Transcending Net Neutrality: Ten Steps Toward An Open Internet

摘要

We submit that the implementation of these 10 principles will create a more participatory Internet. On a fundamental level, an open system is key to network growth and innovation. We acknowledge that our model does not address all material inequities, such as digital divide and lack of universal service issues, which, to be sufficiently remedied, require a redistribution of critical resources. Nor do we tackle some issues related to copyright, surveillance, and other contemporary political battles. However, our recommendations, if enacted, could improve the global deficit in Internet connectivity and help propel the United States toward its goals of universal, affordable broadband. These principles could help establish normative parameters to guide policy makers, both national and global, in their quest to create a better Internet. Ideally, these principles will be presented as a broadband democracy manifesto to be endorsed by members of Congress, state legislatures, and political candidates. Although piecemeal efforts are better than no movement at all, only if approached in tandem will these steps constitute a model for the Internet that is simultaneously open, democratic, and efficient.