People For Internet Responsibility (PFIR) is pleased to announce an "emergency" conference aimed at preventing the "meltdown" of the Internet -- the risks of imminent disruption, degradation, unfair manipulation, and other negative impacts on critical Internet services and systems in ways that will have a profound impact on the Net and its users around the world.

The dates for this conference are Monday through Wednesday, July 26 through 28, 2004 -- with all sessions and working groups at the Furama Hotel Los Angeles, just five minutes north of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

Go to Registration, Hotel, and Schedule Information

A continuing and rapidly escalating series of alarming events suggest that immediate cooperative, specific planning is necessary if we are to have any chance of avoiding the meltdown. "Red flag" warning signs are many. A merely partial list includes attempts to manipulate key network infrastructures such as the domain name system; lawsuits over Internet regulatory issues (e.g. VeriSign and domain registrars vs. ICANN); serious issues of privacy and security; and ever-increasing spam, virus, and related problems, along with largely ad hoc or non-coordinated "anti-spam" systems that may do more harm than good and may cause serious collateral damage.

All facets of Internet users and a vast range of critical applications are at risk from the meltdown. Commercial firms, schools, nonprofit and governmental organizations, home users, and everybody else around the world whose lives are touched in some way by the Internet (and that's practically everyone) are likely to be seriously and negatively impacted.

Most of these problems are either directly or indirectly the result of the Internet's lack of responsible and fair planning related to Internet operations and oversight. A perceived historical desire for a "hands off" attitude regarding Internet "governance" has now resulted not only in commercial abuses, and the specter of lawsuits and courts dictating key technical issues relating to the Net, but has also invited unilateral actions by organizations such as the United Nations (UN) and International Telecommunications Union (ITU) that could profoundly affect the Internet and its users in unpredictable ways.

Representatives from commercial firms, educational institutions, governmental entities, nonprofit and other organizations, and any other interested parties are invited to participate at this conference. International participation is most definitely encouraged.

The ultimate goal of the conference is to establish a set of specific actions and contingency plans for the Internet-related problems that could lead to the meltdown. These may include (but are not limited to) technical, governance, regulatory, political, and legal actions and plans. Scenarios to consider may also include more "radical" technical approaches such as "alternate root" domain systems, technologies to bypass unreasonable ISP restrictions, and a wide range of other practical possibilities.

The conference includes a variety of panels focused on illuminating specific aspects of these problems, along with potential reactions, solutions, and contingency planning for worst-case scenarios. Formal papers are not required, but panel members may be asked to submit brief abstracts of prepared remarks in advance to assist in organizing the sessions.

Please see additional details and contact information at:
Registration, Hotel, and Schedule Information.

     meltdown@pfir.org

Together, we may be able to stop the Internet meltdown. But we need to act now.

Thank you for your consideration.

- - - - -

Lauren Weinstein
lauren@pfir.org or lauren@vortex.com or lauren@privacyforum.org
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800
Co-Founder, PFIR - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org
Co-Founder, URIICA - Union for Representative International Internet
     Cooperation and Analysis - www.uriica.org
Moderator, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com
Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
http://www.pfir.org/lauren

Peter G. Neumann
neumann@pfir.org or neumann@csl.sri.com or neumann@risks.org
Tel: +1 (650) 859-2375
Principal Scientist, SRI International Computer Science Lab - http://www.csl.sri.com
Co-Founder, PFIR - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org
Co-Founder, URIICA - Union for Representative International Internet
     Cooperation and Analysis - www.uriica.org
Moderator, ACM RISKS Forum - http://catless.ncl.ac.uk/Risks
Chairman, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
http://www.csl.sri.com/neumann

David J. Farber
dave@farber.net
Tel: +1 (412) 726-9889
Distinguished Career Professor of Computer Science and Public Policy,
     Carnegie Mellon University, School of Computer Science
Member of the Board of Trustees EFF - www.eff.org
Member of the Advisory Board -- EPIC - www.epic.org
Member of the Advisory Board -- CDT - www.cdt.org
Member of Board of Directors -- PFIR - www.pfir.org
Co-Founder, URIICA - Union for Representative International Internet
     Cooperation and Analysis - www.uriica.org
Member of the Executive Committee USACM
www.cis.upenn.edu/~farber

(Affiliations shown for identification only.)