FCC Chairman Julius Genachowksi held an online
Q&A session Tuesday from Twitter headquarters, telling Sen. Marco Rubio
(R-Fla.) that Internet freedom is vital for innovators and speakers and a
"day 1 priority of mine."
Rubio
had tweeted the following: "What is FCC doing to help preserve Internet
freedom at #WCIT? Must oppose Internet regulation and expanding #ITU
authority."
Genachowski
and Rubio are pretty much on the same page, as are Republicans and Democrats in
general, on the need for continuing a multi-stakeholder model of Internet
governance. The WCIT reference is to the upcoming ITU World Conference onInternational Telecommunications (WCIT) in Dubai.
The
U.S. is concerned about a push by China, Russia and some Arab states for more
UN involvement (ITU is a UN organization) in Internet governance, and that some
countries facing declining revenues from the exchange of traditional phone
traffic will want to charge for Internet connections to, say, a Google or
Facebook.
Queried
by Adam Thierer of George Mason University's Mercatus Center about the FCC's
"80-year history of regulatory capture and cronyism," Genachowski
replied that when the FCC fights for "competition, openness & consumer
empowerment," great results ensue.
Among
Genachowski's other tweets were that his favorite app is the MLB's At Bat app --
he is a National's fan. To check out more of the online conversation, click
here.
