Moyers Preview: Net Neutrality

Posted by Evan Derkacz at 4:55 PM on October 17, 2006.

The clip to the right is a preview from the first installment of Bill Moyers' new multipart series on the internets...

And here's some background:

From an April post, as clear an explanation as you'll find:

Parachutec explains: "The Internet began with regulations that blocked providers from favoring access to one site over another. That’s Internet Freedom, a.k.a., 'Net Neutrality.' That means you can access what you want when you want, and anyone can create a web based destination. Phone companies were set up along similar lines: they are not allowed to block you from calling any number you choose."

Who's the Boss? star Alyssa Milano of all people gets it when she outlines just a few of the scenarios we face if the "first amendment of the internet" is gutted:

Imagine, wanting to donate money to a charity and not being able to open the non-profit’s web page because of the charity’s inability to afford the dominant Internet provider’s fees required to make the page efficient? Imagine the millions of life saving dollars these charities will lose if lobbyists get their way? What if your child is sick and you can’t gain access to a support group’s page because the support group can’t afford the fees? Or even scarier, imagine not gaining speedy access to a politician’s views because the specific provider is against his or her ideology?

Tagged as: internet, net, neutrality

Evan Derkacz is an AlterNet editor. He writes and edits PEEK, the blog of blogs.