June 9, 1994
Sponsored by the Columbia Institute for Tele-Information.
Jointly sponsored with The Annenberg Washington Program and the Center for Government Studies.

As information flows become increasingly elec-tronic, the nature of democratic politics is chang-ing in fundamental ways. This conference brought together practitioners and analys ts from various areas of politics and policy-making in order to discuss the impact of telecommunications on the democratic process. Journalists, political scientists, political organizers, consultants, and activists took part in a dynamic conversation .

Public interest concerns were important to the group: How will the development of fragmented telecommunities effect the democratic process? How will it influence the formation and mobilization of voting groups? Who will have access to political information and how can we assure the confidentiality of electronic political discourse?

Conference participants were also concerned with the impact of telecommunications on institutional policy-making processes: In what ways will electronic deci sion-making processes effect the substance of policy decisions? How will instantaneous polling effect the legislative process? What can we learn from electronic town meetings and what role can they play in policy decisions?

Telecommunities and Teledemocracy

• Beyond Territorality: Economics and Politics in Telesociety
  Eli M. Noam, CITI

Accessibility and Confidentiality in a System of Teledemocracy

• Access to Political Information: Openness and Restrictions
  Toni Carbo Bearman , University of Pittsburg
• Protecting Civil Liberties in a Teledemocracy
  Jerry Berman, Electronic Frontiers Foundation
• Protecting Individual and Group Confidentiality in Electronic Political Processes
  Alan Westin, Columbia University
• Discussants:
• E.J. Dionne, The Washington Post
• Marc Rotenberg, Electronic Privacy Information Center

• Amitai Etzioni, George Washington University

• Televised Deliberative Poll: The British Experiment
  James Fishkin, University of Texas
• Televoting in the United States
  Christa Daryl Slaton, Auburn University
Discussants:
• Jeffrey Abramson, Brandeis University
• William Schneider, American Enterprise Institute

• Demonstration: The American Political Channel
  Douglas L. Bailey, American Political Channel, Inc
• Voters, Candidates and Campaigns in the New Information Age
  Michael Delli Carpini, Barnard College
• Can Technology Save Democracy
  Tracy Westen, USC-Annenberg/CGS
• Discussants:
  • Ellen Hume, The Annenberg Washington Program
  • Fred Wertheimer, Common Cause

Organized by:
Tracy Westen, Center for Government Studies
Eli M. Noam, CITI
Yvonne Zecca, The Annenberg Washington Program