Neutral Planet

Tim Wu, Slate: Why You Should Care About Network Neutrality: “Welcome to the fight over ‘network neutrality,’ Washington’s current obsession. The debate centers on whether it is more “neutral” to let consumers reach all Internet content equally or to let providers discriminate if they think they’ll make more money that way.”
At the Legal Affairs Debate Club, Wu debates Christopher S. Yoo about network neutrality: Keeping The Internet Neutral?: “Whether you browse Wal-Mart’s website or that of your local hardware store, your Internet Service Provider gives your request equal treatment—called ‘network neutrality.’ Networks may soon become less neutral, however, because of proposed regulatory changes and corporate mergers among ISPs which could reduce consumer choice. Neutrality has been seen as beneficial for innovation and for democracy, since a ’tilted’ Internet may shut out independent political voices as well as small entrepreneurs. But neutrality has potential drawbacks. It may discourage innovative new services that require investment by an ISP, for example, and reduce the Internet’s stability and security. Should ISPs be allowed to play favorites among websites and offer non-neutral Internet connections to their subscribers?”
At the Huffington Post, Mike McCurry (former White House Press Secretary and currrently a lobbyist against regulation) writes: Hostile Commentary and Net Neutrality: “The Internet is not a free public good. It is a bunch of wires and switches and connections and pipes and it is creaky. You all worship at Vince Cerf who has a clear financial interest in the outcome of this debate but you immediately castigate all of us who disagree and impune our motives. I get paid a reasonable but small sum to argue what I believe. How many of the net neuts out there are honest about the financial resources and special interests behind your side of the argument? Do you really believe this is good v. evil or just an honest disagreement about what will make the ‘net flourish and prosper? What do you make of David Farber’s recent caution about the unintended consequences of regulating the Internet?”
Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the WWW discusses the benefits of Neutrality of the Net: “When, seventeen years ago, I designed the Web, I did not have to ask anyone’s permission. The new application rolled out over the existing Internet without modifying it. I tried then, and many people still work very hard still, to make the Web technology, in turn, a universal, neutral, platform. It must not discriminate against particular hardware, software, underlying network, language, culture, disability, or against particular types of data.”
The Net Neutrality Coalition is another group supporting neutrality– “a broad coalition of consumers, grassroots groups and businesses working together”– and funded by Amazon, eBay, Google, IAC, Microsoft, Yahoo!
And here is David Isenberg discussing Network Neutrality at Harvard: Network Neutrality Reality