[Dialogue] Article on Internet Neutrality

[george]

Article in today's New York Times.  You can view it at http:// 
www.nytimes.com/2006/05/02/opinion/02tue3.html?th&emc=th


EDITORIAL
Keeping a Democratic Web

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Published: May 2, 2006
"Net neutrality" is a concept that is still unfamiliar to most  
Americans, but it keeps the Internet democratic. Cable and telephone  
companies that provide Internet service are talking about creating a  
two-tiered Internet, in which Web sites that pay them large fees  
would get priority over everything else. Opponents of these plans are  
supporting Net-neutrality legislation, which would require all Web  
sites to be treated equally. Net neutrality recently suffered a  
setback in the House, but there is growing hope that the Senate will  
take up the cause.

One of the Internet's great strengths is that a single blogger or a  
small political group can inexpensively create a Web page that is  
just as accessible to the world as Microsoft's home page. But this  
democratic Internet would be in danger if the companies that deliver  
Internet service changed the rules so that Web sites that pay them  
money would be easily accessible, while little-guy sites would be  
harder to access, and slower to navigate. Providers could also block  
access to sites they do not like.

That would be a financial windfall for Internet service providers,  
but a disaster for users, who could find their Web browsing  
influenced by whichever sites paid their service provider the most  
money. There is a growing movement of Internet users who are pushing  
for legislation to make this kind of discrimination impossible. It  
has attracted supporters ranging from MoveOn.org to the Gun Owners of  
America. Grass-roots political groups like these are rightly  
concerned that their online speech could be curtailed if Internet  
service providers were allowed to pick and choose among Web sites.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee defeated a good Net- 
neutrality amendment last week. But the amendment got more votes than  
many people expected, suggesting that support for Net neutrality is  
beginning to take hold in Congress. In the Senate, Olympia Snowe, a  
Maine Republican, and Byron Dorgan, a North Dakota Democrat, are  
drafting a strong Net-neutrality bill that would prohibit broadband  
providers from creating a two-tiered Internet. Senators who care  
about the Internet and Internet users should get behind it.

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