Net Neutrality Links

The debate continues to rage, everywhere except Congress that is. Some people paint this as a non-partisan issue but it seems pretty clear to me that Dems are mainly on the side of net neutrality and Pubs are mainly on the opposite side. I seriously doubt that there are more than just a couple of issues left in the U.S. that don't split down party lines.

Since the Republicans are largely against this, I'm somewhat surprised that the MnSCU Board of Trustees adopted a resolution supporting net neutrality at their June meeting. I can't find any proof of that yet in the form of official minutes, but I was there and saw the presentation and heard their vote of support. My surprise at this action is that all (or nearly all) of them are appointees of the MN Republican Governor who most likely does NOT support net neutrality. I say most likely because my research (web searching) hasn't turned up any evidence of his position at all.

At any rate, I support net neutrality in general, but think that the arguments on both sides are somewhat flawed. I guarantee you that I think that we are all in big trouble if the Telcos gain near total control over Internet traffic. Here are some interesting links:

MySpace: a perfect example of ugly MySpace sites....but much more informed than most.

Republican FTC Chief is against it: go figure

Eli Noam says there is a third alternative to consider.

N.Y. Senator Schurmer (D) supports net neutrality.

Majority of State Legislatures opposes it (bunch of Pubs, of course).

Interesting 25-year Perspective from the Gustavus MCS Blog (Max Hailperin)

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