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For Immediate Release:  August 12, 2010 The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) should move quickly under its clear authority to establish a reliable framework to protect broadband access service, Public Knowledge (PK) told the Commission in comments filed earlier today. The text of the filing is here. In its filing, PK said, “Public Knowledge provides clear evidence that Title II classification can be used to establish bright-line distinctions based on the service offered. More importantly, straightforward, technology-neutral rules will help provide critical certainty to future innovation.” read more

For Immediate Release:  August 12, 2010 The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) should move quickly under its clear authority to establish a reliable framework to protect broadband access service, Public Knowledge (PK) told the Commission in comments filed earlier today. The text of the filing is here. In its filing, PK said, “Public Knowledge provides clear evidence that Title II classification can be used to establish bright-line distinctions based on the service offered. More importantly, straightforward, technology-neutral rules will help provide critical certainty to future innovation.” read more

Today, Public Knowledge filed reply comments in the FCC’s “Third Way” docket, urging the Commission to take the steps necessary to protect consumers online.With all of the commotion over this week’s Google/Verizon announcement, it is important to remember that the major decisions about broadband classification (and net neutrality) will be made at the FCC.read more

Today, Public Knowledge filed reply comments in the FCC’s “Third Way” docket, urging the Commission to take the steps necessary to protect consumers online.With all of the commotion over this week’s Google/Verizon announcement, it is important to remember that the major decisions about broadband classification (and net neutrality) will be made at the FCC.read more

For Immediate Release:  August 9, 2010 Background: Today, Verizon and Google announced that they have reached a private agreement on a legislative proposal for Net Neutrality. The following is attributed to Sherwin Siy, Deputy Legal Director of Public Knowledge: “We have already expressed our alarm at the extraordinary loopholes present in Verizon and Google’s proposal. However, the proposal also damages open Internet efforts through commission as well as omission. The section on “case-by-case enforcement” directs the FCC to defer to rules set by industry-led advisory groups. Combined with the proposal’s recommendation that the FCC have no rulemaking authority with respect to consumer protection and nondiscrimination, the agreement outsources the FCC’s powers and authorities to the very industries these rules are supposed to oversee.” read more

For Immediate Release:  August 9, 2010 Background: Today, Verizon and Google announced that they have reached a private agreement on a legislative proposal for Net Neutrality. The following is attributed to Sherwin Siy, Deputy Legal Director of Public Knowledge: “We have already expressed our alarm at the extraordinary loopholes present in Verizon and Google’s proposal. However, the proposal also damages open Internet efforts through commission as well as omission. The section on “case-by-case enforcement” directs the FCC to defer to rules set by industry-led advisory groups. Combined with the proposal’s recommendation that the FCC have no rulemaking authority with respect to consumer protection and nondiscrimination, the agreement outsources the FCC’s powers and authorities to the very industries these rules are supposed to oversee.” read more

Hours ago, Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg announced that abandoning the Internet for managed services was necessary to provide new services like the streaming of 3-D video.  Of course, this is the same type of argument that people made for every about-to-be-here application before, like VOIP, streaming video, and gaming. So, is it possible to stream 3-D video over the (non-managed services) Internet?  Those crazy kids over at NVIDIA and Microsoft seem to think so.  To be fair to Mr. Seidenberg, this was only the first result I got after typing “stream 3d video” into his new partner’s signature product.read more

Hours ago, Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg announced that abandoning the Internet for managed services was necessary to provide new services like the streaming of 3-D video.  Of course, this is the same type of argument that people made for every about-to-be-here application before, like VOIP, streaming video, and gaming. So, is it possible to stream 3-D video over the (non-managed services) Internet?  Those crazy kids over at NVIDIA and Microsoft seem to think so.  To be fair to Mr. Seidenberg, this was only the first result I got after typing “stream 3d video” into his new partner’s signature product.read more

I just read the Google/Verizon blog post, and their proposed legislative framework, and listened in on their joint press call. Here’s our press release. In this post, I’m going to focus on a few of the details. Overall, there’s a lot that’s bad about this proposal, and it shouldn’t form the basis of legislation in Congress or of rules by the FCC. The biggest problem with the framework is that, while purporting to support “the open Internet,” it draws illogical distinctions on the basis of what technology you use to access the Internet, and between “the public Internet” (Verizon’s mantra on the press call) and “additional online services.” read more

I just read the Google/Verizon blog post, and their proposed legislative framework, and listened in on their joint press call. Here’s our press release. In this post, I’m going to focus on a few of the details. Overall, there’s a lot that’s bad about this proposal, and it shouldn’t form the basis of legislation in Congress or of rules by the FCC. The biggest problem with the framework is that, while purporting to support “the open Internet,” it draws illogical distinctions on the basis of what technology you use to access the Internet, and between “the public Internet” (Verizon’s mantra on the press call) and “additional online services.” read more

For Immediate Release:  August 9, 2010 Background: Today, Verizon and Google announced that they have reached a private agreement on a legislative proposal for Net Neutrality. The following is attributed to Gigi B. Sohn, president and co-founder of Public Knowledge: “The agreement between Verizon and Google about how to manage Internet traffic is nothing more than a private agreement between two corporate behemoths, and should not be a template or basis for either Congressional or FCC action. It is unenforceable, and does almost nothing to preserve an open Internet. read more

For Immediate Release:  August 9, 2010 Background: Today, Verizon and Google announced that they have reached a private agreement on a legislative proposal for Net Neutrality. The following is attributed to Gigi B. Sohn, president and co-founder of Public Knowledge: “The agreement between Verizon and Google about how to manage Internet traffic is nothing more than a private agreement between two corporate behemoths, and should not be a template or basis for either Congressional or FCC action. It is unenforceable, and does almost nothing to preserve an open Internet. read more

This summer has been one of the most exhausting in recent memory.  First, there has been a constant barrage of record heat and humidity.  Second, there is the continuing battle over whether and how to preserve the FCC’s authority to protect broadband consumers and ensure universal broadband access.  While the former is somewhat predictable for Washington, the latter has been like a soap opera, with lots of plot twists, make-ups and break-ups and nearly a few tears (of utter frustration). read more

This summer has been one of the most exhausting in recent memory.  First, there has been a constant barrage of record heat and humidity.  Second, there is the continuing battle over whether and how to preserve the FCC’s authority to protect broadband consumers and ensure universal broadband access.  While the former is somewhat predictable for Washington, the latter has been like a soap opera, with lots of plot twists, make-ups and break-ups and nearly a few tears (of utter frustration). read more

This week's In the Know Podcast is all about Net Neutrality, the Google-Verizon deal, and how you can help protect an open Internet. You can download and listen to the audio by clicking here (MP3) or stream it using the player below: Want to subscribe to our podcast? Click here for the MP3 feed and here for the mixed audio/video feed. read more

This week's In the Know Podcast is all about Net Neutrality, the Google-Verizon deal, and how you can help protect an open Internet. You can download and listen to the audio by clicking here (MP3) or stream it using the player below: Want to subscribe to our podcast? Click here for the MP3 feed and here for the mixed audio/video feed. read more

For Immediate Release:  August 5, 2010 Earlier today, FCC Chief of Staff Edward Lazarus announced that the multiparty talks discussing a framework for an open Internet had been called off.The following statement is attributed to Gigi B. Sohn, president and co-founder of Public Knowledge:“The path before the Federal Communications Commission is now perfectly clear.  It must act to ensure that consumers are protected, that everyone can have access to broadband and that the Commission has the authority to ensure and open and non-discriminatory Internet.  It can do that simply by acting on the dockets now pending before the Commission.“We were concerned about the negotiations because they were largely restricted to the biggest industry players.  The FCC now can use the comments and public views submitted to it as a basis for its decisions, as the Commission should have done all along.”

October 1, 2010 (All day) - October 2, 2010 (All day) Michael Weinberg, Art Brodsky, and Mehan Jayasuriya are speaking at the Open Video Conference in New York City.  OVC is a two-day summit to explore the future of video on the web. he Open Video Conference (OVC) is a multi-day summit of thought leaders in business, academia, art, and activism to explore the future of online video. The first Open Video Conference was host to over 800 guests, including 150 workshop leaders, panelists and speakers. Over 8,000 viewers tuned in from home to watch the live broadcast. The event earned coverage in WIRED, NewTeeVee, BBC News, Filmmaker Magazine, and The New Yorker. read more

September 4, 2010 (All day) Michael Weinberg and Mehan Jayasuriya will be speaking at PAX in Seattle, WA on September 4. Their presentation is titled "Game Over: Why the Future of Online Gaming Depends on Net Neutrality". PAX is a three-day game festival for tabletop, videogame, and PC gamers. We call it a festival because in addition to dedicated tournaments and freeplay areas we've got nerdcore concerts, panel discussions, the weekend-long Omegathon event, and an exhibitor hall filled with booths displaying the latest from top game publishers and developers. Click here for more information.

For Immediate Release:  August 4, 2010 Background:  It has been reported that Verizon and Google have reached a private agreement on a legislative proposal for Net Neutrality.The following is attributed to Gigi B. Sohn, president and co-founder of Public Knowledge:“The deal between Verizon and Google about how to manage Internet traffic is deeply regrettable and should be considered meaningless.  As a legal agreement, it is not binding on either company.  As an agreement in principle, it should not be taken as a template or basis for Congressional action. “The fate of the Internet is too large a matter to be decided by negotiations involving two companies, even companies as big as Verizon and Google, or even the six companies and groups engaged in other discussions at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on similar topics.read more