InternetRegulation
Latest
EU stands with the US against proposed ITU internet changes: 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it'
While Russia and some African, Asian and Middle Eastern countries want to tax foreign content providers and track web-based traffic, the EU has formed a bloc with the US to kibosh any such changes. The showdown will happen at the ITU in Dubai next month, during a meeting of the 193 member countries. All 27 EU states are stolidly opposed to the changes (though many of its network providers aren't), some of which were leaked from a draft Russian document proposing more control over traffic entering its networks. Other nations like Cameroon said that Google and other content providers should pay to have their traffic routed to the nation, which it said would help pay for network expansion there. But the European Commission believes "there is no justification for such proposals," that the internet functions fine as is and "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." The EC added what others were likely thinking, namely "some countries treat this as a euphemism for controlling freedom of expression."
FCC net neutrality rules enter drafting process, face McCain challenge
Our old friends at the FCC have started to put words into action, as the net neutrality regulations proposed by Chairman Julius Genachowski have now entered the rule-drafting stage. The provision of most import here is that broadband providers would be forbidden from traffic discrimination or "management," and compelled to provide equal access and services to their users, irrespective of the type or bandwidth uptake of their internet activity. Of course, this is hardly a bumpless road, with Senator John McCain proposing the Internet Freedom Act of 2009, whose sole reason for existing will be to prevent the FCC from putting those rules through. Even if things do go smoothly, though, "reasonable network management" will still be an available recourse for telecoms, where it is necessary to block spam and illegal content, such as child pornography. Which sounds kinda like censorship to us. Look, we have no more interest in child porn than we do a pair of Lady Gaga Heartbeats, but any time we hear of internet providers having either the right or responsibility to block content, we get an uneasy feeling in the pit of our libertarian stomachs. Anyhow, the great big gears of regulation have finally started turning, and we can look forward to more political wrangling as the rules take shape over the coming months.
