McCain: 'No Net-Neutrality, Need Piracy Crackdown'

[Jorge]

Does, however, believe that consumers should be able to access and use content, applications, and services of their choosing, and also that too much IP protection can "stifle the proliferation of important ideas."
I usually try to steer clear of politics, but I think it's important for our file-sharing readers here to learn about where the presidential candidates stand on technology-related issues like net-neutrality and piracy, especially in the wake of Comcast's throttling of BitTorrent, and the entertainment industry managing to get legislation passed that forces colleges and universities to begin filtering content on campus networks.
Republican presidential candidate John McCain recently unveiled his technology platform, dubbed the "John McCain Plan for American Innovation" that lays out his stance on each of the aforementioned issues.
Technology policy has not been a front-burner issue for Sen. McCain (R-AZ), but it has become more critical for the McCain campaign in recent weeks following his earlier admission that he is "computer illiterate.

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[El Comandante]

Obama's stand on Net Neutrality



Podcast Transcript:

"Hello, this is Senator Barack Obama and today is Thursday, June 8th, 2006.
The topic today is net neutrality. The internet today is an open platform where the demand for websites and services dictates success. You've got barriers to entry that are low and equal for all comers. And it's because the internet is a neutral platform that I can put on this podcast and transmit it over the internet without having to go through some corporate media middleman. I can say what I want without censorship. I don't have to pay a special charge. But the big telephone and cable companies want to change the internet as we know it. They say they want to create high-speed lanes on the internet and strike exclusive contractual arrangements with internet content-providers for access to those high-speed lanes. Those of us who can't pony up the cash for these high-speed connections will be relegated to the slow lanes.



Allowing the Bells and cable companies to act as gatekeepers with control over internet access would make the internet like cable. A producer-driven market with barriers to entry for website creators and preferential treatment for specific sites based not on merit, the number of hits, but on relationships with the corporate gatekeeper. If there were four or more competitive providers of broadband service to every home, then cable and telephone companies would not be able to create a bidding war for access to the high-speed lanes. But here's the problem. More than 99 percent of households get their broadband services from either cable or a telephone company.



So here's my view. We can't have a situation in which the corporate duopoly dictates the future of the internet and that's why I'm supporting what is called net neutrality.

http://obama.senate.gov/podcast/060608-network_neutral/

[mfgbypooter]

I wonder what Libertarians think about this issue...

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[Feather]

Both these fuck nut candidates need to stick to the important issues of the day.

[mfgbypooter]

you know the most important issue is to get elected.

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[Feather]

unfortunately this is so true. The real issues be damned