If the current lobbying fight over the future of Internet freedom could be cast in biblical terms, the telecommunications industry would be a natural Goliath, while the technology companies would be an intrinsic David. Though in this version, David can’t seem to handle his stone and sling.
The tech community, made up of once-scrappy West Coast upstarts, is still feeling its way around Washington’s power circles. While its lobbying efforts, in a classical, work-the-committees kind of way, are lacking, it has assembled a vocal grass-roots coalition arguing for network neutrality. Many believe that broadband operators have plans to turn the Internet into a cable system with operators deciding what fees, in addition to normal access rates, can be tacked on to content and service providers. And they want Congress to put the principle of “Internet freedom” in writing.
