Late last week Representatives Markey (D-MA) and Eshoo (D-CA) introduced a bill that would keep the Internet open by preventing Internet service providers (ISPs) from imposing “a charge on any Internet content, service, or application provider to enable any lawful Internet content, application, or service to be offered, provided, or used. In other words, they cannot charge you (as a content provider) more than the cost of service for your lawful content and any lawful applications you make available.
The bill also prevents ISPs from providing or selling any content, application, or service provider any offering that prioritizes traffic over that of other such providers. This addresses concerns that ISPs will sell premium access to some companies, which would have the end result of degrading everyone’s content. This is important to any company that is using video online, but is not interested in paying more than they currently do to ensure the quality of the video is not reduced. It’s not easy to be moved by advertising when the video is pixilated or freezes every three seconds.
Similar bills were introduced in the last two Congresses. However, the larger Democratic majority and President Obama’s stated priority of keeping the Internet open may mean there will be some movement on this bill. However, the House will be in a District Work Period (aka recess) until after Labor Day.
In the meantime, you can watch this video.
For more information on ERA’s government affairs efforts, click here.
Tomi Turner is ERA’s legislative manager.
E-mail marketing is an effective marketing method with a very high ROI. Unfortunately, spammers and scammers have made it more difficult for legitimate senders to get their e-mails past Internet Service Provider (ISP) junk filters and into the inbox, while consumers are all too ready to hit the spam button. The good news is there are steps you can take to avoid the spam label and increase your e-mail marketing effectiveness.
So, you may have read or heard about The Wall Street Journal’s article implying that Google no longer favors net neutrality. You might have also seen the reaction from the 
I have heard more than enough about John McCain’s limited understanding of the Internet (everyone look, a politician was honest; let’s all berate him for it!). But, at the very least, it brought a major issue forward. The plain and simple fact is the Internet is a scary and complicated thing for many in Congress. During some hearings I attended this week, it became clear that some members really did not understand the way the Internet works. Many members did not seem entirely clear on the difference between searches and search ads. One member even admitted confusion about what cookie is. Another member referred to IP addresses as IPS’s. I don’t want to pick on any members, and I can’t even really say I blame them. The average age for members of Congress is near 60, and only a few members have had experience in the Internet industry. In contrast, many members have private-sector experience that easily allows them to become leaders in other fields, like finance, agriculture or energy. That is why educating lawmakers about the way the Internet works (and even what exactly it is) will be essential for the Internet industry. I am convinced that better understanding is the key to better legislation. ERA looks forward to working with industry leaders to achieve this goal.
