The New York Times newspaper, in an editorial, has supported the promise earlier this year of President Obama to keep the internet “open and free”. There should be rules, with the force of law, to ensure that freedom.
Editorial:
Access and the Internet
New York Times, Published: August 29, 2009
Internet today, a Web site run by a solo blogger can load as quickly as any corporate home page. Internet service providers, including leading cable and phone companies, want to be able to change that so they can give priority to businesses that pay, or make deals with, them.
A good bill that would guarantee so-called net neutrality has been introduced in the House. Congress should pass it, and the Obama administration should use its considerable power to make net neutrality the law.
If Internet service providers are allowed to choose among content, it would be bad for everyone but the service providers. Businesses could slow down or block their competitors’ Web content. A cable company whose leaders disapprove of a particular political or social cause could block sites supporting that cause.
Concerns about open networks are not limited to access to Web sites, and they are not hypothetical. In 2007, Verizon Wireless rejected Naral Pro-Choice America’s request to send text messages over its network, a decision Verizon reversed after an outpouring of criticism. Recently, Apple was criticized for rejecting an iPhone application, Google Voice, an Internet-based service that would permit users to make low-cost calls without using AT&T, which has an exclusive arrangement for the iPhone in this country. (Apple said it is still considering the application.) The Federal Communications Commission is investigating.
Representatives Edward Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts, and Anna Eshoo, Democrat of California, have introduced a bill to prohibit Internet service providers from blocking or discriminating against content that travels through their pipelines. It is likely to face fierce opposition from telecommunications and cable companies.
The best chance for guaranteeing net neutrality may lie with the Obama administration. Under the leadership of Chairman Julius Genachowski, the F.C.C. could adopt rules that would have the force of law. President Obama, a truly Internet-savvy president, declared in May that he is “firmly committed to net neutrality so we can keep the Internet as it should be – open and free.” We hope he keeps that promise.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/29/opinion/29sat3.html?th&emc=th