The Internet Association's Michael Beckerman

A Q&A with Internet Association President and CEO Michael Beckerman.

The trade association launched officially in September and counts as members 14 Web giants with deep financial pockets and influence, including Google, Facebook, AOL, LinkedIn, and Zynga.

He says the Internet’s” largest foe is just a misunderstanding of how the Internet works. Individual companies are better suited in dealing with their users and customers than the government. Laws and regulations get written based on what we know today, and aren't mindful of innovations that might occur a year or five years from now. The other is unintended consequences. You can look back at SOPA; it was so egregious, so detrimental to the function of a free Internet. But a lot of the challenges will be small and incremental. They'll come in the dead of night. People won't be looking for them. That's why we are here. We can alert millions of individuals who lent their voice during SOPA/PIPA to things they might not otherwise catch.”