By Gina Channell Wilcox
E-mail Gina Channell Wilcox
About this blog: I am President of Embarcadero Media's East Bay Division and the publisher of the Pleasanton Weekly, Dublin TriValley Views, San Ramon Express and Danville Express. As a 25-plus-year veteran of the media industry, I have experience...
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About this blog: I am President of Embarcadero Media's East Bay Division and the publisher of the Pleasanton Weekly, Dublin TriValley Views, San Ramon Express and Danville Express. As a 25-plus-year veteran of the media industry, I have experience in print, broadcast and digital media. In 2004, I left Illinois where I was Executive Editor / Associate Publisher of a group of 14 weekly newspapers and one daily belonging to what is now known as the Chicago Sun-Times Group, to move to Northern California to launch two newspapers and a radio station. To date I have launched eight weekly newspapers (one in Spanish), one daily newspaper, one monthly newspaper, one monthly news magazine, several news websites and an FM radio station. I joined Embarcadero Media in 2006 because of its focus on quality, community journalism and the entrepreneurial spirit of its staff and management team. I have a bachelor's degree in Communications and a master's degree in Business Administration and spend the little spare time I have teaching for University of Phoenix and with my three children, ages 25, 21 and 13.
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Last week the FCC approved "Net Neutrality" and reclassified the Internet as a utility subject to regulations.
According to its website, "The FCC is focused on ensuring that every American has access to open and robust high-speed Internet service - also known as broadband."
Basic points to the decision are that ISPs must be transparent to their users, not block legal content or applications, and not favor some "lawful content" over other "lawful content. This last point basically forbids ISPs from creating "pay-for-preference fast lanes" in exchange for compensation or for its affiliates.
In my opinion, this is a win for the innovators and small businesses because, in theory, everyone is playing on a level field. We all want fair treatment and an open Internet.
However, I am a cynic at heart and I am concerned about what constitutes "lawful" and "unlawful" content and who decides. From what I've read it sounds like the ISP decides. Can an ISP decide to block, or be coerced into blocking, a website like ours?
I'm curious to hear your views on what I consider a monumental decision.