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| Science & Technology |
| FCC Fairness Comes to the Internet |
| 2009-09-21 |
| The United States is moving toward enshrining a free and open internet with six proposed rules designed to prevent telecommunications companies from interfering with how people use their connections. Color me skeptical. The rules are needed because American internet providers have interfered with internet traffic on a number of occasions and they must be prevented from doing so in the future, said Federal Communications Commission chairman Julius Genachowski in a speech at the Brookings Institution in Washington. "The rise of serious challenges to the free and open internet puts us at a crossroads. We could see the internet's doors shut to entrepreneurs, the spirit of innovation stifled, a full and free flow of information compromised. Or we could take steps to preserve internet openness, helping ensure a future of opportunity, innovation, and a vibrant marketplace of ideas," he said. The FCC, the United States' counterpart to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, has since 2005 applied four so-called net neutrality principles in its decision-making. Two new principles will join those original four and be formalized as official rules that will apply to both wired and wireless networks: 1. Consumers are entitled to access whatever lawful internet content they want. 2. Consumers are entitled to run whatever applications and services they want, subject to the needs of law enforcement. 3. Consumers can connect to networks whatever legal devices they want, so long as they do not harm them. 4. Consumers are entitled to competition between networks, applications, services and content providers. 5. Service providers are not allowed to discriminate between applications, services and content outside of reasonable network management. 6. Service providers must be transparent about the network management practices they use. I wonder how many regulators will need to be hired to enforce all this? Genachowski, who was appointed to his job this summer by President Barack Obama -- a fellow net neutrality supporter -- said the FCC will launch its rule-making process in October and will seek input from the public and interested companies. The rules will have to be approved by the FCC's five commissioners, three of which are Democrats and supporters of net neutrality. Net neutrality supporters cheered the news. Vint Cerf, the Google vice-president who helped created the internet in the 1970s and 1980s Ahhh, that paragon of capitalism, Google. One of the instances Cerf was referring to was cable provider Comcast's blocking of peer-to-peer traffic last year. The company was sanctioned by the FCC and ordered to stop the practice, but Comcast filed a lawsuit against the regulator saying it didn't have the authority to make such demands. The lawsuit is still pending. The move is a major blow to phone and cable companies, who have argued that they need to manage their networks as they see fit. They have also said that further regulation of their networks will discourage investment in them. Wireless companies will be particularly opposed as so far, they have been able to call the shots on what applications and services consumers can use on their devices. It sounds liike a good idea, but I consider the source. |
| Posted by:Bobby |
| #2 Sounds like Disinformation to me, something unneeded and unwanted pushed as a "Necessity" In a panick stricken voice. The only "Benefit" I see is Obama getting a stranglehold on the Internet. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2009-09-21 14:57 |
| #1 1. Consumers are entitled to access whatever lawful internet content they want. Depending in what "Lawful" is defined as. I wonder how many regulators will need to be hired to enforce all this? Bunch of folks over at ACORN needin' work, ya know. |
| Posted by: Mullah Richard 2009-09-21 14:38 |