[Infowarrior] - Verizon's Crocodile Tears Mask a Threat to Democracy

[Richard Forno]

Verizon's Crocodile Tears Mask a Threat to Democracy

Posted October 21, 2007 | 08:46 AM (EST)

http://tinyurl.com/ywjaul

You may have missed it in the fine print of your agreement. Phone companies
like Verizon and AT&T reserve the right to block your free speech and
terminate your cell phone services "without prior notice and for any reason
or no reason."

That's chilling enough, but here's the shocker. There are no laws that
prevent these giant companies from censoring your speech on their networks.
That's right -- free speech ends at your cell phone.
Verizon's Gag Rules

Verizon's Gag Rule

This is why Verizon recently got away with blocking text messages that NARAL
Pro-Choice America wanted to send to its members.

This begs the question: "If the phone company can't tell you what to say on
a phone call, then why should they be able to tell you what not to say in a
text message, an e-mail or anywhere else?"

They shouldn't. But don't tell that to Verizon.

Verizon Is So Very Sorry

On Wednesday, New York State Assemblyman Richard Brodsky called two senior
Verizon lawyers to testify at a hearing on their company's recent censorship
of NARAL.

The lawyers groveled before the Assemblyman and his colleagues. Verizon was
so very, very sorry about the incident that they changed some "dusty
policies" so that this particular mistake would never, ever happen again.
But when pressed they refused to relinquish their company's authority to
censor other speech over their networks.

Verizon apologies should provide little comfort. Free Press has sifted
through the agreements of several Internet and cell phone providers --
including Verizon and AT&T -- and found explicit language that reserves
their right to cut off, block or permanently cease to provide services to
anyone -- and for no reason.

Imagine that. Free speech over networks used by more than 230 million
Americans can be denied at the whim of a Verizon and AT&T -- the same
companies, by the way, which are now seeking retroactive immunity for
illegally wiretapping Americans and handing over the results to the
government.

A Wild West View of the Internet

Verizon's two lawyers went one further. They told Assemblyman Brodsky that
their company should be free from any and all regulatory restraints. Above
the law. Americans should simply trust that Verizon will do what's best for
everyone -- as the Internet's sheriff, gatekeeper and undertaker all rolled
into one.

So, do you trust Verizon to serve your interests?

Internet, email and text messaging are a final refuge for free speech -- at
a time when other "mass media" have become the domain of a handful of
powerful companies. We can't let the Internet slip into the hands of the
same types of gatekeepers that now control most of what we see and hear over
television and radio.

Policies not Apologies

Sen.Dorgan Takes a Stand
It's clear that the fundamental democratic principles of free speech and
open communications are too important to entrust to corporate gatekeepers
like these. Lawmakers need to take decisive action to protect the free flow
of information over 21st Century communications. The most important
free-speech principle in communications law is nondiscrimination; and its
most important application is Net Neutrality.


There are a few bright lights in all this telco darkness. One is Sen. Byron
Dorgan who on Wednesday called for a congressional investigation into
censorship on cell phones and the Internet. Earlier this year Dorgan joined
with Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine to introduce the "Internet Freedom
Preservation Act," which protects Net Neutrality under law. At the moment he
needs your support and support from his colleagues on Capitol Hill.

Another bright light is New York Assemblyman Richard Brodsky. At the end of
his hearing this week, he pledged to re-draft and re-introduce state level
legislation that would prevent phone and cable companies from smothering the
free flow of information over Internet and cell phone networks in New York

Free Speech for the 21st Century

The other bright lights are the more than 1.5 million Americans who have
called for baseline protections to our freedom to chose where we go, what we
say and whom we say it to every time we boot up our computers or pick up our
cell phones.

We are facing down one of the most powerful corporate lobbies Washington has
ever seen. We need to match the hundreds of millions of dollars they spend
to strong arm legislators, rewrite the law and distort democracy with the
voices of millions more who believe the Internet must remain free, open and
available to everyone.

We must fight for freedom of speech, right now in a digital world, as
stubbornly as we fought for at our nation's founding.