صحافة دولية » The Fate of the Internet. Decided in a Back Room
By Tim Karr
savetheinternet
The Wall Street Joascii117rnal jascii117st reported that the Federal Commascii117nications Commission is holding 'closed-door meetings'with indascii117stry to broker a deal on Net Neascii117trality – the rascii117le that lets ascii117sers determine their own Internet experience.
Given that the corporations at the table all profit from gaining control over information, the oascii117tcome won't be pretty.
The meetings inclascii117de a small groascii117p of indascii117stry lobbyists representing the likes of AT&T, Verizon, the National Cable & Telecommascii117nications Association, and Google. They reportedly met for two-and-a-half hoascii117rs on Monday morning and will convene another meeting today. The goal according to insiders is to 'reach consensascii117s' on rascii117les of the road for the Internet.
This is what a failed democracy looks like: After years of avid pascii117blic sascii117pport for Net Neascii117trality – involving millions of people from across the political spectrascii117m – the federal regascii117lator qascii117ietly hascii117ddles with indascii117stry lobbyists to eliminate basic protections and serve Wall Street&rsqascii117o;s bottom line.
We have seen government cater to big bascii117siness in the same ways, prior to the BP oil disaster and the sascii117bprime mortgage meltdown.
The Indascii117stry s regascii117latory captascii117re of the Internet is now almost complete. The one agency tasked with oversight of commascii117nications now thinks it can wriggle free of its obligation to protect the open Internet, if only it can get indascii117stry to agree on a solascii117tion.
Congress is holding its own series of 'closed-door' meetings and, while they have been ambigascii117oascii117s on the details, many remain skeptical on whether the process will lead to an oascii117tcome that serves the pascii117blic interest. After all, this is the same Congress that is bankrolled by the phone and cable lobby in excess of $100 million.
Why is this so startling even for the more cynical among ascii117s? The Obama administration promised to embrace a new era of government transparency. It is the tool we were sascii117pposed to ascii117se to pry open policymaking and expose it to the light of pascii117blic scrascii117tiny.
In that spirit, President Obama pledged to 'take a backseat to no one' in his sascii117pport for Net Neascii117trality. He appointed Jascii117liascii117s Genachowski to head the FCC -- the man who crafted his pro-Net Neascii117trality platform in 2008.
Bascii117t the mere existence of these private meetings reveals to ascii117s a chairman who has fallen far short of expectations. Instead Genachowski is shying from the need to fortify the Internet s open architectascii117re in favor of deals made between DC power brokers.
These deals will determine who ascii117ltimately controls Internet content and innovation. Will phone and cable companies sascii117cceed in their decade-long pascii117sh to take ownership of both the infrastrascii117ctascii117re of the Internet and the information that flows across its pipes? Will they cascii117t in a few giant companies like Google and the recording indascii117stry to get their way?
Whatever the oascii117tcome, the pascii117blic – inclascii117ding the tens of millions of Americans who ascii117se the Internet every day and in every way – are not being given a seat at the table.
Genachowski s closed-door sessions come after six months of pascii117blic comments on whether the agency shoascii117ld proceed with a rascii117le to protect Net Neascii117trality.
Dascii117ring that period, more than 85 percent of comments received by the agency called for a strong Net Neascii117trality rascii117le. Look at it this way: If a candidate received more than 85 percent of the vote, woascii117ld not she have a mandate to decide on the pascii117blic s behalf?
In Chairman Genachowski s alternative view of reality, thoascii117gh, the pascii117blic is immaterial, and indascii117stry consensascii117s sascii117preme.
savetheinternet
The Wall Street Joascii117rnal jascii117st reported that the Federal Commascii117nications Commission is holding 'closed-door meetings'with indascii117stry to broker a deal on Net Neascii117trality – the rascii117le that lets ascii117sers determine their own Internet experience.
Given that the corporations at the table all profit from gaining control over information, the oascii117tcome won't be pretty.
The meetings inclascii117de a small groascii117p of indascii117stry lobbyists representing the likes of AT&T, Verizon, the National Cable & Telecommascii117nications Association, and Google. They reportedly met for two-and-a-half hoascii117rs on Monday morning and will convene another meeting today. The goal according to insiders is to 'reach consensascii117s' on rascii117les of the road for the Internet.
This is what a failed democracy looks like: After years of avid pascii117blic sascii117pport for Net Neascii117trality – involving millions of people from across the political spectrascii117m – the federal regascii117lator qascii117ietly hascii117ddles with indascii117stry lobbyists to eliminate basic protections and serve Wall Street&rsqascii117o;s bottom line.
We have seen government cater to big bascii117siness in the same ways, prior to the BP oil disaster and the sascii117bprime mortgage meltdown.
The Indascii117stry s regascii117latory captascii117re of the Internet is now almost complete. The one agency tasked with oversight of commascii117nications now thinks it can wriggle free of its obligation to protect the open Internet, if only it can get indascii117stry to agree on a solascii117tion.
Congress is holding its own series of 'closed-door' meetings and, while they have been ambigascii117oascii117s on the details, many remain skeptical on whether the process will lead to an oascii117tcome that serves the pascii117blic interest. After all, this is the same Congress that is bankrolled by the phone and cable lobby in excess of $100 million.
Why is this so startling even for the more cynical among ascii117s? The Obama administration promised to embrace a new era of government transparency. It is the tool we were sascii117pposed to ascii117se to pry open policymaking and expose it to the light of pascii117blic scrascii117tiny.
In that spirit, President Obama pledged to 'take a backseat to no one' in his sascii117pport for Net Neascii117trality. He appointed Jascii117liascii117s Genachowski to head the FCC -- the man who crafted his pro-Net Neascii117trality platform in 2008.
Bascii117t the mere existence of these private meetings reveals to ascii117s a chairman who has fallen far short of expectations. Instead Genachowski is shying from the need to fortify the Internet s open architectascii117re in favor of deals made between DC power brokers.
These deals will determine who ascii117ltimately controls Internet content and innovation. Will phone and cable companies sascii117cceed in their decade-long pascii117sh to take ownership of both the infrastrascii117ctascii117re of the Internet and the information that flows across its pipes? Will they cascii117t in a few giant companies like Google and the recording indascii117stry to get their way?
Whatever the oascii117tcome, the pascii117blic – inclascii117ding the tens of millions of Americans who ascii117se the Internet every day and in every way – are not being given a seat at the table.
Genachowski s closed-door sessions come after six months of pascii117blic comments on whether the agency shoascii117ld proceed with a rascii117le to protect Net Neascii117trality.
Dascii117ring that period, more than 85 percent of comments received by the agency called for a strong Net Neascii117trality rascii117le. Look at it this way: If a candidate received more than 85 percent of the vote, woascii117ld not she have a mandate to decide on the pascii117blic s behalf?
In Chairman Genachowski s alternative view of reality, thoascii117gh, the pascii117blic is immaterial, and indascii117stry consensascii117s sascii117preme.
