Established in 2011 by Professor Dawn Nunziato and Professor Arturo Carrillo, GW Law's Global Internet Freedom and Human Rights Distinguished Speaker Series presents a range of timely topics addressing global internet free speech and human rights issues.
"The speaker series was established to promote greater reflection in academia and among policymakers on pressing issues relating to the growing convergence of Internet freedom and human rights," Professor Carrillo said.
The series is presented through the generous support of Microsoft and is also publicized on the Technology | Academics | Policy (TAP) website. Read this GW Law School Magazine article to learn more about the series.
Past Events
March 8–9, 2013
Tech@State: Internet Freedom
Tech@State: Internet Freedom explored the various techniques and methods that can be used to enhance and expand Internet freedom. Day One featured speakers like former U.S. Deputy CTO Andrew McLaughlin, Rebecca MacKinnon,Sascha Meinrath, and representatives from the State Department, Microsoft, Google, and NGOs working directly on the issue of Internet freedom around the world. Day Two was an unconference, where participants collaborated with other attendees to create their own agenda.
February 12, 2013
"The Internet in the 21st Century"
Vinton G. Cerf
Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist, Google
The freedom of the Internet is at risk as governments that feel threatened try to suppress freedom of expression and access to information. Dr. Cerf reviewed some of the relevant threats as well as the principal actors involved in this dynamic. Click here to learn more.
January 31, 2013
"A Conversation on International Cyberspace Strategy"
Howard A. Schmidt
Former Cybersecurity Coordinator of the Obama Administration
This exciting addition to the Distinguished Speaker Series highlighted the development of an international cyberspace strategy, how to make it work, and whether it should be lead by the private sector or government. Click here to learn more.
October 4, 2012
Free Speech, Blasphemy, and the Anti-Muslim YouTube Video
Rebecca MacKinnon
Co-Founder, Global Voices Online
Rebecca MacKinnon is a journalist and activist whose work focuses on the intersection of the internet, human rights, and foreign policy. She is the author of the highly-acclaimed book Consent of the Networked: The Worldwide Struggle for Internet Freedom. She is also the co-founder of Global Voices Online, a global citizen media network, and a founding member of the Global Network Initiative, a multi-stakeholder initiative to advance principles of freedom of expression and privacy in the information and communications technology sector. Ms. MacKinnon worked as a journalist for CNN in Beijing for nine years, serving as CNN's Beijing bureau chief and correspondent, and then as CNN's Tokyo bureau chief and correspondent.
Dawn Nunziato
Professor of Law, The George Washington University Law School
Professor Nunziato is an internationally recognized expert in the area of free speech and the Internet. Her primary teaching and scholarship interests are in the areas of Internet law, free speech, and digital copyright. She recently published her book Virtual Freedom: Net Neutrality and Free Speech in the Internet Age (Stanford University Press), and has lectured and written extensively on issues involving free speech and the Internet.
This event was sponsored by The George Washington University Law School and Microsoft Corporation.
May 10, 2012
Transatlantic Conference on Global Online Freedom and Corporate Responsibility
The University of Groningen and GW Law hosted this path-breaking transatlantic conference on Global Online Freedom and Corporate Responsibility. The Internet has become the most important medium for worldwide communication and trade; however, the Internet also offers unprecedented possibilities for censorship, monitoring, and surveillance by authoritarian regimes. Western companies that supply information technology to such regimes facilitate this censorship, whether intentionally or unintentionally. At the conference, representatives of the U.S. Congress, Google, Reporters Without Borders, and internationally renowned scholars addressed these issues. The conference included keynotes by prominent speakers as well as multidisciplinary workshops organized by honors students from the University of Groningen and GW Law. Part two of the conference was held in Brussels on May 14.
February 22, 2012
Rebecca MacKinnon
Co-Founder, Global Voices Online
and Bernard L. Schwartz Senior Fellow, New America Foundation
A journalist and an activist, Rebecca MacKinnon examines the intersection of the internet, human rights, and foreign policy. As a senior fellow at the New America Foundation, Ms. MacKinnon examines U.S. policies related to the internet and human rights. Her first book, Consent of the Networked, is a forthcoming publication by Basic Books. She is the co-founder of Global Voices Online, a global citizen media network, and is also a founding member of the Global Network Initiative, a multi-stakeholder initiative to advance principles of freedom of expression and privacy in the information and communications technology sector. Ms. MacKinnon worked as a journalist for CNN in Beijing for nine years, serving as CNN's Beijing bureau chief and correspondent, and then as CNN's Tokyo bureau chief and correspondent.
January 18, 2012
Frank La Rue
Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression, United Nations
The U.N. Human Rights Council appointed Frank La Rue to the post of special rapporteur in March 2008. The position focuses on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression. Earlier this year, the Council renewed his mandate until 2014.
Mr. La Rue has been involved in the promotion of human rights for 25 years. He is the founder and president of the Center for Legal Action for Human Rights (CALDH) in his native Guatemala. CALDH is a renowned NGO that has brought pioneering human rights cases in Guatemalan courts as well as to the Inter-American Human Rights System. Mr. La Rue has held a number of other important posts as well. He served as presidential commissioner for human rights in Guatemala, as a human rights adviser to the minister of foreign affairs, and as president of the governing board of the Centro-American Institute of Social Democracy Studies.
He holds a B.A. in legal and social studies from the University of San Carlos in Guatemala, and a post-graduate degree in U.S. foreign policy from Johns Hopkins University. In 2004, he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
October 24, 2011
Dr. Ian Brown
Senior Research Fellow, Oxford Internet Institute
In addition to his role as research fellow at the Oxford Internet Institute, Dr. Brown has served as a trustee of Privacy International, the Open Rights Group, and the Foundation for Information Policy Research. He has also served as an adviser to Greenpeace, the Refugee Children's Consortium, Amnesty International, and Creative Commons UK. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, the International University of Japan, and the British Computer Society. He also has served as a senior member of the Association for Computing Machinery, and has consulted for numerous organizations including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, JP Morgan, McAfee, and the BBA.
Dr. Brown has written for the Financial Times, Daily Telegraph, and Guardian. In 2004, he was voted as one of the 100 most influential people in the development of the internet in the United Kingdom during the previous decade.
October 3, 2011
Dunja Mijatović
Representative on Freedom of the Media, Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE)
An expert in media law and regulation, Dunja Mijatović was appointed OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media in 2010. Previously, Ms. Mijatović served as chairperson of the European Platform of Regulatory Authorities, the world's largest network of media regulators.
She is co-founder of the Communications Regulatory Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina that was established in 1998. In that role, Ms. Mijatović encouraged a legal and policy framework for media in the post-war society. She is a graduate of the University of Sarajevo, the University of Bologna, and the London School of Economics.