Capital takes another little piece of the gift economy

I've decided to add theme songs to my posts:
Not a ploy for Pez, I just had stuff to say. But if you feel compelled to share your Pez with me, I wouldn't refuse it.

Last week we broached the subject of the Net as a neutral tool (which I was sure had to be fraught with blind spots, so of course I had to investigate). I came upon "net neutrality" which is not quite what I had in mind, but is an important issue nonetheless -- and yet another front on capital's offensive. In this case, neutrality refers to the principle that all Internet sites should be equally accessible to any Web user.

Companies that own the "pipes" wanting to implement a tiered system is but one way this neutrality is under fire.

Over the weekend, Comcast got caught blocking Internet traffic: the Associated Press conducted tests showing that peer-to-peer files were blocked or delayed. While Comcast denied blocking traffic, they did say yesterday that "its bandwidth management technologies may slow a peer-to-peer service as part of a technique known in the industry as bandwidth shaping, which is the targeted constraining of delivery pipes. This could delay the delivery of a file but not block it." (I'm guessing this was also said with a straight face.)

Though Business Week appears to be against this kind of tiered system (if only for the small businesses and enterpreneurs), the Justice Department in September told the FCC that a net neutrality regulation would "hamper development of the Internet and prevent service providers from upgrading or expanding their networks." (I assume they said this with a straight face.)

What to do? Last summer, Sens. Snowe (R-ME) and Dorgan (D-ND) co-sponsored the Internet Freedom Preservation Act (s. 2917) which is now languishing in the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Might this Comcast stir be enough to revive this bill?

Maybe, but we'll have to stoke the flames a little.

Here are contact links for the sponsors of the bill: Sen Olympia Snowe [ME]; Sen Byron Dorgan [ND]; Sen Barbara Boxer [CA]; Sen Hillary Rodham Clinton [NY]; Sen Christopher J. Dodd [CT]; Sen Daniel K. Inouye [HI]; Sen Patrick J. Leahy [VT]; Sen Barack Obama [IL]; Sen Ron Wyden [OR].

I see some presidential candidates in there, which is an additional avenue -- or an alternate, in case you don't have the weight of being from any these states (which only means they can't respond to you, but they can still receive your comments on their work).

And here are contact links for Iowa Senators Harkin and Grassley.

Shall we put this InterWeb thingy to use?