[governance] Managing the Internet in the Public Interest

[parminder]

On Thursday 26 February 2015 11:52 AM, parminder wrote:
>
> 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' 

I meant ' public utility 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
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>>
>>
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>
>
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