MB Civic

The Internet’s Long War

Dawn Holian

May 24, 2006

Dawn Holian is director of media research and public education at  Common Cause.

Imagine you’re a voter searching the Internet for information about an upcoming election. You go to the candidates’ websites, but the videos of their speeches and debates won’t load. You log on to an advocacy site that last year had an interesting blog and other interactive tools to help you learn about the candidates and issues—but now it doesn’t work properly either. You search for the day’s campaign news, but your Internet service provider seems to be steering you to download episodes of Commander in Chief and buy a DVD of The American President.

Far-fetched? Maybe a little. But make no mistake, the telephone and cable companies would like to transform our Internet from a medium that allows people to connect to one another, engage in debate, and learn about the world into little more than a portal to sell goods and transmit television programs, films and games.

And they’re likely to get their way unless Congress acts. On Thursday, the House Judiciary will be voting on a key piece of legislation to protect the Internet we know it, an Internet that is in jeopardy because of recent decisions by federal regulators.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) used to protect “network neutrality”—our right to access any information we want on the Internet. But we lost those protections in August 2005, when the FCC decided to change the way it enforced rules dealing with the Internet. As a consequence, there is now no rule or regulation that will prevent the phone and cable companies from doing what they’ve said they want to do, charge content providers for the right to be on their Internet pipes and make special deals with some companies to ensure that their sites and services work faster and are easier to find..

The Internet Freedom and Non-Discrimination Act (H.R. 5417) would restore our rights to a free and open Internet. This bipartisan bill, co-sponsored by Reps. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis.,and John Conyers, D-Mich., will ensure that anti-trust law covers the actions of the providers of high-speed Internet by specifically banning discriminatory practices that affect our right to access the information we want. The House Judiciary Committee is set to vote on the bill this Thursday.

Failure to preserve net neutrality now would open the door to allowing Internet service providers to create a two-tiered Internet, with a “fast lane” accessible to only those who can afford to pay the fees to telephone and cable giants. Small businesses, nonprofits, entrepreneurs, political candidates, and local governments would be consigned to the “slow lane.” Such a system would stifle the innovation that has brought us Google, eBay, the blogosphere, instant messaging and so much more. If network providers are allowed to control the flow of information, the open and freewheeling nature of the Internet could be lost. For this reason, supporters of net neutrality include not only Common Cause and Consumers Union but also the Christian Coalition and Gun Owners of America.

Why is Common Cause so concerned about a seemingly obscure telecommunications issue? Because we care about the potential of the Internet to spur citizen engagement in their democracy. We know how democratic discourse has benefited from this technological marvel. In 2004, according to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 63 million Americans went online for political news. An estimated seven million individuals asked for e-mail updates from candidates, and four million donated money online to parties and campaigns. That involvement is only growing.

Millions of citizens access information from advocacy web sites ranging from Amnesty International to the National Rifle Association. And e-activists are transforming the way citizens communicate with their elected officials and have their opinions heard on the most pressing issues of the day.

But this Renaissance will be cut short if access to the Internet is determined by corporations more interested in selling goods and entertainment than in encouraging democratic discourse. The Internet Freedom and Non-Discrimination Act is critical to protecting our digital future.