Message from Senator Al Franken about Net Neutrality

[myrna minx]

I received this 20 minutes ago...

If you saw my op-ed in the Huffington Post yesterday, you know how concerned I was about today's FCC meeting on net neutrality (and, by the way, would you mind sharing it on Twitter and Facebook?).

Chairman Genachowski's draft Order was worse than nothing--and we needed to make sure the FCC didn't approve it today.

Well, there's good news and bad news. The good news is that, thanks to Commissioners Copps and Clyburn--not to mention a nationwide network of net neutrality activists like you--the proposal approved today is better than the original. For instance, the FCC has now stated that it does not condone discriminatory behavior by wireless companies like Verizon and AT&T--an important piece that was missing from the first draft. We made a difference.

The bad news is that, while it's no longer worse than nothing, the Order approved today is not nearly strong enough to protect consumers or preserve the free and open Internet. And with so much at stake, I cannot support it.

I'm still very concerned that it includes almost nothing to protect net neutrality for mobile broadband service--often the only choice for broadband if you live in rural or otherwise underserved areas. And I'm particularly disappointed that the FCC isn't specifically banning paid prioritization--the creation of an Internet "fast lane" for corporations that can afford to pay for it.

But here's the important thing to remember: This fight's not over. The FCC must vigorously enforce these new regulations--and it must follow through on addressing wireless discrimination going forward.

So what now? First, we need to work together to make sure the FCC keeps the promises it made today--just as our movement was instrumental in improving these regulations from the first draft, we'll be critical in ensuring that the regulations are enforced vigorously.

And I'm going to keep working with net neutrality advocates to see if there are legislative or administrative steps that can be taken to strengthen these protections.

But, for today, know that the work we're doing to save the Internet is making a difference. Today, the FCC took a small step forward--too small by my estimation, but forward nonetheless.

Thanks for your support,

Al

http://blog.alfranken.com/2010/12/20/huffington-post-the-most-important-free-speech-issue-of-our-time/

[dennis4868]

1. Remember Obama's "long game"

The fact is, these rules are already on very shaky legal ground, given that a federal appeals court decision from 2008 found that the commission has no legal standing for regulating internet service providers. That court said that there was no federal law that gave the FCC authority over the internet.

So with that legal hurdle to overcome, on top of the determination of Republicans in Congress to pass new legislation prohibiting the FCC from enacting these new regulations, it should be obvious to anyone with an ounce of common sense why Chairman Genachowski went with a slate of rules that granted businesses a little more slack than progressives think is desirable.

[hlthe2b]

2. Al Franken is the perfect one to champion this--really...

He knows first hand what deregulation of the radio airwaves cost us, having struggled (after the horse was already out of the barn) to catch up via the ill-fated Air America Radio. While I don't think he's ever been a real Luddite technology-wise, it was his good bud, Ariana Huffington that taught him all he knows about blogs and he learned from Dean how to use the internet to his own benefit for small $$ contributions towards his own election and ultimately to prevail in the prolonged recout.

Al Franken is perfect for fights on this and social security. He also learned at the feet of Paul Wellstone. We need to support Al strongly. He'll do the same for us on these fronts, I am convinced.