New Congress and Net Neutrality
Where does net neutrality stand with the Democratic take over?
Net Neutrality and the Democrats
The November elections have increased the likelihood that the new Congress will act on net neutrality legislation. But the chances for Congressional action received another major boost recently when the Federal Communications Commission agreed to accept certain conditions offered by AT&T and BellSouth to secure approval of their $85 billion merger -- the largest telecom merger to date.
Says Peter Huber of Forbes:*
"By the time Congress, the Federal Communications Commission and the courts are done with it, the Net Neutrality law will be a 2 million-word law." The new Congress is determined to enact a "net neutrality" bill -- any "net neutrality" bill. It's not getting a lot of press these days, thus no InfoManager updates, but you can believe it's a work-in-progress and we won't know about it until it's too late. Huber looks at it from a Lawyer's perspective... maybe because he IS one.
But will they nibble instead?
On the other hand, National Journal's David Hatch sez, it might not be as earth-shaking as many would believe...
"Senate Commerce Committee officials confirmed that Chairman Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, will pursue a series of small, targeted telecommunications bills -- and not sweeping legislation. Some congressional sources suggested that Inouye is taking that approach to avoid the controversy that stalled efforts by Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, the previous chairman, to pass a major telecom bill last year." **
Then Technology speaks up...
Then, the Center for Democracy and Technology asked Congress to use kid gloves when exerting any greater control over Internet content or design.
K.C. Jones, InformationWeek reports...
"One of the most influential groups to lobby for technology policy has laid out its plans for shaping the Internet and technology this year..." citing Jim Dempsey the CDT's policy director saying:
"Some policy makers seem to have forgotten what makes the Internet special. Proposals to stem the flow of objectionable content, protect intellectual property, and prevent crime online -- all important goals -- often overlook the Internet's history and the nature of its architecture. We're trying to remind lawmakers of the policy choices that made the Internet successful, so they do not abandon those policies." ***
IMHO: This is going to be a struggle between the ones who 'know' and the 'know-nots' because lawmakers in the House and Congress really don't have a clue no matter which side of the isle they sit on. And while the big players are preoccupied with major issues of healthcare and Iraq, these little cells of clueless wanna-bees will be forging ahead with policy proposals that will wreak more damage than good on the internet.
Getting the CDT involved might be a good idea, but then again, maybe not. The group also wants to ensure that Web sites and service providers are not held responsible for materials posted by users -- a grievous mistake. I suspect you'll see that the Democrats will lean towards keeping the "anything goes" attitude. There must be some sort of accountability on the web, and technology is the only way to make it happen. Unfortunately, the Democrats don't like to talk about the Clintons giving the internet away -- any more than Teddie likes to talk about Mary Jo.
There's too much at stake in this issue to rely just on the bureaucrats.
Of course, I welcome your comments below.
Thanks for reading
Fred Showker, Editor/Publisher UG Net News
* Peter Huber's Forbes article
** Here's David Hatch's National Journal article
*** K.C. Jones, InformationWeek article
