21st Century Wire says…
Surprisingly, one of the main digital cartel members, Twitter, has weighed-in strongly – and very publicly, in favor of net neutrality.
What’s interesting is how the Right-wing of US politics and media has turned Net Neutrality into a partisan issue – when it clearly should not be. Sadly, partisan media coverage has followed suit. FOX News, Glenn Beck and others right-wing talk radio shows are spinning the concept of net neutrality as a communist vs capitalist, or “Obama” argument, but it fairly obvious that mega corporations seeking to monopolize the information super-highway. Most Big Corporations are definitely looking to establish a command-and-control position over the entire internet – which will allow big government and big business to eventually squeeze-out any small or emerging players by tilting the playing field in favor of economies (and profits) of scale – and keeping indie content producers and users from attaining critical mass by throttling bandwith.
Twitter weighs-in…
Days ahead of a vote by federal regulators on the future of the Web, Twitter is coming out in support of the government’s plan to treat Internet providers more like traditional phone service.
In a blog post, Twitter says that it previously backed “common sense net neutrality rules” through a Washington trade group, the Internet Association. But now the company is going further. Independently, Twitter is arguing that the Federal Communications Commission should move ahead with the most aggressive rules ever proposed for Internet providers — to be sure that they don’t unfairly speed up or slow down some sites over others or create Internet “fast lanes” that give wealthy firms an advantage over smaller ones.
“Empowering ‘lesser’ or historically less powerful voices to express themselves and be heard globally is at the core of Twitter’s DNA,” Twitter’s public policy manager, Will Carty, writes in the blog post.
The FCC’s net neutrality proposal would regulate Internet providers using the same tool it uses to police legacy telephony — Title II of the Communications Act. Opponents of the move have decried it as a government takeover of the Internet; its supporters, which include President Obama, say it’s the only way to keep Internet providers from abusing their role as gatekeepers of information.
In addition to regulating traditional providers of fixed broadband Internet, the FCC’s proposal will also apply to wireless carriers such as T-Mobile and Sprint. It will allow the agency to inspect commercial deals like the kind Netflix struck with Comcast last year on a case-by-case basis, if it suspects foul play.
Beyond endorsing some of these provisions, Twitter says it’s “pleased” about the possibility of Congress tackling net neutrality — but the company stopped short of backing any specific plan…
Continue this story at The Switch
READ MORE NET NEUTRALITY NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Net Neutrality Files
