Ask Not for Whom the Net Tolls

News Type: Event — Fri May 12, 2006 12:01 PM EDT

politics, internet, freedom, cable, verizon, comcast, att, net-neutrality, telecom, cope, markey, hr-5252

What tier will Newsvine be if Net Neutrality is not maintained?

That sound you hear is the construction of another handout to corporations. Just as the radio, and television bandwidths were given away to companies with the lobbying strength of AT&T and Verizon, the access you currently enjoy could potentially get more selective and expensive.

Rep. Markey (D-Mass.) introduced a bill in the House to bring back Net Neutrality. This amendment was not adopted in the April 26 vote.

During an April 26 Committee meeting, members voted twice: once for Rep. Ed Markey's Amendment containing enforceable Net Neutrality provisions, and again for the overall COPE Act (HR 5252). After the Amendment was defeated, several members abandoned Internet freedom and voted for the Act without Net Neutrality protections.
Source.

About now you may be wondering..."What difference does it make?" or "How does this effect me?"

The nation's largest telephone and cable companies — including AT&T, Verizon, Comcast and Time Warner — want to be Internet gatekeepers, deciding which Web sites go fast or slow and which won't load at all. (empahasis mine)
Source

Wow those are pretty strong words. Surely the mainstream media has another take on this?

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Key bill will be done in secret The House and Senate are preparing to vote on telecommunications legislation that could affect every American who surfs the Internet, watches cable TV or uses a phone.

The New York Times: Tollbooths on the Internet Highway That could change dramatically, however, if Internet service providers are allowed to tilt the playing field...

The Los Angeles Times: Panel Vote Shows Rift Over `Net Neutrality' leading Internet companies, including Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Yahoo, Mountain View, Calif.-based Google, Seattle-based Amazon.com Inc., San Jose-based Ebay Inc. and Microsoft Corp. in Redmond, Wash., do not want to take that chance. They have been pressing for strong rules to guarantee neutral treatment of data over the Internet.

Newsweek: When the Net Goes From Free to Fee. What's the threat here? That the big telecom and cable companies—which provide almost all the high-speed Internet to consumers—will abandon the principle of "Net neutrality," where every bit is treated equally and start-ups compete with giants on a level playing field.

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Ask Not for Whom the Net Tolls

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