September, 30 2009, 11:15am EDT
Free Press Debunks Top 10 Net Neutrality Myths
New report separates fact from fiction in the debate over Net Neutrality at the FCC
WASHINGTON
Today, Free Press released Digital Deja Vu: Old Myths about Net
Neutrality, a new issue brief that dispels the arguments from big phone
and cable companies and opponents of Net Neutrality. The report exposes
false claims about investment, regulation, competition and other
prevalent issues.
"The debate over what policies are needed to preserve the open
Internet must be bound by facts and reality, not by misdirection and
discredited falsehoods," said S. Derek Turner, Free
Press research director and author of the report. "Industry and their
phony astroturf groups are deliberately misleading policymakers and the
public about Net Neutrality. This is an important public policy issue,
and consumers need to know the truth."
Read Digital Deja Vu at https://freepress.net/files/dejavu.pdf
The debate over Net Neutrality was reignited recently when Federal
Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski announced plans
to create stronger open Internet rules. Net Neutrality has been
supported by President Barack Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi,
congressional leaders, public interest groups, private industry and
millions of everday people. But opponents of Net Neutrality have been
quickly working to undermine through misinformation these efforts to
preserve an open Internet.
Some of the myths debunked in the report include:
Myth: "Net Neutrality is a solution in search of a
problem."
Reality: ISPs claim that Net Neutrality is a "solution in search
of a problem," but they also say they need to violate the
principles of the open Internet to reap profits from new
discriminatory business models. Now the technology that enables
discrimination is finally available to ISPs.
Myth: "This will be the first time the government has regulated
the Internet."
Reality: The open Internet as we know it would not exist if not for
regulation. More than 40 years ago, the FCC helped to create an
environment where the Internet could flourish by preventing phone
companies from interfering with traffic flowing over their networks.
Myth: "Net Neutrality rules will discourage investment."
Reality: Without Net Neutrality, ISPs will actually have an
incentive to delay investment and profit by selling access at a premium
to artificially scarce bandwidth.
Myth: "Net Neutrality would prevent ISPs from effectively managing
Web congestion from video streaming and other bandwidth-intensive
activities that are clogging up the Web."
Reality: Nothing in the proposed FCC open Internet rules, or in
congressional legislation, would prevent an ISP from using reasonable
network management techniques to deal with congestion.
"Net Neutrality rules will preserve the free flow of information,
spur investment and promote choice," Turner said. "We cannot allow the
future of the open Internet to be sabotaged
by these long-discredited myths."
Read Digital Deja Vu at https://freepress.net/files/dejavu.pdf
Free Press was created to give people a voice in the crucial decisions that shape our media. We believe that positive social change, racial justice and meaningful engagement in public life require equitable access to technology, diverse and independent ownership of media platforms, and journalism that holds leaders accountable and tells people what's actually happening in their communities.
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