Free Press: Now is the Time for Net Neutrality
Jun 11, 2008
At its National Conference for Media Reform (NCMR), which took place in Minneapolis last week, nonprofit advocacy group Free Press hosted a panel discussion about the future of the Internet. Speakers included Free Press' new chairman Columbia law professor Tim Wu, professor Susan Crawford, representatives from the Media Alliance and Equal Justice Works and Free Press' campaign director Timothy Karr.
Mr. Karr posted a recap of the discussion today at SavetheInternet.com, the organization's pro-network neutrality site, that echoes the group's argument in favor of net neutrality legislation. Below is an excerpt; click here to read the post in its entirety.
"This country is too addicted to the phone companies and cable companies as a source of bandwidth," Wu said. "I think we're in the early days of a movement -- not unlike the one in the alternative energy world -- to develop alternative, realistic sources of bandwidth that are under our control."
Our Last Hope
Wu pointed to experiments with grassroots fiber-optic networks, municipal Wi-Fi and innovations using unlicensed spectrum such as white spaces.
Susan Crawford, the founder of OneWebDay, said the "Titanic battle" for the future of the Internet pits two competing forces against one another: the network operators, and groups and people who want to democratize the Web.
Let us know if you have a different perspective that you'd like to share here.
Tags:
broadband, Free Press, media reform, net neutrality, Susan Crawford, Tim Wu
