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Yahoo!WASHINGTON — The Internet Freedom Preservation Act has passed both houses of Congress, thanks in part to overwhelming and well-organized support of millions of Internet users. The act will ensure “net neutrality” — i.e., that all users have equal access to the Internet and that large corporations like Time Warner, AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon can no longer act as gatekeepers, determining which sites go fast and which slow.
High-speed lines connect rural counties across the U.S. with the rest of the world at no cost to the user.
The act also includes provisions to eliminate billions of dollars in subsidies and tax breaks for telecommunication corporations, and to use the proceeds to build a fiber-optic network providing free high-speed Internet service to even the most remote towns throughout the United States. This new network is expected to bring the U.S. up to speed with countries like Japan, France, and Korea, which have had extensive fiber-optic networks for years. The improved access for all communities is expected to help narrow education and socioeconomic gaps.
In the late 1970s, the Supreme Court ruled that companies providing communication services shouldn’t interfere with smaller users. Two years ago, that decision was reversed and the largest telecommunications companies effectively became the gatekeepers of the Internet. The Internet Freedom Preservation Act guarantees that these companies can no longer decide which Web sites on their networks go fast or slow and which won’t load at all.
“This law is a huge step forward for not only technology, but for the sharing of ideas,” said free speech advocate Lawrence Lessig, who is head of the new Network Communications Bureau, which will be charged with protecting the network against all surveillance including that of other government agencies.
Well it’s about time! Net Neutrality forever. This is truly a July 4th to celebrate in America.
Comment on November 12, 2008 08:14 am