TPRC48
February 17 - 19, 2021, Virtual Conference
Program overview
Times are Eastern Time.
Wednesday, February 17, 2021
9:45 am. Welcome to a Virtual Conference
10:00 am Paper Sessions (Click here for listing of Papers)
12:00 pm The Future of the Internet, a conversation with the Honorable Michael K. Powell, former Chairman, Federal Communications Commission (2001-2005 Chair; 1997-2001 Commissioner) and President and CEO, NCTA-The Internet and Television Association, moderated by Nicol Turner Lee, TPRC Board Chair, Senior Fellow, Governance Studies, and Director, Center for Technology Innovation, Brookings Institution (Confirmed) 1:00 pm
Panel Sessions
Is US-China Trade in Telecoms and Information Compatible with National Security?
Connecting the Underconnected in a 5G and Beyond World
2:00 pm Fireside Chat with Ghazi Ahamat, Senior Policy Advisor, Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation U.K. and co-author of CDEI report, Review into bias in algorithmic decision-ma king and Robin Mansell
3:00 pm Author Talk: Safiya Noble, Associate Professor of Information Studies and Co-Director of the UCLA Center for Critical Internet Inquiry, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Department of Information Studies and author, Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism (NYU Press) and Nicol Turner Lee
3:45 pm. Closing followed by Networking
Thursday, February 18, 2021
9:45 am. Welcome to a Virtual Conference
10:00 am Paper Sessions (Click here for listing of Papers)
12:00 pm Fireside chat with former Chair Ajit Pai, Federal Communications Commission: A conversation with the Honorable Ajit Pai, former Chairman, Federal Communications Commission (2017-2021 Chair and Commissioner 2012-2017) moderated by Scott Wallsten, TPRC Board Treasurer, President and Senior Fellow, TPI
12:30 pm Awards Ceremony including Student Paper Awards and Charles Benton Early Career Scholar Award
1:00 pm Graduate Student Symposium by the Internet Governance Lab, American University
1:30 pm Panel Sessions
Resilience as a Goal of Information and Communication Policy: A Reassessment and Outlook
The Researcher’s Guide to the Digital Inclusion Galaxy: Designing and Using Data from the NTIA Internet Use Survey
2:30 pm TPRC48 TOWN HALL: Free speech, societal harmony, and media diversity: pick two with Johannes Bauer, Michigan State University, and Eli Noam, Columbia Business School; Panelists: Nadine Strossen, American Civil Liberties Union, L. Jean Camp, Indiana University, Olivier Sylvain, Fordham University, Thomas W. Hazlett, Clemson University
4:00 pm. Closing and Networking Session
5:00 pm. Trivia Night with Gigi Sohn
Friday, February 19, 2021
9:45 am. Welcome to a Virtual Conference
10:00 am Paper Sessions (Click here for listing of Papers)
Panel
Tackling the Digital Divide: What We’ve Learned, Where to Go
12:00 pm Keynote Panel: 25 Years after the Telecommunications Act of 1996: What's next in tech and telecom policies. 25 years after the passage of the Telecom Act of 1996, and how far have we come in the deployment, adoption, and use of advanced communications. How wide has the digital divide become, and what areas of the Act need to be further explored. This discussion of leaders with intimate knowledge of communications policies will provide their feedback in a conversation moderated by Jon Gant, TPRC Vice Chair, and Dean and Professor, School of Library and Information Sciences, North Carolina Central University
1:00 pm Panel Sessions
National Broadband Plan at 10: Lessons Learned and Should There Be Another?
Communications Networks and the COVID-19 Pandemic
2:00 pm Poster Session
3:00 pm What to Expect for Tech in the Biden-Harris Administration. Panel discussion moderated by Scott Wallsten, President and CEO, TPI with former FCC Commissioner and Acting Chair Mignon Clyburn (2009-2018), Rob Atkinson, President and CEO, ITIF, Gigi Sohn, Benton Senior Fellow
3:45 pm. Closing
All sessions will be recorded and available to register conference attendees to view as time allows.
Networking “rooms” are available throughout the conference for small group networking, private meetings or just hanging out!
Wednesday, February 17, 2021
Paper Sessions
10:00 am Eastern Time
Mobile
Moderator: Silvia Elaluf Calderwood, Strand Consult
Mobile Market Performance and Market Structure in Europe During the 4G Era, Serafino Abate, GSMA Intelligence; Pau Castells, GSMA; and Kalvin Bahia, GSMA
Mobile Internet Usage and Usage Based Pricing, Jeffrey Prince, Indiana University and Shane M. Greenstein, Harvard Business School
An Econometric Analysis of the Effects of Mobile Termination Rates on the Telecom Services Market in a Developing Country: Evidence from Microdata, Alexandre Nshunguyinka, Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority; Obed Shema, Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority; and Martin Saint, Carnegie Mellon University
Openness
Moderator: Sean Mickens, Facebook
Detecting the Spread Propaganda Bias Online: Comparing HAN and BERT Models, Sarah Stueve, University of Arizona; and Laura Werthmann, University of Arizona
The DMCA, Database Protection, and Right to Repair: The Long Tail of Public Interest Activism in the First Digital Copyright Decade, Bryan Bello, American University and Patricia Aufderheide, American University
Access Shrugged: The Decline of the Copyleft and the Rise of Instrumental Openness Aram Sinnreich, American University and Saif Shahin, American University
Shaping (Non)-Discursive Social Media Spaces: Typologies of news organizations’ heavy commenters in Germany and U.S., Lea Hellmueller, University of Houston; Juliane Lischka, University of Zurich; and Edda Humprecht, University of Zurich
Broadband
Moderator: Randolph May, Free State Foundation
The FCC’s High-Cost Programs, Rural Broadband Penetration & Rural Broadband Service Quality, Michael Kotrous, Meratus Center and Brent Skorup, Mercatus Center
State Broadband Policy: Impacts on Availability, Brian Whitacre, Oklahoma State University and Roberto Gallardo, Purdue Center for Regional Development
The Ideological Stakes of Rural Broadband in Georgia, Ian Dunham, Kennesaw State University
What $2.5 Billion Can Buy: An Evaluation of the Broadband Initiatives Program, Yang Bai, Pennsylvania State University; Ryan Y. Wang, Pennsylvania State University and Krishna Jayakar, Pennsylvania State University
COVID
Social Distancing and the Internet: What Can Network Performance Measurements Tell Us? Jessica De Oliveira Moreira, Columbia University; Amey Pasarkar, Columbia University; Wenjun Chen, Columbia University; Wenkai Hu, Columbia University; Jan Janak, Columbia University; and Henning Schulzrinne, Columbia University
The Macro-Economics of Crypto-Currencies: The Role of Private Moneys in a Post-Corona Monetary Policy, Eli Noam, Columbia University
Services
Moderator: Robin Mansell, London School of Economics
Deploying Telemedicine in Capacity Constrained Contexts: Lessons from the Vanuatu Inter-island Telemedicine and Learning Project, Sharada Srinivasan, University of Pennsylvania
GAFA’s Information Infrastructure Distribution: Implications for the Global South, Fernanda R. Rosa, University of Pennsylvania and Janice A. Hauge, University of North Texas
Divergences in Procedural Accountability: Comparative Analysis on Social Media Political Speech Regulation in the United States, Germany, South Korea, and Taiwan, So Yun Ahn, University of Southern California; Jeeyun Sophia Baik, University of Southern California; Ho-Chun Herbert Chang, University of Pennsylvania; and Clara Sol Krause, University of Southern California
11:00 am Eastern Time
Policy
Moderator: Edward Carlson, NTIA
Japan’s New Framework for Net Neutrality: The Journey So Far and Future Challenges, Toshiya Jitsuzumi, Chuo University
Digital Platforms and Innovation: Lessons for Innovation Policy and Regulation, Johannes M. Bauer, Michigan State University; and Tiago S. Prado, Michigan State University
Institutional Challenges of Technology Change: What Can Indonesia Tell Us 10 Years After DSO Policy Was Initiated? Moinul Zaber, University of Dhaka, United Nations University and Ibrahim Rohman, University of Indonesia
Broadband
Moderator: Mark Walker, CableLabs
Broadband Speeds in Fibered Markets: An Empirical Analysis, Michael Kotrous, George Mason University and James Bailey, Providence College
Technological Innovation and Quality Improvement in US Broadband, Kenneth Flamm, University of Texas at Austin and Pablo Varas, University of Texas at Austin
Survey of the US Small and Medium Providers in the Residential Broadband Internet: New Sampling Approaches, Boris Houenou, Viasat Inc and Steve Lanning, Viasat Inc
Prospects for Competition in the Provision of Internet Access Services Over Broadband Local Access Networks, David Reed, University of Colorado at Boulder
Digital Divide
Moderator: Peter Stenberg, GMU
Internet Connectivity Among Indigenous and Tribal Communities in North America - A Focus on Social and Educational Outcomes, Leon Gwaka, University of Pennsylvania; Christopher Yoo, University of Pennsylvania; and Muge Haseki, University of Pennsylvania
Entrepreneurship in Minority Areas: The Roles of Broadband Availability and Financial Constraints, James Prieger, Pepperdine University
When Being Connected is Not Enough. An Analysis of the Second and Third Levels of the Digital Divide in a Developing Country, Erezi Ogbo, Carnegie Mellon University; Tim Brown, Carnegie Mellon University; Jon Gant, North Carolina Central University and Douglas Sicker, University of Colorado at Denver, University of Colorado at Boulder
Public Subsidies and Price Discrimination in Differentiated Oligopoly: Evidence from the Lifeline Extension to High-Speed Internet, Samara Mendez, The Humane LEague Labs; Gabor Molnar, University of Colorado at Boulder; and Scott Savage, University of Colorado at Boulder
FCC
Moderator: Jonathan Levy
Telecommunications Policy, Regulation, and Enforcement: A 20 Year Retrospective of FCC Adjudication, J Stephanie Rose, University of Pittsburgh
The Post Roads Act of 1866: The Story of the Dawn of Communications Regulatory Policy, Bob Cannon
The Moral Hazard of Lax FCC Land Use Oversight for Advanced Network Infrastructure, Benjamin W. Cramer, Pennsylvania State University
Mobile
Moderator: Petrus Potgieter, University of South Africa
Policy Choices Can Help Keep Universal Broadband Targets Affordable: A Spatial Model of 4G and 5G Roll-Out in Developing Countries, Edward Oughton, George Mason University; Niccoló Comini, World Bank; Vivien Foster, World Bank; Jim Hall, University of Oxford
5G Network Neutrality in Brazil: Novel Technological Challenges to the Brazilian Civil Rights Framework for the Internet, Alexandre Moraes, Agência Nacional de Telecomunicações
Thursday, February 18, 2021
Paper Sessions
10:00 am Eastern Time
Platforms
Moderator: Sally Broughton Micova, University of East Anglia
Assessing the Market Power of Digital Platforms, Tiago S. Prado, Michigan State University
How Much is Privacy Worth Around the World and Across Platforms? Jeffrey Prince, Indiana University and Scott Wallsten, Technology Policy Institute
Data for Prominence on Dominant Online Platforms, Marc Bourreau, Telecom Paris; Janina Hofmann, University of Passau; and Jan Krämer, University of Passau
Digital Divide
Moderator: Heather Hudson, University of Alaska
Rural Measures: A Quantitative Study of the Rural Digital Divide, Angela Hollman, University of Nebraska at Kearney; Tim Obermier, University of Nebraska at Kearney; Paul Burger, University of Nebraska at Kearney and Adam Spanier, University of Nebraska at Kearney
Repercussions of Poor Broadband Connectivity for Students in Rural and Small Town Michigan, Keith Hampton, Michigan State University; Laleah Fernandez, Michigan State University; Craig Robertson, Michigan State University and Johannes M. Bauer, Michigan State University
Mapping the Digital Divide: Before, During, and After COVID-19, Francesco Bronzino, India; Nick Feamster, University of Chicago; Shinan Liu, University of Chicago; James Saxon, University of Chicago; Paul Schmitt, Princeton University
Security
Moderator: Andy Sayler, Twitter
Evaluating Security Implications of Spectrum Allocation in Licensed and Unlicensed Use: 5G vs. Wi-Fi, Roslyn Layton, Aalborg University and David Witkowski, Oku Solutions LLC
Behind the Veil of Decentralization: Analyzing Blockchain Frames and Sponsors in US News, Asvatha Babu, American University
Trust Zones: A Path to a More Secure Internet Infrastructure, David D. Clark, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Kc Claffy, University of California San Diego
Artificial Intelligence
Moderator: Alex Engler, Brookings Institute
Indirect Enforcement of Artificial Intelligence ‘Soft Law,’ Gary E. Marchant, Arizona State University and Carlos Ignacio Gutierrez, Arizona State University
AI-associated market failure: beyond learning to collude, Jonathan Cave, University of Warwick
Harmonizing Regulatory Spheres to Overcome Challenges for Governance of Patient-Generated Health Data in the Age of Artificial Intelligence and Big Data, Jenifer Sunrise Winter, University of Hawaii at Manoa and Elizabeth J. Davidson, University of Hawaii at Manoa
Immigration Policy and Competition in U.S. AI Development, Caleb Watney
5G
Moderator: Marcela Gomez, University of Pittsburgh
What are the US Spectrum Auctions for 5G Teaching Us About Auction Efficiency? Fernando Beltrán, University of Auckland
Network Value Drivers in a 5G World Coleman Bazelon, The Brattle Group; Paroma Sanyal, The Brattle Group; Jonathan Lee, The Brattle Group; Ezra Frankel, The Brattle Group; and Ryan Taylor, The Brattle Group
11:00 am Eastern Time
Platforms
Moderator: Kevin Werbach, University of Pennsylvania
Social Media Platforms as Public Trustees: An Approach to the Disinformation Problem, Philip Napoli, Duke University and Fabienne Graf, Duke University
The Social Value of a Ridesharing Platform, Christos Makridis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Yong Paik, KAIST
Open Government Data for Digital Services: Effects on Innovation, Competition, and Societal Benefits, Bastian Haberer, University of Passau and Daniel Schnurr, University of Passau
Video
Moderator: James Prieger, Pepperdine University
There’s Probably a Blackout in Your Television Future: Tracking New Carriage Negotiation Strategies Between Video Content Programmers and Distributors, Rob Frieden, Pennsylvania State University; Krishna Jayakar, Pennsylvania State University and Eun-A Park, Western State Colorado University
The Impact of OTT on Preferences for Mobile Services: A Conjoint Analysis of Mobile Users in Nigeria Erezi Ogbo, Carnegie Mellon University; Tim Brown, Carnegie Mellon University; Jon Gant, North Carolina Central University; Alexander L. Davis, Carnegie Mellon University and Douglas Sicker, University of Colorado at Boulder
Blackouts in Retransmission Consent Negotiations: Empirical Analysis of Factors Predicting Their Frequency and Duration Euna Park, Western State Colorado University; Rob Frieden, Pennsylvania State University and Krishna Jayakar, Pennsylvania State University
Privacy
Moderator: Meg Leta Jones, Georgetown University
Examining National Privacy Laws in the Context of International Trade Caitlin Chin, Georgetown University
The Impact of the General Data Protection Regulation on Internet Interconnection, Ran Zhuo, Harvard University; Bradley Huffaker, University of California San Diego; kc Claffy, University of California San Diego and Shane Greenstein, Harvard Business School
Internet
Moderator: Roslyn Layton, Aalborg University
Standardizing Security: Surveillance, Human Rights, and TLS 1.3, Milton Mueller, Georgia Institute of Technology and Colin Kiernan, Independent
A Data-Driven Approach to Understanding the State of Internet Routing Security, Cecilia Testart, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and David D. Clark, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Changing Markets for Domain Names: Technical, Economic, and Policy Challenges William Lehr, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; David D. Clark, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Steve Bauer, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Spectrum
Moderator: Michael Marcus, MIT
Use it or Share It: A New Default Option for Spectrum Management Michael Calabrese, New America Foundation - Open Technology Institute
Incumbent Informing Capability (IIC) for Time-Based Spectrum Sharing Michael DiFrancisco, NTIA; Charles Cooper, NTIA; and Edward Drocella, NTIA
Evaluating the Potential of Spectrum Sharing in the Land Mobile Radio (LMR) Band Udayan Das, Illinois Institute of Technology; Vaishali Nagpure, Illinois Institute of Technology; and Cynthia Hood, Illinois Institute of Technology
Toward automated Enforcement of Radio Interference, Pedro Bustamante, University of Pittsburgh; J Stephanie Rose, University of Pittsburgh; Debarun Das, Independent; Marcela Gomez, University of Pittsburgh; Martin B. H. Weiss, University of Pittsburgh; Jung-Min Park, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University; and Taieb Znati, Independent
Friday, February 19, 2021
Paper Sessions
10:00 am Eastern Time
Adoption
Moderator: Keyla Hernandez-Ulloa, FCC
Disaggregating the Drivers of Mobile Technology Adoption: The Threat of Unobservable Gender Biases, Caroline Butler, GSMA Intelligence
Exploring the Relationship Between Mobile Money Regulation and Usage, Kalvin Bahia, GSMA Intelligence; Maria Sánchez-Vidal, University of Barcelona; Pere A. Taberner, University of Barcelona, KSNET
Impact of Broadband Penetration on U.S. Farm Productivity Katherine LoPiccalo, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Organization
Moderator: Jeff Prince, Indiana University
Fixed Wireless Networks in the United States: Seven Case Studies Sharada Srinivasan, University of Pennsylvania and the World Bank Group; Christopher Yoo, University of Pennsylvania and Muge Haseki, University of Pennsylvania
Sociotechnical Cooperatives: The Impact of Technology on Cooperative Organizations, Madelyn Sanfilippo, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, CITP, Princeton University and Tithi Chattopadhyay, Princeton University
Smart Cities as Large Technological Systems: Collective Action Problems as Organizational Barriers to Urban Digital Transformation, Jared Mondschein, RAND Corporation; Aaron Clark-Ginsberg, RAND Corporation and Andreas Kuehn, East West Institute
Public-Private Partnerships for Broadband Diffusion: a Comparison of EU Case Studies, Paolo Gerli, Northumbria University and Jason Whalley, University of Northumbria at Newcastle
Protocols
Moderator: Marjory Blumenthal, RAND
When DNS Goes Dark: Understanding Privacy and Shaping Policy of an Evolving Protocol Vijay Gurbani, Illinois Institute of Technology; Cynthia Hood, Illinois Institute of Technology; Anita Nikolich, Illinois Institute of Technology; Henning Schulzrinne, Columbia University; and Radu State, University of Luxembourgh
Exploring the Privacy Trade-Offs and Industry Impacts of DNS over HTTPS, Brenden Kuerbis, Georgia Institute of Technology
Exploring the Intersection of Technology and Policy in the Future Internet Architecture Effort, Karen Sollins, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; William Lehr, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Digital Divide
Moderator: Dhanarai Thakur, CDT
Breaking through the Gender Digital Divide: Technology, Social Norms, and the WomenConnect Challenge, Revi Sterling, DAI; Lauren Grubbs, USAID; and Thomas Koutsky, USAID
Employment and the Gender Digital Divide in Latin America: A Decomposition Analysis, Hernan Galperin, University of Southern California and Malena Arcidiacono, Independent, CEDLAS-UNLP
The Welfare Effects of Mobile Broadband Internet: Evidence from Nigeria, Kalvin Bahia, GSMA Intelligence; Pau Castells, GSMA Intelligence; Carlos Rodríguez-Castelán, World Bank; Takaaki Masaki, World Bank; Genaro Cruz, GSMA Intelligence; Tobias Pfutze, Florida International University; Hernan Winkler, World Band; and Xavier Pedrós, GSMA Intelligence
ICTs Use for Mitigting Social Exclusion in the Lives of Homeless Women, Hoan Nguyen, University of Southern California
Cybersecurity
Moderator: Rudy Brioché, Comcast
THz Communications - a Boon and/or Bane for Security, Privacy, and National Security, Rohit Singh, University of Colorado at Denver and Douglas Sicker, University of Colorado at Boulder
Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), Jay Jacobs, Cyentia; Sasha Romanosky, RAND Corporation, Carnegie Mellon University; Ben Edwards, Cyentia; Michael Roytman, Kenna Security; and Idris Adjerid, Pamplin College of Business
Cybersecurity Capacity Building: Cross-National Benefits and International Divides, Sadie Creese, University of Oxford; William H. Dutton, University of Southern California, GCSCC Computer Science, University of Oxford; Patricia Esteve-Gonzalez, University of Oxford; and Ruth Shillair, Michigan State University
11:00 am Eastern Time
Privacy
Moderator: Jennifer Huddleston, American Action Forum
Applying a Contextual Integrity Framework to Privacy Policies for Smart Technologies, Gwen Shaffer, California State University Long Beach
Information Policy, Privacy Failings, and Steps Towards Empowerment in Cases of Technology-Facilitated Sexual Violence, Megan Knittel, Michigan State University and Ruth Shillair, Michigan State University
Early GDPR Penalties: Analysis of Implementation and Fines through May 2020 Josephine Wolff, Tufts University and Nicole Atallah, Tufts University
Anticompetitive Effects
Moderator: Gus Hurwitz, University of Nebraska
Merger Analysis in the App Economy: An Empirical Model of Ad-Sponsored Media, Kohei Kawaguchi, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; Toshifumi Kuroda, Tokyo Keizai University and Susumu Sato, Hitotsubashi University
Throw the Book at Them: Why the FTC Needs to Get Tough with Influencers. Christopher Terry, University of Minnesota; Lee Silberberg, University of Minnesota and Stephen Schmitz, University of Minnesota
Challenges to the Conventional Wisdom About Mergers and Consumer Welfare in a Converging Internet Marketplace, Rob Frieden, Pennsylvania State University
Politics
Moderator: Jane Coffin, Internet Society
Internet Access and Cost and Its Impact on Citizens Engagement on E-Government Services, Fati Tahiru, Ho Technical University; Bismark Tei Asare, Ghana Communication Technology University; George Asante, Ghana Communication Technology University; and Samuel Agbesi, Aalborg University
Is a Digital Nation a Voting Nation? Using Survey Data to Examine the Relationship Between Internet Use and Voting in the United States, Amy Robinson, Harvard Law University; Hannah Schaller, University of Virginia; Rafi Goldberg, NTIA; and Edward Carlson, Independent
Political Factors that Enable an Internet Kill Switch in Democratic and Non-Democratic Regimes, Patricia Vargas-Leon, Yale University, The Fletcher School, Tufts University