important!!! keep the net neutral...

A message from Ruth passes on....

Hi Folks,
This came through from P2P list vial the opennetcoalition
It sets out a pretty clear argument and a suggestion for action.
It does seem that on matters of digital commons the voices of
(non-corporate) citizens are either inaudible or unintelligible to
policy makers at the moment.

What do you reckon?

cheers
Ruth

http://www.laquadrature.net/en/make-your-voice-heard-on-net-neutrality

Make you voice heard by responding to the European Commission's public
consultation on Net neutrality! The more citizens and NGOs submit their
own responses to the questionnaire, the more chance we have to
collectively weigh in the EU policy-making process to ensure that the
Internet remains a free and open communications architecture. You have
until September 30th to send your submission and tell the Commission to
protect the Internet.

http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/policy/ecomm/doc/library/public_consult/net_neutrality/nn_questionnaire.pdf


*** Why you should send your own submission to the Commission?

In November 2009, the European Commission released a ?Declaration on Net
neutrality? in which it said it would report to the Parliament and
Council before the end of 2010[1]. Before doing so, the Commission wants
to hear from stakeholders and has launched a questionnaire in this
purpose[2]. But big telecoms corporations as well as copyright lobbies
are hand in hand to push for the end of neutrality so as to boost their
commercial revenues, and there is no doubt that they will answer to the
Commission's consultation.

If they have their way, the intense innovation and democratic
participation enabled by the Internet would be harmed, as Internet
Access Providers would increasingly discriminate against certain types
of data flowing through their networks to develop new business models
based on traffic prioritization. They could asphyxiate potential
competitors and further expand their ties with powerful content
industries able and willing to pay in order to benefit from unfair
priority on the Internet. Such practices would stifle innovation and
hinder the development of new efficient business models that fully rip
the benefits of the digital economy. They would also undermine diversity
and pluralism in the new information ecosystem, which are both
fundamental characteristics of the Internet and represent a historical
contribution to our democracies. In order to safeguard the freedom of
communication that all Internet users enjoy nowadays, citizens and NGOs
all across Europe must massively tell the Commission to put the public
interest first and protect the common-good nature of the Internet.


*** How to to draft your submission?

It's up totally to you:

   * You can address the questions of your choice, since you are not
required to answer the whole questionnaire.
   * You can write in the language in which you're most comfortable.
Any language spoken in the European Union is acceptable.
   * There is no requirement regarding the length of the document.

As you will see, the consultation is comprised of 15 questions, which
cover current discriminatory practices, traffic prioritization, ?managed
services?[3], consumers rights as well as other topics. Obviously, some
of them are quite technical, but again you don't have to answer all the
questions. Question 15[4], for instance, appears to be broad enough for
any citizen to express their views to the Commission regarding their
attachment to the principle of Net neutrality and how best to protect
it.

Although we can't prejudge the content of the forthcoming report,
submissions from citizens and civil society organizations will be highly
needed. Indeed, the questions' wording suggests that the Commission is
not necessarily keen on enacting regulations that would enshrine the
principle of network neutrality in European law. The Commission tends to
think that the provisions of the Telecoms Package ? which establish
transparency so that consumers can switch access providers if the latter
is messing up with the Internet traffic ? is in and of itself enough to
protect Internet users. This is not sufficient to guarantee fundamental
freedoms. First of all, competition between providers is far from being
a reality in many areas of the EU. Second, nothing would prevent all
providers to start discriminating their traffic. That's why we need a
pro-active stance on Net neutrality, with the adoption of ad hoc
regulations to protect this principle.


*** Where can you find relevant resources to draft your submission?

Here is where you can find some resources as well as background
information to help you draft your response to the Commission:

   * Web-dossier on Net neutrality
   * Report on ?Protecting Net neutrality in Europe?, released last
fall during the debate on the Telecoms Package
   * Answers to the werebuild.eu survey on the open Net
   * Brief: ?It is crucial to save Net Neutrality!?
   * Report (in French only): ?Garantir la neutralit? du Net?
   * La Quadrature du Net will publish its own answer as soon as it is
submitted and invites every NGO and citizen to do the same.

Much more information is available on the Web on the matter. In
particular, organizations such as Free Press, Public Knowledge or the
EFF extensively covered this issue in the United States.

Together we can act to make sure that Net neutrality regulation becomes
a reality:

Send your submission to INFSO-NETNEUTRALITY(at)ec.europa.eu by Thursday,
September 30th!

1.
http://www.laquadrature.net/wiki/Commission_Declaration_on_Net_Neutralit...

2. See the Commission's press release:
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/10/860&format...

3. ?Managed services refer to communications networks for which specific
characteristics may be guaranteed by the network operator. They are
distinct from the ?best-effort? Internet

4. Question 15 reads as follows: "Besides the traffic management issues
discussed above, are there any other concerns affecting freedom of
expression, media pluralism and cultural diversity on the Internet? If
so, what further measures would be needed to safeguard those values?"



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