Creative Voices Call For Stronger Net Neutrality Rules

The Center for Creative Voices in Media filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission yesterday calling for “strong and enforceable” Net Neutrality conditions for the AT&T – BellSouth merger.

What is at stake here is nothing less than the future of the Internet, and whether the future Internet will be open or closed to independent and diverse voices and viewpoints. Not just creative voices – all voices. Will consumers retain the freedom to access any website, as they could when government policies were in place that ensured nondiscriminatory access, or will they be restricted to visiting sites approved by – or in business with – the “gatekeeper” that provides high speed Internet access?

The entire comments can be found by following this link.

“The Net at Risk”

Tonight on PBS, Moyers on America presents “The Net at Risk“. Following the program there will be a live online debate here about the future of the Internet with Hands Off The Internet’s Mike McCurry and Ben Scott of Free Press.

 

ACME Board President Rob Williams at Wednesday’s Save The Internet – Vermont Event

“Pictures from VPIRG’s SavetheInternet Coalition’s Net Neutrality Event“

From Vermont PIRG:

“August 31, 2006 in front of Senator Jeffords office in Montpelier, Vermont

Press release here includes speaker bios“

Go Rob, ACME, and VPIRG!

For more, read “National Outpouring of Support for Net Neutrality” from the SaveTheInternet.com blog.

Save Public Access!

(From Cambridge Community Television’s E-mail Update for Sept. 1, 2006)

“When the US Senate reconvenes, it is expected to consider H.R. 5252, the Advanced Telecommunications and Opportunity Reform (ATOR) Act.

This is the bill that has been pushed through Congress by Verizon, in an attempt to remove local control over cable franchising and allow telecommunications service providers to pick and choose which neighborhoods and communities they wish to serve. The bill also threatens internet neutrality. (See Save The Internet for more information.)

We need you to call our Senators and say ‘I urge the Senator to do everything within his power to keep H.R. 5252 from being voted on. If it IS brought to a vote, I urge the Senator to vote against the bill.‘

To take action:

Call Sen. Kennedy now at 617-565-3170.

Call Sen. Kerry now at 617-565-8519.”

Sign Up to Deliver the Internet Freedom Petition to Senator Kennedy!

Sign Up to support Internet Freedom now and help deliver a petition to Senator Kennedy’s Office in Boston this Wednesday! Here are the details from MoveOn.org:

Senator Kennedy’s Boston Office
30 Aug 12:00 PM

“Senator Kennedy needs to know his constituents are paying attention to his upcoming vote on Net Neutrality and expect him to vote the right way. We will deliver thousands of petition signatures from Massachusetts residents asking him to support Net Neutrality. Media will be invited.” – “Internet Freedom Petition Delivery“, MoveOn.org

Location: Senator Kennedy’s Boston Office, 2400 JFK Building, Boston, MA
Host: Adam Green
Status: Public, open for RSVP, 52 Guests (Max 100)

Save The Internet : Act Now

Call to Action in Boston to Support Internet Freedom!

From MoveOn.org

“Internet freedom is under attack. The House of Representatives has voted to give giant corporations more control over what you see and do online, and corporate lobbyists are pushing for a quick vote in the Senate. Senator Edward Kennedy could be the deciding vote, but he has remained silent on Net Neutrality. We can change that next Wednesday at noon.

In Boston, we will deliver thousands of petition signatures from Massachusetts residents to Senator Kennedy’s office. The media will be invited, and we need a big crowd to show Senator Kennedy how important protecting Net Neutrality is to constituents.

Can you help deliver the petitions next Wednesday—asking Senator Kennedy to protect Net Neutrality? Please RSVP below.

What: Internet freedom petition delivery to the senator’s office
Where: Senator Kennedy’s Boston Office, 2400 JFK Building, Boston, MA
When: Wednesday, 30 Aug 2006, 12:00 PM

Link to RSVP:
Questions? mediaaction@moveon.org

Some senators think the public doesn’t care about this issue. They think we don’t know companies like AT&T and Verizon are spending millions lobbying Congress to eliminate Net Neutrality and give them more over control of the Internet. But petition deliveries in 50 locations across the nation next week will prove them wrong.

We will deliver thousands of petition signatures to Senator Kennedy along with the diverse SaveTheInternet.com Coalition—which includes local small businesses, consumer groups, Craig from Craigslist, MoveOn, the Christian Coalition, Gun Owners of America, Free Press, musicians REM and Moby, and over 750 other organizations.

Just last week, a similar petition delivery event in New Mexico was covered by local TV, newspapers, and radio. That senator’s staff was surprised at the large crowds outside their office, and even invited local residents inside to discuss why Net Neutrality was important to them. The senator definitely got the message that his constituents care—and that message will help us in upcoming Senate votes.

Can you help us deliver a message to Senator Kennedy that he should support Net Neutrality? Sign up for Wednesday’s petition delivery by clicking here:

http://civic.moveon.org/event/internetpetitions/10791?id=8556-6073875-qrBtPncEc9zHd9FkTJykAg&t=3

Thanks for all you do.

–Eli Pariser, Adam Green, Noah T. Winer, and the MoveOn.org Civic Action team
Thursday, August 24th, 2006

P.S. Here’s some more information about Net Neutrality:

1. Where your senators stand:
http://www.savetheinternet.com/=senatemap

The petition to Congress can be signed at:
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1826&id=8556-6073875-qrBtPncEc9zHd9FkTJykAg&t=4

2. What is Net Neutrality?

Right now, your Internet company doesn’t get to choose which websites open quickly on your computer. They can’t decide that Google will open more quickly than Yahoo, or that the website of a company they own will open more quickly than a competitor. That’s because of Net Neutrality—the rule that’s been in place since the Internet was created that says Internet service providers can’t discriminate between websites.

Telephone and cable companies (like AT&T, Verizon, BellSouth, Comcast, and Time Warner) want to eliminate Net Neutrality so they can put tollbooths on the Internet and speed up sites that pay them the most. They’ve been quite blatant about it—here’s what one top executive told the Washington Post:

“William L. Smith, chief technology officer for Atlanta-based BellSouth Corp., told reporters and analysts that an Internet service provider such as his firm should be able, for example, to charge Yahoo Inc. for the opportunity to have its search site load faster than that of Google Inc.” (Washington Post, December 1, 2005)

Some informative links:

“Executive Wants to Charge for Web Speed,” Washington Post, December 1, 2005
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1902&id=8556-6073875-qrBtPncEc9zHd9FkTJykAg&t=5

“Net Losses,” New Yorker, March 20, 2006
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1646&id=8556-6073875-qrBtPncEc9zHd9FkTJykAg&t=6

How Net Neutrality affects you
http://www.savetheinternet.com/=threat

Joint Op-Ed on Net Neutrality, MoveOn and Christian Coalition, Washington Times, June 16, 2006
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1884&id=8556-6073875-qrBtPncEc9zHd9FkTJykAg&t=7

Who supports Net Neutrality?

Over 1 million Internet users
http://www.savetheinternet.com/=press11

Over 750 grassroots organizations across the country
http://www.savetheinternet.com/=members

Political groups from left and right
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1884&id=8556-6073875-qrBtPncEc9zHd9FkTJykAg&t=9

Small businesses
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1964&id=8556-6073875-qrBtPncEc9zHd9FkTJykAg&t=10

Bigger businesses
http://www.freepress.net/news/15288

College football teams
http://www.savetheinternet.com/=football

Video gamers
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1965&id=8556-6073875-qrBtPncEc9zHd9FkTJykAg&t=11

Jon Stewart
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DClkE64nFDY

The Daily Show correspondents
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YedWtX9tKE

REM
http://www.remhq.com/flash/news/news.html?news_id=2072

Moby
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1966&id=8556-6073875-qrBtPncEc9zHd9FkTJykAg&t=12

The “Broadband”
http://www.savetheinternet.com/broadband.html

Techno fans
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1954&id=8556-6073875-qrBtPncEc9zHd9FkTJykAg&t=13

17,000 MySpacers
http://www.myspace.com/savetheinternet

Thousands of bloggers
http://www.savetheinternet.com/=blogger“

 

Video Franchising and the FCC

(via Benton Foundation Headlines)

Faltering Telecom Bill May Spur FCC Action on Video Services

By Drew Clark

(Wednesday, August 2) “The prospect that Congress may not pass telecom overhaul legislation this year could spur the FCC to help the Bell telecommunications companies more rapidly enter the video market.

The FCC is considering two potential vehicles for obtaining regulatory relief, although action is not imminent.

One item concerns municipalities’ review of cable franchises, and the other addresses the definition of Internet-enabled services, including video programming.

The proposals could put the FCC at the core of faltering telecom legislation by undercutting municipal review of the Bells’ video services.

The House-passed bill, H.R. 5252 — which would pre-empt municipal cable franchises with a nationwide franchise — is stuck in the Senate over the issue of whether some telecom firms could be empowered to have tighter control over network providers’ content.”

Read the article here.

No Vote Scheduled This Week for Video Franchising and Net Neutrality Bill

(From Broadcasting & Cable)

No Floor Vote Scheduled for Franchise Bill

By John Eggerton — 8/1/2006

“Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) has not scheduled a floor vote this week for the video franchise bill, and is ‘highly unlikely to’ given the already crowded schedule, according to a source close to the Leader’s office.

That likely means a September vote at the earliest, depending on whether bill backers can get the votes.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens is still lining up the 60 he needs to defeat a threatened filibuster of the bill over its absence of strong network neutrality provisions. Frist has made it clear that he won’t schedule a vote until he can be assured it won’t take up floor time only to be mooted by a filibuster.

Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), for one, has pledged to block the bill.”

Read the rest of the article here.

“We Say No to S.2686″

(Telecom legislation updates from Save Access)

“At present we do not support S.2686. The Bill passed in the Commerce Committee in a 15-7 vote. It excludes much needed protections against red-lining (there are no enforceable build-out provisions) and also fails to protect net neutrality. These are two key issues we can’t compromise on. The ‘broadcast flag’ amendment is also a clear example of blatant industry protectionism and should be removed. Likewise the ambiguity in the Ensign amendment over AT&T’s ‘HomeZone” satellite TV service and whether it falls under the proposed video franchising requirements is another major cause for concern. In short, this legislation is unacceptable, it seeks to serve many corporate masters at the expense of a coherent social vision for democratic media.”

“What happens Next?“

“Stopping the Big Giveaway – by John Kerry”

(via Save The Internet.com from Friday, June 30, 2006)

“Editor’s Note: The following is a guest blog for SavetheInternet.com by Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.)“:

On Wednesday in the Senate Commerce Committee I warned that those of us who believe in net neutrality will block legislation that doesn’t get the job done.

It looks like that’s the fight we’re going to have.

The Commerce Committee voted on net neutrality and it failed on an 11-11 tie. This vote was a gift to cable and telephone companies, and a slap in the face of every Internet user and consumer.

It will not stand.

I voted against this lousy bill for two reasons: because net neutrality and internet build-out are crucial to building a more modern and fair Information Society, and both were pushed aside by the Republicans.

Everyone says they don’t want the new world we’re living in to be marked by the digital divide — the term is so clichéd it’s turned to mush — but yesterday was a test of who is willing to ask corporate America to do anything to fix it, and the Commerce Committee failed miserably. Why are United States Senators afraid to say that companies should be expected to foster growth by building out their broadband networks to increase access?

Free and open access to the internet is something all Americans should enjoy, regardless of what financial means they’re born into or where they live. It is profoundly disappointing that the Senate is going let a handful of companies hold internet access hostage by legalizing the cherry-picking of cable service providers and new entrants. That is a dynamic that would leave some communities with inferior service, higher cable rates, and even the loss of service. Not to mention inadequate internet service — in the age of the information.

This bill was passed in committee over our objections. Now we need to fight to either fix it or kill it in the full Senate. Senator Wyden has already drawn a line in the sand — putting a “hold” on the bill, which prevents it from going forward for now. But there will be a day of reckoning on this legislation soon, make no mistake about it, and we need you to get engaged — pressure your Senators, follow the issue, demand net neutrality and build-out.