Agenda - State of the Net

Breakout Panels Session 1

Verifying the Future: The Paxton Decision, Age Assurance, and the Next Phase of Online Safety

Speakers | Video | Transcript | Photos

Panel Description

The Supreme Court’s decision in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton narrowly upheld age verification requirements—but only for content already unlawful for minors, such as pornography. The decision did not extend to speech like social media, news, or messaging platforms – which are lawful for minors and adults alike. But this critical distinction is already being blurred by states passing laws restricting minors’ access to broader parts of the Internet, and Congress is considering comprehensive frameworks like KOSA (Kids Online Safety Act) that go far beyond age verification.
This panel examines where child safety policy goes from here. Does Paxton open the door to design mandates, content filtering, and platform liability for legal-but-harmful content? How should we evaluate state app store age verification laws that impose gatekeeping requirements on digital distribution? How do we balance protecting children with preserving anonymous access, free expression, and privacy? And can we build effective safety measures—whether age assurance, algorithmic accountability, or parental tools—without creating surveillance infrastructure that threatens the open Internet?

Sovereign AI and the New Internet Order: Governing Intelligence Across Borders

Speakers | Video | Transcript | Photos

Panel Description

As nations race to build “sovereign AI” systems, global Internet governance is entering uncharted territory. Once centered on shared protocols and open standards, the network now faces fragmentation driven by data localization, compute sovereignty, and national AI infrastructure strategies. From the U.S. and EU to China and the Global South, policymakers are redefining digital sovereignty as control over data, algorithms, and cloud capacity. This panel will explore the geopolitical stakes of sovereign AI — whether it marks the end of the global Internet or the beginning of a new era of decentralized, policy-driven intelligence.

30 for 30: 30 Years of Broadband Competition, 30 Years of What’s Next

Speakers | Video | Transcript | Photos

Panel Description

30 years ago Congress envisioned that telecom providers would compete with one another by providing multiple media offerings over their pipes. Today, that competitive vision has become a reality with broadband Internet subsuming multimedia and data communications. The Telecom Act authors probably got lucky that the Internet arrived on the scene as the ink started to dry on the parchment. Today, Americans access media and data via fiber, cable, fixed wireless and traditional mobile broadband services, and new LEO satellite Internet services are starting to fill in the gaps. But the 30 year old Telecom Act is a poor framework for this unimaginably dynamic Internet-enabled broadband marketplace. It was built on structural assumptions that immediately became obsolete. Now that the future is here, how should Congress build a communications policy framework that enables the next 30 years of technological change?

Breakout Panels Session 2

Making BEAD a Success To Connect All Americans

Speakers | Video | Photos | Transcript

Panel Description

With $42 billion from the BEAD program poised to extend broadband infrastructure to nearly every remaining unserved location, the deployment phase is finally underway. But building the networks is only half the job. For BEAD to truly succeed, communities must adopt and use the connectivity being delivered.

This panel will explore the demand-side factors that determine whether BEAD achieves its goals: What will it take to drive meaningful adoption? How do we ensure affordability as part of the broader adoption challenge? And what are the final steps needed to close the digital divide once the networks are built?

AI Liability: Who’s Responsible When Machines Act?

Speakers | Video | Photos | Transcript

Panel Description

As AI systems move beyond generating text to taking action—executing code, making transactions, controlling infrastructure—traditional liability frameworks are straining. If an AI agent causes harm, who’s accountable: the developer, the deployer, the user, or the AI itself? This panel examines emerging approaches to AI liability across domains: from autonomous vehicles and medical diagnostics to agentic systems that operate with varying degrees of independence. Should we extend existing product liability law, create new AI-specific frameworks, or adapt intermediary protections like Section 230? As infrastructure demands grow and energy costs mount, how do liability rules shape who builds AI and how it’s deployed?

The Future of AI Infrastructure: Affordably Securing Energy for Innovation

Speakers | Video | Photos | Transcript

Panel Description

As artificial intelligence evolves and expands, it is fundamentally reshaping how America builds its technology networks and power infrastructure. This panel of leaders from telecom, chips, energy, and infrastructure will explore the dual challenge of connectivity and sustainability. As AI transforms how we use the Internet, ISPs, carriers, and policymakers must prepare for AI-driven demand, potentially requiring new standards to connect billions of intelligent devices efficiently and securely.

At the same time, AI’s surging energy consumption is becoming a critical policy concern, requiring a balance between fostering AI-driven innovation and managing rising demands for computing power. How can policymakers ensure AI development aligns with sustainability goals while maintaining America’s competitive edge? What breakthroughs in energy efficiency and network design are on the horizon? Join us for an in-depth discussion on building the physical foundation for AI’s future—from devices to data centers.

Breakout Panels Session 3

The New Frontiers of Speech

Speakers | Video | Photos | Transcript

Panel Description

Policymakers, platforms, and media organizations face an escalating struggle over who controls expression. Once centered on social-media moderation, the free-speech debate now extends to television, AI-generated content, and “fairness” mandates across the information ecosystem. Is this the start of a more regulated Internet? Or a recalibration of constitutional boundaries? This panel brings together leading voices to examine the evolving legal, technological, and cultural frontiers of expression in the Trump era and beyond.

How Out-of-Date is Cybersecurity?

Speakers | Video | Photos | Transcript

Panel Description

Chatting with Machines: Mental Health, AI Companions, and the New Psychology of Connection

Speakers | Video | Photos | Transcript

Panel Description

AI chatbots and “companions” are redefining how people—especially young users—seek support, information, and connection. As these tools become integrated into daily life, they raise urgent policy questions: How should governments approach AI systems that influence users’ emotions and mental health? What safeguards are needed to protect minors and sensitive communities, including LGBTQ youth? This panel will explore the emerging regulatory landscape for AI companions, mental health apps, and conversational agents, examining issues of transparency, accountability, consent, and the appropriate role of federal and state policymakers in governing this new form of digital intimacy.