<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=us-ascii"><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)"><style><!--
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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-CA link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA'>My original <a href="https://gurstein.wordpress.com/2016/03/20/a4ai-who-could-oppose-a-more-affordable-internet-the-alliance-for-an-affordable-internet-a4ai-and-the-neo-liberal-stealth-campaign-to-control-the-internet-throughout-the-developing-world-and-make/"><span style='color:blue'>blogpost</span></a> examining the <a href="http://a4ai.org/best-practices/"><span style='color:blue'>“Policy and Regulatory Best Practices” of the Alliance for an Affordable Internet (A4AI’s) </span></a>has generated some considerable discussion including on the InternetPolicy elist sponsored by the <a href="http://www.internetsociety.org/"><span style='color:blue'>Internet Society</span></a> (ISOC). In the course of that discussion a challenge was put forward by Bill Smith, a tech industry veteran, Board Member of ISOC and the “tech evangelist” for PayPal as follows (taken from a post to the InternetPolicy elist (Fri 2016-03-25 9:31 AM)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA'>What is lacking in the discussion against A4AI, is a well-articulated alternative. Some bits and pieces may appear but they suffer from the same deficiencies attributed to A4AI’s principles, best practices, and policy positions – they are offered as fact with no substantiation.</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA'>A4AI has what I consider a set of easily understandable principles, best practices, and policy positions. I suspect that when applied in practice, they will be effective in many circumstances. They may not be appropriate in all. (Think globally act locally.)</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA'>What I haven’t seen are a similar set of principles, best practices, and policy positions from the non-neoliberal corner. Perhaps such a set could be presented to this list for consideration and debate.</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA'>This below is my response to this challenge (I have added additional comments by Brandt Dainow also a contributor to the InternetPolicy elist):<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="https://gurstein.wordpress.com/2016/03/26/alternative-best-practices-for-the-a4ai-to-be-renamed-alliance-for-an-accessible-internet/">https://gurstein.wordpress.com/2016/03/26/alternative-best-practices-for-the-a4ai-to-be-renamed-alliance-for-an-accessible-internet/</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="http://tinyurl.com/zhejpvh">http://tinyurl.com/zhejpvh</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>M<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>