Save Access

Talking Points Memo will be tracking individual Senators and their position on Net Neutrality. Their Tally page is at: TMP Talley

from: TMP Media

(June 12, 2006 -- 12:59 AM EDT)

When the TPM Media offices open up tomorrow morning we're going to start compiling a list (mentioned Friday evening) of where every senator stands on Net Neutrality -- Democrats and Republicans. With help from TPM Readers we already got information on several senators. And it was enough to show us that a lot of them -- including a lot of Democrats -- are just trying to avoid giving their constituents any straight answers on where they stand.

Note: The Baldwin/Wilson Amendment (Do No Harm) which would have protected PEG centers receiving more than 1% in local franchises was voted DOWN by the Rules Committee. This makes COPE unacceptable to PEG Centers nationwide.

from: National Journal
CongressDaily

'Net Neutrality' Question To Get House Floor Vote

From: Digital Destiny

Hey! Guess Who Helps Fund the Heritage Foundation? AT&T and Verizon

Ready as always to weaken the public interest potential of U.S. communications, James L. Gattuso wrote a anti-network neutrality “Backgrounder” for the Heritage Foundation (released June 2, 2006). Subtitled “Will Congress Neuter the Net?”, the piece is a politically timed missive designed to undermine the growing pressure on Congress to enact network neutrality safeguards. It contains the usual litany of rationalizations and under-developed analysis used by big cable and phone advocates to criticize network neutrality.

From: Media Access Project Download PDF

How Independent Artists Could Lose Their Independent Internet

Parul Desai

In the past few months, there has been a fight in Congress over phone and cable companies’ opposition to what is called “net neutrality.” I know the business decisions of major companies can be a real snoozer. However, this is one decision that will truly affect independent artists and those that support their work. That’s because “net neutrality” is really about discrimination by the phone and cable companies; if the phone and cable companies get their way, they would have the ability to control how independent artists reach the millions of Internet users and determine which artists succeed and which fail.

from:Matt Stoller

Squishy House Dems to Sell Us Out on Internet Freedom?

by Matt Stoller, Wed May 31, 2006 at 12:44:43 PM EST

Last week was a big week for the internet freedom folks. We won a vote in the Judiciary Committee for the Sensenbrenner-Conyers Bill (HR5417) to preserve internet freedom. For those who haven't been following, the basic gist of the issue is that the government has always set basic rules for the wires that carry internet traffic. These rules don't let the telcos that manage those wires block anyone's traffic, and we want to keep it that way. The telcos want to be able to block traffic and web sites so they can favor some services over others, so they want to strip the FCC of the authority they have to enforce these rules. The business and political case is clear. Senior telco execs have publicly discussed slowing down Google's web site if Yahoo pays them, for instance. There are political implications as well; a Canadian ISP have blocked the web site of a union striking against them. Telcos have always hated the internet, and now that they see the opportunity to put up tollbooths everywhere and make the internet work as clunkily as cell phone service, they are trying to seize it through their massive political leverage.

from: Broadcasting & Cable

Christian Coalition Backs Net Neutrality

By John Eggerton
5/29/2006

The Christian Coalition fears a possibly pro-choice telco board might slow access to its pro-life messages.

The group supports amending telecom reform/video franchise streamlining legislation to put some statutory muscle behind FCC principles championing open access to the Internet.

from: Ars Technica

Strict Net neutrality passes House Committee, but fate is rather uncertain

5/25/2006 7:36:30 PM, by Ken Fisher

The House Committee on the Judiciary today approved the Internet Freedom and Nondiscrimination Act (HR 5417) in a vote of 20-12. This particular 'Net neutrality bill would make it an antitrust violation to "block impair, discriminate or interfere with anyone’s services or applications or content," but the bill also addresses service improvements on top of the status quo. If a provider were to offer increase VoIP performance, for instance, the bill would require such providers to prioritize or offer enhanced quality of service "to all data of that type... without imposing a surcharge or other consideration for such prioritization or enhances quality of service."

The letter sent from Free Press to supporters. A nice contrast to the Press release the astroturf 'FreedomWorks' released on the day the House Judiciary Bill passed.

Thanks to your thousands of calls and letters, we took a major step forward this week in the fight for Internet freedom.

A bipartisan majority on the House Judiciary Committee yesterday passed the "Internet Freedom and Nondiscrimination Act" -- a good bill that would use antitrust law to protect Network Neutrality. Special thanks to those of you who called the key members who cast the deciding votes.

Judiciary Passes Net Neutrality Bill

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 5/25/2006 1:32:00 PM

The House Judiciary Committee Thursday marked up and passed its chairman's "network neutrality" bill 20-13, but it took all the Democrats to do it, with a majority of Republicans voting against it.

That chairman is James Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin and the bill would use antitrust law to enforce nondiscrimination in the provision of Internet service by networks like phone companies and cable operators. Republicans on the committee warned that it was unnecessarily regulating the Internet.

from: In These Times
Views May 16, 2006

Information Highway Robbers
By Joel Bleifuss

Mike McCurry, the former press secretary for President Bill Clinton is not amused at the 'net neuts.'

What makes the Internet revolutionary is that it is democratic, open to anyone with a computer and an Internet connection. That could soon change.