"Ensure the Full and Free Exchange of Information through an Open Internet and Diverse Media Outlets"
This is the full title as written in the Technology Policy Paper released by the Obama team. As with anything else, I am sure there will be more vague terminology such as this from all of the candidates, however it does provide a vague concept to grasp onto. To assist with this, the Policy Paper actually breaks it down into 4 bullet points which i will attempt to translate into my own digestible understanding and thus also opening it up for discussion here.
Protect the Openness of the Internet In one very broad swoop, this section seems to support an "open" concept at two key layers. At first glance, it appears to address the right of free access of content provided on the internet. The second, actual access to the Internet. It is not long in reading before I quickly understood what issue this first section was attempting to address. The issue of Network Provider restrictions and controls over it's customers.
Bandwidth throttling, content filtering and the likes which have made headlines across the web appear to be making the scuttlebutt rounds in Washington. It is here that a support is laid out for keeping these major players in check. Preferential treatment of one favorable client over a lesser client by allocating more bandwidth or worst restricting content or delaying it. That might not mean much to the individual home based surfer, but to a major corporation who needs fat-pipes and faster data flowing through them, having content or data throttled down could be a make or break situation.
It is important however in terms of keeping the home pricing down to allow more individuals to bridge the digital divide and obtain access to the same information that the rest of us who are able to have on-line access at home have. In this space however, I believe competition between carriers will ensure this is kept under control to some degree.
The very last sentence addresses the real concern for the future of content on the internet and that is of free speech and innovation. Two critical areas that are more of a concern to me than whether or not the big Network Providers play fair with corporate America. I would like to know more about this section than a simple one liner provides.
