We’ve been tracking net neutrality for a while but it seems to have gone below the radar. That is, until today when Julius Genachowski, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), gave a speech at the Brookings Institution in Washington D.C. and presented a series of open-access principles, emphasizing, among other things, net neutrality. And groups like Save the Internet cheered!
Genachowski added 2 principles to the FCC’s original 4 principles of network freedom mapped out by Michael Powell in 2005 (see other 4 below):
- The fifth principle is one of non-discrimination — stating that broadband providers cannot discriminate against particular Internet content or applications.
- The sixth principle is a transparency principle — stating that providers of broadband Internet access must be transparent about their network management practices.
(the other 4 principles are: (1) consumers are entitled to access the lawful Internet content of their choice; (2) consumers are entitled to run applications and services of their choice, subject to the needs of law enforcement; (3) consumers are entitled to connect their choice of legal devices that do not harm the network; and (4) consumers are entitled to competition among network providers, application and service providers, and content providers. See TechlawJournal for background)
On a side note, the speech was posted to the FCC’s beta site called OpenInternet.gov built to “facilitate input and participation in the commission proceedings as this discussion evolves.”
[Thanks to Steve Benen at the Washington Monthly!]
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