Friday, March 7, U.S. Internet Access Policy Susan Crawford Visiting Professor, Yale Law School Founder, OneWebDay (Sept. 22)

Friday, March 7, Overview Historical context Internet and the 1996 Act Net neutrality debate

Friday, March 7, Historical context Historically separate communications modalities Telephone Broadcast/radio Cable Computers/computer networks

Friday, March 7, Internet and the 1996 Act Status of the Internet as of 1996 What is the “Internet”? –agreement to use a language –packet-switched Most transport networks privately owned Demand to treat access as “information service”

Friday, March 7, Net neutrality debate Stakes are high: convergence No more necessary association between infrastructure and function Question presented: in the current market for Internet access, should network providers be allowed to discriminate based on source/origin/content of packets?

Friday, March 7, Protection for speech Murky at best “Common carriage” should perhaps apply to all general-purpose communications networks “Internet” not same thing as pipes/wires Extensive govt. intervention involved in birth of Internet Abuse by network access providers possible

Friday, March 7, Non-competitive market Regional duopolies Prices high, speeds low Opportunity for discrimination Inadequate access

Friday, March 7, Suggestions Nondiscrimination mandate Infrastructure investment Rewrite 1996 Act Focus on communications policy generally and OneWebDay, Sept. 22

Friday, March 7, Thank you!