internet

Cada día el acceso al internet se vuelve más necesario para los quehaceres diarios, sea pagar una cuenta o postular para un trabajo. Además, el internet puede ser una herramienta poderosa para comunicar nuestras historias y vencer el aislamiento de nuestras luchas. 

¿Pero quién controla el internet? Actualmente las grandes compañías proveedoras de servicio quieren cobrar más para el acceso. Al mismo tiempo, no está claro cual agencia del gobierno tiene la autoridad para regular la red. 

The Internet as a Universal Service, the Conservative and Corporate Backlash, and the Struggle Over How We Communicate.

Lea en español abajo: El Internet como Servicio Universal, el contraataque corporativo, y la lucha por nuestra comunicación. 

For the past month the most important telecommunications platform of our time, the Internet, has gone without any form of regulation or government oversight. This situation didn't cause some downward spiral collapsing email and leading to tolls for visiting pages across the web - thank goodness. But, after the ruling in the Comcast Bit Torrent case an opening was presented for Broadband Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to brush off government authority. The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for D.C. ruled that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) doesn't have the authority to impose regulation on ISPs. If this situation sticks ISPs have clearly stated what they intend to do - charge whatever they like for any content they like, while limiting traffic for those who don't pay high premiums.

On Tuesday, a U.S. Appeals Court ruled that the Federal Communications Commission did not have the authority to order Comcast to stop blocking peer-to-peer sharing on the Internet in the name of network management. While the ruling seems small, it has big implications. The basic message is that the FCC cannot enforce Network Neutrality, which is the principle that our corporate Internet Service Providers cannot block content or treat different pieces of content differently. The concern is that without network neutrality in place, companies like Comcast and Verizon will decide what we see, hear and read on the Internet, in much the same way that Fox News (The New Corporation) and NBC (Viacom... soon to be Comcast) do with our TV.

Three leaders in work at the cross section of civil rights and digital rights just wrote this piece on the issue of Net Neutrality and the digital divide. Its an important read especially with recent acts by Comcast in mind. Expect more in the future.

Originally posted over at Huffington Post

(By TODD WOLFSON & HANNAH SASSAMAN from the Philadelphia Daily News)

PHILADELPHIA is lining up for a race with a big prize - tens of millions in stimulus money to expand Internet access. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has authorized $7.2 billion for broadband programs, with everything from tricking out community centers with high-speed lines to mapping broadband availability already on the table as fundable programs.