Call for "ISP Point of Contact" Database for Neutrality "Event" Concerns

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

________________________________________
From: Lauren Weinstein [lauren () vortex com]
Sent: Tuesday, April 08, 2008 12:46 PM
To: David Farber
Cc: lauren () vortex com
Subject: Call for "ISP Point of Contact" Database for Neutrality "Event" Concerns

Greetings.  When I initiated NNSquad (Network Neutrality Squad), one
of my primary concerns was that many seemingly reportable "events"
that can occur on the Internet -- and that might seem on their face
to be network neutrality "violations" -- might actually be caused by
innocent technical issues related to ISP operations, testing
anomalies, or misinterpretation of test or otherwise observed data.
Analysis of these situations -- which may invoke security and
privacy concerns -- can be quite complex, and without a reasonably
complete picture of events can also be considerably problematic.

It is particularly troubling that there generally is no routine
mechanism available for early contact by neutrality researchers with
appropriate *high level* ISP representatives during investigations
of network issues that may relate to neutrality concerns.  Wide
publication of possibly alarming test results followed by ISP
denials in innocent cases is decidedly suboptimal for everyone.

While it's impossible to deny that there is considerable antagonism
and distrust between some ISPs and elements of the Internet
community, I strongly believe that there would be major positive
benefit for all parties if better communications between these
groups was available.

I hereby offer NNSquad's services to establish a database of
individuals who would be the designated ISP point of contacts in
cases of detected network events that are suggestive of possible
network neutrality concerns in a broad sense.

This would not be a public list, but would rather be maintained for
the use of legitimate researchers and analysts working in this
field, who would be able to query associated ISPs directly for their
input in the course of event analysis.

The existence of such a database would not obligate anyone to use
the database to contact ISPs in advance of major notice
publications, nor would it obligate ISPs to provide any information
in response to related queries.  However, I feel that the
responsible handling of these investigations would behoove all
relevant parties to participate.

Inclusion in this database will be open to all ISPs globally of any
size, large or small.  Assuming sufficient interest, the database
will ultimately be Web browser-based with a self-service portal to
allow ISPs to keep their own contact information up to date.

I don't view this proposal as any sort of panacea, but I do think
that it could help to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings and
confusion in many innocent situations, and the whole area of network
neutrality is complex enough without such situations making life
more difficult for everybody involved.

Interested ISP representatives and any other parties can contact me
directly for more information and discussion.  Let's see if we can
make this fly!

Thanks very much.

--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein
lauren () vortex com or lauren () pfir org
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800
http://www.pfir.org/lauren
Co-Founder, PFIR
   - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org
Co-Founder, NNSquad
   - Network Neutrality Squad - http://www.nnsquad.org
Founder, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com
Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com

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