Net neutrality advocates will be heartened to hear the words that came out of
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski’s mouth in a
recent interview with The Hill. The new boss at the Commission stated, pretty much unequivocally, that the
FCC intends to proactively uphold the principles that protect the open internet.
“One thing I would say so that there is no confusion out there is that this FCC will support net neutrality and will enforce any violation of net neutrality principles,” Genachowski offered.
Before Genachowski’s confirmation, Acting Chair Michael J. Copps stated
that the agency may add a “fifth principle” preventing internet service
providers (ISPs) “from engaging in discriminatory behavior, prohibiting
them from blocking or degrading competitors or prioritizing access to
their content and services,” according to Congress Daily.
A few weeks ago,
we told you about the introduction of legislation in the House of Representatives by
Rep. Ed Markey (D-
MA), which would, among other things, compel the
FCC
to oversee the preservation of open internet structures and implement a
system by which allegations of possible violations would be addressed.
Back in October 2007, Markey helped
FMC kick off our
Rock the Net campaign, which lets musicians and fans demonstrate their support for net neutrality. (Founding
RTN artists include
Pearl Jam,
R.E.M.,
Ted Leo,
OK Go and
Kronos Quartet.)
One reason we think net neutrality is so important because it lets
independent artists and labels compete on an equal technological
playing field with the biggest companies. All artists deserve the right
to use the internet to cultivate listeners, and fans deserve to make
their own choices of how and where to lawfully access content.
It’s definitely encouraging that policymakers are now carrying the
tune. But that doesn’t mean we’ve won the issue. A handful of powerful
telecommunications and cable companies are still keen on dictating how
you use the internet. Which means we need to keep raising awareness
about how net neutrality benefits musicians, fans and everyone
in between.
That’s why we’re incredibly excited that
Senator Al Franken (D-
MN) will be joining us for our (eighth!)
Future of Music Policy Summit,
which takes place at Georgetown University on October 4-6. Sen. Franken
will be giving a keynote address on… you guessed it: net neutrality.