Public Knowledge is an American

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

public interest group Advocacy groups, also known as lobby groups, interest groups, special interest groups, pressure groups, or public associations, use various forms of advocacy or lobbying to influence public opinion and ultimately public policy. They play an impor ...

based in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Founded in 2001 by David Bollier, Gigi Sohn, and Laurie Racine, Public Knowledge is primarily involved in the fields of

intellectual property law Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, ...

competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indi ...

and choice in the digital marketplace, and an

open standard An open standard is a standard that is openly accessible and usable by anyone. It is also a common prerequisite that open standards use an open license that provides for extensibility. Typically, anybody can participate in their development due to ...

s/ end-to-end

internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

History

Public Knowledge was founded in 2001 by David Bollier, Gigi Sohn, and Laurie Racine. Gigi Sohn served as president and CEO from 20012013 and Gene Kimmelman served as president and CEO from 20132019. Since 2019, Chris Lewis has served as president and CEO. Public Knowledge promotes technology policies that benefit the public through many different channels, including the media and social platforms, U.S. Congress, federal agencies, and court and agency filings. The organization also conducts research to propose new legislation, regulations, and recommendations for the ever-expanding digital and technological world. Finally, Public Knowledge frequently publishes blog posts, opinion pieces, and papers to apply their work to current events, and hosts convenings and multimedia resources to educate the public and connect them to policymaking in Washington, DC.

Board of directors

The following individuals are on the board as of March 2023. *Board chair and senior vice president, Starry, Inc., Virginia Lam Abrams *

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

director and cofounder Brewster Kahle * Director of policy,

Patreon Patreon (, ) is a monetization platform operated by Patreon, Inc., that provides business tools for content creators to run a subscription service and sell digital products. It helps artists and other creators earn a recurring income by provid ...

, Laurent Crenshaw * CEO and founder, Glen Echo Group, Maura Corbett * Founding partner of Integrated Solutions Group, Moses Boyd * General Counsel, Expa, Michal Rosenn * Founder of Slaiman Consulting LLC, Gary Slaiman * General manager of Microsoft's global airband initiative, Vickie Robinson * Principal at LC Public Affairs, Marcus Reese * Chief investment officer of Connect Humanity, Brian Vo

Former members of the board

* Michael J. Copps former FCC commissioner, special adviser to the media and democracy reform initiative at

Common Cause Common Cause is a watchdog group based in Washington, D.C., with chapters in 35 states. It was founded in 1970 by John W. Gardner, a Republican, who was the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in the administration of President Lyndon ...

*Andrew McLaughlin partner,

betaworks Betaworks Studio, LLC is an American startup studio and seed stage venture capital company based in New York City that invests in network-focused media businesses. Its hybrid investor/builder model has led to both investments in fast-growing st ...

; cofounder and partner, Higher Ground Labs *Michael Petricone senior vice president for government affairs,

Consumer Technology Association The Consumer Technology Association (CTA)® is North America's largest standards and technology trade organization representing more than 1,200 technology companies. CTA is led by CEO and Vice Chair Gary J. Shapiro. Trade shows CES C ...

*Frank C. Torres, III director of consumer affairs and senior policy counsel,

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

* Kevin Werbach professor at the

Wharton School The Wharton School ( ) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia. Established in 1881 through a donation from Joseph Wharton, a co-founder of Bethlehem Steel, the Wharton ...

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

Hal Abelson Harold Abelson (born April 26, 1947) is an American mathematician and computer scientist. He is a professor of computer science and engineering in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Tec ...

professor of computer science and engineering,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

*Leah Belsky vice president of strategic development and associate general counsel, Kaltura * David Bollier writer and founder of the Commons Strategies Group *Hal Bringman founder and president of NVPR * Susan P. Crawford professor,

University of Michigan Law School The University of Michigan Law School (branded as Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of Comparati ...

Jesse Dylan Jesse Byron Dylan (born January 6, 1966) is an American film director and production executive. He is the founder of the media production company Wondros and Lybba, a non-profit organization. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relat ...

founder, Wondros *

Lawrence Lessig Lester Lawrence "Larry" Lessig III (born June 3, 1961) is an American legal scholar and political activist. He is the Roy L. Furman Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and the former director of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvar ...

professor of law,

Stanford Law School Stanford Law School (SLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Stanford University, a Private university, private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, Stanford Law had an acceptance rate of 6.28% i ...

* Warrington Hudlin founder, dvRepublic * Reed Hundt former chair,

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...

* Joichi Ito former director,

MIT Media Lab The MIT Media Lab is a research laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, growing out of MIT's Architecture Machine Group in the MIT School of Architecture and Planning, School of Architecture. Its research does not restrict to fi ...

*Laurie Racine founder, managing director, Startl * Gigi B. Sohn founder of Public Knowledge; counselor to former FCC chairman Tom Wheeler * Jonathan Taplin adjunct professor,

USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism The USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism is a part of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. It has 2,300 undergraduate and graduate students. Willow Bay is the dean. Prof. Hector Amaya is the Director of the Sc ...

*Kathleen Wallman president, Wallman Consulting LLC

Policy areas

Public Knowledge focuses on many different issues within the space of technology and media, highlighting the intersection of copyright, telecommunications, and internet law. Its mission statement promises that the public interest group "promotes freedom of expression, an open internet, and access to affordable communications tools and creative works." The organization has worked in the courts and alongside Congress and government agencies like the Federal Communications Commission and the

Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) United States antitrust law, antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. It ...

to advocate for a more open and equitable internet experience. Public Knowledge is known for its nuanced thought analysis and policy proposals, such as its

Section 230 In the United States, Section 230 is a section of the Communications Act of 1934 that was enacted as part of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, which is Title V of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, and generally provides immunity for on ...

principles to protect free expression online, its proposal for a digital regulator, and its alternative frameworks for algorithmic accountability. As of March 2023, the organization advocates for

net neutrality Net neutrality, sometimes referred to as network neutrality, is the principle that Internet service providers (ISPs) must treat all Internet communications equally, offering User (computing), users and online content providers consistent tra ...

, platform competition, consumer privacy, broadband accessibility and affordability, content moderation, a competitive media landscape, reforming copyright to benefit artists and creators, and reforming

spectrum management Spectrum management is the process of regulating the use of radio frequencies to promote efficient use and gain a net social benefit.Martin Cave, Chris Doyle, William Webb, ''Modern Spectrum Management'', Cambridge University Press, 2007 The ter ...

to help consumers gain wireless access — without losing consumer protections along the way. Public Knowledge has played a key role in securing broadband privacy rules, net neutrality rules, and expanding spectrum access for unlicensed use. It has also run successful campaigns for issues such as improving internet access in tribal communities and unlock of cell phones. Public Knowledge has led coalitions for efforts such as including broadband funding in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

PKTrains

PKTrains
is Public Knowledge's public interest advocate training program. It was launched in 2014 with the goal of educating diverse, aspiring public policymakers. It offers early-career fellows and interns an opportunity to work side-by-side with Public Knowledge's lawyers, public interest advocates, and communications professionals to learn how to effectively promote policies that benefit the public. Since its launch, the PKTrains program has trained more than 20 full-time post-graduate fellows and many more student interns, externs, and others passionate about making the world a better place through good policymaking that puts people first.

References

External links

Public Knowledge
{{authority control Intellectual property activism Intellectual property organizations Political advocacy groups in the United States Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C. 501(c)(3) organizations