There was more debate on the issue of 'net neutrality' in the US yesterday, where the topic is being discussed by political types, who are taking representations from all those with an interest in the debate. Yesterday it was those crazy Recording Industry Association Of America types.
As previously reported, the idea of net neutrality is that all content providers have equal access to internet users. Some of the internet service providers, wary of the drain some rich media services are now putting on their servers, are suggesting media firms should have to pay to be able to offer their readers/listeners/viewers high speed access to content. But many object to the plan. The big media firms object because they don't want to have to pay, while grass roots media types fear that once a 'pay-to-serve-content' system is in place it will give cash-rich media firms an advantage over cash strapped independents, and the level playing field that the net has brought to the content and cultural worlds would be destroyed. They advocate a ban on such fees, in favour of so called net neutrality.
Speaking for the US's major labels, RIAA boss Mitch Bainwol yesterday said that he thought it was "a touch premature" to be passing the Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2008, the legislation proposed by US congressman Edward Markey earlier this year designed to protect net neutrality, to a point, and which would put the policing of additional fees charged by ISPs to content providers under the remit of media regulator the FCC. He said people were right to be concerned about net neutrality, but that market place rather than legislative solutions should be considered first.
According to Billboard, he told the hearing on Capitol Hill that "private marketplace solutions [should always be considered] before legislation", but he admitted that "if effective marketplace solutions cannot be reached soon, however, then government regulation may well be necessary..."
Other people giving evidence to the hearing included Walter McCormick of the US Telecom Association, who, needless to say, doesn't like the proposal of legislation to control net provision fees, while Steve Peterman, an executive producer of 'Hannah Montana' and a member of the Writers' Guild Of America West, who also spoke, supported the proposals, saying that the excessive control of just seven congloms in the old media sector had hindered the innovative indie sector, and that controls should be put in place to stop the ISPs and the media majors from colluding so to hinder the flourishing independent market in the web world.