Competition in a Time of Consolidation

The FCC and the Department of Justice are currently examining several communications and media mergers. Industry leaders will debate the implications that these transactions would have on both consumers and businesses, discuss the best approach for the FCC and Department of Justice to take, and how the mergers may impact ongoing proceedings at the Commission.

Speakers

Berin Szoka

President, Tech Freedom

Berin Szoka is the President of TechFreedom. Previously, he was a Senior Fellow and the Director of the Center for Internet Freedom at The Progress & Freedom Foundation. Before joining PFF, he was an Associate in the Communications Practice Group at Latham & Watkins LLP, where he advised clients on regulations affecting the Internet and telecommunications industries. Before joining Latham's Communications Practice Group, Szoka practiced at Lawler Metzger Milkman & Keeney, LLC, a boutique telecommunications law firm in Washington, and clerked for the Hon. H. Dale Cook, Senior U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Oklahoma.   Szoka received his Bachelor's degree in economics from Duke University and his Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he served as Submissions Editor of the Virginia Journal of Law and Technology. He is admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia and California (inactive).

Gene Kimmelman

Public Knowledge, President

Gene Kimmelman is the President and CEO of Public Knowledge. Previously, Gene served as Director of the Internet Freedom and Human Rights project at the New America Foundation, and as Chief Counsel for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. Prior to joining the Department of Justice, Gene served as Vice President for Federal and International Affairs at Consumers Union. Gene has also served as Chief Counsel and Staff Director for the Antitrust Subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Legislative Director for the Consumer Federation of America. Gene began his career as a consumer advocate and Staff Attorney for Public Citizen’s Congress Watch. Gene is a graduate of Brown University and holds a J.D. from the University of Virginia where he received the Fortsman Fellowship.  He was also a Fulbright Fellow. 

He presently serves as a Senior Fellow at the Silicon Flatirons Center for Law, Technology, and Entrepreneurship at the University of Colorado and is Senior Associate with Global Partners Digital. He is also an adjunct professor at George Washington School of Law.

Ryan Knutson (Moderator)

Wall Street Journal

Ryan Knutson is a reporter for The Wall Street Journal. Based in New York, Mr. Knutson writes about the telecommunications industry, including companies such as Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile. Before joining The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Knutson reported for a range of news outlets, including PBS FRONTLINE, ProPublica and The Daily Graphic of Ghana. Mr. Knutson is a graduate of the University of Oregon.