CES Driving Innovation and Internet Freedom

Every year CES hits Las Vegas and every year it is huge and showcases an awesome display of innovation. This year’s 2013 International CES was no exception, but despite that, like clockwork, before the show even starts, every year a certain group of skeptical bloggers proclaim CES dead. They are wrong. You can see that on the floor with technology that blows me away every year (the MakerBot is incredible!).

You can see that nowhere more than in the Innovation Policy Summit. I was delighted to participate on the “Washington and the Startup Economy: First Do No Harm” panel with Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS) moderated by Larry Downes, which is embedded below.

While I got a chance to speak at the summit, I was equally excited just to attend – and learn from my colleagues about how to champion Internet freedom and innovation.

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), who runs CES, has got it right in throwing its weight behind the Innovation Policy Summit.  It’s an explicit acknowledgment that the future of consumer electronics is intrinsically linked to the Internet. The Internet is in everything we use these days, from our cars to our shoes to our televisions to our forks and toothbrushes!

I’d like to specifically thank Michael Petricone, CEA’s Senior Vice President of Government Affairs. Michael’s work in bringing i2Coalition and other groups who fight for Internet freedom (our friends at CCIA, Public Knowledge, TechFreedom, EFF, Internet Association and many more) is inspirational and full of foresight about the importance of the Internet to the future of consumer electronics.

CEA advocates for innovation, and for the freedom to create. The Association understands that this now means fighting for the Internet. i2Coalition is proud to call CEA a friend and is proud to work collaboratively on important Internet policy issues.