Internet Advocacy Day is the brainchild of i2Coalition, the non-profit organization created by US hosting providers to represent the Internet infrastructure industry in Washington
On Wednesday afternoon, web hosts, security providers and hosting software developers will descend upon Capitol Hill for the first Internet Advocacy Day to educate members of Congress about how the Internet works.
Internet Advocacy Day is the brainchild of i2Coalition, the non-profit organization created by US hosting providers to represent the Internet infrastructure industry in Washington, and will feature speakers including i2Coalition co-founder and board chair Christian Dawson, Senator Jerry Moran, Senator Ron Wyden, Congressman Darrell Issa, and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian.
The Internet education seminar kicks off at 1 pm, and features the speaking program and demonstrations, all of which will be streamed live on http://i2coalition.com/live. The hashtag #internetday on Twitter will also help supporters unable to attend follow along and participate in the discussion.
“The i2Coalition’s Internet Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill is in full swing and I couldn’t be more excited,” Dawson says in a blog post. “Yesterday, members met with several members of Congress, educating them about the Internet and discussing policy goals for the 113th Congress. Last night, we spent the evening at the ‘Celebrate the Innovation Economy’ reception sponsored by CEA and co-hosted by Engine Advocacy.”
Internet Education Day was organized with the support of the Consumer Electronics Association, and will feature 15 demonstration booths looking at aspects of how the Internet functions, focusing on topics such as cybersecurity, international competition on the Internet and the cloud.
In attendance will be representatives from the following i2Coalition member companies: AiNET, Arvixe, Black Lotus, Cheval Capital, cPanel, Data Foundry, Endurance International Group, Firehost, FortressITX, Gandi.net, Green Olive Tree, Handy Networks, Hedgehog Hosting, Jumpline, LeaseWeb USA, Media Temple, Rackspace, ServInt, Studio 1337, and WiredTree. Additonal participants include Engine Advocacy, CCIA, ISOC, Open Xchange, ScienceLogic and Trustwave.
“I am extremely excited to represent cPanel as an i2Coalition board member in Washington, DC,” cPanel vice president of operations, and Internet Infrastructure Coalition board member, Aaron Philips said in a statement. “The board knows that we can contribute to the education of important issues that impact hosting & Internet providers, while teaching our government officials about the inner workings of web hosting and how the Internet works.”
The i2Coalition officially launched in September 2012 with 42 member organizations, but prior to that was called the Save Hosting Coalition, a looser organization which focused more specifically on the SOPA and PIPA legislation.
Talk back: Are you attending Internet Advocacy Day or will you be following via the livestream? Do you think it is important for companies within the Internet infrastructure industry to participate in politics? Let us know in a comment.
About Nicole Henderson
Nicole Henderson is the Editor in Chief of the Web Host Industry Review where she covers daily news and features online, as well as in print. She has a bachelor of journalism from Ryerson University in Toronto. You can find her on Twitter @NicoleHenderson.
