Brad, I tried to say this to you at David Isenberg's conference today, but I'll try to say it again more clearly here.

There's an old saying, "Res ipso loquitor," which, loosely translated, means, "Consider the source."

You, the source, have not one but multiple conflicts of interest. And it is a basic tenet of ethics that a conflict of interest cannot be washed away by a disclaimer.

The first conflict is that you are a board member of BitTorrent, Inc. Like it or not, this means that you are a fiduciary of the company. You are legally and ethically bound to advocate for the company and not to say anything that would in any way conflict with its interests. You can even be sued if you do.

Secondly, you are a board member of EFF. As above, you are required to support the EFF's interests and views. While you cannot be sued by stockholders if you don't (because EFF has none), it would be a breach of ethics if you did and could certainly get you removed from the board and/or sued by EFF itself.

Thirdly, you have your own interests. Being on the board of EFF lends you prestige and gets you perks (e.g. free speaking trips). BitTorrent, Inc. gives you either income or opportunities for income (e.g. stock options). This encourages you to maximize your returns by supporting them.

Thus, you are not just conflicted but multiply conflicted. There is so much pressure upon you not to say anything against either BitTorrent or the EFF's agenda, and so much for you to lose if you do, that you are legally and ethically bound not to take any side but that of these organizations. (And if they ever disagreed, you'd have to shut up and/or resign from the board of one of them.) So, you can see why disclosure is so important. You simply cannot, legally or ethically, speak freely on these issues. Your hands are tied.