Internet freedom at risk

Right now in Millinocket, one of the world’s one billion Internet users is sitting at her computer. Because she has access to the Internet, she has a myriad of choices at her disposal from banking online where she can pay bills or check her balance, to starting her own business where she will be just a mouse click away from the Small Business Administration or her local chamber of commerce. And if she already has a company, she can use the Internet to grow her business, market it better and faster, or merchandise more of her product and reach more potential buyers.

Regardless of how she taps into the Internet, she has untold freedom to seek information from an endless number of sources and in return share information to a potential audience of millions. This vast ability and flexibility makes the Internet the most revolutionary communications tool in human history, and that flexibility should not be compromised.

Having risen from its humble beginnings as an obscure tool used only by a few tech-savvy enthusiasts, the Internet now represents one of the most revolutionary technological innovations the world has ever seen.

Mirroring the basic idea that made possible the birth and subsequent growth of our nation, the established and guiding principle of the Internet has always been that all users and Web sites are created equal.

This understanding is the Internet’s Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights, and it has fomented an explosion in consumer choice, the creation of new businesses and the spread of democratic ideals around the globe. We should not lightly tamper with the powerful formula for success that this digital democracy represents.

When users log onto the Internet, they take a lot of things for granted. They assume that they will be able to access whatever lawful Web site they want, whenever they want. They take for granted that they can use any feature they like, any time they choose, whether it be watching online videos, listening to podcasts, searching, e-mailing or instant messaging. What they are assuming is called “Network Neutrality,” the principle that has made the Internet what it is today. The idea is that the Internet should be open and free, and restricted by no one.

Unfortunately, if Congress does not act, the age of digital democracy could come to an end. I have introduced the Internet Freedom Preservation Act (S.2917) because recent regulatory changes made by the FCC have undone the net neutrality protections that have long been a part of our telecommunications laws. In the months since broadband was fully deregulated, executives from the largest network operators have publicly announced their intentions to charge or provide preferential treatment to certain Internet companies to get to consumers, a change that would do away with the Internet as we know it.

If companies proceed with their plans to set up toll booths along the information superhighway, every Internet user’s experience will be fundamentally altered, and the entrepreneurship that flourishes on the world’s last remaining frontier will be stifled. Network operators would have the power to decide which Web pages load faster, what content their customers can access and whose data has the highest priority. They could create a two-tiered system in which wealthy and favored customers would cruise along the superhighway, while less favored users and content providers would be relegated to the Internet’s “dirt road.” Furthermore, the democratic nature of the Internet could be irretrievably harmed as network operators would have the ability to favor certain speech or ideas over others. The free flow of ideas that has characterized the Internet until now could instead be subject to a veto by those who control the pipes.

Network operators already enjoy monopoly or near monopoly privileges in many markets across the country. Should we allow them to expand their monopolies to include messaging services, streaming video or online shopping, just to name a few? Consumers should decide which businesses succeed and which fail, not network providers.

Simply put, what has made the Internet such a remarkable success is the ability of consumers everywhere to use the connection for which they pay to experience a world of their own choosing on their own terms. Out of this fertile ground has sprung a vibrant marketplace of innovation, businesses and ideas that benefits all of us. American consumers, entrepreneurs and future generations deserve nothing less.

Olympia Snowe is Maine’s senior U.S. senator.