Today at 12:30 at the Capitol Visitor Center, TechFreedom is hosting a discussion on the regulation of search engines: “Search Engine Regulation: A Solution in Search of a Problem?”
The basics:
Allegations of “search bias” have led to increased scrutiny of Google, including active investigations in the European Union and Texas, a possible FTC investigation, and sharply-worded inquiries from members of Congress. But what does “search bias” really mean? Does it demand preemptive “search neutrality” regulation, requiring government oversight of how search results are ranked? Is antitrust intervention required to protect competition? Or can market forces deal with these concerns?
A panel of leading thinkers on Internet law will explore these questions at a luncheon hosted by TechFreedom, a new digital policy think tank. The event will take place at the Capitol Visitor Center room SVC-210/212 onTuesday, June 14 from 12:30 to 2:30pm, and include a complimentary lunch. CNET’s Declan McCullagh, a veteran tech policy journalist, will moderate a panel of four legal experts:
- Prof. Frank Pasquale, Seton Hall University School of Law, author of Federal Search Commission? Access, Fairness and Accountability in the Law of Search
- Prof. Geoffrey Manne, Lewis & Clark Law School, TechFreedom Adjunct Fellow, and Director of the International Center for Law & Economics, author of If Search Neutrality Is the Answer, What’s the Question?
- Prof. James Grimmelman, New York Law School, author of The Structure of Search Engine Law
- Prof. Eric Goldman, Santa Clara University School of Law, author of Search Engine Bias and the Demise of Search Engine Utopianism
More details are here, and the event will be streaming live from that link as well. If all goes well, it will also be accessible right here:
http://www.ustream.tv/flash/viewer.swf