Michael Geist is a leading policy thinker about where the Web 2.0 intersects with the law. He is a law professor who writes the popular http://www.michaelgeist.ca blog. Rob Hyndman, a lawyer and one of the MESH organizers, is interviewing him.

Geist has an encyclopedic grasp of Web 2.0. His question to the audience is: What is the legal policy that will support the growing Web 2.0 trend? Geist's position is that there is a market force playing out that the government must let evolve. Arbitrary legislation that favours the recording industry, for example, might slow it down.

Here is a synopsis of the interview.

RH: Where do we go from here? What role will policy makers play?

MG: Canadian policy makers are not getting it right - as we will see in the coming months. There are content producers driving the Web 2.0 market who might lose their ability to produce. The policy reforms being studied are about controlling markets.

RH: The political reality of where we are now suggests we will see more restrictions.

MG: The lobby group (CRIA) behind the changes is one of the most effective there is. But when Canadian musicians speak out against it they received considerable attention. When Steven Page and Avril Levigne speak out against the reforms politicians listen.

Audience: There is a cultural clash coming with the restrictions of copyright. Will this cause young people to get political?

MG: An increasing number of people see this as their issue.

Audience: Where are "Mashups" of available data going in terms of violation of copyright?

MG: People will want to be paid. Some revenue streams will evolve and while we are smart we don't know what the market will look like in three to five years. Ottawa must get out of the way.

Audience: A government official, in fact. Senior managers in government are scared by the blogosphere - there is a lot of fear.

MG: This is starting to change. People in government are responding.