Gigi Sohn on Internet Regulation

Radio Rootz Tells the FCC to Keep the Internet Open

Written by Radio Rootz Tuesday, 21 December 2010 12:12

Radio Rootz Wants their Information on the Web Open and Free

Radio Rootz students from Manhattan Comprehensive Night and Day High School recently learned about Network Neutrality, which are the rules that keep information exchange on the Internet free and open.

When the students learned that on Dec. 21st the Federal Communications Commission will vote on Network Neutrality regulation, our students decided to send these audio postcards to the FCC to tell them why a free and open Internet is important to them.

Listen to Luna and Dominique's letters urging the FCC to make sure the Internet stays free and open.

FCC Hearings in Richmond VA 2003: Media Ownership

Commissioner Michael Copps organized hearings on media ownership, starting in 2003. This one was held in Richmond, Virginia. Local Filmmaker, Curator, James Parrish held his monthly Flicker meeting as a warm-up for the FCC hearing, with a video about media consolidation and presentations by many media activists who had come to Richmond for the occasion.

Congressman John Hall Speaks Up for Local Media

US Congressman John Hall was the lead singer in the group Orleans, whose hit, Dance with Me, has been recorded by many other bands. This is from his web site: John has been around the music world, from writing and directing music on Broadway to touring with Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band, from producing Bonnie Raitt's third album to writing the smash Orleans hit "Still The One."
John Hall testified at a meeting about local media held at the FDR Center in Hyde Park, NY in 2006.  Also present were local media activist Andi Novick, Congressman Maurice Hinchey and FCC Commissioner Michael Copps.

COMMUNITY GROUPS URGE FCC TO STRENGTHEN LOCAL, PUBLIC MEDIA

CALL FOR ENFORCEMENT OF LOCALISM RULES
WASHINGTON (May 13, 2010) -- Hundreds of community groups and local residents from across the country urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) this week to strengthen local democracy, media diversity and public safety by supporting the nation's largest network of community-based media organizations -- Public, Educational and Government (PEG) Access cable TV centers.
"As local newspapers close, media companies consolidate, and national broadcasters dominate radio & television, PEG Access centers are increasingly the only source of community news, civic programming, diverse views and local emergency information," said Alliance for Communications Democracy (ACD) President Rob Brading of MetroEast Community Media in Gresham, Oregon.
As the FCC takes the pulse on media in America with its Future of Media proceeding, ACD, a 22-year-old coalition of local media groups, sounded the alarm that the FCC must take decisive action today to ensure that tomorrow's media landscape includes local voices and community access to media infrastructure.
ACD called on the FCC to enforce laws that prevent cable and video giants from discriminating against local PEG channels. ACD specifically urged the FCC to take action against AT&T's U-verse cable system that degrades PEG quality and functionality.
"There is a very real threat to our democratic institutions and way of life if there is not a sufficiently broad range of opinions expressed in the media and there is no practical means by which the average citizen can participate in the public dialogue." said Dr. Laura Linder, a professor of communication at Marist College in New York.
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski launched the Future of Media proceeding "to assess whether all Americans have access to vibrant, diverse sources of news and information that will enable them to enrich their lives, their communities and our democracy."
The Chairman's call for comments was a met by outpouring of voices describing how the nation's 3,000 PEG Access centers are critical to local democracy and civic participation in communities nationwide.
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ALLIANCE FOR COMMUNICATIONS DEMOCRACY
http://theacd.org/
acd@mnn.org

The Right to Communicate: MAGNet Asks for Action

Depressed by Dial-up: Disenfranchised Grassroots Groups Plan Massive National Day of Action for Faster, Open Internet

Hundreds of groups sign digital champion pledge calling for equal access and open networks

02.10.2010 – On the heels of Google's groundbreaking announcement of its plans to build a high-speed open network, local advocates and community leaders of the Media Action Grassroots Network (MAG-Net) are asking Congress to protect the principles of an open internet, while dismantling significant barriers to broadband adoption in un-served and underserved communities. These advocates say if the FCC's National Broadband Plan extends the existing Universal Service Fund rules and resources to broadband and mobile devices, and Congress supports action to protect broadband networks with strong net neutrality rules, it will give millions of poor people and people of color the chance to not only log-on to the internet, but log-in to democracy.

Companies like AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon are hoping to set the terms on which users can access content over Internet networks, which could expand their profits exponentially. Advocates are concerned that a broadband plan that doesn’t protect the principles of an open internet and allows ISP providers and telecom companies broad leeway to block content or discriminate on speeds may defeat the purpose of extending broadband to communities that need it most.

"The internet is now a critical part of all our daily lives," said Amalia Deloney, MAG-Net Coordinator and Policy Director at the Center for Media Justice. "We use it for almost everything and we need to make it accessible and affordable. But without rules to protect the poor and people of color from the corporate bottom-line, free speech will continue to get more and more expensive."

Though Big Media promised not to block content, their questionable practices have already come under scrutiny by federal regulators and advocates alike. Users discovered Comcast arbitrarily blocking file-sharing traffic across its network, penalizing users with slower speeds or complete disconnection without warning. Similarly, Verizon blocked a text-messaging campaign over its network. Big Telecom companies have argued that they need wide discretion to manage traffic over their networks, and will not build out broadband in poor communities without it, but some are concerned that they are simply setting up tiered-access systems on the Internet.

"What big media basically wants is a poll tax for users and content providers," said Steven Renderos of Main Street Project in Minneapolis, a MAG-Net leader. "We’re being forced to make a false choice between unregulated discriminatory networks or no networks at all. For my community the Internet is the only place to create and share content in our own voices, an arena TV and print networks have failed in because of consolidation and high start-up costs. Congress and the FCC shouldn’t risk the loss of our public voice for the sake of corporate greed."

Center for Media Justice Director Malkia Cyril added, "Some civil rights groups in Washington are afraid that we can’t have representation and broadband access at the same time. Hundreds of civil rights groups in local communities across the country disagree. The FCC is off to a great start by recognizing that you can’t close the digital divide without accessible and open networks. Congress should go further to champion that cause and encourage the codification of strong net neutrality rules that prevent discrimination on the Internet and ensure it remains a platform of innovation, freedom, and equity."

The Media Action Grassroots Network (MAG-Net) is a local-to-local advocacy network of nearly 100 grassroots social justice, media, and cultural organizations working together for social change through the critical use and transformation of media and communications systems.