I need some help

[Pierre.Suave]

I have a "friend" that thinks the "internet regulation" talk is just an urban legend and my best efforts at a google search came up empty, can anyone help me with a link or links to more info?

Thanks.

[Nickster]

1. Try this.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_neutrality

and this

http://blogs.cio.com/node/200

and this

http://www.commoncause.org/site/pp.asp?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=1421497

[babylonsister]

2. Check these out:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=1304353


http://news.com.com/Net+neutrality+showdown/2009-1028_3...

http://msl1.mit.edu/furdlog/?p=4890
Called the “Internet Freedom Preservation Act,” the bill was introduced on Friday by Maine Republican Olympia Snowe and North Dakota Democrat Sen. Byron Dorgan and enjoys support from six other Democrats. The nine-page measure (click for PDF) contains a detailed list of obligations for all broadband service providers.

Specifically, they would generally not be allowed to “block, interfere with, discriminate against, impair or degrade” access to content or to prevent users from attaching devices of their choosing to the network. Network operators would also be barred from making special deals with content providers to ensure speedier delivery or improved quality of service and would be required to offer all Internet material on an “equivalent” basis.

http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6073629.html
The political debate in Washington over the concept known as Net neutrality just became a lot more complicated.

Some of the largest hardware makers in the world, including 3M, Cisco Systems, Corning and Qualcomm, sent a letter to Congress on Wednesday firmly opposing new laws mandating Net neutrality--the concept that broadband providers must never favor some Web sites or Internet services over others.

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/0,39020330,39270681,00.htm
Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the Web, has called for clear separation between Internet access and Internet content.

snip

"There is an effort by some companies in the US to change this. There's an attempt to get to a situation where if I want to watch a TV station across the Internet, that TV station must have paid to transmit to me."

Net neutrality is the concept that all Internet content should be treated equally by broadband providers without any kind of discrimination. It has become a hot political topic this year, especially in America, amid fears that telcos may start blocking some Web sites or charge users extra to access them.

Companies such as Google, Microsoft and Yahoo have been lobbying US politicians to introduce laws that would make Net neutrality mandatory. These moves have been opposed by broadband providers and some hardware manufacturers.