Last week, a number of organizations who often find themselves on opposites sides of some policy debates - including Public Knowledge, Free Press, Google, and some members of Arts+Labs - announced their participation in a Call to Action, a broad policy framework for a national broadband strategy. The statement doesn't get too involved in the nitty gritty details of implementing the goals, but there is definitely some indication that people are coming together on some of the underlying realities and setting aside some former dogmas to create a smart, forward-looking, consensus-driven approach.
Among the items in the "Goals" section of the document are these two important principles...
- Access to the Internet should, to the maximum feasible extent, be open to all users, service providers, content providers, and application providers.
- Network operators must have the right to manage their networks responsibly, pursuant to clear and workable guidelines and standards.
Our friends in the Call to Action coalition deserve our praise and appreciation for this important first step toward resolving disputes and moving forward.
We look forward to working together with them to create a better Internet for all of us - an Internet that is safe, legal and everywhere.
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