This Week in Tech: State of the Net conference returns

By Jennifer Martinez and Brendan Sasso - 01/21/13 10:18 AM ET

Lawmakers, tech executives, lobbyists and Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist will discuss this year’s tech policy agenda at the annual State of the Net Conference on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Speakers include Reps. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), Republican Study Committee Chairman Steve Scalise (R-La.), Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Uber CEO Travis Kalanick. The conference will also feature panel discussions on privacy, cybersecurity and whether Congress should rewrite the Telecom Act.

Pandora General Counsel Delida Costin, SoundExchange President Michael Huppe and Digital Media Association Executive Director Lee Knife will get their turns at the microphones on Tuesday. They are likely to sound off on the battle over modifying the royalty rules for Internet radio.

Comcast Senior Strategic Advisor Joe Waz will moderate a panel on Wednesday that will examine how lawmakers can enact policy to help foster the growth of the Internet. Robert McDowell, a member of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Blair Levin, a former FCC official, and Norquist will participate on the panel.

The conference is hosted by the Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee.

Elsewhere, the House Oversight Committee will hold a hearing on Tuesday to investigate wasteful spending by the federal government on technology systems and services. Steven VanRoekel, the White House chief information officer; Chris Niehaus, Microsoft’s director of civic innovation; and Tom Davis, the former chairman of the Oversight Committee, are scheduled to testify.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on Thursday will speak at a discussion titled “From Cyber to Immigration, Terrorism to Disasters: Securing America in the Next Administration” during the Aspen Homeland Security Group’s winter meeting. Former Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.), now CEO of the Woodrow Wilson Center, will participate.

Daniel Lyons, a professor at Boston College who specializes in property, telecommunications and administrative law, will discuss the impact of data caps at an event hosted by the Hudson Institute on Thursday. Hudson senior fellow Harold Furchtgott-Roth will facilitate the discussion.

Internet providers argue that data caps are a fair way to charge for network access, but some consumer advocates argue that caps gouge customers and stifle competition.