Obama Supports Web Neutrality Laws

Presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama Wednesday reiterated his support for new net neutrality laws that would prohibit Internet access providers from discriminating against Web publishers by degrading service or blocking content.

In a move coinciding with his visit to Google's Mountain View, Calif. headquarters, his campaign issued a nine-page treatise, "Barack Obama on Technology and Innovation," which also proposed appointing a chief technology officer and expanding broadband access.

The position paper warned that without net neutrality laws, there could be a "two-tier Internet in which websites with the best relationships with network providers can get the fastest access to consumers, while all competing websites remain in a slower lane."

"Such a result would threaten innovation, the open tradition and architecture of the Internet, and competition among content and backbone providers," the paper continued.

Obama is not alone in proposing new laws protecting net neutrality. All of the Democratic candidates and at least one Republican, Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, also have endorsed the concept.

Still, some net neutrality advocates view Obama's continued efforts to highlight the issue as grounds for optimism.

"It's encouraging because he seems to be making net neutrality a centerpiece of his campaign" says Craig Aaron, communications director of advocacy group Free Press. That organization, along with other advocates, recently filed a complaint with the FCC against Comcast, stemming from the company's interference with traffic to BitTorrent and other file-sharing sites.

This cycle marks the first time net neutrality has been an issue in a presidential election. Until recently, Internet service providers were prohibited from discriminating against Web sites. That changed in 2005 after the U.S. Supreme Court decision in National Cable & Telecommunications Ass'n v. Brand X paved the way for the FCC to free broadband services from the common carrier rules that ban telecoms from restricting access to phone lines.

The campaign also proposes redefining broadband from the FCC's current "astonishingly low 200 kpbs" to "speeds demanded by 21st century business and communications." The paper says that people should have the same access to broadband service as to telephone lines and electricity.

The Obama campaign also urged the creation of the position of chief technology officer--who, in addition to other duties, would "focus on transparency" by making sure that government records are open and accessible.

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