Beyond Net neutrality

[unhappycamper]

Beyond Net neutrality
By David Weinberger
February 23, 2008

WHEN the Federal Communications Commission meets on Monday at Harvard University to investigate Comcast's alleged blocking of particular types of Internet traffic, supporters of an open Internet will be out in force arguing for Net neutrality. Good. Net neutrality is vital. However, we must not let ourselves be distracted from the bigger issue: the struggle to preserve the open Net itself.

The idea behind Net neutrality is simple: Decisions about what information should move over the Internet most expeditiously should not be made by those who benefit financially from those decisions. The companies that provide the bulk of the nation's Internet connectivity should not be allowed to decide that, for example, YouTube videos are less important than their own Hollywood blockbusters. They should not be allowed to skew the market in favor of large companies by charging for delivering their bits faster than those of a start-up. Net neutrality is basic to keeping the Internet the greatest seedbed of innovation in history.

Comcast has gained FCC focus because it seems to have been blocking the Internet service BitTorrent, which is useful for downloading large files. But what's at stake isn't simply the value of BitTorrent. Rather, it is a struggle between two visions of the Internet.

Comcast and the other major Internet access providers see the Internet as a way to broadcast content to users. Its value comes from what is on the Net. This suits the providers, who come from the world of telephones and cable TV, and are structured to make money by selling content and services to subscribers.

The other vision, and the one that has brought a billion people onto the Net and has stirred hope around the world, says the value of the Net comes from who is on the Net. The "who" isn't a solitary face; the "who" is us, together. The most exciting developments on the Internet have been about how we are connecting with one another, touching one another, and building ideas, services, and new social forms together.


Rest of article at: http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2008/02/23/beyond_net_neutrality/