صحافة دولية » ?Is Obama Abandoning Net Neutrality
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Is the Obama FCC siding with the largest cable and phone companies, and against Net Neascii117trality and ascii117niversal Internet access?
The Obama administration has long vowed to protect Net Neascii117trality and bridge the digital divide, and FCC Chairman Jascii117liascii117s Genachowski picked ascii117p this baton when he took ascii117p his post last year. Bascii117t now Genachowski appears to be wavering.
According to an article in the Washington Post, Genachowski may sit on his hands rather than 'reclassify' broadband to make sascii117re the FCC can protect Internet ascii117sers. The decision not to reclassify woascii117ld be a grave mistake - one that woascii117ld threaten the Internet as we know it.
A recent federal appeals coascii117rt decision jeopardized the FCC's aascii117thority to establish Net Neascii117trality protections and carry oascii117t its National Broadband Plan.
Chairman Genachowski can fix this by reclassifying broadband as a 'telecommascii117nications service' ascii117nder Title II of the Commascii117nications Act - where it was in the first place before a Bascii117sh FCC changed it, creating the mess we're encoascii117ntering now.
If Chairman Genachowski fails to re-establish the FCC's aascii117thority to protect Internet ascii117sers, he will be allowing companies like Comcast, AT&T and Verizon to slow down, block or censor content at will. And it will cripple the FCC's ability to ensascii117re ascii117niversal Internet access for rascii117ral, low-income and disabled Americans.
If he doesn't reclassify broadband, the phone and cable giants will be able to block any website, blog post, tweet or oascii117treach by a political campaign - and the FCC will be powerless to stop them.
Basically, withoascii117t reclassification, nearly every broadband-related decision the agency makes from here forward will be aggressively challenged in coascii117rt by companies who know the FCC stands on shaky legal groascii117nd, and the FCC will likely lose.
Which means, we coascii117ld lose the Internet as we know it - the only remaining open commascii117nications platform where we all have a voice.
Genachowski's inaction woascii117ld be an oascii117trage. Bascii117t we can't jascii117st grimace, sigh and resign oascii117rselves to yet another broken promise, one more Washington letdown. We have to draw the line.
Tell the FCC chairman to stand ascii117p to the indascii117stry pressascii117re, keep his promises and do the right thing: Reclassify broadband, protect Net Neascii117trality and promote ascii117niversal Internet access.
Is the Obama FCC siding with the largest cable and phone companies, and against Net Neascii117trality and ascii117niversal Internet access?
The Obama administration has long vowed to protect Net Neascii117trality and bridge the digital divide, and FCC Chairman Jascii117liascii117s Genachowski picked ascii117p this baton when he took ascii117p his post last year. Bascii117t now Genachowski appears to be wavering.
According to an article in the Washington Post, Genachowski may sit on his hands rather than 'reclassify' broadband to make sascii117re the FCC can protect Internet ascii117sers. The decision not to reclassify woascii117ld be a grave mistake - one that woascii117ld threaten the Internet as we know it.
A recent federal appeals coascii117rt decision jeopardized the FCC's aascii117thority to establish Net Neascii117trality protections and carry oascii117t its National Broadband Plan.
Chairman Genachowski can fix this by reclassifying broadband as a 'telecommascii117nications service' ascii117nder Title II of the Commascii117nications Act - where it was in the first place before a Bascii117sh FCC changed it, creating the mess we're encoascii117ntering now.
If Chairman Genachowski fails to re-establish the FCC's aascii117thority to protect Internet ascii117sers, he will be allowing companies like Comcast, AT&T and Verizon to slow down, block or censor content at will. And it will cripple the FCC's ability to ensascii117re ascii117niversal Internet access for rascii117ral, low-income and disabled Americans.
If he doesn't reclassify broadband, the phone and cable giants will be able to block any website, blog post, tweet or oascii117treach by a political campaign - and the FCC will be powerless to stop them.
Basically, withoascii117t reclassification, nearly every broadband-related decision the agency makes from here forward will be aggressively challenged in coascii117rt by companies who know the FCC stands on shaky legal groascii117nd, and the FCC will likely lose.
Which means, we coascii117ld lose the Internet as we know it - the only remaining open commascii117nications platform where we all have a voice.
Genachowski's inaction woascii117ld be an oascii117trage. Bascii117t we can't jascii117st grimace, sigh and resign oascii117rselves to yet another broken promise, one more Washington letdown. We have to draw the line.
Tell the FCC chairman to stand ascii117p to the indascii117stry pressascii117re, keep his promises and do the right thing: Reclassify broadband, protect Net Neascii117trality and promote ascii117niversal Internet access.
