Issue Position: Internet & "Net Neutrality"

Issue Position

The ideal of an Internet that is "neutral" -- that allows anyone, rich or poor, large company, small business or private individual, to present their products, services, views and interests on an equal footing - must be preserved.
The internet has become an indispensable tool for two critical American specialties: freedom of speech and commercial commerce.
The internet is the most democratic of all forms of communication and information in today's world. More than perhaps any other medium, the internet provides an open and free marketplace of ideas and speech, as our founding fathers intended in the First Amendment to our Constitution. The rapid development of blogs and individual sites dedicated to analyzing the actions and excesses of government, and piercing the biases of the corporate media, is a great example of the power the Internet brings to individual citizens. Information is power in today's world, and the ability to access information of all kinds is the great equalizer between large corporations, the politically-connected and ordinary people.
The internet has also democratized commercial commerce -- people and businesses of any size, providing services and products, can compete on an equal footing with massively large corporations.
Since its inception, and throughout its development, the internet has been available to all on the same terms, and it must remain that way in the future. We must not give a small group of powerful companies the ability to provide preferential service and speeds to whomever they want (even themselves).
Therefore, we must ensure the following principles of net neutrality:
The internet must be affordable to all
The internet must be available to all homes and businesses regardless of location (urban/rural)
The internet must be high speed
The internet must be neutral; that is everyone must have open, equal, impartial, and interconnected Internet access with open, unfettered access to the content of their choice without interference by any entity, public or private
The internet must have strong protections for consumers and the workers who build, maintain and service those networks
The internet must be protected against any degradation or blocking of access to any legal websites for content on the Internet
The internet must be operated as a public utility
Finally, the idea of "net neutrality" is one that must be constantly and vigilantly defended.

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