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The Net’s not dead…yet
The free and open internet is not yet dead, but today the FCC did put it in on life support. Far from being the champion the people were hoping for, Chairmen Tom Wheeler instead advanced an unacceptable compromise that allows for fast lanes for content.
While stringently defending his positions stating that he would not allow for any censoring or denying of legal content, this is at best a platitude. Tom Wheeler may feel very passionately about the defense of our right to a free and open forum devoid of corporate and government meddling, but there is no guarantee that whoever comes after him will share such convictions. What he is offering the public are meaningless platitudes designed to sate some of the rage that has been vented at the FCC over these issues.
For the next 4 months the rules will be open to public comment before a final vote is cast in September. That is our true deadline. That is the day where the Net as we know it will live or die. If we fail to keep up the pressure on the FCC then we will have no one to blame but ourselves. The one point of light that I can discern from today’s proceedings is that we are having an impact. The only reason they have comprised to this point is to placate some of us, in hopes of subverting our demands for a free and open net.
Source: http://philosophers-stone.co.uk/wordpress/2014/05/the-nets-not-dead-yet/
