Written By: CJ Allison
Posted on OxygenDeficient.com: 6-26-2006
The Senate Commerce Committee will be holding critical voting this Tuesday, June 27th, on an issue that has become one of America’s most controversial topics. The topic being referred to is known now as “network neutrality,” a term that some argue is poorly defined and others say is the deciding factor for the future of the internet.
Even today, if you asked a stranger on the street what “network neutrality” was they may not be able to tell you. But if you explained the current situation and intense battle in the capital over the issue, chances are they would agree that word must be spread.
So what is “network neutrality”? It is a guideline for companies on regulating, or not regulating, what they make available for internet users. For example, your internet service provider (ISP) could decide that Google is not paying them enough for consumer access, so they decide to make it harder or impossible for you to access their site. Network neutrality is supposed to keep such companies from doing so. It would say that no company can regulate what you can and cannot see or access while you are surfing the internet.
Some find the idea that an ISP would do this preposterous, they say that internet competition is healthy for the economy and would keep such companies from practicing acts their consumers did not like. Others, however, like SavetheInternet.com list examples where they feel such events have already occurred, and say that these companies would do whatever was legally possible to increase their budgets.
So who is supporting each side of the argument? Network neutrality is being supported by internet businesses like Amazon.com, eBay, Microsoft and Google. They are also joined by a coalition (www.SavetheInternet.com) of varying supporters including non-profit organizations, small businesses, blogs, websites, individuals and more. These supporters vary as greatly as the Christian Coalition, Students Advocating Change, and Gun Owners of America.
On the opposing side are the major network owners, including At&T, Comcast and Verizon. They are joined by varying supporters as well, but after visiting the www.HandsOff.org and www.NetCompetition.org member pages, you can see that their supporters are largely dominated by communications companies of varying shapes and sizes and manufacturing companies.
The two sides fiercely oppose each other and the arguments largely boil down to intent. The net neutrality supporters argue that the communications companies want freedom to control and charge anyone transmitting or receiving information over their lines. Net competition supporters say that their opponents want to over regulate the internet when there is no evidence that is necessary or would be harmful without such regulation.
So why has this topic suddenly surfaced and what does it have to do with the U.S. Senate? The answer lies in a bill which has already passed the U.S. House and is now sitting on the Senate’s doorstep.
The Communications Opportunity, Promotion and Enhancement Act of 2006, otherwise known as the COPE Act, started as a bill meant to make it easier for cable companies to get franchise agreements. It is also described as a bill meant to update the Telecommunications Act 1996. It would allow phone and cable companies to get national agreements instead of dealing with individual municipalities like they do now. The bill has become such a hot topic because it did not include language protecting network neutrality, and opponents argue such language is necessary to keep telephone and cable companies from negatively affecting their users’ access.
The bill already passed the U.S. House by a vote of 321-101 on June 8, 2006 and has now proceeded to the Senate Commerce Committee for proposed amendments. Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, has submitted changes to the bill as an offer of compromise to those seeking network neutrality, but many argue that these changes do not go far enough.
Stevens added sections to his bill that were aimed at preserving an internet user’s ability to surf anywhere on the web that they choose, and it also would set-up a complaint process being run through the FCC if users felt their rights were being violated. Interestingly enough, this draft legislation would grant the FCC the right to judge complaints and issue penalties to ISPs, but would keep them from being able to issue any new regulations that ISPs would have to follow. This would give them slightly more power over the ISPs than the Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU) has over advertising companies.
Many Democrats reject the proposals, including Sen. Daniel Inouye of Hawaii. In an article from Reuters Inouye was quoted as saying, “We believe the latest draft of communications legislation marks a further step backward for consumers, and it calls into question our commitment to passing a bipartisan communications reform package in this Congress.”
Stevens, however, is standing by the proposed changes. In an article from Multichannel News he is quoted as saying, “I firmly believe we’ve done what we need to do about net neutrality in this bill.”
In the same article he goes further to say that network neutrality should not be included because it is poorly defined. “Until someone really defines it, why should we destroy a bill – and we will if that net-neutrality provision goes in this bill, all this [Republican] side is going to vote against it,” Stevens was further quoted in the article.
Yet some senators go even further on the issue, noting the extent the bill has gone to is much further than previously expected. In the Multichannel News article Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) is quoted as saying, “I have serious reservations about how broad this bill has become.” He also added that he did not think they were trying to comprehensively rewrite the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
There were reports that the Senate Commerce Committee was looking at more than 200 amendments when the committee met on Thursday of last week. They got through only a few before adjourning until Tuesday.
With the vote so close, opponents of the bill and supporters of network neutrality are urging the public to contact their senators. The coalition at SavetheInternet.com has formed a petition which is reported to now have over 1 million signed-on. Meanwhile communications companies are lobbying as hard as ever to get the legislation through the committee as quickly as possible.
If you would like to find more information on the subject and would like to show your support for either side of the issue, we at Oxygen Deficient encourage you to check out the links below. Also feel free to send your responses to cj@oxygendeficient.com Take an active role in the future of your internet rights and service.
www.SavetheInternet.com
www.myspace.com/savetheinternet
www.freepress.net
www.HandsOff.org
www.NetCompetition.org |
