Friday, September 22, 2006

Nation Analyzes Telecom Giveaway Bill

The Nation has a look at the issue of net neutrality and the telecom bill that will restructure the internet, which if passed would extract fees from net users for activities that are currently free and unregulated.

Despite growing opposition, Alaska Republican Senator Ted Stevens appears determined to pass his telecom giveaway bill this year. But, if Stevens and his pals in the telecom and cable industries prevail, writes Jeffrey Chester in a new Nation online exclusive, expect the free flow of online content to be replaced by corporate infotainment like Anheuser-Busch's lowbrow broadband Bud TV.

Stevens is using his considerable political clout to get at least sixty senators to agree to bring the flawed measure to the floor. Stevens has acknowledged that his rewrite of the 1934 Communications Act now faces an uphill battle, primarily due to the controversy generated by public-interest groups over network neutrality, the guiding principle of the Internet, which guarantees all users have equal access to content and services.

Read the entire article written by Jeffrey Chester here.

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