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April 05, 2006
F2C Video Spotlight: Michael Powell, Former FCC Chairman
Former FCC Chair Michael Powell speaking at Freedom to Connect said whenever he sees a big debate in Washington he asks friends and neighbors about it and net neutrality is not an issue familiar to the public. He challenged F2C participants to educate lawmakers and the public about the net neutrality issues. but worned that it's a mistake to expect "surgically crafted" legislation to keep the net open.
Michael Powell - Post F2C Speech Interview
Former FCC Chair Michael Poewll after his talk at Freedom 2 Connect where Electronic Frontier Foundation's Brad Templeton challenged Powell's assertion that it's up to activists to put net neutrality front and center for the public.
Tags: F2C, FCC, Michael Powell
(c) 2006 Jeff Pulver. All Rights Reserved.
(This blog posting is copyright protected by Jeff Pulver. Portions of this blog posting may be quoted or abstracted if attributed.)
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Posted by jeff on April 5, 2006 06:25 AM | Permalink
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Comments
I agree completely. I am confused as to why everyone is so fascinated by the idea of having government involved with regulating the Internet. The truth is that regulation has only served to cripple the inudstry in the past. The idea that government can solve problems that don't yet exist is completey preposterous.
Posted by: tpwk47 at April 10, 2006 10:25 PM
Education is exactly what is needed on this point. If you ask most Americans about one concern regarding the internet, they aren't going to say net neutrality. They'll probably say slow connections and rising costs. Eduction on the issue shows, however, that it is through free market capitalism and good old fashioned competition that will solve these problems.
Posted by: pkp646 at April 10, 2006 01:46 AM
Great quote, Paulaner. My fear is that the consequences of net neutrality legislation, even while unintended, could very well be disasterous for the internet. Inviting Congress in to regulate just seems like a dangerous and slippery slope.
Posted by: oldhats at April 6, 2006 06:30 AM
He made some excellent points in that talk, and one in particular that made me think: "Be careful of inviting the legislative process because the secondary consequences of their [Congress’] actions can be enormous," he said. "Government has a way of turning on people." I couldn't agree more. Opening the door to regulation could kill the Internet as we know it much faster than some of the hypothetical scenarios I'm reading and hearing elsewhere.
Posted by: Paulaner01 at April 5, 2006 08:15 PM