Orlando Sentinel, August 23, 2006
By Brad Ashwell

What if you sat down to use the Internet and things were suddenly different? After catching up on the news at several larger Web sites, you decide to click on one of your favorite local blogs. But, for some reason, the Web site does not load properly. You then find yourself having trouble pulling up a few of your other favorite sites and assume that it's a problem with your connection.

Eventually, out of frustration, you turn back to the larger, more mainstream Web site and find that the Web site loads immediately. Think that this scenario is far-fetched? Well, think again.

Until now, the Internet has flourished under the protection of "Net Neutrality." This fundamental protection has ensured that the public has a right and opportunity to view the smallest blog just as easily as the largest corporate Web site.

However, the Federal Communications Commission recently decided to loosen the way it enforces rules dealing with the Internet in response to mounting pressure from phone and cable companies. As a result, there is no longer a rule or regulation that will prevent companies like AT&T from charging Web site content providers for the right to be on their Internet lines. There is also nothing stopping them from making special deals with some companies to ensure that their sites and services are faster and easier to find.

Not surprisingly, media giants are lined up and waiting to take advantage of the FCC's unfortunate decision. CEOs from numerous companies have expressed their desire to transform the Internet into a tiered system which will not only affect the way in which we use the Internet on a day-to-day basis but will also stifle innovation online. Instead of being a place for big ideas from small companies, the Internet would become a rigged system where only those with the deepest pockets get a chance to compete.

Allowing service providers to discriminate against certain Web sites is also bad for democracy. It is important that all Americans have the opportunity to freely access the entire Internet, without discrimination against some sites. Political views opposed by major media moguls could be stifled, and producers of arts and cultural material may not be able to afford the higher fees of the Internet provider.

A free and vibrant media, full of diverse and competing voices, is the lifeblood of America's democracy and culture, as well as an engine of growth for its economy. To prevent companies such as AT&T, Verizon, Comcast and Time Warner from setting up a discriminatory system on the Internet, Congress must take action to reinstate "Net Neutrality." Florida's Sen. Mel Martinez and Bill Nelson should oppose any telecommunications bill that fails to reinstate the Internet's founding principle of Web site equality, Net Neutrality.

Brad Ashwell is the advocate for the Florida Public Interest Research Group (Florida PIRG). To learn more about this issue, visit www.floridapirg.org.

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