Thursday, June 15, 2006
Letter to Senator Biden
In the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing yesterday, Joe Biden [D-MD] seemed jocularly unconcerned about the possibility that broadband connection providers might violate Network Neutrality. He was like, if they block Google then people will scream and we'll do something then. Right, speedy Congress to the rescue, fer sure.
So I just wrote this letter to Senator Biden via his Web site:
Biden said Congress would act if we screamed. Let's hold him to his word.
So I just wrote this letter to Senator Biden via his Web site:
Senator Biden,
Your promise (at the Judiciary hearing yesterday) that Congress would address the network neutrality problem if telcos actually started blocking web sites misses the point. The real danger is that the telcos will block or impair sites that ARE NOT YET POPULAR, therby inhibiting innovation. This is not near as easy to notice -- the first sign might be that the U.S. economy is gradually falling behind the rest of the developed world.
By the way, one ISP has been blocking a popular site, Craig's List, for three months. Where's Congress???
Please change your mind. Please support Network Neutrality to preserve U.S. economic leadership. And our Freedom of Speech.
Biden said Congress would act if we screamed. Let's hold him to his word.
Technorati Tags: F2C, Freedom, NetworkNeutrality, Politics
Comments:
Since Richard has dealt with (what increasingly looks to be) the specious charge against Cox, I'll address the "hard to notice" claim.
Exactly how would it be hard to notice if a not-yet popular Internet service were being degraded? Customer tries to access NotYetPopular.com. Customer has problem accessing NotYetPopular.com. Customer emails NotYetPopular.com about problem. NotYetPopular.com researches problem and discovers that their service is degraded when accessed via Comcast but not when accessed otherwise. NotYetPopular.com makes stink in public, files complaints with FCC, enrolls help of Net Neutrality partisans in publicizing the degradation. And how would Comcast know to even think of blocking NotYetPopular.com unless it had actually become, well... popular?
Just look at all the fuss that was kicked up by the partisans when people were impacted by what looks to be a technical snafu in the Authentium/Cox fiasco. If the NN folks can get that much mileage from a mistake, imagine what they can get from an honest-to-goodness case of real black hat-wearing, right-from-central-casting, villanous, anti-competitive blocking/degradation.
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Exactly how would it be hard to notice if a not-yet popular Internet service were being degraded? Customer tries to access NotYetPopular.com. Customer has problem accessing NotYetPopular.com. Customer emails NotYetPopular.com about problem. NotYetPopular.com researches problem and discovers that their service is degraded when accessed via Comcast but not when accessed otherwise. NotYetPopular.com makes stink in public, files complaints with FCC, enrolls help of Net Neutrality partisans in publicizing the degradation. And how would Comcast know to even think of blocking NotYetPopular.com unless it had actually become, well... popular?
Just look at all the fuss that was kicked up by the partisans when people were impacted by what looks to be a technical snafu in the Authentium/Cox fiasco. If the NN folks can get that much mileage from a mistake, imagine what they can get from an honest-to-goodness case of real black hat-wearing, right-from-central-casting, villanous, anti-competitive blocking/degradation.
# posted by 
: 6/16/2006 10:17 AM
: 6/16/2006 10:17 AM
