The Future of Open Internet and the War in Ukraine with Konstantinos Komaitis [S3E02]
This is the Tech Policy Grind Podcast by the Internet Law and Policy Foundry. If you’re an old listener, you may have noticed this show has been on hiatus for the past couple of years. If you’re new here, welcome! We’re overjoyed to be back. And we’re starting off our slate of initial episodes on the topics that matter; this one, on the notion of the open Internet, and how the war in Ukraine is affecting it.
In this episode, Meri Baghdasaryan sits down with Konstantinos Komaitis. Konstantinos is a veteran of developing and analyzing internet policy to ensure a global, open Internet. Konstantinos has spent almost ten years in active policy development and strategy as a Senior Director at the Internet Society. Before that, he spent seven years researching and teaching Internet policy. Additionally, Konstantinos is a public speaker and writer, and also co-hosts the “Internet of Humans Podcast.”
We chatted about the recent developments around Internet infrastructure and online content in the context of the war in Ukraine. In particular, we discussed the responses from ICANN and RIPE NCC to Ukraine’s requests to respectively make access to Russian websites and email difficult for people outside as well as inside of Russia, and to revoke IP address delegation to Russia. Moreover, we discussed the European Union’s unprecedented move to prohibit the broadcasting and distribution of content by two Russian news outlets throughout the European Union, and the corresponding responses from the tech platforms. Tune in to hear about what these developments mean for the future of the open Internet.
Additional Notes:
We recorded this episode on March 31, 2022. It does not reflect any developments after that date.
You can connect with Konstantinos on Twitter @kkomaitis, or on his website www.komaitis.org. Check out the “Internet of Humans” podcast Konstantinos co-hosts.
To learn more about the Foundry, check out ilpfoundry.us and follow us on social media (LinkedIn and Twitter @ILPFoundry).
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Thanks for listening, and stay tuned for our next episode!