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10/13/10 10:MMTC: Shame, Not Regs, Can Protect Net Consumers - 2010-10-13 14:04:29 EDT | Broadcasting & Cable

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MMTC: Shame, Not Regs, Can Protect Net Consumers

Group asks FCC not to impose 'draconian enforcement mechanisms'

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, October 13, 2010

Saying the Internet has its own inherent "shaming culture," the Minority Media & Telecommunications Council (MMTC) has asked theCC not to impose "draconian enforcement mechanisms" in its effort to protect consumers.

MMTC, which said it was speaking on behalf of two dozen minority and civil rights groups, said it supported five out the six proposed

etwork neutrality guidelines the FCC is proposing to codify, but has issues with the nondiscrimination principle.

hat came in comments filed in the FCC's network neutrality proceeding. The commission had asked for comment on applying its

etwork neutrality rules to managed services that are not delivered to homes over the last-mile "public Internet," and to wireless

roadband services, whose network management issues are different from wired due to the technology involved (traffic can almost

nstantly spike depending on where and when large groups of folks with cell phones and smart phones get together).

As it has in the past, MMTC expressed reservations about applying the net neutrality rules to wireless and said it doesn't want the

ommission prohibiting "pro-consumer voluntary agreements for the provision of specialized services."

MMTC also took the opportunity to tell the FCC it has a moral duty to ensure that its network neutrality rules, which MMTC has "deep

oncerns" about, do not "lock into place and perpetuate the vast and current racial disparities in broadband access, adoption, and

nformed use."

he FCC asked for comment on whether it should limit the kind of specialized services that can be offered. MMTC says no. "By

rtificially limiting the provision of specialized offerings based on our knowledge about currently available technologies," it argues, "the

CC would threaten innovation. And it could also prevent offerings that can help close the digital divide from ever reaching the

marketplace."

hose would include the kind of incubation and incentive programs that benefit the groups MMTC represents.

Under the "sunlight is the best disinfectant" theory, MMTC says the FCC should focus on transparency and disclosure. Which means

equiring ISPs to tell subs how they are managing their service. That is when the shaming culture takes over, says MMTC, which is

nother way of saying marketing forces. "In the few cases of net neutrality violations over the past five years, each and every one was

uickly corrected because of the transparent and interactive Internet culture, which forces broadband providers to serve the demands

nd wants of users or else suffer the penalties of lost subscribers," the group said in its comments.

MMTC, which is trying to force some high-tech companies to give up their employment data , also says the FCC's focus on net

eutralityrules is diverting its resources from what it calls "real hurdles" for women and minorities. "As we have repeatedly brought to

he FCC's attention, there are thousands of instances of employment discrimination within Silicon Valley-based tech companies that,

very day, are trampling on the rights of minorities and women. The FCC cannot continue to turn a blind eye to these discriminatory

ractices."

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