Last week, I led a submission to the European Commission on why Network Neutrality rules are needed at the Community level, a common regulatory framework for the European Union. The full submission and listed authors is available here.
The debates surrounding network neutrality and the open Internet begin with debates on network architecture and network management, but their implications are far-reaching. The Internet is not a direct private link between two end-points but a common pool resource created from the interconnection of tens of thousands of autonomous networks. The value of the Internet, to those who build it, use it, and build on top of it, is not created by any one network or operator, but depends on access to all endpoints being available on a neutral basis to all. If not carefully restrained, the traffic management practices of each inpidual network can influence, fragment, or foreclose the opportunities the Internet provides for innovation, democracy, and free expression.
