FEBRUARY: FCC votes Net Neutrality
Washington Post
Fierce Telecom
Washington Post
Fierce Telecom
What's this?
Quite simply, the free Internet is in danger.
The FCC will vote on Network Neutrality late next month (Feb 2015).
Net Neutrality is about making sure no one is blocked from getting their content to viewers. Currently it is the owners of the airwaves (ISPs), like Comcast, who can influence the traffic of information on the web. And this could get bad.
It's not their outright refusal to allow content, but rather their ability to leverage the price of using their airwaves, that leaves control in their hands.
If this continues, it will result in increasing discrimination - not everyone will have fair access.
In 2007, Comcast intentionally throttled the bandwidth (slowed the connections) of certain users. The FCC stated that this was a violation of federal policy, and that Comcast had "significantly impeded consumers' ability to access the content and use the applications of their choice." But then they negotiated with Comcast instead of instating a rule against this.
All ISPs throttle (slow) connections in order to reduce traffic congestion and avoid overloading their servers. But without regulation, the ISPs will be able to favor certain websites while harboring others, by naming their own price. Those who can afford the price will have privilege and those who cannot will be excluded.
To keep the Internet open, the U.S. government needs to act by establishing Internet service providers as *common carriers* (to insulate the Internet highway from commercial interest).
We need to establish the Internet as EVERYONE's mouthpiece, not just the mouthpiece of Comcast and Comcast's friends. Although the invention and construction of the Internet was not accomplished by society as a whole (it was accomplished by a few), it has become so indispensable that in order to move forward, we need the government to recognize that we all now have a basic need for the internet. We need the government to regulate access. How? By establishing broadband as common carrier.
The idea of "common carriage" is the crux here. Establishing the airwaves (the Internet) as common carriage means making an *official declaration* of what is already true: that the internet has become essential to all of our lives, like water or electricity.
This vote is happening next month (February 2015).
We all now use the Internet every day for nearly everything. A lack of regulation could easily lead to a monopoly of this vital resource, exacerbating the existing digital divide. Wealth should not play a hand here. Unequal participation on the Internet means exclusion from society. Do you think internet access has become a basic human right?
Wikipedia: The Right to Internet Access :
The right to Internet access, also known as the right to broadband, is the view that all people must be able to access the Internet in order to exercise and enjoy their rights to Freedom of expression and opinion and other fundamental human rights, that states have a responsibility to ensure that Internet access is broadly available, and that states may not unreasonably restrict an individual's access to the Internet. Internet access is recognized as a right by the laws of several countries.
Remember:
The free flow of information is essential to a democracy.
Smithsonian:
Debate Over Net Neutrality Has Its Roots In The Fight Over Radio Freedom
Time :
Websites Plan Internet Countdown To Defend Internet Neutrality
“Common carriage embodies the ideal that the efficient movement of goods and information is essential to our economy, our culture, and our nation, and therefore carriers must not discriminate or favor particular content or individuals.”
(Federal Internet Law & Policy Educational Project on Net Neutrality)
“Common carriage embodies the ideal that the efficient movement of goods and information is essential to our economy, our culture, and our nation, and therefore carriers must not discriminate or favor particular content or individuals.”
(Federal Internet Law & Policy Educational Project on Net Neutrality)
Stay informed about the recent developments in Internet governance
|
Not enough people today understand why internet privacy is so important. It doesn't matter who you are - you don't have nothing to hide
|
Perspective, health, and sociability in the digital age
|
New research, applications, emergent tech, and other exciting things
|
A blog of reflections and thoughts on various aspects of the media: psychological, cultural, identity, community
|
If you think you have something that should be on this site, whether a topic, a resource, or a story, contact CyberOptimism directly
|