Here are links to the latest news and information on the status of Net Neutrality amendment. It was defeated on a 34-22 vote by members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee yesterday. It is time to start paying attention. Whatever your position, please spend some time getting to know and understand this important issue. If nothing else, it is interesting to follow an issue where the "Gun Owners of America" are on the same side as "MoveOn.org". I tried to pick from sources who capture both sides of the issue:
If you are interested in following the grassroots sites, here are two of the biggest:
While I understand that the telecoms and cable companies are for profit businesses and should be compensated for the use of the infrastructure that supports the Internet, I also understands that they are desperate to maintain the content and delivery monopoly they have enjoyed for years. It is possible to argue that in a capitalist society, tiered pay-for-service makes sense. We see it in practice everyday. If you want the best, feel free to pay for it. However, that arrangement works in a free market, not in a monopoly where only a few set the price and terms.
Also, there is the whole "wolf in sheep's clothing" aspect to the telecom / cable company side of the debate. It is hard to get behind the "woe is me" mantra of the telecom / cable companies when I have been subjected to their monopoly (take it or leave it) service delivery for years. They claim this is all about receiving just compensation for use of their infrastructure and that they have no intention of controlling content flow (say, banning VoIP over "their" lines), but what in their service history would lead us to believe this?