet.”

The event featured remarks from Cindy Southworth, who as Vice President of the National Network to End Domestic Violence has seen firsthand the way lives are impacted by many of the issues of importance to i2Coalition. Having worked with the Anti-Spyware Coalition and a wide range of non-profit organizations, Ms. Southworth has a unique understanding of the Internet industry’s role in protecting victims of abuse. In her address, she discussed the need to reform the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA). With the current version of ECPA, confidential victim records are sought by perpetrators’ attorneys and even law enforcement, thus Ms. Southworth is forced to recommend that rape crisis centers and domestic violence shelters avoid the benefits of cloud storage to protect the privacy and safety of victims’ sensitive information.

“Too often, victims do not have the protections they deserve because of shortsighted, outdated legislation like 1986’s Electronic Communications Privacy Act, and we want to help Congress understand the need for reform,” said Southworth. “We appreciate i2Coalition’s understanding of such issues, and are happy to be here today to discuss these real-world repercussions of such legislation and how to best move forward.”

i2Coalition strives to work together with like-minded organizations who understand the nuts and bolts of the Internet to develop sensible self-policing policies. Through collaboration these groups can derive practices that will move our industry forward – promoting safety and privacy without impeding growth in this arena for economic expansion. At the end of 2013, i2Coalition signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Germany-based eco, the Association of the German Internet Industry. At Wednesday’s event, the coalition announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Messaging, Malware and Mobile Anti-Abuse Working Group (M3AAWG).

M3AAWG brings the messaging industry together to work collaboratively and to successfully address the various forms of messaging online abuse, such as spam, viruses, denial-of-service attacks and other messaging exploitations. To accomplish this, M3AAWG develops initiatives in the three areas necessary to resolve the messaging abuse problems: industry collaboration, technology, and public policy. It has recently formed a new working committee to address the joint technical work.

“We look forward to working with M3AAWG, sharing information when it makes sense and working together on technical issues of common interest,” Dawson said. “Combining i2Coalition’s knowledge of the ‘nuts and bolts’ of the Internet with the expertise at M3AAWG’s expertise in dealing with spam, viruses, mobile exploitation and other issues, the partnership will be a great tool in helping our industry address a variety of issues.”

Employing the counsel of experts and working with groups on areas of common interest, i2Coalition can continue finding best practices that help our industry address a variety of areas as we move forward. Combined with the ongoing support of lawmakers like Senator Cornyn and Congresswoman Lofgren, i2Coalition members will use these tools to allow our industry to continue to thrive as an engine of economic growth.