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Access to the Internet and Human Rights – thanks Vint! | Association …

www.apc.org1/16/12

Thanks for the best possible start to 2012 for internet rights advocates. Your New York Times column Internet Access is Not a Human Right sparked a lively debate about the internet , access and human rights. In 2012 we will …

Internet Freedom and the Digital Earthquake of 2011 « humanrights …

www.humanrights.gov1/17/12

I am here to speak about Internet freedom as a foundation for the 21st Century human rights agenda. It is a pleasure to be joined by Christine Varney, a lawyer's lawyer who is much missed inside the Obama administration. …

With so many ongoing initiatives to bring the Internet to third-world countries, to ensure its availability under oppressive regimes, and increased spending to bring technology into classrooms, the response from a man who’s often referred to as the father of the Internet might come as a surprise to you.

When asked in an interview if Internet access is a human right Vint Cerf responded,

"Internet access is not a human right",

He says he’s aware that in Estonia, France, Spain, Finland and Greece, that Internet access has already been made a human right, but believes that the argument, however well meaning, misses a larger point:

"Technology is an enabler of rights, not a right itself".

And says there must be a high bar before something can be considered a human right. It must be among the things we as humans need in order to lead healthy, meaningful lives, like freedom from torture or freedom of conscience.

But it would be a mistake to place any particular technology in this exalted category, since over time we would end up valuing the wrong things.

The Internet Is a Human Right

In December 2010, FTC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn who is the daughter of Rep. James Clyburn espoused her belief that the Internet must become an “open platform".

And that same month, another FCC Commissioner, Michael Copps, said,

“Universal access to broadband needs to be seen as a civil right, though not many people have talked about it that way".

In August 2011, the Ministerial Alliance Against the Digital Divide said that it considered access to the Internet a civil right.

"Access To The Internet Is Akin To A Civil Rights Issue"

Telecom researcher Chris Mitchell writes that, as a result of its merger with NBC, Comcast is required to make the Internet affordable and available to 2.5 million low-income households over the next two years.

And Comcast’s Executive Vice-President David Cohen had the following to say about the civil rights issue:

“Access to the internet is akin to a civil rights issue for the 21st century. It’s that access that enables people in poorer areas to equalize access to a quality education, quality health care and vocational opportunities".

Jesse Jackson says:

"The way to raise unemployment is to change the Constitution so that every student had the right to a good education and notes giving every kid an iPod and a laptop would accomplish both goals".

But what do you think?

Please post your responses.

For more info FCC Is Coordinating Net Neutrality With Free Press

Senate rejects attempt to overturn FCC's net neutrality rules …

latimesblogs.latimes.com11/10/11

The Senate on Thursday voted to keep in place the Federal Communications Commission's controversial rules aimed at preserving open Internet access.

FCC | net neutrality | Internet regulation | The Daily Caller

dailycaller.com11/21/11

FCC net neutrality rules take effect, experts doubt longevity | Free market tech experts: 'It's going to be quite clear to the court that they don't have existing authority'

Is the Obama administration trying once again to get more control over the Internet?

According to e-mails released by Judicial Watch on Thursday (June 2, 2011), the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) would appear to be coordinating its public message regarding ‘net neutrality" with Free Press, which is a left wing non-profit organization partially funded by George Soros, and one of whose aim is to reform the Internet.

Free Press and its supporters believe equal access to the Internet is a civil right, and that service providers should be prohibited from charging certain prices for certain speeds.

They argue that when providers have this kind of control, that customers in weaker coverage areas get slower service.

The thrust of their argument seems to be that either people living in high coverage areas should subsidize those in low coverage areas, or that everybody should get lower bandwidth, neither of which makes any sense, or rings true.

Opponents of net neutrality fear that if service is regulated in this way that content will soon be regulated as well!

The FCC

In spite of a federal appeals court ruling in April 2010, that the FCC did not have any authority to regulate the Internet in this way, the FCC voted to move forward with its ‘net neutrality’ program in December.

On its website, the Federal Communications Commission lists among its goals:

Promoting competition.
Innovation.
Investment in broadband services and facilities.

All of which would be impossible under ‘net neutrality’ rules.

Free Press

Free Press openly advocates for ‘net neutrality’ on its website, and describes Internet’s service providers this way:

They want to become the internet’s gatekeepers, deciding which sites go fast or slow and which won’t load at all-based on who pays them the most.

Furthermore, the group has released statements to the press in 2011 with titles such as:

Congress Should Improve, Not Dismantle, Net Neutrality Rules.

Boehner’s Attack on Net Neutrality Not Based in Reality.

Free Press Action Fund: Vote to Eliminate Net Neutrality is a Dangerous Overreach.

Judicial Watch

E-mails obtained by conservative nonprofit group Judicial Watch highlight the communications between the government and Free Press.

One message from Free Press to the FCC dated November 2, 2010 is a request for the FCC Commissioner’s chief of staff to ask his boss to write an op-ed for the Albuquerque Journal ahead of a November 16 hearing about Internet’s access.

"It’s a great way to get the word out and to spark conversations in advance of the event",

Free Press Associate Outreach Director Misty Perez Truedson wrote to the FCC’s John Giusti.

And Giusti complied, responding one week later,

"We’re working on the op ed".

Another document obtained by Judicial Watch via its Freedom of Information Act request includes the summary of a phone conversation between FCC Commissioner Michael Copps and former Free Press President John Silver, which reads in part:

"Silver emphasized that a strong net neutrality rule is critical to preserving the Internet as a vibrant forum for speech, commerce, innovation, and cultural expression",

And a few days later, the FCC voted to continue it’s net neutrality program in spite of the federal appeals court ruling.

Along with the documents, Judicial Watch released a statement explaining its concern with everything it found along with this statement by its President Tom Fitton.

"The American people should be deeply troubled by the fact that the Obama administration, on issue after issue, seems to be run by shadowy leftist organizations. Our government is supposed to be ‘of the people, by the people, and for the people’, not ‘of the Left, by the Left, and for the Left",

Maybe check out another article, relating to the Obama administration’s attempts to get more control over such companies as Apple, Microsoft and Google.