[governance] Managing the Internet in the Public Interest

[parminder]

On Thursday 26 February 2015 08:44 AM, David Cake wrote:
> This certainly seems to be a positive decision, and I welcome it.
> However, regulation like a public utility, and in the public interest, 
> are not quite the same thing.

Yes, they are not the same thing. Public utility regulation is a subset 
of a larger universe of regulation in public interest. In fact all 
regulation is in public interest, but all regulation is not as intrusive 
to be called public utility regulation. For instance, even title 1 
regulation by FCC is regulating the Internet in public interest, but 
here as more or less a normal commercial activity. Putting the Internet 
under title 2, which the FCC decision is expected to do, makes it more 
like a public utility regulation, recognising the Internet's exceptional 
social importance.

Do note that the cited NY article does say that is that the FCC is 
"expected on Thursday to approve regulating Internet service like a 
public utility".

Further, this is a fact, as Seth also says, that such descriptions as 
'public interest regulation' for the Internet, or even the use of the 
word 'public good' (another word the article uses for the Internet) , 
was largely a no-no in dominant global IG discourse, till just a few 
months back, and a very larger number of people on this elist will 
vehemently oppose any use of these terms in relation to the Internet.

This when civil society is supposed to be on the vanguard of a more 
radical progressive discourse. Now, when the US government - that great 
defender of free markets, globally - brings in regulation based on these 
very progressive concepts , which such a large number of people in this 
group had either vehemently opposed or silently been unenthusiastic 
about, Michael has a right to point out what he see as a political 
irony. His is simply a political statement, and if this forum is not for 
making political statements and arguments, I do not know what it is. 
Political history is an important part of contemporary politics, and if 
it needs to be asserted, it must be.

BTW, in its points 2 and 3, the Delhi Declaration of the Just Net 
Coalition respectively uses the terms 'public utility' and 'public good' 
in relation to the Internet.

parminder

> A good fit for the current US situation (in which alternative forms of 
> regulation were specifically struck down by the courts), but 
> regulation like a public utility may not be the best public interest 
> solution for all nations.
>
> Only one sentence, Michael, and you manage to fit in both an unhelpful 
> oversimplification of the issue, AND a pointless, inaccurate, and 
> nasty swipe at your civil society colleagues. Efficient.
>
> Cheers
>
> David
>
> On 26 Feb 2015, at 10:12 am, Michael Gurstein <gurstein at gmail.com 
> <mailto:gurstein at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
>> Contrary to the position of so much of CS in IG, Mr. Obama appears to 
>> be set on developing a regulatory framework for the US that ensures 
>> that the Internet will operate in the public interest.
>> http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/25/technology/path-clears-for-net-neutrality-ahead-of-fcc-vote.html
>> M
>> ____________________________________________________________
>> You received this message as a subscriber on the list:
>> governance at lists.igcaucus.org <mailto:governance at lists.igcaucus.org>
>> To be removed from the list, visit:
>> http://www.igcaucus.org/unsubscribing
>>
>> For all other list information and functions, see:
>> http://lists.igcaucus.org/info/governance
>> To edit your profile and to find the IGC's charter, see:
>> http://www.igcaucus.org/
>>
>> Translate this email:http://translate.google.com/translate_t
>
>
>
> ____________________________________________________________
> You received this message as a subscriber on the list:
>       governance at lists.igcaucus.org
> To be removed from the list, visit:
>       http://www.igcaucus.org/unsubscribing
>
> For all other list information and functions, see:
>       http://lists.igcaucus.org/info/governance
> To edit your profile and to find the IGC's charter, see:
>       http://www.igcaucus.org/
>
> Translate this email: http://translate.google.com/translate_t

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.igcaucus.org/pipermail/governance/attachments/20150226/df6dc5b3/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
____________________________________________________________
You received this message as a subscriber on the list:
     governance at lists.igcaucus.org
To be removed from the list, visit:
     http://www.igcaucus.org/unsubscribing

For all other list information and functions, see:
     http://lists.igcaucus.org/info/governance
To edit your profile and to find the IGC's charter, see:
     http://www.igcaucus.org/

Translate this email: http://translate.google.com/translate_t