Free Speech in the 21st Century

Freedom of the press extends only to those who own one -- or so the saying goes. It once rang true in a world ruled by newspaper chains, radio and television broadcasters, and cable networks.

But the Internet has changed all that, delivering the press -- and in theory its freedoms -- to any person with a good idea and a connection to the Web.

This extraordinary twist to "mass media" has catapulted many an everyday YouTube auteur to celebrity-status while turning ideas born in a garage or dorm room into Fortune 500 companies. It is the reason so many Americans are now passionate about protecting their right to choose on the Internet. But it's also triggered a backlash from the old regime -- media corporations that built their empires upon controlling the ebb and flow of information in America.

Backyard Auteurs

This list of media giants includes the nation's largest phone and cable providers, who provide a portal to the high-speed Internet for more than 98 percent of residential users in America. Now they want to be more than just a window to the Web. These companies have proposed a closed scheme of Internet fees and filters that affords them the final say over which ideas make it to the top of the heap.

Say "goodbye" to indy rock bands breaking big via a backyard YouTube video and "hello" to censored rock-and-roll courtesy of AT&T's "Blue Room."

Open v. Closed -- A Clash of Cultures

This closed business model has proven a financial windfall for the gatekeepers of traditional media. But it comes at a too heavy a cost to the millions of Americans who see the open Internet as the 21st Century's catalyst for free speech and opportunity.

It's against the backdrop of this clash of cultures -- open versus closed -- that an unusual series of official events have occurred this year.

Washington -- where lobbyists for Comcast, AT&T and Verizon have long had the home-field advantage -- recently witnessed an extraordinary series of public meetings and congressional hearings on the fate of the Internet. If you listen carefully, you might actually hear the people's interests being represented. They are certainly being expressed.

The 110th Congress has called Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, and Chad Hurley, the founder of YouTube, to testify in favor of Net Neutrality -- the principle that safeguards the Internet against blocking and censorship from Internet service providers. In recent weeks, leading consumer and Internet rights advocates, Silicon Valley's top entrepreneurs and Hollywood's creative community have testified that an open Internet is vital to the health of our economy and democracy.

The Federal Communications Commission has gone one further, venturing beyond the Beltway to take the public temperature on the Internet.

At hearings in Cambridge, Mass., and Palo Alto, Calif., the agency got an earful; hundreds of Net Neutrality supporters stood before the microphone to condemn Comcast's recent efforts to block people from using peer-to-peer applications, which make possible the sharing of videos and other rich media without the need for corporate media to broker the content. One after the other. people called on the federal agency for basic protections against Comcast's brand of digital discrimination.

The New Free Speech Movement

They are not alone. A growing movement of Internet users is pushing for legislation to stop would-be gatekeepers from re-routing the free-flowing Web. It has attracted millions of supporters ranging from MoveOn.org to the Christian Coalition of America, from independent rockers OK Go to the executive producer of the TV show "Hannah Montana."

Our voices are starting to rise above the din of lobbyists that too often drowns out genuine public debate in Washington. It's now up to our elected officials to act.

The official inquiry on Net Neutrality has given a public voice to the remarkable consensus in favor of free speech and user choice on the Web. And it may turn out to be more than show. The bipartisan "Internet Freedom Preservation Act" is making its way through the House at this very moment. It is a bill that takes into account the many voices that have spoken out since Net Neutrality became a much-debated principle.

Fundamentally, this bill recognizes that we must establish baseline protection for an unfettered Internet. It doesn't call for Web regulation, but gives the public the power to stop the old regime from turning the Internet from a revolution of the many into a funnel for the few.

And that's a freedom worth fighting for.

Follow Timothy Karr on Twitter: www.twitter.com/TimKarr

Comments

[izAriver]

I hope more people read this. Corporate fascism is the greatest danger we face in this century regardless of political leanings.

[aceholiday]

thanks for this. all these things: comcast, at&t, totalitarianism can be defeated.

[elektrik]

Yes Mr Karr, please continue to create needed visibility and awareness to this critical freedom of expression.

[blessedfrog]

This is really horrible and dangerous. WOW and WOW - So we'll be like China but in stead of the Communist Party,it is Huge corporations?

[Oldchef]

The revelation a while back that Comcast had paid people to pack the hearing room to deny places to people wishing to testify to the commission made a big impression. Like many other commenters here I think there's a lot more interest in this fight than appears on the surface. People are signing petitions to the FCC and calling their reps in Congress on this but we need to make sure that the telecoms and cable companies don't do an end run on us. Keep the pressure on Congress for net neutrality!

[akkadian]

Very important issue, thanks for posting. Obama's campaign and fund-raising is viral and internet based, connecting to people directly while bypassing the MSM.
They have created a new political campaign/fund-raising model that will no doubt be emulated in years to come.
These filtering fee-paying proposals would make this type of campaign virtually impossible if enacted.
It is censorship, pure and simple.
Pay to play.

[woodyy]

This may seem like a stretch,but it is actually a very much related subject, House and Senate 'orphan works' legislation that will likely be voted on this Summer. The 'Orphan Works' bill that just passed committee, like many pieces of hastily drafted legislation, the unintednded consequences of this bill will be much worse than the problems it is supposed to remedy.In particular, the private registration requirements for copyrighted works would be a crushing burden. This bill will in effect mandate visual artists to register each and every work they wish to protect at multiple PRIVATE registration companies...lacking that these same PRIVATE registries will be able to scan and register our work as'orphan works' and license their use...basically it's a "Ruin all the visual artists" bill.
Because of the mass of works involved, private registeries which could make use of economies of scale would very quickly by mass scanning and registration render our work and property as'orphan works' on a huge scale The financial incentives would be large and the major players have nearly unlimited resources (Corbis/Microsoft).
We must at the least slow down the unseemly rush to pass this poorly drafted legislation the 'orphan works' bill will do great injury to most people in my line of work serving only to in effect transfer ownership of our properties to those who have no legitimate claim.
For more information see the Illustrator's Partnership:
http://capwiz.com/illustratorspartnership/home/

[jah2008]

Thank you for posting that. I was absolutely outraged by this. Please pass it along to everyone you know. This means losing rights to every photo, drawings, and concept art posted on blogs and web sites to these giant corps.

Response to the blog:
The reason why HuffPo is doing well is precisely because of this "freedom." While the main-stream-media is too happy to close themselves after each other, HuffPo has allowed its readers to shout back. If anyone has tried to post a comment at CNN's Political Ticker would know exactly what I mean. Getting your comment approved is like winning the lottery.

[NoMoFearNoMoHate]

I hope it's understood that the lack of comments here should not pass for a lack of support for this topic or this blogger.

Mr. Karr, I heartily appreciate your posts and they are very well done indeed. And you bring us much needed coverage of what is happening concerning the medium that we all use to get here.

Thank you.

[jgiddyup]

Wanted to echo the thought that a lack of replies doesn't mean we aren't listening.

Net Neutrality has been mentioned in ALL of my personal correspondence to Congress in the last 1 1/2 years.

[PennP]

Seconded. I am grateful to Mr. Karr for this great piece, with its good news about the direction this issue seems to be taking.

[burnt]

"If you listen carefully, you might actually hear the people's interests being represented. They are certainly being expressed."

Thank you Timothy. Stand firm. Show resolve. Don't back away from this fight. Take the fight to their front door, by pushing to break up media conglomerates and reinstituting tighter FCC regulations on multiple market media control.