Netflix will pay Comcast to not throttle broadband. This is why. The Internet Must Go. Net neutrality in Europe: EDRi response to EC consultation - why does this read like 2007? Internet,Gouvernance,democratie. Time to Fight for Net Neutrality in the EU. Subscribe to this blog About Author Glyn Moody's look at all levels of the enterprise open source stack. The blog will look at the organisations that are embracing open source, old and new alike (start-ups welcome), and the communities of users and developers that have formed around them (or not, as the case may be). Contact Author Email Glyn Twitter Profile Linked-in Profile Net neutrality is one of those areas that most people are vaguely in favour of, without giving it much thought. That was particularly regrettable because already there were clear cases of UK operators undermining net neutrality.
Although it's relatively short, and has plenty of easy-to-absorb graphs, there's a great summary of the findings from La Quadrature du Net, which has been following net neutrality closely (as well as playing a key role in helping to defeat ACTA in Europe): The consultation has a dedicated page with some background information. La Neutralité dInternet dans les différents pays européens : état des débats et enseignements à en tirer. 2012 - who guards the network guardians? Monica Horten Published on 03 January 2012 Will the next corporate scandal involve the Internet? The Financial Times today* suggests that 2012 will be a pivotal year for the media. I think that when we look back in a few years’ time, 2010 will be a tipping point for the Internet too.
In retrospect, we will know whether those who currently guard the networks had a public or a private interest at heart. In 2011, we saw the apparent vindication of the Internet as an enabler of democracy, coupled with a massive growth in Internet traffic, ending the year with a huge spike on Xmas day as people downloaded apps on their new Smartphones. Why would one bring these apparently unrelated concepts together in a discussion of Internet policy? Millions of apps downloaded on smartphones signals a volume increase in mobile traffic not anticipated when the regulations were drawn up.
Against that traffic increase, we have to consider the blocking demands from an increasing list of stakeholders. Wikio. US House Subcommittee Votes To Kill Net Neutrality. Clarinette: "RT @sdmediareform: RT @digiphile: ..." « Deck.ly.
Net neutrality US. Netneutrality UK. Center for Democracy & Technology | Keeping the Internet Open, Innovative and Free. Fiorina: Politicians don't care about Silicon Valley | Politics and Law. ASPEN, Co. --Carly Fiorina, the former chief executive at Hewlett-Packard, on Monday promised a deregulatory approach toward technology if elected to the U.S. Senate, warning of governmental overreach on Net neutrality and saying that current politicians don't understand what's important to Silicon Valley.
Fiorina, who won the Republican nomination in June, echoed what many technology executives have said for years: America's skilled-worker visa system is so badly broken that "we have to start from scratch," and that too many government policies push jobs overseas instead of making U.S. companies competitive against international rivals. "We have to put a huge emphasis on attracting the best and the brightest--this is a nation that has always led through immigration," Fiorina told the audience at the Technology Policy Institute's Aspen Forum here. In the November election, Fiorina is up against Democratic incumbent Barbara Boxer, who has been in the U.S.
15 Facts About Net Neutrality [Infographic] Net neutrality has taken up a lot of headline space over the last two weeks. There was the Goggle and Verizon thing, and then something happened with the FCC and some Congress members, and the French may have been involved somehow… Admit it, your eyes are glazing over aren’t they? Yes, it’s true, net neutrality sometimes isn’t the easiest thing to wrap your head around. But the artistic folks at Online MBA Programs are here to help with 15 facts you may not have known about what neutrality on the Internet actually means. [Source: Online MBA Programs] Embed this Image on Your Site: [Via: Online MBA Programs.
Berkman Buzz: Week of August 9, 2010. After Google-Verizon fizzle, FCC should force Net neutrality. THE “LEGISLATIVE framework proposal’’ on net neutrality released by and last week was a shock and a disappointment for those who had bought into Google’s motto of “Don’t be evil.’’ It’s a sad example of what happens when corporations are allowed to write regulatory rules — and why the Federal Communications Commission needs to re-seize the reins on broadband regulation.
Net neutrality — the concept that Internet service providers shouldn’t be able to “shape’’ traffic, by, say, providing access to certain, popular sites at a speedier rate than newer, less popular ones — is one of the defining issues for the future of communications. Google had long been seen as an important ally of neutrality advocates, but its proposal with Verizon represents a troubling turnaround. The proposal suggests that all wirebound broadband Internet traffic should be treated neutrally, but then goes on to carve out a myriad of loopholes, most of them very broadly defined. Global Voices Advocacy » Spaniard bloggers react to the Google-Verizon proposed policy. Protection of Intellectual Property: The Core of the Net Neutrality Debate. It didn't take long for criticism of the Verizon/Google net neutrality proposal to start pouring in. "[I]nterest groups, bloggers, and even Google fanboys [have started] discrediting the plan" according to one trade publication.
Although most of the commentary simply echoes various groups' long-held positions, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the nation's foremost cyber-rights watchdog, provided a crucial insight about the plan that goes to the core of the net neutrality issue. EFF found merit with some aspects of the proposal, particularly with regard to limiting the FCC"s regulatory authority.
The NGO stated that although they strongly support net neutrality, "we are opposed to open-ended grants of regulatory authority to the FCC. " EFF also thought that a Verizon/Google recommendation for using standard setting bodies to "develop reasonable network management" was an "intriguing" approach to "handling concerns about politicization of the FCC processes.... " Jonathan Zittrain asks why Google made a pact with Verizon at all | Technology. Jonathan Zittrain offers a typically rational, insightful analysis of the Google-Verizon net neutrality pact on Newsweek, as interviewed by Dan Lyons. Professor of internet law at Harvard, and co-director of the Berkman Centre for Internet & Society, Zittrain asks why Google is party to the agreement at all. Is it involved because of its role as a content provider, or as a potential provider of internet access? "The practical answer may be that Google has argued fiercely against any perceived attempt by telecoms carriers to charge for acceleration (or delivery at all) of Google's content to those carriers' subscribers, and their part of the deal is to climb down from public conflict with the carriers and declare what would suit it," he says, saying Google can be expected not to do much more than represent its own interests.
It is ultimately up to the public, and politicians, to decide what to do with the proposal. Q&A: Professor of Internet Law Jonathan Zittrain. Google and Verizon shook up the tech world last week when they issued a set of proposals about net neutrality. Critics declared that Google, long a proponent of net neutrality, had sold out its principles, and that, as a result, the open Internet that we enjoy today would soon be a thing of the past. We asked Jonathan Zittrain, a professor of Internet law at Harvard Law School and co-director of Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet & Society, what he thinks of the proposal. He wrote us answers via email. NEWSWEEK: In general what do you think of this framework and what impact will it have on consumers?
What's the big risk here? Why do people get so freaked out about losing "net neutrality"? Rightly or wrongly, there's a historical distrust of the telecoms carriers by Internet types -- "net heads vs. bell heads" -- representing a general concern about monopoly-style thinking that quite naturally dominated the business models of the early telecommunications giants. Has Google sold out? Link by Link - In Google-Verizon Deal, Fears for Privacy. Ashurst. Following public concerns over the use of Phorm, Inc.'s behavioural advertising technology by UK internet service providers (ISPs), the European Commission has issued proceedings to address what it perceives as structural problems in the UK's implementation of European privacy Directives relevant to electronic communications.
In particular, the Commission considers that the absence of active user consent may be insufficient to ensure the confidentiality of public electronic communications. This is likely to raise concerns among ISPs and website owners that want to take advantage of Phorm's Webwise technology, and may force them to re-visit their proposed consent mechanisms. Phorm's controversial "Webwise" product Webwise, the brand name of a behavioural advertising system developed by Phorm, has recently raised concerns at the Commission, due to its potential to allow internet use to be monitored. The Commission views UK law as inadequate The extent of UK law: a question of consent. The Google/Verizon framework.
I’ve been trying to figure out what the Google / Verizon announcement means. It’s not easy to do, in large part because the announcement doesn’t precisely announce anything. It’s titled a “legislative framework proposal.” That is, on its own terms it’s not an agreement between two companies — neither is bound to do anything by it, which I guess is how they could deny last week’s New York Times report about a “deal on web pay tiers” — but it does represent a meeting of the minds between them about what ought to happen in the world, in particular what American (and presumably others’) law should become here. That kind of mental-but-not-legal agreement can get away with being far more vague than a typical contract. It’s amenable to what Cass Sunstein calls “ incompletely theorized agreements .” Here’s my own take so far — I figured it might be useful to share my own process in working this through rather than writing (yet) a firm advocacy piece for one view over another.
The U.S. On The Media: Transcript of "Net Neutrality, A Musical Interpretation" (August 13, 2010) BROOKE GLADSTONE: This week, the tug of war over who controls the Internet intensified. The FCC wants to ensure that all content providers are treated equally, consistent with the principle called “network neutrality.” Internet service providers like Comcast, Time Warner, Verizon and AT&T say that the market will see to that. Tension’s been mounting ever since a federal court determined in April that the FCC has no authority to regulate the Internet. That means that theoretically the ISPs can favor certain content providers with faster speeds for a price, or block them altogether. Thus, they can make or break a business or a news site. Think about it. JULIUS GENACHOWSKI: It would preserve the freedom and openness of the Internet.
BROOKE GLADSTONE: Last week, the industry’s negotiations with the FCC collapsed but it seemed that the tug of war over network neutrality would go on because 900-pound gorillas were pulling hard at each end of the rope. BROOKE GLADSTONE: Siva Vaidhyanathan. Reactions To Google, Verizon Proposal For 'Open Internet' Google & Verizon's Version Of Net Neutrality Offers Little Protection For Music Industry Innovation. Yesterday, Google and Verizon, announced a private agreement between the two internet powerhouses that they believe should serve as a framework for U.S. public policy on net neutrality.
The announcement comes on the heels of reports that FCC talks with internet stakeholders recently collapsed. The joint Google and Verizon agreement does promise equal access to the current internet and proposes punishment for ISPs that restrict or "throttle" certain services. But the pair would also create a "fast lane" for premium content - presumably paid services that require heavy bandwidth. The proposal seems reasonable - YouTube, email and everything we're used to continues unrestricted without being bogged down - until you remember that not long ago YouTube itself was considered a bandwidth hog. If the FCC does not establish clear rules on net neutrality without "fast lane" exemptions , which lane will music tech innovators be allowed to travel in?
Report claims Google, Verizon on verge of net neutrality deal | Pinsent Masons LLP. Editor's note, 05/08/2010: Google and Verizon have dismissed the New York Times story on which our report was based. A Google spokeswoman told the Guardian newspaper: "The New York Times is quite simply wrong. We have not had any conversations with Verizon about paying for carriage of Google traffic. We remain as committed as we always have been to an open internet. " Editor's note, 10/08/2010: Google and Verizon have agreed a joint policy proposal. There's more from the Guardian. The deal would undermine what for some is a fundamental quality of the internet, which is that it treats all information as equal and gives none priority. ISPs have argued that they should have the right to be paid not only by subscribers for access to the internet but also by content producers for delivering material to those subscribers.
Content producers have opposed any interference with the principle that all information is equal, fearing having to pay ISPs or find their access to audiences suffer. Google-Verizon Net Neutrality Pact: 5 Red Flags - PCWorld. Google and Verizon unveiled a proposal to maintain an open Internet while creating room for a broadband network of premium services. The proposal has no legal standing whatsoever, and is basically a policy paper on network neutrality for consideration by Congress and the Federal Communications Commission.
Network neutrality is the principle that broadband providers should not be allowed to discriminate or restrict Web traffic based on its content. Regardless of the legal standing, this proposal is backed by two major technology corporations involved in the network neutrality debate. That means the proposal could influence discussions about the future of broadband Internet access in the U.S. So far, reaction to the proposal has been highly critical. Citizen interest group Public Knowledge said the proposal "shouldn't form the basis of legislation in Congress or of rules by the FCC. " FCC Commission Michael J. There are many concerns and questions surrounding the Google-Verizon proposal. The Google-Verizon Deal. Google 'has made few compromises' on net neutrality.
Google vs. Google On Wireless Net Neutrality. While I still think that uproar over Google and Verizon's "deal""agreement""pinky shake" "policy framework" statement on net neutrality is quite exaggerated given that no one has accepted it and the framework is more or less meaningless, it is amusing to watch the reaction to all of this. Lots of folks who perhaps leaned too heavily on Google to push for a certain position are now screaming about Google's move to the dark side. I don't believe that either. Instead, this seems like a calculated business decision of the kind that Google was bound to make sooner or later, and one which might not mean anything. On the flip side, Google is trying to defend itself against these attacks by pushing back on a few points.
Unfortunately for Google, there's a wonderful search engine called Google, which can be used to dig up things said by a company called Google in the past. Over at Broadband Reports, Karl Bode has noted some of the... changing sentiment of Google policy lawyer Richard Whitt. Google CEO Schmidt: No Anonymity Is The Future Of Web | NetworkWorld.com Community. Google: Looking Out for #1 on Net Neutrality -- Analyzing its Competitive Implications | The Precursor Blog by Scott Cleland. Why Google Became A Carrier-Humping, Net Neutrality Surrender Monkey (UPDATED) | Epicenter An Impenetrable Web of Fees - Room for Debate. Consumer Choices on the Internet - Room for Debate. Regulators Make Matters Worse - Room for Debate. Controlling Commerce and Speech - Room for Debate. A Threat to Startups - Room for Debate. Call It 'Net Irrationality' - Room for Debate. Regulate Today's Rockefellers - Room for Debate. A Deregulation Debacle for the Internet - Room for Debate.
Net Neutrality Is Hard to Define - Room for Debate. Www.huffingtonpost.com/craig-aaron/google-verizon-pact-it-ge_b_676194. Finding common ground on an open Internet. Do Not Track: Not as Simple as it Sounds. Net Neutrality Advocates Blast Google, Verizon Plan - PCWorld. Net neutrality. Google / Verizon. Infothought: "Net Neutrality" - deals, pawns, catspaws, and the jumping of sharks. Marvin Ammori: A Guide to the Network Neutrality Discussions at the FCC. Ammori’s Guide to the Net Neutrality Discussions at the FCC. Rethinking Net Neutrality after the Verizon/Google Framework. Blog The Future of the Internet — And How to Stop It. The Twitter "Bomb Hoax" - A Change Of Plea. Essential new book on 'Net Policy (blessed by Lessig!): "Internet Architecture and Innovation" Google CEO Schmidt Fuels Critics With Controversial Privacy Remarks. Verizon-Google Legislative Framework Proposal. Google favorable à un internet à deux vitesses.
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