In the midst of ongoing legislative struggles over health care and climate change, today comes the first victory on a progressive feedback loop under the Obama administration: Net Neutrality.
At long last, the FCC will pass a rule requiring network neutrality--a provision that makes it illegal for internet service providers to block or slow individual websites based on their content, format, or ownership. To put it a different way, ATT&T, Comcast and Verizon can't block or slow access to your website just because they don't like you, what you publish online, or that you are not giving them a kickback to publish it:
FCC Will Get Passing Votes for Net Neutrality
The Federal Communications Commission's proposal of new rules to prevent companies such as AT&T, Verizon and Comcast from deliberately blocking or slowing certain Web traffic is expected to receive a passing three votes out of the five-member agency, according to sources.
The proposal, to be announced Monday by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, will include an additional guideline for carriers that they make public the way they manage traffic on their network, according to sources at the agency. The additional guideline would be a "sixth principle" to four existing guidelines adopted in 2005 on Internet network operations. A fifth principle is expected to be announced by Genachowski on Monday during a speech at the Brookings Institute that would prohibit the discrimination of applications and services on telecommunications, cable and wireless Internet networks.
There had been some question about whether there were three votes in favor of Net Neutrality. The fifth and final commissioner, Mignon Clyburn, was appointed back in the spring. Her record on open media issues was thin and worrisome. Her father, Representative James Clyburn, had voted against Net Neutrality in 2006, and telecommunication companies were ecstatic about her appointment. Not a promising appointment, but victory on Net Neutrality at the FCC appears imminent nonetheless.
This sets in motion a 7-8 month process before Net Neutrality comes to pass:
The FCC is expected to vote on the proposed rulemaking of so-called net neutrality regulations at its October meeting. That vote will set off a series of regulatory procedures, and a final rule is expected to be introduced in the spring.
In addition to the FCC ruling, it would be best to have Congress pass a law enshrining Net Neutrality as well. That way, there would be multiple roadblocks to undoing Net Neutrality, once administration change.
Net Neutrality doesn't garner the headlines of health care or climate change, and can often seem like a niche issue. However, giving everyone with access to the Internet equal ability to publish content online is a major victory for democracy. Total cultural output has increased exponentially since the rise of the Internet, as have the total number of people who can participate in that production. Without Net Neutrality, it was always possible for the corporations that provide Internet access to simply seize control of all content, dictating both what can be produced and who can produce it. That would have put an end to the biggest cultural explosion in all of human history, and would have also reversed the profoundly democratic trend of that cultural production.
This is also a victory for progressives and progressivism. Partly, that is made clear by the Republicans on the FCC opposing this rule, and the Democrats supporting it. Partly, this is because it reducing the power of corporations over our cultural production, and corporate power has almost invariably worked to push the country to the right. Partly, this is because progressives have an organizing edge online, at least for now. Mainly, it is a victory for progressives because Net Neutrality makes it a lot more difficult to impose values on other people. It is an important step toward a more pluralistic and user-generated culture. |
