In order to keep the Internet open to innovation, the next President and Congress should take specific steps, including the following:
President Obama and Congress should support sensible and workable safeguards that will preserve the core attributes of openness, neutrality and freedom to innovate and prevent harmful discrimination, in a manner that is compatible with the public interest in infrastructure investment and the needs for sound network management.
Broadband providers need to be able to take steps to combat spam and other harmful traffic. However, if they start trying to play favorites among legitimate Internet traffic, it could seriously undermine the Internet’s traditional openness and neutrality; independent innovation could suffer as cooperating with broadband providers becomes a prerequisite to online success.
President Obama and Congress should develop legislation to cabin the FCC’s assertion of unfettered authority and replace it with a narrowly focused statutory mandate to combat harmful discrimination and promote more transparency by Internet carriers. Such legislation could help ensure that the Internet retains its openness to innovation, with less risk of unpredictability and regulatory overreaching than the current status quo.
President Obama should oppose, and the next Congress should reject, any legislation or policies that would grant the FCC or any other agency or department open-ended authority over Internet access.
President Obama should nominate, and the next Congress should confirm, officials to the FCC, FTC, Justice Department, and Commerce Department’s NTIA who are sensitive to the unique benefits of the open Internet and who oppose government technology mandates.
Government officials need to be wary of policies that stifle innovation. Government technology design mandates are likely to be inflexible, can quickly become outdated, and can discourage innovation.
Fighting copyright infringement is important, but the government should not mandate the inclusion of special copyright protection features in legitimate digital technologies.
Law enforcement officials already have both the legal authority and the technical capability to wiretap Internet communications. FCC regulators should not, in an effort to make it even easier to intercept communications, impose technical mandates on innovative technologies.
Similarly, the laudable goal of promoting a robust e911 emergency system should not justify the imposition of mandates that would prevent the creation and deployment of new technologies.
President Obama and Congress should support new copyright legislation, treaties, or policies only if they protect and promote innovation and emerging forms of free expression in the digital realm.
Current copyright law provides creators with a strong set of rights and powerful enforcement tools against infringement.
At the same time, limitations to copyright, including “fair use,” have provided crucial breathing room for innovation and free expression.
Efforts to reform or improve copyright law must seek to promote balance, not just expand the scope of copyright rights or remedies.
Unbalanced proposals – like WIPO’s draft treaty to grant new rights to broadcasters or legislation that would increase the threat of damages facing makers of legitimate multi-purpose devices or services – would create new barriers to innovation and free expression.
President Obama and Congress should develop a comprehensive strategy for fostering the expansion and improvement of the nation's broadband infrastructure.
Government should work to gather reliable data about what the obstacles may be to expanded broadband deployment and take concrete steps to address those obstacles.
In rural and other locations where competition is unlikely to ensure that communities are being adequately served, there may be an important role for government financial support via grants or direct municipal investment in fiber infrastructure.
Tax incentives, questions of regulatory structure, and all other policy options should be on the table. Strategies employed by other countries warrant careful attention and consideration.
The President and Congress should establish that fostering expanded innovation, capabilities, and consumer choice in wireless Internet connectivity will be a core goal of spectrum allocation policy.
President Obama should appoint officials to the FCC and NTIA who recognize the potential of spectrum reform and will aggressively explore opportunities for more efficient spectrum usage, including unlicensed and spectrum-sharing approaches.
New technologies like "smart" radios may offer more efficient and dynamic ways of allocating spectrum and protecting against interference than traditional spectrum policies.
Any interests incumbent spectrum holders may have in preserving the status quo, or that the Federal Government may have in maintaining scarcity to maximize auction revenues, should not be allowed to trump or indefinitely postpone the public benefits that may be gained by unleashing more spectrum for productive use.
