2013 International CES to Expand Public Policy Focus

ARLINGTON, Va. -- (BUSINESS WIRE) -- The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)^®, owner and producer of the International CES, announced today a broad array of panel discussions to be held at the Innovation Policy Summit during the 2013 International CES^®, the world’s largest annual innovation event. Coinciding with the start of the next U.S. Congressional session, the CES Innovation Policy Summit includes top government officials, entrepreneurs and policy experts who will underscore the relationship between technology innovation and public policies while, addressing major issues impacting American innovators and U.S. competitiveness.

The CES Innovation Policy Summit session panels include the following:

• Strategic Immigration: Bringing the Best and Brightest to America, panel featuring tech entrepreneurs Mert Iseri of SwipeSense and Fabien Beckers of Morpheus Medical with a representative from NY Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s office.
• Fighting the Patent Trolls, panel of companies that have been victimized by patent trolls, as well as Washington policymakers who are helping the tech industry fight back.
• Beyond SOPA: Creating a Pro-innovation, Pro-artist Copyright Policy, featuring a discussion among entrepreneurs and policymakers regarding how to protect intellectual property while maintaining a vibrant Internet and creating new opportunities for content creators.
• Premiere of the documentary by Reddit Co-founder Alexis Ohanian and General Manager Erik Martin: “Silicon Prairie: America’s New Internet Economy,” which captures the 2012 Internet Bus Tour’s effort to “campaign for the Internet.” Following the premiere, Ohanian and Martin will participate in a panel discussion examining public policy and the Internet economy.
• Mobile Impact on Economic Growth and Job Creation, a panel planned in partnership with The Brookings Institution.
• Facing the Policy Issues of Facial Recognition Technology, a panel discussing the policy implications of deployment of this technology.
• Voluntary Incentive Auctions: The Wireless Future Is Here!, panel exploring how the voluntary spectrum auctions are progressing and the impact on technology.
• Washington and the Startup Economy: First, Do No Harm, a discussion of what Congress needs to do to ensure the next generation of high-tech, high skill jobs are created in America.
• E-waste Policy in the U.S., where industry leaders and policymakers discuss how to move beyond the patchwork of state e-waste laws to a sustainable industry-driven CE recycling system.
• Energy Efficiency: How Industry, Not Government, is Leading the Way to Energy Savings in Electronics, panel of industry executives discusses the alternatives to regulatory efforts that favor innovation and consumer choice.
• Driving the Debate on Safe Driving, a panel exploring the role of the federal government in this area; and
• Taking Flight: New Approaches to the Use of Consumer Electronics on Airplanes, produced in partnership with APEX, panel of airline, technology and regulatory professionals discuss policies and procedures for use of devices in flight.

CEA will issue a select list of panel participants and Summit attendees within the next several weeks as confirmations are received.

In addition, CEA President and CEO Gary Shapiro will interview Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski in a one-on-one conversation focusing on spectrum, broadband, the Internet and other hot issues. FCC commissioners are expected for a separate discussion of the FCC’s Regulatory Agenda for 2013.

Some 75 government guests are expected to attend the Innovation Policy Summit at CES including Members of Congress, Congressional staff, government executives and government officials from other countries.

The 2012 International CES featured several policy sessions including panels on Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA), the hottest issues of the year to an Internet economy. Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA), Senator Ron Wyden (D-WA) and CEA’s Shapiro held a press conference at the 2012 CES detailing how they would against all odds defeat SOPA and PIPA, which then happened just a week after the show closed.

Note to Editors: The official name of the global technology event is “International CES.” Subsequent references to the show can be shortened to “CES.” Please do not use “Consumer Electronics Show” to refer to the International CES.

About CEA:

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is the preeminent trade association promoting growth in the $206 billion U.S. consumer electronics industry. More than 2,000 companies enjoy the benefits of CEA membership, including legislative advocacy, market research, technical training and education, industry promotion, standards development and the fostering of business and strategic relationships. CEA also owns and produces the International CES – The Global Stage for Innovation. All profits from CES are reinvested into CEA’s industry services. Find CEA online: www.CE.org and www.DeclareInnovation.com. Follow CES at www.CESweb.org and through social media: http://facebook.com/InternationalCES, http://twitter.com/IntlCES, http://blog.ce.org/.

UPCOMING EVENTS

• 2013 International CES
  January 8-11, 2013, Las Vegas, NV