This chat is designed to help iMPrint readers gain a better sense of the issues and debates surrounding net neutrality through the expertise of one of the nation’s most knowledgable and influential voices on the subject. It is scheduled to take place from 12:00 to 12:30 EST. A transcript of this chat will be made available at www.imprintmagazine.org.

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Q: why do you think more people don’t care about net neutrality?
A: People do care. More than 1.6 million Americans have written congress urging their elected officials to protect Net Neutrality under the law. We put up such public dissent on this issue that Congressman Ed Markey said about Net Neutrality that it’s not the fear of God, it’s the fear of voters that scares politicians in Washington. “Let me tell you something about Congress,” Markey said. “Congress is a stimulus response institution. There is nothing more stimulating than having 1.5 million people who say I don’t think I want you to keep your job if you won’t keep your hands off the Internet.” This year we need to get millions more to take up this issue.

Q: Are there any advantages to a nonneutral web
A: There are no advanatages to a non neutral Web. It’s like having America’s media system without the First Amendment. Net Neutrality is the guiding principle that preserves the free and open Internet.It is the reason why the Internet has driven economic innovation, democratic participation, and free speech online. It protects the consumer’s right to use any equipment, content, application or service on a non-discriminatory basis without interference from the network provider. With Net Neutrality, the network’s only job is to move data — not choose which data to privilege with higher quality service.

Phone and cable companies are asking to de-neutralize the Web so they can charge extra fees and add to the already billions of dollars in profits that they’ve accumulated from having duopoly control over Internet access in America. The only ones who benefit from this are the phone and cable companies. Everyone else loses out.

Q: is hands off the internet a legitimate site, or is it controlled by special interests?
A: No. Hands off the Internet is not a legitimate grassroots organization. They are what’s called “Astroturf” — a false front put up by corporate interests to give off the impression of popular support for an industry-friendly issue. Such practices are commonplace in Washington. For example, the US oil company ExxonMobil props up groups that attempt to undermine the scientific consensus on global climate change. One group even claimed that carbon emmissions were good for us all. HandsOff is an Astroturf (read: fake grassroots) group of the same low caliber.

Q: How likely do you think it is that the bill on net neutrality sponsored by Sen. Byron Dorgan will be passed this year??
A: That’s up to people like you. As Rep. Markey said, Washington is a stimulus response organism. The more people who demand Net Neutrality, the more likely we are to see passage of Sen. Dorgan’s Internet Freedom Preservation Act. In 2006, the SavetheInternet.com Coalition collected more than 1.6 million signatures to block phone company legislation that didn’t protect Net Neutrality. We succeeded then. Now, in 2007, we need to rally broad public support behind a bill to make Net Neutrality the law. We’ll be rolling out a number of initiatives at SavetheInternet.com to help people become more engaged with this campaign.

Q: But why don’t sites like Google want an nonneutral Web, if they can connect to people’s computers at higher speeds
A: Google and other new and innovative businesses are the byproducts of a neutral Internet, where the best ideas rise to the top based on their merits and not because they have struck some back room deal with a dominant gatekeeper like AT&T. A non-neutral Internet would put small businesses, nonprofits, entrepreneurs, political candidates and local governments at a significant disadvantage and stifle the innovation that has brought us Google, eBay, the blogosphere, instant messaging and so much more. Net Neutrality preserves the democratic nature of the Internet while ensuring that economic innovation and political participation are available to anyone with a connection. If Google is truly committed to its motto of “doing no evil,” then Net Neutrality is their best option.