Amid a storm of opposition from consumer groups and some Internet-based companies for its joint proposal with Verizon Wireless on how to handle Net neutrality, Google is now defending its position. On Thursday, the search giant sought to shoot down what it described as six “myths” about the proposal.
“On balance,” the statement on the official Google Blog said, “we believe this proposal represents real progress on what has become a very contentious issue.” The statement was posted by Richard Whitt, Washington telecom and media counsel for the company.
Not ‘Sold Out’
The first myth, the company said, is that it has “sold out” on Net neutrality. On the contrary, the company said, it has been “the leading corporate voice” on this issue over the past five years. It noted that there currently are “no enforceable protections” at the Federal Communications Commission or elsewhere against the “worst forms of carrier discrimination against Internet traffic.”
In that climate, Google said, it decided to “partner with a major broadband provider on the best policy solution we could,” one that is not perfect but that “locks in key enforceable protections for consumers.”
The second myth cited is that the proposal is a “step backward” for an open Internet. Whitt said the proposal would give the FCC the ability to preserve an open Internet for the first time, although the agency would be prohibited from imposing regulations. Some observers have noted that the proposal appeared to confine the FCC to answering consumer complaints and filing observational reports.
Another myth, Google said, is that the proposal would eliminate network neutrality for wireless. Google said “in the spirit of compromise” it agreed to allow wireless to remain “free from regulation” for now. The company acknowledged that it had previously argued that “certain openness safeguards” be applied to wireless as well as wireline.
‘Key…