John Pilger reports that, in spite of a history of repeated US-backed…
Barbershop Punk
- Description
- Reviews
- Citation
- Cataloging
- Transcript
Robb Topolski is an unlikely crusader for free speech -- on the surface; he seems to be a mild-mannered geek with a fondness for a capella music. However, when Topolski tried to upload some rare recordings of barbershop quartets to a peer-to-peer file sharing website in 2007, he found that his broadband Internet connection slowed down to a tiny fraction of its usual speed.
Topolski, who worked as a computer network engineer, ran some tests to find out what was happening and made a surprising discovery -- his internet service provider was monitoring the web use of its customers and using software to slow connections for certain activities and certain websites. Topolski took his ISP to court and has become a passionate spokesman for net neutrality, believing that ISP's have no right to interfere with what their customers are doing and should not be watching their activities on line.
This case is one of the key inspirations behind the documentary BARBERSHOP PUNK, which explores how a small number of powerful corporations have the power to control the World Wide Web, and what ordinary people can do to promote the free exchange of information in cyberspace.
Featuring interviews with Ian MacKaye, Janeane Garofalo, Damian Kulash of OK Go, Henry Rollins, Mike McCurry, John Perry Barlow, Jonathan Adelstein and many more.
'Barbershop Punk is a superb and powerful introduction to the main struggle over the battle for the control of the Internet--network neutrality. The film masterfully translates complex issues into fundamental political, social and personal terms. It provides ample room for all sides of the debate, while making a clear argument. Highly entertaining, this is a perfect film for students and concerned citizens.' Robert W. McChesney, Professor of Communication, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, co-Founder, Free Press, co-Author, The Death and Life of American Journalism
'This documentary is about one of the most important episodes in the history of the Internet--how a guy nobody had ever heard of, a Barbershop Quartet enthusiast named Robb, awakened the world to the threat of Internet service providers asserting control over how we use the Internet. Told through the eyes of that man, it tells the broader story of how corporate bureaucracy, governmental choices, citizens groups, and everyday heroes shape the freedoms of all Americans online--from the freedom to participate fully in our democracy to the freedom to listen to the music you love, from Barbershop to punk.' Marvin Ammori, Assistant Professor of Law, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, lead lawyer before the FCC on the Free Press vs. Comcast case
'If you think you can't find a compelling character to tell the story of net neutrality, you haven't seen Barbershop Punk, which features Robb Topolski, the geek who discovered just how cable companies mess with Internet traffic to benefit themselves.' Patricia Aufderheide, Professor of Film and Media Arts, American University, International Documentary Association newsletter
'Barbershop Punk is a wonderful--and wonderfully chilling--film. If you think you understand how media policy works in the 21st century, watch this movie and be prepared to change your mind.' C.W. Anderson, Assistant Professor, Department of Media Culture, CUNY-College of Staten Island
'Wisely, Directors Georgia Sugimura Archer and Kristin Armfield define relevant terms--from 'common carriage' to 'net neutrality'--and bring both sides into play...recommended.' Video Librarian
'[A] David vs. Goliath victory of the computer geek over the powerful corporation...A good introduction to an important issue.' Library Journal
'Engaging, provocative...It's noteworthy when nemeses like the Christian Coalition and the group Naral Pro-Choice are on the same side of the Net-neutrality fence...It's an Orwellian corporatocracy we live in, with our Web-surfing habits monitored, and bought and sold like commodities. If you're reading this online, someone, or something, is probably tracking you.' Andy Webster, The New York Times
'As the entertainment industry focuses on piracy, Barbershop Punk helps to clarify the distinction between copyright protection in the digital marketplace and Internet access. It furthers a momentous policy debate. After an appeals court ruling that denied the FCC authority over broadband providers, that debate is still raging.' The Hollywood Reporter
'A confrontation between one honest man - Robb Topolski, the man who first blew the whistle on Comcast's abuse of Deep Packet Inspection - and a whole legal and regulatory system.' Milton Mueller, Professor, School of Information Studies, Syracuse University, Author, Networks and States: The Global Politics of Internet Governance
'A well-constructed and articulate look at the problem of net neutrality...Barbershop Punk does a great job of presenting the topic and manages to avoid partisan issues while doing so...It is a social action documentary, but it does not call for the implementation of any new policy directives. In fact the film is a plea to maintain the protections of free speech on the internet by preventing economic interference...This film is best applied in mass communications and media courses that have an emphasis on `new media' and legal issues.' Troy Belford, Anthropology Reviews Database
'Barbershop Punk reminds us not only that our society hasn't really decided what the internet is supposed to be, but also that the final verdict on the matter may rest with those who stand to benefit most from that crucial definition.' Tiny Mix Tapes
'Unless an informed citizenry acts, they can turn the Internet into a commercial and politically sanitized medium just as they have done already to radio and television...Stay vigilant!' Louis Proyect, The Unrepentant Marxist
'Does a great job of explaining a subject which I've long had difficulty understanding...The material is presented in a clear, concise manner by all of the interviewees, and Barbershop Punk should be of interest to anyone concerned with the ethics of commerce and its impact on free speech.' Tony Dayoub, Cinema Viewfinder
'An excellent documentary that explains net neutrality very well...Archer and Armfield have done an amazing job...Barbershop Punk [needs] to be viewed by as many people as possible.' Terra King, Examiner.com
'The urgency of this complex and far-reaching issue, coupled with the undeniable appeal of the Everyman story that triggered the debate, will propel Punk to harmonious fest exposure and tenacious afterlife.' Variety
'Takes what might seem to be a smaller issue and exposes the slippery slope where individual companies are allowed to decide what travels across their wires. Activists, punk rockers, Christians, Pro-Choicers, old ladies, and mild-mannered barbershop quartet fans alike come together to protect our first amendment rights.' Huffington Post
'Barbershop Punk...is as timely as a documentary gets.' South by Southwest Film Festival Program
'Worth singing about. An important topic.' Express from the Washington Post
'Politics takes on interesting bedfellows in Barbershop Punk...But [this] is much more than a series of voices taking sides in the debate over internet neutrality. At its core, the film is about one man taking on the system.' Ruth Robertson, Indymedia
'Fascinating...examines how Net Neutrality can preserve freedom of speech and the idea that the Internet is a meritocracy where a little guy with a good idea, or a great video of kittens doing wacky things, can succeed.' Birmingham Weekly
'While it is bound to stir up legitimate debate over concerns surrounding protection of the free market, media consolidation and 'Big Brother,' Barbershop Punk manages to navigate the complex Net Neutrality waters perfectly, while still remaining an affirming and deeply relevant snapshot of our time.' SILVERDOCS Blog
'The directors offer a lively, fact-filled look into the net-neutrality movement, its implications, and how one guy with a little curiosity and know-how discovered a major corporation was sticking its nose in a place where many believe it doesn't belong.' SideReel Review
'Barbershop Punk shows that critical thinking is not only for academics but also for ordinary people, by portraying a change in the attitude towards companies and their practices in the US.' Nisimagazine
Citation
Main credits
Archer, Georgia Sugimura (screenwriter)
Archer, Georgia Sugimura (film director)
Archer, Georgia Sugimura (film producer)
Armfield, Kristin (film producer)
Armfield, Kristin (film director)
Other credits
Director of photography, Amy Sharp; editor and co-producers, Matt Kregor, Jose Pulido; composer, Peter Golub.
Distributor subjects
Activism; American Democracy; American Studies; Anthropology; Business Practices; Capitalism; Censorship; Citizenship and Civics; Civil Rights; Communications; Free Press; Journalism; Law; Media Literacy; Science, Technology, Society; Sociology; TechnologyKeywords
WEBVTT
00:00:03.000 --> 00:00:06.000
[static crackling]
00:00:07.433 --> 00:00:11.333
- The man is not controlling
the vertical, the horizontal,
00:00:11.367 --> 00:00:13.133
the channel
that you\'re gonna be on.
00:00:13.167 --> 00:00:16.333
- This country is founded
on the principle of free speech.
00:00:16.367 --> 00:00:18.233
- I think a lot of Americans
00:00:18.267 --> 00:00:21.933
are just kind of willfully -
are throwing their rights away.
00:00:21.967 --> 00:00:24.133
- There are many, many people
who are struggling
00:00:24.167 --> 00:00:25.800
to get their kids into day care
at 5:00 a.m.
00:00:25.833 --> 00:00:27.433
before they go to their job.
00:00:27.467 --> 00:00:29.633
How are you gonna get
that person into the street?
00:00:29.667 --> 00:00:33.233
They barely
have enough time to live.
00:00:33.267 --> 00:00:37.300
- What we\'re really fighting for
is the right to know.
00:00:37.333 --> 00:00:41.433
- Freedom of speech comes second
only to God.
00:01:03.567 --> 00:01:05.467
- As long as there\'s been
a mainstream,
00:01:05.500 --> 00:01:08.133
there\'s been a counterculture,
00:01:08.167 --> 00:01:10.087
and that\'s what I\'ve been
looking for in my life.
00:01:11.100 --> 00:01:12.533
I kept looking around like,
00:01:12.567 --> 00:01:18.567
\"Where\'s the positive, creative,
like, constructive, like, world,
00:01:18.600 --> 00:01:21.300
\"the community that questions
conventional thinking
00:01:21.333 --> 00:01:22.300
\"on every level?
00:01:22.333 --> 00:01:23.700
Where is this community?\"
00:01:23.733 --> 00:01:26.367
And for me,
I found it in punk rock,
00:01:26.400 --> 00:01:30.067
because I saw people questioning
every conventional idea:
00:01:30.100 --> 00:01:33.033
political convention,
sexual convention,
00:01:33.067 --> 00:01:35.633
theological convention,
philosophical convention,
00:01:35.667 --> 00:01:38.133
fashion convention,
musical convention.
00:01:38.167 --> 00:01:39.733
Freaks.
Deviants.
00:01:39.767 --> 00:01:40.900
That\'s me.
00:01:49.533 --> 00:01:52.867
Though that terminology \"punk\"
has been through a lot
00:01:52.900 --> 00:01:54.767
in the last 30 years,
00:01:54.800 --> 00:01:57.567
I still think of punk
as a free space,
00:01:57.600 --> 00:02:01.000
and I celebrate the free space
where new ideas get presented.
00:02:05.333 --> 00:02:09.367
Who\'s the punk airline,
or what\'s the punk gas station?
00:02:09.400 --> 00:02:11.267
The one who does it right.
00:02:16.800 --> 00:02:20.367
People often talk
about punk being dead.
00:02:20.400 --> 00:02:23.333
But ironically,
or interestingly,
00:02:23.367 --> 00:02:25.367
the death of punk is always
right around the time
00:02:25.400 --> 00:02:27.933
they stopped
being involved with it,
00:02:27.967 --> 00:02:30.700
because it is dead for them.
00:02:30.733 --> 00:02:31.700
They checked out.
00:02:31.733 --> 00:02:33.100
But punk will never die.
00:02:33.133 --> 00:02:35.033
It may not be called punk.
It will never die, though.
00:02:35.067 --> 00:02:36.187
It will always be happening.
00:02:45.567 --> 00:02:47.033
There\'s always gonna be
a point in people\'s lives
00:02:47.067 --> 00:02:48.733
where these, like,
generations come in,
00:02:48.767 --> 00:02:50.267
whether they\'re young people
00:02:50.300 --> 00:02:52.100
or just people coming
to a new sense of awareness,
00:02:52.133 --> 00:02:53.833
where they\'re like,
00:02:53.867 --> 00:02:57.067
\"We don\'t accept
what you\'re giving us,
00:02:57.100 --> 00:02:58.933
and we\'re gonna make
our own thing.\"
00:03:01.800 --> 00:03:03.000
And that\'s punk.
00:03:18.100 --> 00:03:21.800
All:
♪ I believe ♪
00:03:21.833 --> 00:03:26.667
- ♪ I believe ♪
00:03:26.700 --> 00:03:29.400
- I\'ve been called
an everyday hero,
00:03:29.433 --> 00:03:34.700
and I worry
about trivializing heroes,
00:03:34.733 --> 00:03:40.033
because what I did
took no special bravery.
00:03:40.067 --> 00:03:41.200
I shed no blood.
00:03:41.233 --> 00:03:45.200
I paid no high price.
00:03:45.233 --> 00:03:47.733
Maybe it had to do
with where I was in my life.
00:03:48.867 --> 00:03:53.333
You know, I was...
00:03:53.367 --> 00:03:54.667
I was ready to die.
00:03:56.833 --> 00:03:58.167
There is no man more free
00:03:58.200 --> 00:04:00.500
than somebody
who has nothing more to lose.
00:04:06.600 --> 00:04:09.800
- Robb Topolski
is the everyman who started
00:04:09.833 --> 00:04:12.567
one of the most important
communications policy debates
00:04:12.600 --> 00:04:14.600
that\'s happened in Washington
in a decade.
00:04:17.233 --> 00:04:21.800
- It\'s funny, because
when I first found this issue,
00:04:21.833 --> 00:04:24.833
it wasn\'t all that important
to me.
00:04:24.867 --> 00:04:27.467
I saw a technical problem
out there
00:04:27.500 --> 00:04:31.133
and characterized
and described it
00:04:31.167 --> 00:04:34.633
so that people
could solve the problem,
00:04:34.667 --> 00:04:36.033
and that\'s all I\'ve done.
00:04:38.667 --> 00:04:40.600
- Good morning,
Mr. Chairman and Commissioners.
00:04:40.633 --> 00:04:42.867
The first item presented
for your consideration
00:04:42.900 --> 00:04:44.400
is an order that examines
00:04:44.433 --> 00:04:47.467
whether it is a reasonable
network management practice
00:04:47.500 --> 00:04:49.933
for Comcast to interfere
with its customers\' use
00:04:49.967 --> 00:04:52.200
of peer-to-peer
networking applications
00:04:52.233 --> 00:04:54.167
or whether this practice
runs afoul
00:04:54.200 --> 00:04:56.167
of federal internet policy.
00:04:56.200 --> 00:04:58.967
One Comcast customer,
Robert Topolski,
00:04:59.000 --> 00:05:00.700
conducted numerous tests
00:05:00.733 --> 00:05:02.333
and reported
that the level of interference
00:05:02.367 --> 00:05:04.467
with his use
of peer-to-peer applications
00:05:04.500 --> 00:05:05.933
was approximately equal
00:05:05.967 --> 00:05:07.833
regardless of the time
of day or night,
00:05:07.867 --> 00:05:09.833
regardless of the day
of the week,
00:05:09.867 --> 00:05:13.233
during prime-time
and non-prime-time hours of use.
00:05:15.900 --> 00:05:18.633
- Comcast wasn\'t evil
in what they were trying to do.
00:05:18.667 --> 00:05:22.933
What they\'ve done, however,
since then has been evil.
00:05:22.967 --> 00:05:25.667
- Comcast\'s past failure
to disclose the practice
00:05:25.700 --> 00:05:29.633
to its customers
has compounded the harm.
00:05:29.667 --> 00:05:32.167
- They\'ve lied about
what they were doing.
00:05:32.200 --> 00:05:33.800
They flat-out said...
00:05:33.833 --> 00:05:37.167
- \"We\'re not blocking access
to any application
00:05:37.200 --> 00:05:39.533
and we don\'t throttle
any traffic.\"
00:05:42.400 --> 00:05:46.433
- But my own tests show
that 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,
00:05:46.467 --> 00:05:48.367
every day that I test,
00:05:48.400 --> 00:05:50.100
the level of interference
is the same.
00:05:50.133 --> 00:05:53.267
So unless the internet
is somehow equally congested
00:05:53.300 --> 00:05:55.333
at all times,
00:05:55.367 --> 00:05:57.233
then what they said wasn\'t true.
00:06:02.233 --> 00:06:05.733
They\'re doing it in a way
that most people wouldn\'t detect,
00:06:05.767 --> 00:06:07.433
so they don\'t know to complain.
00:06:09.433 --> 00:06:10.700
The Great Firewall of China
00:06:10.733 --> 00:06:15.000
used exactly this method
to do censorship.
00:06:15.033 --> 00:06:17.300
When people in China are looking
00:06:17.333 --> 00:06:20.600
at certain websites
outside of China
00:06:20.633 --> 00:06:23.533
that have antigovernment
messages on it,
00:06:23.567 --> 00:06:25.900
the Chinese firewall
detects that
00:06:25.933 --> 00:06:27.333
and sends a reset message.
00:06:27.367 --> 00:06:29.500
It forges this reset message.
00:06:30.633 --> 00:06:31.767
- In layman\'s terms,
00:06:31.800 --> 00:06:33.633
Comcast opens
its customers\' mail
00:06:33.667 --> 00:06:35.433
because it wants to deliver mail
00:06:35.467 --> 00:06:37.800
not based on the address
on the envelope
00:06:37.833 --> 00:06:40.433
but on the type of letter
contained therein.
00:06:42.300 --> 00:06:44.933
- I posted my results
on the internet.
00:06:44.967 --> 00:06:48.733
When I posted my results,
it wasn\'t the,
00:06:48.767 --> 00:06:51.667
\"This is a free speech issue,\"
you know.
00:06:51.700 --> 00:06:54.433
It was more,
\"Here\'s a weird technical thing
00:06:54.467 --> 00:06:58.667
that\'s happening on the net
that we didn\'t know about.\"
00:06:58.700 --> 00:07:02.100
I\'m not easily prone
to conspiracies
00:07:02.133 --> 00:07:04.500
and don\'t want to wear
the tinfoil hat
00:07:04.533 --> 00:07:05.600
or anything like that,
00:07:05.633 --> 00:07:08.667
but the events,
00:07:08.700 --> 00:07:10.433
they speak for themselves.
00:07:14.000 --> 00:07:16.433
- I think there are a lot
of people in this country
00:07:16.467 --> 00:07:19.733
that are so overwhelmed
00:07:19.767 --> 00:07:22.600
that they\'re pretending
to be asleep.
00:07:25.933 --> 00:07:27.633
- I was born in a log hospital.
00:07:27.667 --> 00:07:29.233
No.
00:07:29.267 --> 00:07:31.667
I was born
in Elmhurst, Illinois.
00:07:38.667 --> 00:07:40.000
My dad was a fireman.
00:07:41.933 --> 00:07:44.000
And my mom was the Avon lady.
00:07:46.200 --> 00:07:48.500
And between them,
00:07:48.533 --> 00:07:50.167
we had a great childhood.
00:07:54.200 --> 00:07:58.833
When I was nine, we moved
to a real tiny town in Arizona
00:07:58.867 --> 00:08:00.200
called Chandler.
00:08:02.433 --> 00:08:05.033
It was a farming community.
00:08:05.067 --> 00:08:07.600
There were 12,000 people,
00:08:07.633 --> 00:08:09.067
and everybody knew everybody.
00:08:13.000 --> 00:08:16.033
I\'m a social liberal,
fiscal conservative, so...
00:08:16.067 --> 00:08:17.033
[laughs]
00:08:17.067 --> 00:08:19.033
So I\'m a registered Republican
on the books,
00:08:19.067 --> 00:08:21.667
but I\'m actually Libertarian.
00:08:21.700 --> 00:08:23.533
I was in the air force
for four years.
00:08:23.567 --> 00:08:26.600
I was a cop for 12 years.
00:08:26.633 --> 00:08:28.100
I have two daughters.
00:08:28.133 --> 00:08:33.000
My oldest is 27,
and my youngest is 23.
00:08:33.033 --> 00:08:36.600
My oldest has two kids.
00:08:36.633 --> 00:08:40.467
Yeah, I have grandchildren.
00:08:40.500 --> 00:08:42.800
This is babies
having grandbabies
00:08:42.833 --> 00:08:44.300
right here in front of you.
00:08:44.333 --> 00:08:45.400
[laughs]
00:08:48.633 --> 00:08:49.867
I was brought up
in a pretty small town.
00:08:49.900 --> 00:08:51.967
We had pretty small-town values,
00:08:52.000 --> 00:08:55.000
and you\'re attached
to your values.
00:08:55.033 --> 00:08:56.633
They don\'t change,
00:08:56.667 --> 00:08:59.767
not unless something
earth-shattering comes
00:08:59.800 --> 00:09:02.300
and teaches you
something new and better.
00:09:02.333 --> 00:09:03.600
They don\'t change.
00:09:03.633 --> 00:09:05.400
So, yeah.
00:09:05.433 --> 00:09:06.400
Yeah.
00:09:06.433 --> 00:09:07.667
I\'ll keep \'em.
00:09:11.433 --> 00:09:12.433
It\'s funny.
00:09:12.467 --> 00:09:16.300
I think I was then
kind of how I am now,
00:09:16.333 --> 00:09:19.933
this cross between being
very musically oriented
00:09:19.967 --> 00:09:24.133
and appreciating things
of beauty and harmony in life
00:09:24.167 --> 00:09:27.100
and yet also being
very technically oriented.
00:09:30.500 --> 00:09:32.400
- In my life,
what I\'m interested in
00:09:32.433 --> 00:09:34.067
is looking for other people -
00:09:34.100 --> 00:09:36.333
and they\'re everywhere,
by the way -
00:09:36.367 --> 00:09:39.767
who are also questioning things,
00:09:39.800 --> 00:09:43.033
because that is the network
that\'s the underground.
00:09:43.067 --> 00:09:46.100
I got to, like, be connected to
the people I know who give a [...]
00:09:46.133 --> 00:09:48.467
and to look after the people, like,
00:09:48.500 --> 00:09:50.667
who work with me
or for me, work -
00:09:50.700 --> 00:09:53.767
look out for - you know,
just to feel that kind of connection
00:09:53.800 --> 00:09:54.767
and just keep it alive.
00:09:54.800 --> 00:09:56.933
It\'s just a flame.
00:09:56.967 --> 00:09:57.967
It\'s just a flame.
00:10:02.267 --> 00:10:06.233
- ♪ It may be darkness
on the outside ♪
00:10:06.267 --> 00:10:09.300
♪ But inside
it\'s nice and bright ♪
00:10:09.333 --> 00:10:11.333
- Robb is a fan
of turn-of-the-century
00:10:11.367 --> 00:10:13.900
barbershop quartet
a cappella singers.
00:10:13.933 --> 00:10:15.933
- ♪ But I get pizza at my desk
most every night ♪
00:10:15.967 --> 00:10:17.233
When I moved to Oregon,
00:10:17.267 --> 00:10:20.800
where we may have
90 sunny days in a year,
00:10:20.833 --> 00:10:24.467
I figured out that I needed
an inside hobby.
00:10:24.500 --> 00:10:26.567
I had a lot of this old music
laying around, and I said,
00:10:26.600 --> 00:10:29.767
\"God, I wonder what the uptake
would be for these kids
00:10:29.800 --> 00:10:32.733
\"if I put some of this
barbershop quartet music out there
00:10:32.767 --> 00:10:34.467
\"and, you know,
just told them what it was,
00:10:34.500 --> 00:10:36.567
\"that it was different,
it was interesting,
00:10:36.600 --> 00:10:37.633
and give it a try.\"
00:10:37.667 --> 00:10:38.667
♪ It don\'t look good ♪
00:10:38.700 --> 00:10:42.200
- He was trading files
with other fans around the world,
00:10:42.233 --> 00:10:44.733
and he noticed that
via his Comcast connection
00:10:44.767 --> 00:10:46.100
that the files were being slow.
00:10:46.133 --> 00:10:47.800
They were being blocked
in many cases.
00:10:47.833 --> 00:10:50.800
And he took it upon himself
to actually do the research
00:10:50.833 --> 00:10:53.800
and figure out what his internet
service provider, Comcast,
00:10:53.833 --> 00:10:55.533
was doing.
00:10:55.567 --> 00:10:57.633
- It\'s incredibly non-sexy -
00:10:57.667 --> 00:11:00.067
peers and servers and packets,
00:11:00.100 --> 00:11:03.133
and these are not terms
that people use every day.
00:11:03.167 --> 00:11:06.600
But they would understand
that internet service providers
00:11:06.633 --> 00:11:09.300
are making value judgments
about your connection,
00:11:09.333 --> 00:11:10.600
and because of that,
00:11:10.633 --> 00:11:13.033
I couldn\'t share the music
that I wanted to share.
00:11:16.000 --> 00:11:20.100
[cheers and applause]
00:11:20.133 --> 00:11:23.400
I said, \"God, I wonder
what other voices
00:11:23.433 --> 00:11:25.167
are being stilled by that.\"
00:11:30.267 --> 00:11:31.367
- We take it for granted
00:11:31.400 --> 00:11:34.000
that the internet
is infinitely robust,
00:11:34.033 --> 00:11:36.400
that, like, everyone, everywhere
with a good idea,
00:11:36.433 --> 00:11:40.633
as long as they have, you know,
decent access and a computer,
00:11:40.667 --> 00:11:42.233
can get this out
into the sort of, like,
00:11:42.267 --> 00:11:43.233
public world of the internet.
00:11:43.267 --> 00:11:45.767
♪ Oh, here it goes, here it goes,
here it goes again ♪
00:11:45.800 --> 00:11:47.967
You know, we\'re kind of
the perfect story for the internet.
00:11:48.000 --> 00:11:49.467
We made a video for five bucks
00:11:49.500 --> 00:11:51.433
that got downloaded
10 million times.
00:11:51.467 --> 00:11:52.833
You know, we made a video
for $5,000
00:11:52.867 --> 00:11:56.667
that got downloaded
35 million times.
00:11:56.700 --> 00:11:59.467
The idea that the little guy
with a good idea can succeed
00:11:59.500 --> 00:12:01.667
is pretty well embodied
in our band
00:12:01.700 --> 00:12:04.467
with respect to the internet.
00:12:04.500 --> 00:12:06.867
If you think about how quickly
the internet changes,
00:12:06.900 --> 00:12:09.200
the World Wide Web
is, like, 15 years old.
00:12:09.233 --> 00:12:10.600
That\'s it.
00:12:10.633 --> 00:12:13.533
And the principle of the internet
that we love so much
00:12:13.567 --> 00:12:15.267
is fairness and equality
00:12:15.300 --> 00:12:18.167
and the basic idea
of a meritocracy.
00:12:18.200 --> 00:12:20.000
You know, like,
you go to the sites you want,
00:12:20.033 --> 00:12:21.333
and you choose
what you want to do,
00:12:21.367 --> 00:12:23.467
and better ideas succeed.
00:12:23.500 --> 00:12:26.700
♪ Oh, here it goes again ♪
00:12:26.733 --> 00:12:28.767
That is an idea that\'s built
00:12:28.800 --> 00:12:31.700
on common carriage laws
that no longer apply.
00:12:49.200 --> 00:12:52.200
[rotary dial clicking]
00:12:55.400 --> 00:12:57.733
- Telephone companies,
the old AT&T,
00:12:57.767 --> 00:13:00.600
was legally a common carrier,
00:13:00.633 --> 00:13:04.167
which meant, under law,
it had to carry any traffic
00:13:04.200 --> 00:13:06.367
that its customers
wanted to put on it.
00:13:06.400 --> 00:13:10.800
And in fact, since it was all
voice traffic in those days,
00:13:10.833 --> 00:13:13.833
it was not even legal
for any employee of AT&T
00:13:13.867 --> 00:13:16.400
to listen to the traffic
to find out what it was.
00:13:23.500 --> 00:13:25.367
- When the internet developed,
00:13:25.400 --> 00:13:26.467
the government made a series
00:13:26.500 --> 00:13:29.067
of pretty significant
policy decisions
00:13:29.100 --> 00:13:31.400
that said, \"Basically,
we think this technology
00:13:31.433 --> 00:13:34.000
is really most like
the phone system,\"
00:13:34.033 --> 00:13:37.300
and so what that meant
is that the internet really grew up
00:13:37.333 --> 00:13:40.833
around the idea of being
a common carrier service.
00:13:40.867 --> 00:13:43.233
Now, the challenge
is that as we\'ve morphed,
00:13:43.267 --> 00:13:44.767
as we\'ve migrated
00:13:44.800 --> 00:13:47.100
from traditional
dial-up internet service
00:13:47.133 --> 00:13:48.833
to high-speed service,
00:13:48.867 --> 00:13:51.600
the government had questions
about, \"Well, what is this now?\"
00:13:54.800 --> 00:13:57.633
- The whole trend
of the internet has been
00:13:57.667 --> 00:14:00.333
to become more and more
free market
00:14:00.367 --> 00:14:03.100
and less and less
involvement by the government.
00:14:05.367 --> 00:14:07.033
- This goes back
to the Clinton era
00:14:07.067 --> 00:14:10.100
when I worked in the Clinton
White House in the 1990s.
00:14:10.133 --> 00:14:11.833
We consciously made a decision
00:14:11.867 --> 00:14:14.400
not to try to regulate
the internet
00:14:14.433 --> 00:14:16.633
the way the phone system
was regulated,
00:14:16.667 --> 00:14:17.667
because the idea was,
00:14:17.700 --> 00:14:19.567
if we keep it
kind of lightly regulated,
00:14:19.600 --> 00:14:22.300
we\'ll let creativity,
entrepreneurship -
00:14:22.333 --> 00:14:23.833
we\'ll let people
kind of go out, invest,
00:14:23.867 --> 00:14:25.167
and see what they can do
with it.
00:14:29.500 --> 00:14:32.833
- The internet involves
every kind of technology:
00:14:32.867 --> 00:14:36.833
a copper wire of dial-up,
a copper wire for broadband.
00:14:36.867 --> 00:14:39.667
It could be a cable wire
for cable broadband.
00:14:39.700 --> 00:14:41.433
It could be fiber optics,
00:14:41.467 --> 00:14:43.867
or it could be any one
of different levels
00:14:43.900 --> 00:14:47.533
of radio spectrum
that it\'s covered.
00:14:47.567 --> 00:14:50.333
They all have
different requirements,
00:14:50.367 --> 00:14:51.933
limits, and liabilities.
00:14:55.267 --> 00:14:56.800
- So the cable industry
and the phone industry
00:14:56.833 --> 00:14:57.967
were able to convince
00:14:58.000 --> 00:14:59.600
the Federal Communications
Commission
00:14:59.633 --> 00:15:01.467
to change the rules,
00:15:01.500 --> 00:15:05.800
to basically give those industries
a lot more leeway and discretion
00:15:05.833 --> 00:15:09.300
about the control
they can place on that network.
00:15:10.233 --> 00:15:11.767
And that\'s what the FCC decided.
00:15:11.800 --> 00:15:13.967
They basically said
the old rules,
00:15:14.000 --> 00:15:16.167
the common carrier rules,
don\'t apply anymore.
00:15:17.800 --> 00:15:20.800
[line beeping]
00:15:30.767 --> 00:15:33.567
- Something has been lost
in the process.
00:15:33.600 --> 00:15:35.367
The old AT&T,
00:15:35.400 --> 00:15:37.033
there were a lot of things
wrong with it.
00:15:37.067 --> 00:15:38.300
I mean, it was stuffy.
00:15:38.333 --> 00:15:39.700
It was stodgy.
00:15:39.733 --> 00:15:42.700
It was hopelessly un-innovative.
00:15:42.733 --> 00:15:44.700
It was hostile to innovation.
00:15:44.733 --> 00:15:47.800
But it did sort of view
what it did as a trust.
00:15:49.300 --> 00:15:52.267
The new telcos
don\'t have that sense.
00:15:52.300 --> 00:15:55.867
The whole idea that these things
are public utilities
00:15:55.900 --> 00:16:01.133
operated in the public interest
has kind of gone away,
00:16:01.167 --> 00:16:02.933
and we\'ve lost something there.
00:16:16.033 --> 00:16:17.433
- You know, that\'s really funny,
00:16:17.467 --> 00:16:19.400
because they say net neutrality
00:16:19.433 --> 00:16:23.433
like they\'re gonna turn the internet
into Switzerland or something.
00:16:23.467 --> 00:16:26.800
Every time I ask somebody
to define net neutrality,
00:16:26.833 --> 00:16:29.300
get a different explanation.
00:16:32.500 --> 00:16:34.333
Some people think it means
00:16:34.367 --> 00:16:36.300
that every bit of information
is gonna be treated
00:16:36.333 --> 00:16:38.467
like every other bit of information
on the internet,
00:16:38.500 --> 00:16:40.800
completely dumb pipes.
00:16:40.833 --> 00:16:43.367
But then you say,
\"Well, actually, that means
00:16:43.400 --> 00:16:45.467
\"that if you\'re doing a movie
or something,
00:16:45.500 --> 00:16:47.867
\"that\'s gonna get interrupted
by a text message that comes in.
00:16:47.900 --> 00:16:50.233
\"So you really can\'t control
the network that way,
00:16:50.267 --> 00:16:52.500
\"so would you allow them
to control the network
00:16:52.533 --> 00:16:55.000
\"for the benefit of you
being able to see your movies
00:16:55.033 --> 00:16:56.333
or get a text message?\"
00:16:56.367 --> 00:16:57.867
And they -
\"Well, yeah, that\'s okay.\"
00:16:57.900 --> 00:17:00.967
Well, then the net couldn\'t be
completely neutral.
00:17:01.000 --> 00:17:02.400
It has to be smart
to some degree.
00:17:05.433 --> 00:17:07.867
- It\'s not that complicated.
00:17:07.900 --> 00:17:10.533
The community that is arguing
for net neutrality
00:17:10.567 --> 00:17:13.200
doesn\'t oppose
network management.
00:17:13.233 --> 00:17:15.733
We\'ve never argued
against network management.
00:17:15.767 --> 00:17:18.000
ISPs engage
in network management today.
00:17:18.033 --> 00:17:20.033
They should be able
to continue to do that.
00:17:20.067 --> 00:17:22.733
We\'ve just argued
against discrimination.
00:17:22.767 --> 00:17:25.400
So we think this
is a pretty simple concept.
00:17:25.433 --> 00:17:28.433
The kind of speech that is carried
over a telephone line
00:17:28.467 --> 00:17:30.133
and the legal restriction
00:17:30.167 --> 00:17:32.233
that prevents
the telephone company
00:17:32.267 --> 00:17:34.800
from interfering with those
speech rights
00:17:34.833 --> 00:17:37.500
shouldn\'t cease just because
the person hangs up their phone
00:17:37.533 --> 00:17:39.467
and decides to text
that same speech
00:17:39.500 --> 00:17:41.267
to the same person
that they were having
00:17:41.300 --> 00:17:42.967
that earlier conversation with.
00:17:47.133 --> 00:17:50.100
- In many ways, net neutrality
is a pretty easy issue.
00:17:50.133 --> 00:17:51.600
We\'re basically gonna say,
00:17:51.633 --> 00:17:53.667
\"Your job, if you\'re
an internet service provider,
00:17:53.700 --> 00:17:55.567
\"is to allow someone
to get on the internet
00:17:55.600 --> 00:17:57.867
\"either to deliver content
or to access content,
00:17:57.900 --> 00:17:59.033
as long as it\'s legal.\"
00:17:59.067 --> 00:18:00.307
That\'s what the rule should be.
00:18:06.000 --> 00:18:08.700
- It seems to me
it\'s by the people, for the people.
00:18:08.733 --> 00:18:10.700
- How are you gonna get
that person into the street?
00:18:10.733 --> 00:18:12.567
- Don\'t you think?
00:18:21.300 --> 00:18:23.867
- In September of 2007,
00:18:23.900 --> 00:18:26.500
as a result
of all these blog postings,
00:18:26.533 --> 00:18:28.133
I started getting phone calls
00:18:28.167 --> 00:18:31.033
from things like
the Electronic Frontier Foundation
00:18:31.067 --> 00:18:32.600
and the Associated Press saying,
00:18:32.633 --> 00:18:34.233
\"We\'re very interested in this.
00:18:34.267 --> 00:18:36.000
Can you help us understand
the testing?\"
00:18:37.633 --> 00:18:41.533
Half of all geekism
is bragging about your geekdom.
00:18:41.567 --> 00:18:45.033
So I told them
how to set up the testing
00:18:45.067 --> 00:18:47.667
and what I had seen
and how to reproduce my results.
00:18:50.533 --> 00:18:52.333
But on October 4th,
00:18:52.367 --> 00:18:55.667
things like the internet
and reset packets
00:18:55.700 --> 00:18:58.833
were secondary to me.
00:19:05.033 --> 00:19:08.600
It was kind of
a slow spiral down.
00:19:08.633 --> 00:19:11.633
I was going through
a pretty strong depression.
00:19:11.667 --> 00:19:13.433
My dad had just died.
00:19:15.933 --> 00:19:18.367
I had gotten a diagnosis
of diabetes.
00:19:22.600 --> 00:19:25.200
More and more, I was missing
more and more time from work.
00:19:27.967 --> 00:19:29.033
Finally I said, \"That\'s it.
00:19:29.067 --> 00:19:32.133
I\'m not going back
until I figured out what this was.\"
00:19:33.700 --> 00:19:37.900
And then on October 4th
is when they found the cancer.
00:19:40.400 --> 00:19:43.433
What they found
was a very large, old,
00:19:43.467 --> 00:19:45.633
late-stage colon cancer.
00:19:47.633 --> 00:19:50.667
And he told me that,
00:19:50.700 --> 00:19:53.767
\"Your chances of survival
is about 15%.\"
00:19:55.867 --> 00:19:59.767
It was just -
it was - it was too sad.
00:20:04.667 --> 00:20:06.700
I kind of just withdrew.
00:20:12.167 --> 00:20:14.767
I stopped singing,
00:20:14.800 --> 00:20:16.867
\'cause I just couldn\'t
keep up with it.
00:20:21.467 --> 00:20:23.267
- I came down for the month,
00:20:23.300 --> 00:20:27.033
and he was very weak, very sick.
00:20:27.067 --> 00:20:31.200
And diagnosis was such
that it could\'ve been stage three,
00:20:31.233 --> 00:20:32.833
could\'ve even been four.
00:20:34.433 --> 00:20:38.167
He was extremely sick,
and I was extremely scared.
00:20:41.133 --> 00:20:42.733
- I was ready to sew it up,
00:20:42.767 --> 00:20:44.967
you know, make sure that my kids
were taken care of,
00:20:45.000 --> 00:20:49.400
make sure that, you know,
my last affairs were in order.
00:20:49.433 --> 00:20:52.433
[siren wailing]
00:21:02.967 --> 00:21:05.967
[monitor beeping steadily]
00:21:08.333 --> 00:21:11.333
[beeping slows]
00:21:23.633 --> 00:21:26.633
[cell phone ringing]
00:21:39.333 --> 00:21:42.500
- The Comcast story broke
in The New York Times
00:21:42.533 --> 00:21:44.367
the day of his surgery.
00:21:44.400 --> 00:21:46.933
I didn\'t know
how to turn off his PDA,
00:21:46.967 --> 00:21:49.400
which was ringing constantly,
00:21:49.433 --> 00:21:51.900
and I just let it all
go to voice mail.
00:21:51.933 --> 00:21:54.533
I thought,
\"We ain\'t handling this today.\"
00:22:03.500 --> 00:22:04.600
- I came out of surgery.
00:22:04.633 --> 00:22:08.067
Of course, the phone\'s ringing,
and I get this call
00:22:08.100 --> 00:22:09.467
from Peter Svensson.
00:22:09.500 --> 00:22:12.200
He\'s the reporter with the AP.
00:22:12.233 --> 00:22:14.933
And he says, \"Well, of course,
you know the article came out.\"
00:22:14.967 --> 00:22:17.033
And I said, \"Yeah, I heard.
00:22:17.067 --> 00:22:19.567
I\'m getting
a lot of phone calls.\"
00:22:19.600 --> 00:22:22.267
You know, \"It must have run
in a lot of papers.\"
00:22:22.300 --> 00:22:24.900
And he says,
\"No, you don\'t understand.
00:22:24.933 --> 00:22:26.333
It\'s big.\"
00:22:37.500 --> 00:22:41.200
- A lot of people say that this
is about freedom of speech.
00:22:41.233 --> 00:22:45.233
But just because you\'re not allowed
to reach every network
00:22:45.267 --> 00:22:48.800
or every outlet that you want,
00:22:48.833 --> 00:22:51.467
your free speech
is not being impeded
00:22:51.500 --> 00:22:52.733
on a constitutional basis.
00:22:55.867 --> 00:22:58.233
- When someone
actually stops you
00:22:58.267 --> 00:22:59.767
from being able
to download a video
00:22:59.800 --> 00:23:02.500
or stops - you know,
blocks a certain part of a video
00:23:02.533 --> 00:23:06.833
or, you know, slows down
a certain file transfer protocol,
00:23:06.867 --> 00:23:09.000
any of those things
are very definitely
00:23:09.033 --> 00:23:10.033
First Amendment issues.
00:23:11.700 --> 00:23:12.867
- That\'s ridiculous.
00:23:12.900 --> 00:23:14.900
The Constitution was put there
00:23:14.933 --> 00:23:19.367
to protect individuals\' free speech
from the government,
00:23:19.400 --> 00:23:21.867
not broadband companies.
00:23:25.367 --> 00:23:31.967
- What we\'re really fighting for
is the right to know,
00:23:32.000 --> 00:23:36.267
which, you know, I think
is an inalienable human right.
00:23:36.300 --> 00:23:38.467
And there are plenty of ways
to make money
00:23:38.500 --> 00:23:41.333
on serving the right to know
00:23:41.367 --> 00:23:45.767
besides trying
to make knowledge scarce.
00:23:48.767 --> 00:23:50.967
- He who controls
the information
00:23:51.000 --> 00:23:53.133
is gonna control the people.
00:23:53.167 --> 00:23:59.033
That\'s why our founding fathers
put specific safeguards
00:23:59.067 --> 00:24:01.667
in not the Second,
not the Fifth,
00:24:01.700 --> 00:24:03.467
not the Tenth Amendment,
00:24:03.500 --> 00:24:04.900
the First Amendment.
00:24:06.900 --> 00:24:08.533
They had just fought a war
00:24:08.567 --> 00:24:12.400
to free themselves
from the tyranny of a king,
00:24:12.433 --> 00:24:14.200
and they wanted to make sure
00:24:14.233 --> 00:24:17.300
that the people\'s rights
of freedom of expression
00:24:17.333 --> 00:24:19.333
were guaranteed.
00:24:19.367 --> 00:24:24.000
Freedom of speech comes second
only to God.
00:24:35.400 --> 00:24:37.500
- Well, I\'m very strong
in my faith,
00:24:37.533 --> 00:24:41.433
and I just knew
that it was gonna be okay.
00:24:41.467 --> 00:24:43.433
- It was the size
of a Nerf ball,
00:24:43.467 --> 00:24:45.900
but they were able to remove
the entire thing,
00:24:45.933 --> 00:24:49.700
and my last two tests
have come -
00:24:49.733 --> 00:24:52.067
have come back clean,
00:24:52.100 --> 00:24:55.000
and I\'m cancer-free.
00:24:55.033 --> 00:24:58.200
- And then, of course,
as soon as he got home,
00:24:58.233 --> 00:25:00.267
every call had to be answered.
00:25:00.300 --> 00:25:02.300
Every question
had to be answered.
00:25:04.800 --> 00:25:07.467
- Comcast showed us,
thanks to Robb,
00:25:07.500 --> 00:25:09.933
that the problem was very real.
00:25:09.967 --> 00:25:10.967
In internet terms,
00:25:11.000 --> 00:25:12.920
this was sort of the shot heard
around the world.
00:25:16.433 --> 00:25:19.900
- It\'s a surprise to me.
00:25:19.933 --> 00:25:22.167
I published an article,
00:25:22.200 --> 00:25:25.000
and this became
a national issue.
00:25:25.033 --> 00:25:27.433
It happened
almost simultaneously
00:25:27.467 --> 00:25:30.467
as I was on the table
in the hospital.
00:25:44.433 --> 00:25:47.200
In January of \'08, the FCC said,
00:25:47.233 --> 00:25:49.267
\"We\'re going
to investigate this.\"
00:25:49.300 --> 00:25:52.200
- The first item presented
for your consideration
00:25:52.233 --> 00:25:53.500
is an order that examines
00:25:53.533 --> 00:25:56.433
whether it is a reasonable
network management practice
00:25:56.467 --> 00:25:59.033
for Comcast to interfere
with its customers\' use
00:25:59.067 --> 00:26:01.033
of peer-to-peer
networking applications
00:26:01.067 --> 00:26:03.267
or whether this practice
runs afoul
00:26:03.300 --> 00:26:04.900
of federal internet policy.
00:26:07.267 --> 00:26:12.500
- The FCC then held
public hearings at Harvard,
00:26:12.533 --> 00:26:16.267
where Comcast
loaded the hearing room
00:26:16.300 --> 00:26:18.433
with three busloads of people
00:26:18.467 --> 00:26:21.033
that they bused in from
the downtown Boston Winchell\'s
00:26:21.067 --> 00:26:23.267
or someplace.
00:26:23.300 --> 00:26:27.233
- It came out that Comcast
had paid a whole bunch of people
00:26:27.267 --> 00:26:28.800
who they picked up
off the street
00:26:28.833 --> 00:26:30.600
to come in and sit in the chairs
00:26:30.633 --> 00:26:32.700
so that the public
00:26:32.733 --> 00:26:34.773
who would by and large
be in favor of net neutrality
00:26:34.800 --> 00:26:37.000
would have nowhere to sit down
and couldn\'t come in,
00:26:37.033 --> 00:26:38.033
and in fact,
00:26:38.067 --> 00:26:39.867
several hundred people
were unable to come to the hearing
00:26:39.900 --> 00:26:41.733
because the room
was totally full,
00:26:41.767 --> 00:26:43.700
and about 2/3
of the people in the room
00:26:43.733 --> 00:26:46.533
were these paid seat fillers.
00:26:48.300 --> 00:26:50.300
- I\'ve attended
some of these FCC hearings,
00:26:50.333 --> 00:26:53.133
and I\'ve tried to follow
what\'s been going on with the FCC
00:26:53.167 --> 00:26:58.133
since about 1996 when it started
really going off the rails.
00:26:58.167 --> 00:27:00.367
There are some good people
fighting the good fight
00:27:00.400 --> 00:27:02.200
within the FCC.
00:27:02.233 --> 00:27:05.067
But a lot of FCC hearings
and things go on
00:27:05.100 --> 00:27:07.133
without you really knowing
that they\'re happening,
00:27:07.167 --> 00:27:10.167
and these decisions are mostly made
behind closed doors.
00:27:12.300 --> 00:27:14.167
- Fortunately in this case,
00:27:14.200 --> 00:27:17.767
the FCC decided to have
another hearing at Stanford,
00:27:17.800 --> 00:27:20.967
and I was invited
to present there.
00:27:25.667 --> 00:27:26.667
All:
♪ When no one can ♪
00:27:26.700 --> 00:27:28.067
- Block my email!
00:27:28.100 --> 00:27:30.100
All:
♪ Block my email ♪
00:27:30.133 --> 00:27:34.700
♪ When no one can block
my email ♪
00:27:34.733 --> 00:27:39.067
♪ How I want to be
in that number ♪
00:27:39.100 --> 00:27:43.700
♪ When no one can block
my email ♪
00:27:43.733 --> 00:27:47.467
[all cheering]
00:27:47.500 --> 00:27:49.333
- I actually want
to take one moment
00:27:49.367 --> 00:27:52.167
and actually thank Robb
for your role
00:27:52.200 --> 00:27:53.467
as just being an average citizen
00:27:53.500 --> 00:27:54.700
and your persistence
in being able
00:27:54.733 --> 00:27:56.200
to try to find out
what was going on.
00:27:56.233 --> 00:27:59.233
[applause]
00:28:04.733 --> 00:28:06.467
- He stood up
00:28:06.500 --> 00:28:12.100
and did what he felt
was his duty as a citizen.
00:28:12.133 --> 00:28:13.500
- Peer-to-peer is a great medium
00:28:13.533 --> 00:28:17.100
for introducing new music
to other people,
00:28:17.133 --> 00:28:19.100
and I was kind of trying
to use it
00:28:19.133 --> 00:28:22.200
to introduce old music
to other people,
00:28:22.233 --> 00:28:25.033
and show some of the style
00:28:25.067 --> 00:28:28.400
and wonderful things available
in barbershop harmony.
00:28:28.433 --> 00:28:30.400
Over the years,
I\'ve collected wonderful samples
00:28:30.433 --> 00:28:33.933
of wax cylinder recordings
and printed music
00:28:33.967 --> 00:28:35.067
that are in that style,
00:28:35.100 --> 00:28:37.233
and I wanted to use
the peer-to-peer networks
00:28:37.267 --> 00:28:39.500
to share them.
00:28:39.533 --> 00:28:41.400
- We can talk
about freedom of speech,
00:28:41.433 --> 00:28:42.967
\'cause we\'ve had
this whole discussion
00:28:43.000 --> 00:28:45.033
about freedom of speech
00:28:45.067 --> 00:28:48.433
where illegal downloading
is concerned.
00:28:48.467 --> 00:28:50.567
- For nearly ten years,
00:28:50.600 --> 00:28:52.533
I\'ve watched illegal file sharing
00:28:52.567 --> 00:28:55.400
destroy the lives
of my friends and my colleagues
00:28:55.433 --> 00:28:58.300
by depriving them
of their property, their jobs,
00:28:58.333 --> 00:29:01.533
their homes, and sometimes
even their families.
00:29:01.567 --> 00:29:03.467
Where\'s freedom of speech?
Where\'s privacy?
00:29:03.500 --> 00:29:05.933
Okay, here\'s where my line is:
00:29:05.967 --> 00:29:08.200
freedom of speech
but not free lunch.
00:29:08.233 --> 00:29:09.867
There\'s two
different things there.
00:29:09.900 --> 00:29:10.933
Well, we have a lot of people
00:29:10.967 --> 00:29:12.833
trying to carry
freedom of speech
00:29:12.867 --> 00:29:14.700
over the free lunch line.
00:29:14.733 --> 00:29:17.967
Where does the line
between information and art -
00:29:18.000 --> 00:29:19.167
where\'s that demarcation at?
00:29:19.200 --> 00:29:20.633
Where\'s that bright line
that says,
00:29:20.667 --> 00:29:24.333
\"This is information,
and this is art\"?
00:29:24.367 --> 00:29:25.333
I got to ask you.
00:29:25.367 --> 00:29:28.933
You said that you discovered
the packet reset thing
00:29:28.967 --> 00:29:32.000
while you were trying
to swap barbershop songs, right?
00:29:32.033 --> 00:29:33.167
- That\'s right.
- Okay.
00:29:33.200 --> 00:29:34.467
- Did you license those songs,
00:29:34.500 --> 00:29:35.800
or do you know
who the writers were
00:29:35.833 --> 00:29:39.033
or whether they were
all public domain or -
00:29:39.067 --> 00:29:41.100
I mean, I\'m just -
it\'s a legitimate question.
00:29:41.133 --> 00:29:44.267
- Actually, the content
that I was sharing
00:29:44.300 --> 00:29:46.167
had all expired in copyright.
00:29:46.200 --> 00:29:50.467
The era that I\'m talking about
is 1890 through 1910.
00:29:50.500 --> 00:29:52.433
- Okay.
00:29:52.467 --> 00:29:54.167
[cheers and applause]
00:29:54.200 --> 00:29:55.467
- Sometimes
there\'s this false construct
00:29:55.500 --> 00:29:56.533
that gets out there, though.
00:29:56.567 --> 00:29:58.000
It\'s like, well, can you have
00:29:58.033 --> 00:29:59.967
openness and neutrality
on the one hand
00:30:00.000 --> 00:30:02.400
and can you do something
about the problem
00:30:02.433 --> 00:30:05.300
of unlicensed distribution/piracy,
you know,
00:30:05.333 --> 00:30:07.133
however you want to define that,
on the other hand?
00:30:07.167 --> 00:30:08.807
You know, how do these things
interrelate?
00:30:10.067 --> 00:30:11.700
Network neutrality\'s
about access.
00:30:11.733 --> 00:30:14.867
What you do about
unlicensed distribution of music
00:30:14.900 --> 00:30:16.433
is, in our view, about,
00:30:16.467 --> 00:30:18.567
how do you create
a legitimate digital marketplace?
00:30:22.633 --> 00:30:24.700
- The reason
it\'s such a difficult issue
00:30:24.733 --> 00:30:26.867
for people to engage with
00:30:26.900 --> 00:30:29.367
is that it gets
incredibly technical
00:30:29.400 --> 00:30:30.500
and incredibly complex,
00:30:30.533 --> 00:30:32.467
and there are
some very real reasons
00:30:32.500 --> 00:30:35.333
why some network management
needs to be done.
00:30:39.367 --> 00:30:41.367
- In the instance of Comcast,
00:30:41.400 --> 00:30:45.267
they were only delaying traffic
because of -
00:30:45.300 --> 00:30:47.767
because they wanted to maintain
the quality of service
00:30:47.800 --> 00:30:49.267
for all of their customers.
00:30:50.300 --> 00:30:54.367
- When you delay something,
it does eventually happen.
00:30:54.400 --> 00:30:57.067
If you block my phone call,
I get a busy signal,
00:30:57.100 --> 00:30:58.567
and in order
to make a call later,
00:30:58.600 --> 00:30:59.933
I have to dial again.
00:30:59.967 --> 00:31:01.267
That\'s not delaying.
00:31:01.300 --> 00:31:02.567
That\'s blocking,
00:31:02.600 --> 00:31:04.467
and that is roughly
what they\'re doing here.
00:31:04.500 --> 00:31:07.067
When they send
a TCP reset packet,
00:31:07.100 --> 00:31:08.967
they are actually
terminating the call.
00:31:09.000 --> 00:31:13.600
It ends, and unless you call again,
it won\'t happen.
00:31:13.633 --> 00:31:16.033
- You need to remember
that this is political,
00:31:16.067 --> 00:31:17.300
and we know it.
00:31:17.333 --> 00:31:19.133
People have discovered
their voices.
00:31:19.167 --> 00:31:21.833
People have come out of the woodworks
and become activists.
00:31:21.867 --> 00:31:23.533
They are trying to stop the war.
00:31:23.567 --> 00:31:26.233
They are trying to bring justice -
environmental justice
00:31:26.267 --> 00:31:28.167
to people, and it\'s working.
00:31:28.200 --> 00:31:29.967
It\'s a powerful,
powerful entity.
00:31:30.000 --> 00:31:31.100
How do I know?
00:31:31.133 --> 00:31:35.000
Because Comcast, Verizon,
and AT&T want to own it.
00:31:35.033 --> 00:31:36.367
They cannot own it.
00:31:36.400 --> 00:31:38.833
It belongs to the people.
00:31:38.867 --> 00:31:40.033
[applause]
00:31:40.067 --> 00:31:41.700
- The reason
the Christian Coalition
00:31:41.733 --> 00:31:43.833
supports net neutrality
is simple.
00:31:43.867 --> 00:31:47.100
We believe that organizations
such as the Christian Coalition
00:31:47.133 --> 00:31:49.267
should be able to continue
to use the internet
00:31:49.300 --> 00:31:52.633
to communicate with our members
and with a worldwide audience
00:31:52.667 --> 00:31:54.967
without a phone
or a cable company
00:31:55.000 --> 00:31:56.700
snooping in our communications
00:31:56.733 --> 00:31:58.700
and deciding whether to allow
00:31:58.733 --> 00:32:01.167
a particular communication
to proceed,
00:32:01.200 --> 00:32:04.367
slow it down, block it,
or offer to speed it up
00:32:04.400 --> 00:32:07.733
only if the author pays extra
to be on the fast lane.
00:32:07.767 --> 00:32:09.567
[applause]
00:32:09.600 --> 00:32:11.633
- I mean, I sat next to people
00:32:11.667 --> 00:32:14.300
from the Christian Coalition
who were talk - you know, who -
00:32:14.333 --> 00:32:17.500
with whom I could probably not
agree less on most issues,
00:32:17.533 --> 00:32:19.800
and, you know, we were,
00:32:19.833 --> 00:32:22.000
like, we had the same point of view.
00:32:22.033 --> 00:32:25.267
- We should not let the phone
and cable companies interfere
00:32:25.300 --> 00:32:27.700
with that work
in getting our message out
00:32:27.733 --> 00:32:30.300
to the millions of Americans
who want to make this country
00:32:30.333 --> 00:32:33.433
a better place for their
children and grandchildren.
00:32:33.467 --> 00:32:35.700
- When you see
the Christian Coalition
00:32:35.733 --> 00:32:39.600
and pro-choice groups
agree on something,
00:32:39.633 --> 00:32:42.767
you can be pretty sure
that that\'s, like, a -
00:32:42.800 --> 00:32:44.633
like, that\'s a real consensus.
00:32:52.167 --> 00:32:55.233
- Comcast wasn\'t evil
in what they were trying to do.
00:32:55.267 --> 00:32:58.500
What they\'ve done, however,
since then has been evil.
00:32:58.533 --> 00:33:00.467
They\'ve lied about
what they were doing.
00:33:09.233 --> 00:33:11.433
- I have to say
that in the history of the world,
00:33:11.467 --> 00:33:14.733
human beings have been brutal
to each other since day one.
00:33:16.367 --> 00:33:18.900
I think as soon as someone
figured out how to pick up a rock,
00:33:18.933 --> 00:33:20.533
they smacked somebody else
in the head with \'em.
00:33:20.567 --> 00:33:21.533
I don\'t understand it,
00:33:21.567 --> 00:33:23.733
and I don\'t think
everybody feels that way,
00:33:23.767 --> 00:33:26.600
but there\'s enough of people
out there doing that
00:33:26.633 --> 00:33:28.667
who have -
who do believe in that idea
00:33:28.700 --> 00:33:31.000
that it\'s just gonna be
a perpetual thorn in our side.
00:33:34.433 --> 00:33:37.700
- Comcast actually
pulled my résumé
00:33:37.733 --> 00:33:40.667
and my qualifications
into question,
00:33:40.700 --> 00:33:43.267
and they began to attack me.
00:33:43.300 --> 00:33:44.867
- And they said,
\"Who is this guy?
00:33:44.900 --> 00:33:46.467
\"Does he have a PhD
in engineering?
00:33:46.500 --> 00:33:47.467
\"No.
00:33:47.500 --> 00:33:48.500
\"Is he a network operator?
00:33:48.533 --> 00:33:49.500
\"No.
00:33:49.533 --> 00:33:51.367
\"Does he work on networks
every day for a living?\"
00:33:51.400 --> 00:33:53.700
Maybe he doesn\'t know
what he\'s talking about.\"
00:33:55.267 --> 00:33:58.167
- 99% of the people
that talk about net neutrality,
00:33:58.200 --> 00:34:01.333
they can\'t understand
the level of detail
00:34:01.367 --> 00:34:04.000
that this problem
is talking about,
00:34:04.033 --> 00:34:07.567
and so you can\'t have
public policy or legislation
00:34:07.600 --> 00:34:10.200
around issues
that are so complex
00:34:10.233 --> 00:34:13.800
that only 1 out of 100 experts
can really address it.
00:34:15.700 --> 00:34:17.633
- \"He\'s just a software tester.\"
00:34:17.667 --> 00:34:21.600
Well, no, I\'m a software tester
with 15 years of experience
00:34:21.633 --> 00:34:23.567
in networking products,
00:34:23.600 --> 00:34:25.967
and I nailed it.
00:34:26.000 --> 00:34:26.967
I nailed it,
00:34:27.000 --> 00:34:29.067
and they would\'ve liked
to convince the world
00:34:29.100 --> 00:34:31.433
that I didn\'t,
that I was unqualified to do it,
00:34:31.467 --> 00:34:34.933
and it was just simply not true.
00:34:34.967 --> 00:34:37.533
- If you put yourself out like that
and you become the poster boy
00:34:37.567 --> 00:34:39.433
for a big fight
with a big company,
00:34:39.467 --> 00:34:40.967
your name is now known,
00:34:41.000 --> 00:34:43.133
and while some people
may be more apt to hire you,
00:34:43.167 --> 00:34:45.867
others certainly will run away
as fast as they can
00:34:45.900 --> 00:34:47.833
when you come to their door.
00:34:47.867 --> 00:34:49.867
That\'s the risk you take
when you blow the whistle.
00:34:51.633 --> 00:34:54.967
- It would probably make it
a little harder to find a job,
00:34:55.000 --> 00:34:57.533
but this was
the right thing to do.
00:35:04.867 --> 00:35:07.133
At some point,
wouldn\'t it be nice
00:35:07.167 --> 00:35:09.433
to hear one of these companies say,
\"You know, we\'ve been wrong.
00:35:09.467 --> 00:35:12.867
We\'re sorry\"?
00:35:12.900 --> 00:35:15.033
That would be great.
00:35:15.067 --> 00:35:18.067
[thunder booming]
00:35:30.533 --> 00:35:33.333
- This to me is, like,
the perfect metaphor
00:35:33.367 --> 00:35:34.567
for the record,
00:35:34.600 --> 00:35:36.100
\'cause it\'s just a conveyance.
00:35:36.133 --> 00:35:39.333
Water runs in a river,
and it\'s free.
00:35:39.367 --> 00:35:41.967
Anybody can drink
from the river.
00:35:42.000 --> 00:35:45.133
They figured out a way
to bottle the water,
00:35:45.167 --> 00:35:47.500
and so now people
can have the water in their car,
00:35:47.533 --> 00:35:49.967
or they can take it
anywhere they want.
00:35:50.000 --> 00:35:52.633
Same with music.
00:35:52.667 --> 00:35:54.067
It\'s not evil.
It\'s not bad.
00:35:54.100 --> 00:35:56.667
It\'s just -
00:35:56.700 --> 00:35:58.900
it is actually an opening
for serious abuse,
00:35:58.933 --> 00:36:01.233
you know, \'cause it puts them
in a position of monopoly,
00:36:01.267 --> 00:36:03.933
especially when the people,
for instance,
00:36:03.967 --> 00:36:07.267
who bottle that water
block access to the river
00:36:07.300 --> 00:36:10.100
or poison the river
00:36:10.133 --> 00:36:12.500
and make it
so you can\'t drink for free.
00:36:21.633 --> 00:36:24.600
- Media consolidation
has limited the voices
00:36:24.633 --> 00:36:25.733
over the media.
00:36:25.767 --> 00:36:27.033
People say, \"What do you mean?
00:36:27.067 --> 00:36:28.267
There\'s 300 channels.\"
00:36:28.300 --> 00:36:30.367
But they\'re really dominated
by a handful of companies
00:36:30.400 --> 00:36:33.367
that control the process
from the beginning to the end
00:36:33.400 --> 00:36:35.300
and put them out over
their own pipes,
00:36:35.333 --> 00:36:39.200
their own cable systems
or their own broadcast outlets.
00:36:39.233 --> 00:36:41.467
So we\'re really seeing,
while there\'s a diversity of voices,
00:36:41.500 --> 00:36:45.500
there\'s just a handful
of ventriloquists behind them.
00:36:49.600 --> 00:36:51.200
- That\'s how this works.
00:36:51.233 --> 00:36:52.400
Look at radio.
00:36:52.433 --> 00:36:54.267
Look at what\'s happened
to news coverage in this country.
00:36:54.300 --> 00:36:56.400
Look what\'s happened
in that entire industry.
00:36:56.433 --> 00:36:58.800
We\'re really
at a fork in the road.
00:36:58.833 --> 00:37:01.167
We have allowed,
through policy decisions,
00:37:01.200 --> 00:37:04.900
the two industries
that dominate access to the internet
00:37:04.933 --> 00:37:07.267
to have way too much control,
way too much power,
00:37:07.300 --> 00:37:10.100
and the ability to build and implement
business structures
00:37:10.133 --> 00:37:11.833
that can really discriminate
against artists,
00:37:11.867 --> 00:37:13.700
against small businesses,
against entrepreneurs,
00:37:13.733 --> 00:37:16.100
and against the public.
00:37:16.133 --> 00:37:17.400
- And they always have.
00:37:17.433 --> 00:37:18.500
I mean, you go back in the \'50s,
00:37:18.533 --> 00:37:20.400
there\'s, like, you know,
\"Camel presents.\"
00:37:20.433 --> 00:37:22.933
It just always -
it\'s always been -
00:37:22.967 --> 00:37:25.400
they\'ve always owned the news.
00:37:25.433 --> 00:37:28.267
Television news, movies,
TV shows, anything like that,
00:37:28.300 --> 00:37:31.967
it\'s always coming
from a perspective, a bias.
00:37:33.700 --> 00:37:35.300
- It\'s not good
for any form of media.
00:37:35.333 --> 00:37:37.367
Radio is really
the canary in the coal mine.
00:37:37.400 --> 00:37:39.733
It\'s happening to TV,
newspapers,
00:37:39.767 --> 00:37:42.533
the movie industry, all of it.
00:37:44.133 --> 00:37:46.600
Specifically, if you want to know
what happened to radio,
00:37:46.633 --> 00:37:49.400
Ronald Reagan happened to radio.
00:37:49.433 --> 00:37:54.433
Ronald Reagan deregulated
the radio business,
00:37:54.467 --> 00:37:57.033
and they changed the rules.
00:37:57.067 --> 00:38:00.600
There used to be a rule called
the seven and seven rule,
00:38:00.633 --> 00:38:04.200
and that meant
that any one person or company
00:38:04.233 --> 00:38:09.267
could not own more
than seven radio and TV stations.
00:38:09.300 --> 00:38:14.200
And that meant there was
a lot of different owners
00:38:14.233 --> 00:38:15.967
and a lot of different
points of view
00:38:16.000 --> 00:38:19.367
and many jobs to choose from.
00:38:19.400 --> 00:38:23.667
Once they removed that
and let people buy and sell
00:38:23.700 --> 00:38:26.867
as many broadcast facilities
as they wanted to,
00:38:26.900 --> 00:38:30.800
you get more and more
radio stations
00:38:30.833 --> 00:38:33.033
owned by fewer and fewer people,
00:38:33.067 --> 00:38:34.367
and that\'s dangerous.
00:38:40.200 --> 00:38:41.700
- If you grew up
in Washington, D.C.,
00:38:41.733 --> 00:38:44.333
you know the government
is just a big business.
00:38:44.367 --> 00:38:45.367
That\'s all.
00:38:45.400 --> 00:38:46.700
If you live in L.A.,
it\'s, like - it\'s Hollywood.
00:38:46.733 --> 00:38:49.133
If you grew up in Pittsburgh,
it\'s, like, the steel companies.
00:38:49.167 --> 00:38:50.767
If you grew up in Detroit,
it\'s the auto companies.
00:38:50.800 --> 00:38:52.300
That\'s just a big business.
00:38:57.467 --> 00:38:58.600
- I heard someone say,
00:38:58.633 --> 00:39:01.400
\"At this point to me,
CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News
00:39:01.433 --> 00:39:03.267
\"are all state-sponsored
propaganda,
00:39:03.300 --> 00:39:04.867
and I don\'t even bother.\"
00:39:04.900 --> 00:39:06.020
That\'s kind of where I\'m at.
00:39:09.133 --> 00:39:10.767
I go a lot of places,
00:39:10.800 --> 00:39:12.267
and you get to see
00:39:12.300 --> 00:39:15.133
what globalization looks like
somewheres else.
00:39:15.167 --> 00:39:16.900
You get to see what all that
00:39:16.933 --> 00:39:20.133
\"blow \'em into the stone age, son\"
macho rhetoric does
00:39:20.167 --> 00:39:22.233
to a place like Laos or Cambodia
or Vietnam,
00:39:22.267 --> 00:39:26.367
where they\'re still
digging themselves out of it.
00:39:26.400 --> 00:39:28.167
And when you see that stuff,
00:39:28.200 --> 00:39:32.900
it makes that kind of macho
gung ho American thing
00:39:32.933 --> 00:39:37.233
kind of - it doesn\'t look as cool
and as sexy anymore.
00:39:37.267 --> 00:39:39.533
And if more people saw -
like, for instance,
00:39:39.567 --> 00:39:41.867
the fact
that you can\'t go on CNN
00:39:41.900 --> 00:39:45.500
and see what an American
casualty looks like.
00:39:45.533 --> 00:39:47.233
Don\'t you think you should?
00:39:47.267 --> 00:39:49.033
\"No, it\'s bad for business.\"
00:39:49.067 --> 00:39:50.067
See, that\'s just it.
00:39:50.100 --> 00:39:52.067
When you see an American kid,
00:39:52.100 --> 00:39:54.900
what a body looks like
when an IED goes through it,
00:39:54.933 --> 00:39:57.433
it\'s nothing you want
to look at, of course,
00:39:57.467 --> 00:40:00.167
but America for years has seen
00:40:00.200 --> 00:40:02.867
a very sanitized version
of this thing.
00:40:05.200 --> 00:40:07.033
And I do a lot of visits
to Walter Reed
00:40:07.067 --> 00:40:08.167
and Bethesda Naval Medical,
00:40:08.200 --> 00:40:09.933
so I meet the kids
with their faces gone,
00:40:09.967 --> 00:40:11.633
their testicles torn
from their bodies,
00:40:11.667 --> 00:40:13.633
and their legs missing,
and they\'re 22.
00:40:13.667 --> 00:40:15.567
Their lives are - you know,
they\'re in diapers, you know?
00:40:15.600 --> 00:40:17.567
I don\'t know what their lives
are gonna be like.
00:40:17.600 --> 00:40:18.800
You never get to see
any of that,
00:40:18.833 --> 00:40:20.433
because the media
doesn\'t give it to you.
00:40:20.467 --> 00:40:21.967
Oh, they could, but they don\'t,
00:40:22.000 --> 00:40:23.700
because they\'re told not to,
00:40:23.733 --> 00:40:26.067
and that\'s that power
the media has
00:40:26.100 --> 00:40:28.467
to influence
how you think and feel,
00:40:28.500 --> 00:40:33.167
and if Time Warner could limit
my internet access,
00:40:33.200 --> 00:40:35.033
that is the beginning
of, like, wow,
00:40:35.067 --> 00:40:38.233
I\'m living
in an Orwellian nightmare.
00:40:38.267 --> 00:40:40.667
And I think
we\'re a good way there.
00:40:44.867 --> 00:40:47.800
- Very similar
to what\'s happened here,
00:40:47.833 --> 00:40:50.867
because the way that they chose
to interfere with us
00:40:50.900 --> 00:40:54.467
is a way that isn\'t easily
noticed by the consumer,
00:40:54.500 --> 00:40:58.500
and it isn\'t until we\'ve gone
down the road quite a ways
00:40:58.533 --> 00:40:59.767
and this kind of interference
00:40:59.800 --> 00:41:02.700
has become instilled
on the internet for a few years
00:41:02.733 --> 00:41:04.733
that maybe somebody
might notice.
00:41:11.833 --> 00:41:15.533
- Let me just ask one question.
00:41:15.567 --> 00:41:17.000
Do you see a business model
00:41:17.033 --> 00:41:18.967
where you would want to do
an exclusive
00:41:19.000 --> 00:41:23.000
or, if not an exclusive,
a preferential agreement
00:41:23.033 --> 00:41:26.700
that may be
with the big record producers
00:41:26.733 --> 00:41:30.167
but not with the independent
record producers
00:41:30.200 --> 00:41:34.400
or with some in Hollywood
but not others in Hollywood?
00:41:36.833 --> 00:41:40.200
- I believe that if you have
a competitive environment,
00:41:40.233 --> 00:41:41.600
as we do today,
00:41:41.633 --> 00:41:45.733
where the barriers to investment
in offering broadband services
00:41:45.767 --> 00:41:48.067
are extraordinarily low,
00:41:48.100 --> 00:41:51.967
that as people
are investing in broadband,
00:41:52.000 --> 00:41:54.533
one of the ways they may
capitalize their investment
00:41:54.567 --> 00:41:56.600
is through
innovative partnerships,
00:41:56.633 --> 00:41:59.100
and therefore I think
that it would be a mistake
00:41:59.133 --> 00:42:03.300
to preemptively prohibit
innovative partnerships
00:42:03.333 --> 00:42:06.000
that may lead to our goal
00:42:06.033 --> 00:42:08.967
of increased broadband deployment
and competition.
00:42:12.400 --> 00:42:15.100
- His answer was very troubling
and concerning to me,
00:42:15.133 --> 00:42:16.500
and I thought it was the heart
00:42:16.533 --> 00:42:19.300
of what we\'re trying
to protect against.
00:42:19.333 --> 00:42:23.000
If the distributors,
cable and telephone companies,
00:42:23.033 --> 00:42:24.567
and their consolidation -
00:42:24.600 --> 00:42:27.533
just two Bell companies
and a handful of cable companies,
00:42:27.567 --> 00:42:30.633
and as we see
the next few years,
00:42:30.667 --> 00:42:32.167
we could come down to just
00:42:32.200 --> 00:42:34.933
two or three national
communications companies.
00:42:38.100 --> 00:42:41.233
- There are very large
economic corporations
00:42:41.267 --> 00:42:44.533
that are in the thick of things
when it comes to the internet.
00:42:44.567 --> 00:42:46.867
Now, it\'s not just the people
who are running the internet,
00:42:46.900 --> 00:42:50.333
who run the \"pipes\"
that carry the traffic,
00:42:50.367 --> 00:42:53.100
but it\'s the big companies
that provide the content,
00:42:53.133 --> 00:42:54.233
kind of increasingly,
00:42:54.267 --> 00:42:57.567
for how we finance the internet.
00:42:57.600 --> 00:42:58.967
That\'s at the heart
of this debate.
00:42:59.000 --> 00:43:00.667
At the heart of the debate,
not surprisingly,
00:43:00.700 --> 00:43:02.800
it\'s about money
and who\'s gonna make it
00:43:02.833 --> 00:43:04.000
and who\'s gonna pay it.
00:43:05.600 --> 00:43:07.500
- The telecommunications
industry,
00:43:07.533 --> 00:43:10.933
they want to not only be
the provider of the content.
00:43:10.967 --> 00:43:13.533
They want to be the only provider
of your content.
00:43:13.567 --> 00:43:17.100
They want to be the ones
to censor the content.
00:43:17.133 --> 00:43:19.567
They want to be the ones
you have to pay for the content.
00:43:19.600 --> 00:43:20.700
They want to make sure
00:43:20.733 --> 00:43:23.767
that they have special privileges
of avenues to you.
00:43:23.800 --> 00:43:25.700
They want to make sure
that there are things
00:43:25.733 --> 00:43:28.600
that you will easily
get first, second, or third,
00:43:28.633 --> 00:43:31.233
and then everybody else
has to vie for fourth, fifth,
00:43:31.267 --> 00:43:33.900
and sixth place to get to you
with their information.
00:43:36.000 --> 00:43:39.667
- Last fall, Verizon Wireless
censored text messages
00:43:39.700 --> 00:43:41.500
sent out by NARAL.
00:43:41.533 --> 00:43:42.700
When NARAL protested,
00:43:42.733 --> 00:43:45.000
Verizon Wireless said
not to worry
00:43:45.033 --> 00:43:47.000
because the company
would also block
00:43:47.033 --> 00:43:49.700
the speech of pro-life advocates
such as the Christian Coalition.
00:43:52.100 --> 00:43:54.900
- We wanted to have
a uniform set of numbers
00:43:54.933 --> 00:43:57.800
that people could text in
to get information from us.
00:43:57.833 --> 00:43:59.200
These are people
who wanted to hear
00:43:59.233 --> 00:44:00.367
from NARAL Pro-Choice America,
00:44:00.400 --> 00:44:03.100
who had made
the decision themselves
00:44:03.133 --> 00:44:04.967
to be a part
of our organization,
00:44:05.000 --> 00:44:07.100
and the Verizon decision
basically said
00:44:07.133 --> 00:44:08.867
that anyone
who had a Verizon phone
00:44:08.900 --> 00:44:12.367
wouldn\'t be able to participate
in any of our organization\'s
00:44:12.400 --> 00:44:15.733
text messaging programs,
for that matter.
00:44:15.767 --> 00:44:18.967
At no time would we have sent
unsolicited information to people.
00:44:19.000 --> 00:44:20.833
This was really an opportunity
00:44:20.867 --> 00:44:23.933
for us to connect with people
in a new way.
00:44:23.967 --> 00:44:25.767
If you want to use
your cell phone
00:44:25.800 --> 00:44:27.967
to get information
that you\'ve requested yourself,
00:44:28.000 --> 00:44:29.633
you should be able to do it,
00:44:29.667 --> 00:44:32.967
and the company can\'t block you
from getting legal information,
00:44:33.000 --> 00:44:35.067
especially about ways in which
00:44:35.100 --> 00:44:36.933
you can engage
in the political process.
00:44:38.967 --> 00:44:41.400
- I believe it was The New York Times
that broke the story,
00:44:41.433 --> 00:44:44.933
and Verizon immediately
reversed their position.
00:44:44.967 --> 00:44:46.567
And they reversed their position
00:44:46.600 --> 00:44:48.400
because the decision
they\'d made originally
00:44:48.433 --> 00:44:51.033
was both politically
and as a business decision
00:44:51.067 --> 00:44:53.100
a disaster.
00:44:53.133 --> 00:44:55.133
So there are
countervailing forces.
00:44:55.167 --> 00:44:58.300
I mean, these companies
can\'t just do whatever they want to
00:44:58.333 --> 00:45:00.100
and get away with it.
00:45:00.133 --> 00:45:03.733
- Okay, in general, firms,
even monopolists in some cases,
00:45:03.767 --> 00:45:05.200
have the correct incentives.
00:45:05.233 --> 00:45:07.567
Their incentives align
with those of consumers.
00:45:07.600 --> 00:45:09.900
We should not believe, okay -
00:45:09.933 --> 00:45:11.500
Do not believe for a minute
00:45:11.533 --> 00:45:13.433
that every decision
a monopolist makes
00:45:13.467 --> 00:45:15.633
or any - or really,
the field today
00:45:15.667 --> 00:45:17.067
is a little bit like
any decision
00:45:17.100 --> 00:45:20.400
any corporation makes
is anticonsumer, okay?
00:45:20.433 --> 00:45:22.100
That\'s not true, okay?
00:45:22.133 --> 00:45:23.533
It\'s just not true.
00:45:23.567 --> 00:45:25.733
They are out
to increase their profits.
00:45:25.767 --> 00:45:26.933
How do they do that?
00:45:26.967 --> 00:45:29.067
By making people happy
and getting customers.
00:45:29.100 --> 00:45:32.233
That\'s what they do, okay?
00:45:32.267 --> 00:45:33.933
I can\'t believe
people laugh at that.
00:45:33.967 --> 00:45:35.200
-Tough crowd.
00:45:35.233 --> 00:45:36.833
- Yeah.
00:45:36.867 --> 00:45:40.000
Stanford\'s
going down a little bit here.
00:45:40.033 --> 00:45:41.833
- Like, I had an argument
once with a guy
00:45:41.867 --> 00:45:44.933
who was in business school.
00:45:44.967 --> 00:45:46.367
He didn\'t believe
that there was such a thing
00:45:46.400 --> 00:45:48.867
as ethical business.
00:45:48.900 --> 00:45:51.833
Not - don\'t get me wrong -
or business ethics.
00:45:51.867 --> 00:45:52.833
He just didn\'t believe in it.
00:45:52.867 --> 00:45:56.733
He just said, \"A corporation
couldn\'t be unethical,
00:45:56.767 --> 00:45:59.500
because a corporation\'s
not a human being.\"
00:46:01.933 --> 00:46:04.067
- Remember, these are companies
00:46:04.100 --> 00:46:07.400
that want people
to use their networks
00:46:07.433 --> 00:46:10.700
and to transmit content
on their networks,
00:46:10.733 --> 00:46:13.100
and they make money
and make profits
00:46:13.133 --> 00:46:16.200
by attracting everybody
to their network.
00:46:16.233 --> 00:46:20.200
It would be dumb as bricks
for these companies
00:46:20.233 --> 00:46:23.933
to get a reputation
for blocking traffic
00:46:23.967 --> 00:46:27.233
for an illegal -
in an unjustified purpose.
00:46:30.600 --> 00:46:34.467
- The man is not controlling, you know,
the vertical, the horizontal,
00:46:34.500 --> 00:46:36.100
the channel
that you\'re gonna be on.
00:46:36.133 --> 00:46:40.167
I think there\'s gonna be
plenty of diversity available.
00:46:40.200 --> 00:46:43.233
- I just totally disagree
with Mr. McCurry,
00:46:43.267 --> 00:46:46.433
because, you know, how about
if the people that serve
00:46:46.467 --> 00:46:48.433
on the board of Comcast
or whomever
00:46:48.467 --> 00:46:49.867
don\'t like
what we\'re putting out.
00:46:49.900 --> 00:46:52.067
I mean, they have the ability
to block our message
00:46:52.100 --> 00:46:54.600
like they did with NARAL.
00:46:54.633 --> 00:46:58.433
- I think that, you know,
each network should have the right
00:46:58.467 --> 00:47:00.867
to be able to judge
certain content.
00:47:00.900 --> 00:47:02.767
I mean, there\'s certain kinds
of content -
00:47:02.800 --> 00:47:05.900
whether it\'s the atrocious
child pornography
00:47:05.933 --> 00:47:08.533
or if it\'s terrorist content
00:47:08.567 --> 00:47:11.800
or a predator
that\'s going after somebody.
00:47:11.833 --> 00:47:15.700
I mean, we all think
that there are types of behavior
00:47:15.733 --> 00:47:20.000
that are reprehensible
and have no place on the internet.
00:47:20.033 --> 00:47:22.100
- They always say that,
00:47:22.133 --> 00:47:23.667
\"Well, we\'re blocking
pornography,
00:47:23.700 --> 00:47:25.167
and we\'re blocking
child pornography,\"
00:47:25.200 --> 00:47:27.533
but, you know, they blocked
the King James Bible.
00:47:28.967 --> 00:47:31.267
- Our tester
made over 300 attempts
00:47:31.300 --> 00:47:33.900
to download
the King James Bible.
00:47:33.933 --> 00:47:37.933
Of 300 attempts,
276 attempts failed,
00:47:37.967 --> 00:47:40.667
a failure rate of 75.33%,
00:47:40.700 --> 00:47:43.433
whereas the download
of adult-oriented material
00:47:43.467 --> 00:47:45.267
did not fail once.
00:47:45.300 --> 00:47:48.300
[laughter and applause]
00:47:51.433 --> 00:47:52.400
- I\'ve heard them say,
00:47:52.433 --> 00:47:56.233
\"We have the right to filter
certain types of files
00:47:56.267 --> 00:47:57.800
\"because they\'re clogging
our network,
00:47:57.833 --> 00:48:01.533
and we\'re gonna slow \'em down
and move them to a later time.\"
00:48:01.567 --> 00:48:04.500
But I haven\'t heard
an ISP actually say,
00:48:04.533 --> 00:48:08.200
\"We have the right
to block content
00:48:08.233 --> 00:48:10.600
by content description.\"
00:48:14.400 --> 00:48:16.000
- ♪ Hey, teacher ♪
00:48:16.033 --> 00:48:18.867
♪ Leave those kids alone ♪
00:48:23.467 --> 00:48:27.533
♪ George Bush,
leave this world alone ♪
00:48:27.567 --> 00:48:30.200
[crowd cheering]
00:48:30.233 --> 00:48:31.700
- The one website that I know of
00:48:31.733 --> 00:48:34.300
that somebody
started saying something
00:48:34.333 --> 00:48:35.767
about George Bush or something.
00:48:35.800 --> 00:48:37.267
I think that was AT&T.
00:48:37.300 --> 00:48:40.000
But it was actually
the website operator.
00:48:40.033 --> 00:48:44.700
- ♪ George Bush,
find yourself another home ♪
00:48:54.333 --> 00:48:59.600
♪ George Bush,
leave this world alone ♪
00:49:01.633 --> 00:49:07.633
[no audio]
00:49:19.533 --> 00:49:22.533
[music resumes]
00:49:24.733 --> 00:49:27.667
- All right,
let\'s put this in perspective.
00:49:27.700 --> 00:49:31.233
Net neutrality proponents
have identified four instances
00:49:31.267 --> 00:49:32.833
which they don\'t like.
00:49:32.867 --> 00:49:34.600
Now, let\'s remember
that there are
00:49:34.633 --> 00:49:37.933
literally billions
of communications every week
00:49:37.967 --> 00:49:40.433
that are transmitted
without any problem,
00:49:40.467 --> 00:49:42.200
and they\'ve identified four.
00:49:42.233 --> 00:49:43.667
That\'s like saying,
\"Wait a minute.
00:49:43.700 --> 00:49:47.233
\"There are problems with four
grains of sand on this beach.
00:49:47.267 --> 00:49:48.800
Therefore, we need legislation.\"
00:49:51.067 --> 00:49:57.267
- We only know of a handful
of very egregious instances
00:49:57.300 --> 00:49:59.367
of blocking political speech.
00:49:59.400 --> 00:50:01.300
We know of the Pearl Jam
phenomenon
00:50:01.333 --> 00:50:04.133
because Pearl Jam
is a major rock band
00:50:04.167 --> 00:50:06.533
and that when their speech
is blocked,
00:50:06.567 --> 00:50:08.400
people are gonna know
about that.
00:50:08.433 --> 00:50:12.367
We know about Verizon Wireless
blocking NARAL
00:50:12.400 --> 00:50:15.367
because somebody at NARAL
just happened to be friends
00:50:15.400 --> 00:50:16.800
with a reporter
at The New York Times,
00:50:16.833 --> 00:50:19.733
and when he told that reporter
what had happened,
00:50:19.767 --> 00:50:21.433
the reporter said,
\"This is newsworthy,\"
00:50:21.467 --> 00:50:23.600
and put that on the front page
of The New York Times.
00:50:23.633 --> 00:50:25.167
We don\'t know
of all the instances
00:50:25.200 --> 00:50:27.000
where people\'s speech rights
are being blocked
00:50:27.033 --> 00:50:28.333
and we just don\'t know about it,
00:50:28.367 --> 00:50:30.200
and so having
some rules of the road
00:50:30.233 --> 00:50:32.067
that prevent that from happening
in the first place
00:50:32.100 --> 00:50:33.333
are really important.
00:50:33.367 --> 00:50:34.933
The answer that somehow
the marketplace
00:50:34.967 --> 00:50:36.067
is responding to this,
00:50:36.100 --> 00:50:37.900
that they\'ve apologized
and that they\'ve moved on,
00:50:37.933 --> 00:50:41.067
is not a satisfactory answer.
00:50:41.100 --> 00:50:43.460
They shouldn\'t have the right
to do that in the first place.
00:50:46.133 --> 00:50:48.567
- When there is
outright censorship like that,
00:50:48.600 --> 00:50:49.400
the world goes nuts.
00:50:49.433 --> 00:50:51.300
We all get really mad,
00:50:51.333 --> 00:50:53.400
until they say,
you know, \"Oh, I\'m sorry.
00:50:53.433 --> 00:50:57.267
We will never, ever block
a Pearl Jam concert again
00:50:57.300 --> 00:51:00.367
because he was talking about Bush,\"
you know?
00:51:00.400 --> 00:51:03.300
I think that\'s actually
kind of like
00:51:03.333 --> 00:51:06.000
they might just be dipping
their toes in to see -
00:51:06.033 --> 00:51:08.500
so they can give something back
in the big fight in the end.
00:51:10.333 --> 00:51:11.967
It seems to me
the much more -
00:51:12.000 --> 00:51:13.133
the much more dangerous
00:51:13.167 --> 00:51:15.133
and much more
sort of insidious threat
00:51:15.167 --> 00:51:17.100
is not what they\'re
taking away now,
00:51:17.133 --> 00:51:19.367
because we all get
so mad about that.
00:51:19.400 --> 00:51:20.867
Rather, it\'s what they would
like to build
00:51:20.900 --> 00:51:23.167
and we\'ll never know what we -
what could have happened.
00:51:26.667 --> 00:51:30.133
- I have no way to tell you
what traffic-shaping technologies
00:51:30.167 --> 00:51:31.933
my provider uses on this device,
00:51:31.967 --> 00:51:36.167
because I can\'t install
an application to detect them.
00:51:36.200 --> 00:51:40.633
I don\'t know if any legitimate
text messages are being blocked,
00:51:40.667 --> 00:51:44.133
because I have no way of knowing
what messages are blocked.
00:51:44.167 --> 00:51:46.700
I can\'t even tell you
if I\'m being billed correctly,
00:51:46.733 --> 00:51:48.367
because I have no way
of downloading a record
00:51:48.400 --> 00:51:49.967
of all of my activity
from the device
00:51:50.000 --> 00:51:52.967
to compare against my bill.
00:51:53.000 --> 00:51:54.933
- Well, I want to -
00:51:54.967 --> 00:51:57.767
I want to go back and see
if I can take another run
00:51:57.800 --> 00:51:59.700
at emphasizing
how important I think it is
00:51:59.733 --> 00:52:01.967
that we start thinking
about the right to know.
00:52:04.033 --> 00:52:07.833
If we can say to the people
that want to shut down the pipe,
00:52:07.867 --> 00:52:09.500
for whatever reason,
00:52:09.533 --> 00:52:14.133
or want to stop something
from flowing, for whatever reason,
00:52:14.167 --> 00:52:15.733
\"Are you against
the right to know,
00:52:15.767 --> 00:52:18.767
and if so, why?\"
00:52:18.800 --> 00:52:20.333
Because I think
this is something
00:52:20.367 --> 00:52:21.833
that every human being
has a right to,
00:52:21.867 --> 00:52:24.100
and it was a right
that was never promulgated
00:52:24.133 --> 00:52:26.000
because there were no means
to support it,
00:52:26.033 --> 00:52:27.533
and now that the means
are at hand,
00:52:27.567 --> 00:52:30.400
I think it\'s a - it\'s a right
that ought to be inalienable
00:52:30.433 --> 00:52:32.333
just like life and liberty.
00:52:37.600 --> 00:52:42.100
- I\'ll tell you
that that was driven home to me
00:52:42.133 --> 00:52:44.167
just the other day.
00:52:44.200 --> 00:52:47.267
During the public comment period
of that hearing at Stanford,
00:52:47.300 --> 00:52:50.900
there was a woman
from Poor News Network.
00:52:50.933 --> 00:52:53.933
- [speaking Spanish]
00:52:57.100 --> 00:52:58.667
- I\'m here to say
that we have a right
00:52:58.700 --> 00:53:01.733
to the information
provided by the internet.
00:53:01.767 --> 00:53:03.433
- And she only spoke in Spanish,
00:53:03.467 --> 00:53:09.133
and she said that she
relies on the internet
00:53:09.167 --> 00:53:13.400
in order to do her research
and to tell the stories
00:53:13.433 --> 00:53:17.267
that other press would overlook
00:53:17.300 --> 00:53:21.800
and that keeping that ability
in the internet is crucial to her.
00:53:23.800 --> 00:53:28.367
It\'s critical not just
because that\'s her job
00:53:28.400 --> 00:53:29.900
but because
that\'s her community.
00:53:29.933 --> 00:53:31.267
That\'s her world.
00:53:32.200 --> 00:53:35.200
- [speaking Spanish]
00:53:41.200 --> 00:53:44.333
- I\'m very kind of attached
to community service.
00:53:44.367 --> 00:53:46.467
I was a cop for 12 years.
00:53:46.500 --> 00:53:50.000
And when I was
in law enforcement,
00:53:50.033 --> 00:53:53.633
I had already been
very worried about something
00:53:53.667 --> 00:53:55.233
that was happening
in law enforcement
00:53:55.267 --> 00:53:57.867
called community policing.
00:53:57.900 --> 00:54:02.500
Community policing was this idea
of how to get the police involved
00:54:02.533 --> 00:54:05.100
with the community
that they served,
00:54:05.133 --> 00:54:09.200
and to me, it seemed
like it presupposed
00:54:09.233 --> 00:54:11.967
that the police
weren\'t part of the community.
00:54:13.567 --> 00:54:17.200
That was the opposite
of what I was about.
00:54:17.233 --> 00:54:20.300
I was already in
the community that I served,
00:54:20.333 --> 00:54:23.300
and so I began
to be worried about,
00:54:23.333 --> 00:54:25.033
what is happening
in law enforcement
00:54:25.067 --> 00:54:27.567
to create this impression
that we need this?
00:54:29.667 --> 00:54:31.533
Well, what was happening was,
00:54:31.567 --> 00:54:33.800
the police were getting
better equipped:
00:54:33.833 --> 00:54:36.133
kind of military uniforms
that they would wear,
00:54:36.167 --> 00:54:39.000
the larger weaponry
that they would carry.
00:54:39.033 --> 00:54:41.200
I mean, they looked military
00:54:41.233 --> 00:54:43.900
rather than looking
like police officers.
00:54:43.933 --> 00:54:46.867
And they\'re creating this wedge,
00:54:46.900 --> 00:54:49.833
this detachment away
from normal, everyday people
00:54:49.867 --> 00:54:52.400
that you\'d see on the street.
00:54:52.433 --> 00:54:55.667
Then the Rodney King incident
happened,
00:54:55.700 --> 00:54:57.833
and if there wasn\'t
00:54:57.867 --> 00:55:01.200
a community-police relations
problem then,
00:55:01.233 --> 00:55:03.200
there was after that,
00:55:03.233 --> 00:55:07.933
and about a year later
is when I left law enforcement.
00:55:10.133 --> 00:55:13.133
- [speaking Spanish]
00:55:18.600 --> 00:55:20.240
- We are the ones
trying to say the truth,
00:55:20.267 --> 00:55:22.733
and you guys should not tell us
what to do on the internet.
00:55:22.767 --> 00:55:24.233
- Thank you, Gloria.
00:55:25.167 --> 00:55:26.933
- Gloria, your time has expired.
00:55:29.267 --> 00:55:30.500
- Thank you, Gloria.
00:55:31.500 --> 00:55:32.933
- During
the public comment section,
00:55:32.967 --> 00:55:34.867
everybody has 90 seconds...
00:55:36.100 --> 00:55:38.700
And because of the interpreter,
00:55:38.733 --> 00:55:41.567
her time is cut in half
00:55:41.600 --> 00:55:45.767
because everything she says
has to be repeated.
00:55:45.800 --> 00:55:47.300
[crowd shouting]
00:55:47.333 --> 00:55:49.633
- More time!
- More time!
00:55:52.400 --> 00:55:53.567
- Be fair to her!
00:55:56.133 --> 00:56:00.267
- She worked really hard
to say her piece.
00:56:01.233 --> 00:56:06.900
If I have an opportunity
to give that information
00:56:06.933 --> 00:56:09.900
and I\'m not even
having to work hard to do it,
00:56:09.933 --> 00:56:11.633
that\'s a duty to do it.
00:56:11.667 --> 00:56:14.700
I have to do it,
00:56:14.733 --> 00:56:18.500
and, yeah, I\'m humbled by that.
00:56:18.533 --> 00:56:20.033
I\'m proud to repres -
00:56:20.067 --> 00:56:24.000
proud to represent the view
00:56:24.033 --> 00:56:26.600
that the internet
belongs to everybody.
00:56:34.933 --> 00:56:38.967
- I don\'t think
that it\'s a First Amendment issue.
00:56:39.000 --> 00:56:44.433
I do think
that it is a business issue.
00:56:45.733 --> 00:56:53.733
My view on HR 5353
is not favorable,
00:56:54.300 --> 00:56:58.033
and the reason for that
is pretty simple.
00:56:58.067 --> 00:57:03.800
I think that what we need
to have is an internet
00:57:03.833 --> 00:57:06.567
where the ISPs
have the opportunity
00:57:06.600 --> 00:57:08.333
to continue to practice
00:57:08.367 --> 00:57:11.167
the regular order of business,
if you will,
00:57:11.200 --> 00:57:14.367
monitoring their networks.
00:57:14.400 --> 00:57:18.167
So we\'re going to have
a healthy debate over this,
00:57:18.200 --> 00:57:23.333
and we\'re going to decide
what is going to be
00:57:23.367 --> 00:57:25.367
the best way to move forward.
00:57:25.400 --> 00:57:30.733
I\'m one of those
that has a -
00:57:30.767 --> 00:57:34.067
I believe business,
the process of business,
00:57:34.100 --> 00:57:36.767
is going to work this out.
00:57:36.800 --> 00:57:40.667
You know, let\'s let business
make these decisions.
00:57:44.967 --> 00:57:48.667
- Well, the common
neoconservative battle cry
00:57:48.700 --> 00:57:51.233
is, like, let -
big business will take care of it.
00:57:51.267 --> 00:57:55.333
And you the consumer
will dine mightily
00:57:55.367 --> 00:57:57.167
off the crumbs that fall
from the mouths
00:57:57.200 --> 00:57:58.567
of the big guys
at the big table.
00:57:58.600 --> 00:58:01.000
You\'ll benefit from competition
and all that.
00:58:01.033 --> 00:58:02.000
Really?
00:58:02.033 --> 00:58:04.233
I think
you\'ll watch your economy
00:58:04.267 --> 00:58:05.267
go down the toilet
00:58:05.300 --> 00:58:07.767
and your jobs go to New Delhi
00:58:07.800 --> 00:58:10.200
and the man start looking
up your skirts.
00:58:10.233 --> 00:58:11.233
That\'s what happens.
00:58:11.267 --> 00:58:12.833
It\'s going down a drain,
00:58:12.867 --> 00:58:15.900
and you lose more and more
of what it is to be an American.
00:58:18.400 --> 00:58:19.900
- This concept
that the marketplace
00:58:19.933 --> 00:58:21.500
is somehow
gonna respond to this,
00:58:21.533 --> 00:58:23.967
that people
will curb their behavior,
00:58:24.000 --> 00:58:26.433
just isn\'t
a satisfactory answer,
00:58:26.467 --> 00:58:28.233
and, you know, let\'s face it:
00:58:28.267 --> 00:58:30.833
the marketplace
isn\'t always going to protect
00:58:30.867 --> 00:58:33.500
the rights of users to engage
in their speech rights.
00:58:33.533 --> 00:58:36.467
I mean, in the civil rights era,
00:58:36.500 --> 00:58:39.867
people argued that people
might prefer to go to a hotel
00:58:39.900 --> 00:58:41.500
that only allowed whites,
00:58:41.533 --> 00:58:43.400
and that was
a marketplace response.
00:58:43.433 --> 00:58:45.933
But we don\'t - we say,
\"But that\'s wrong,
00:58:45.967 --> 00:58:48.633
\"and we don\'t care if that\'s
the right marketplace solution,
00:58:48.667 --> 00:58:50.533
\"that as a matter
of public policy,
00:58:50.567 --> 00:58:52.667
\"everyone\'s gonna have
the right to stay at a ho -
00:58:52.700 --> 00:58:53.933
a public accommodation.\"
00:58:53.967 --> 00:58:55.133
That\'s what people think about
00:58:55.167 --> 00:58:56.567
when they think about
the internet.
00:58:56.600 --> 00:58:58.667
They think of it
as a public square,
00:58:58.700 --> 00:59:00.033
a public accommodation.
00:59:03.600 --> 00:59:06.933
- Be very suspicious when,
you know, Chicken Little comes
00:59:06.967 --> 00:59:09.067
and says that the sky is falling
00:59:09.100 --> 00:59:11.267
or when the little boy
cries wolf.
00:59:11.300 --> 00:59:13.767
That\'s what\'s going on here
with net neutrality.
00:59:13.800 --> 00:59:16.000
The dangers are
00:59:16.033 --> 00:59:19.500
that they could transform
the free-market internet
00:59:19.533 --> 00:59:22.833
into a government-controlled
socialized internet
00:59:22.867 --> 00:59:26.967
that has very little incentive
economically to improve it,
00:59:27.000 --> 00:59:29.800
add to its capacity,
or to create content.
00:59:32.367 --> 00:59:35.000
- I love the word \"socialist.\"
00:59:35.033 --> 00:59:36.333
You know,
we\'re so worried about,
00:59:36.367 --> 00:59:38.033
\"We\'re gonna become
a socialist country.
00:59:38.067 --> 00:59:41.067
\"You know, we don\'t want
the government
00:59:41.100 --> 00:59:42.933
to regulate the internet.\"
00:59:42.967 --> 00:59:45.433
Well, you know, what\'s better?
00:59:45.467 --> 00:59:49.700
Having a government
by the people, for the people,
00:59:49.733 --> 00:59:51.533
who\'s looking over these things,
00:59:51.567 --> 00:59:54.567
or having three or four
or five companies,
00:59:54.600 --> 00:59:57.567
all of which that are in cahoots
with each other,
00:59:57.600 --> 01:00:01.333
that regulate the industry
in a non-transparent way?
01:00:07.467 --> 01:00:11.267
- The telecoms in general
would like to offer things
01:00:11.300 --> 01:00:13.067
that\'ll seem
initially great to us,
01:00:13.100 --> 01:00:15.600
like, you know,
new super fast video
01:00:15.633 --> 01:00:18.033
and, you know,
instantaneous movie downloads
01:00:18.067 --> 01:00:20.200
with the little asterisk
that they get to choose
01:00:20.233 --> 01:00:22.567
what comes
through those services.
01:00:22.600 --> 01:00:24.500
So it\'s no longer like,
you go out there
01:00:24.533 --> 01:00:25.567
and find whatever you want.
01:00:25.600 --> 01:00:28.100
It\'s, you go out there
into AT&T\'s world
01:00:28.133 --> 01:00:29.867
and pick what AT&T
has offered you.
01:00:29.900 --> 01:00:32.100
And, you know,
the converse of that, of course,
01:00:32.133 --> 01:00:34.400
is that to get things
into AT&T\'s world,
01:00:34.433 --> 01:00:36.353
they\'ll be able to charge you
whatever they want.
01:00:38.433 --> 01:00:42.800
- I\'m paying Comcast to ship
my bits from my computer
01:00:42.833 --> 01:00:44.433
to wherever I want to ship \'em,
01:00:44.467 --> 01:00:46.967
and, you know,
it\'s none of their business
01:00:47.000 --> 01:00:51.100
to censor what I\'m doing.
01:00:51.133 --> 01:00:54.900
I think part of their opposition
comes from that sense that,
01:00:54.933 --> 01:00:59.000
\"How dare somebody tell us
how to run our network?\"
01:00:59.033 --> 01:01:01.133
But it\'s not their network.
01:01:09.733 --> 01:01:12.533
- Until the FCC
opened this inquiry,
01:01:12.567 --> 01:01:14.767
important decisions
about the future of the internet
01:01:14.800 --> 01:01:17.500
were being made in a black box
where the American people
01:01:17.533 --> 01:01:20.633
had precious little opportunity
to peek.
01:01:20.667 --> 01:01:23.100
After today, they will hopefully
be able to see things
01:01:23.133 --> 01:01:25.367
in a little brighter light.
01:01:27.733 --> 01:01:30.833
- \"We the people, in order
to form a more perfect union,
01:01:30.867 --> 01:01:33.767
\"establish justice,
ensure domestic tranquility,
01:01:33.800 --> 01:01:36.733
\"provide for the common defense,
promote the general welfare,
01:01:36.767 --> 01:01:38.900
\"and ensure the blessings
of liberty for ourselves
01:01:38.933 --> 01:01:40.500
\"and our posterity,
01:01:40.533 --> 01:01:43.167
\"do ordain and establish
this Constitution
01:01:43.200 --> 01:01:44.833
of the United States
of America.\"
01:01:50.400 --> 01:01:51.767
We won the case.
01:01:51.800 --> 01:01:55.533
So we\'re done.
01:01:55.567 --> 01:01:57.233
It\'s time for whatever\'s next.
01:02:25.900 --> 01:02:27.467
- Nobody thinks in Washington.
01:02:27.500 --> 01:02:31.433
They\'re all paid for,
because they\'re hired guns.
01:02:31.467 --> 01:02:33.233
Maybe most Americans
don\'t know this stuff,
01:02:33.267 --> 01:02:35.700
but you have firms
in Washington -
01:02:35.733 --> 01:02:37.267
these little boutique firms
01:02:37.300 --> 01:02:40.567
that develop this expertise
in certain areas,
01:02:40.600 --> 01:02:42.700
maybe like music or something
01:02:42.733 --> 01:02:46.200
or tobacco or utilities
or some darn thing,
01:02:46.233 --> 01:02:49.833
and then they\'re hired
by these entities
01:02:49.867 --> 01:02:53.167
to go out and pimp for them.
01:02:54.733 --> 01:02:56.000
Can I say \"pimp\"?
01:03:01.167 --> 01:03:02.500
The industry people,
01:03:02.533 --> 01:03:04.700
whether it\'s telco or music
or movies or whatever,
01:03:04.733 --> 01:03:06.033
hires these firms
01:03:06.067 --> 01:03:09.033
at $20,000, $40,000,
$60,000 a month
01:03:09.067 --> 01:03:11.800
to fight these battles
in Congress.
01:03:13.733 --> 01:03:14.900
None of it\'s about
the public interest.
01:03:14.933 --> 01:03:16.067
It\'s a competition.
01:03:16.100 --> 01:03:18.267
Congress in many ways
is a mediation service
01:03:18.300 --> 01:03:20.667
for industry battles.
01:03:20.700 --> 01:03:22.900
That\'s all.
01:03:22.933 --> 01:03:24.667
Those people don\'t care
about the public interest.
01:03:24.700 --> 01:03:26.780
They wouldn\'t know how to define
the public interest.
01:03:31.633 --> 01:03:35.300
- Wouldn\'t it be neat
if everybody in Washington
01:03:35.333 --> 01:03:38.633
who took money from a lobbyist
01:03:38.667 --> 01:03:44.500
wore a NASCAR outfit that had
that lobbyist\'s patch to it?
01:03:44.533 --> 01:03:46.000
Wouldn\'t that be neat?
01:03:46.033 --> 01:03:47.000
- [laughs]
01:03:47.033 --> 01:03:50.400
Yeah, that\'s a great idea.
01:03:50.433 --> 01:03:51.700
Yep.
01:03:51.733 --> 01:03:54.667
Yeah, I think that\'s -
that would be a wonderful idea.
01:04:02.267 --> 01:04:04.000
In a sense,
they do wear NASCAR suits.
01:04:04.033 --> 01:04:05.433
I mean, all this
is public record.
01:04:05.467 --> 01:04:09.967
You can see
who\'s getting what from whom.
01:04:10.000 --> 01:04:11.767
For some reason,
people don\'t bother with that,
01:04:11.800 --> 01:04:15.567
and I guess partly because
they really don\'t have
01:04:15.600 --> 01:04:19.267
the initiative or the time
to take a look.
01:04:25.833 --> 01:04:27.167
- When you want to understand
these issues
01:04:27.200 --> 01:04:28.267
and how Washington works,
01:04:28.300 --> 01:04:30.433
what you want to understand
are themes
01:04:30.467 --> 01:04:31.567
and how the system works
01:04:31.600 --> 01:04:32.967
and how money
and influence work.
01:04:33.000 --> 01:04:35.667
In other words,
you\'re watching this hearing.
01:04:35.700 --> 01:04:37.267
There\'ll be another hearing
in six months
01:04:37.300 --> 01:04:39.233
because the names and the actors
and the specific coalitions
01:04:39.267 --> 01:04:40.667
will change week to week.
01:04:50.500 --> 01:04:52.467
- The companies that came together
in discussions
01:04:52.500 --> 01:04:54.100
to really begin this
are companies
01:04:54.133 --> 01:04:56.233
that are increasingly
working together in this space
01:04:56.267 --> 01:04:58.900
to make sure that the American people
can get access
01:04:58.933 --> 01:05:03.833
to a growing volume of content,
01:05:03.867 --> 01:05:05.767
crossing the internet in ways
01:05:05.800 --> 01:05:10.733
that are safe, reliable,
fast, and affordable.
01:05:10.767 --> 01:05:12.967
- Sometimes you want someone
on the other side
01:05:13.000 --> 01:05:14.533
to just give you credibility.
01:05:14.567 --> 01:05:15.933
This is the same way.
01:05:15.967 --> 01:05:17.567
In a case where you would
normally think
01:05:17.600 --> 01:05:19.100
there would be a Republican,
01:05:19.133 --> 01:05:21.000
they bring in a big Democrat,
01:05:21.033 --> 01:05:22.767
because you build credibility
like that.
01:05:22.800 --> 01:05:25.600
They say, \"Look, we even
have him endorsing us.
01:05:25.633 --> 01:05:26.767
Look who\'s endorsing us.
01:05:26.800 --> 01:05:30.100
Look at this nice Democratic face
we have here.\"
01:05:30.133 --> 01:05:32.633
That\'s how they do it.
01:05:32.667 --> 01:05:35.667
The macro for your purposes
is more important
01:05:35.700 --> 01:05:38.700
for the viewers you will have
for this than the micro,
01:05:38.733 --> 01:05:43.500
\'cause the micro will change
depending on - it\'s situational.
01:05:43.533 --> 01:05:46.033
It\'s month to month
and year to year.
01:05:46.067 --> 01:05:49.633
But there are broad principles
in all of this that continue.
01:05:49.667 --> 01:05:53.367
- This coalition will not be
actively pursuing net neutrality
01:05:53.400 --> 01:05:56.200
for the simple reason that most
of the people in that debate
01:05:56.233 --> 01:05:58.633
believe that it\'s
more or less over now.
01:05:58.667 --> 01:05:59.633
Our companies -
01:05:59.667 --> 01:06:02.300
- Well, that\'s his way
of grasping victory
01:06:02.333 --> 01:06:04.000
from the jaws of defeat.
01:06:04.033 --> 01:06:06.200
When he left, he said,
\"I\'ve moved on.
01:06:06.233 --> 01:06:07.400
\"Net neutrality issue is over.
01:06:07.433 --> 01:06:08.833
\"It\'s done.
01:06:08.867 --> 01:06:10.500
I\'ve won.\"
01:06:10.533 --> 01:06:12.367
Clearly not over.
01:06:12.400 --> 01:06:14.900
I mean, Washington is beholden
to special interests,
01:06:14.933 --> 01:06:17.167
and it\'s just the way
business is done.
01:06:17.200 --> 01:06:19.267
People within various agencies,
01:06:19.300 --> 01:06:21.133
soon upon leaving
public service,
01:06:21.167 --> 01:06:24.500
will go right and have jobs
as high-paying lobbyists.
01:06:24.533 --> 01:06:26.067
So there\'s an incentive
in Washington
01:06:26.100 --> 01:06:28.833
for them to serve
the corporate special interests
01:06:28.867 --> 01:06:31.233
even when they\'re supposed to be
public servants,
01:06:31.267 --> 01:06:32.667
and it\'s just a -
it\'s kind of a corruption
01:06:32.700 --> 01:06:34.820
of the democratic process
that we\'re all dealing with.
01:06:43.867 --> 01:06:45.867
- All of us have a very small
influence on the world.
01:06:45.900 --> 01:06:46.867
It\'s true.
01:06:46.900 --> 01:06:49.367
Like, you know, we\'re all
tiny, tiny drops in the bucket,
01:06:49.400 --> 01:06:52.200
but participatory government
is one of those things where, like,
01:06:52.233 --> 01:06:54.333
you are this tiny drop
in a huge, huge bucket,
01:06:54.367 --> 01:06:57.633
and occasionally, like,
things may sort of line up
01:06:57.667 --> 01:06:59.200
such that you\'re making
a bigger splash
01:06:59.233 --> 01:07:01.067
than one tiny drop
normally does.
01:07:11.633 --> 01:07:13.500
- I took a position
that requires me
01:07:13.533 --> 01:07:16.000
to move to Washington, D.C.
01:07:16.033 --> 01:07:18.833
I\'ll be working
as chief technologist
01:07:18.867 --> 01:07:22.767
of the Open Technology Initiative
at New America Foundation,
01:07:22.800 --> 01:07:24.833
and they take on
a myriad of issues,
01:07:24.867 --> 01:07:27.700
one of \'em being net neutrality.
01:07:27.733 --> 01:07:30.100
It\'s good work.
It\'s important work.
01:07:30.133 --> 01:07:32.667
It\'s about the movement
to maintain
01:07:32.700 --> 01:07:34.967
a free and open internet.
01:07:38.733 --> 01:07:40.200
Every cloud has a silver lining.
01:07:40.233 --> 01:07:41.767
Every silver lining has a cloud.
01:07:44.067 --> 01:07:46.000
- Yay!
01:07:46.033 --> 01:07:49.467
- Leaving this area
is gonna be tough.
01:07:49.500 --> 01:07:51.200
I love the Northwest,
01:07:51.233 --> 01:07:53.833
and I love being near my family
01:07:53.867 --> 01:07:55.867
and, you know, the place
where your kids grew up
01:07:55.900 --> 01:07:57.400
and graduated high school and -
01:07:57.433 --> 01:07:58.733
[buzzing sound]
01:07:58.767 --> 01:08:00.833
[laughs]
01:08:00.867 --> 01:08:03.200
And where your grandkids are -
01:08:03.233 --> 01:08:05.400
your grandkids are growing up.
01:08:09.567 --> 01:08:11.433
I regret leaving here,
but I don\'t -
01:08:11.467 --> 01:08:12.767
I don\'t regret the opportunity
01:08:12.800 --> 01:08:15.067
to continue to do the work
that I\'ve been doing,
01:08:15.100 --> 01:08:19.200
to continue to work for open technologies
and the internet.
01:08:21.867 --> 01:08:24.667
I do have an attachment
to community service.
01:08:24.700 --> 01:08:27.133
I really do feel a strong need
01:08:27.167 --> 01:08:29.933
to leave things better
than I found them.
01:08:29.967 --> 01:08:32.667
We\'re not just all
in our own individual silos,
01:08:32.700 --> 01:08:36.633
but, you know, how we interact
with each other
01:08:36.667 --> 01:08:40.500
and how we help each other
when we can
01:08:40.533 --> 01:08:42.167
doesn\'t just do something
for the other.
01:08:42.200 --> 01:08:43.967
It does something for me too.
01:08:46.300 --> 01:08:48.000
- Dad\'s our hero.
01:08:48.033 --> 01:08:50.800
He believes in free internet.
01:08:50.833 --> 01:08:51.800
- Neutrality.
01:08:51.833 --> 01:08:52.800
- That too.
01:08:52.833 --> 01:08:55.200
- And he wants the internet
to be the way it\'s supposed to be.
01:08:55.233 --> 01:08:56.967
- This is Dad\'s legacy.
01:08:57.000 --> 01:08:59.233
Besides me and Heidi,
01:08:59.267 --> 01:09:01.500
this is something that he
is going to be able to share
01:09:01.533 --> 01:09:05.300
with the rest of the world,
01:09:05.333 --> 01:09:06.400
and they\'ll be able to know -
01:09:06.433 --> 01:09:07.567
- Especially, like, right now,
01:09:07.600 --> 01:09:10.133
\'cause, like, the generation
is, like, so technology-based.
01:09:10.167 --> 01:09:11.467
- Yeah.
01:09:13.200 --> 01:09:15.200
[laughter]
01:09:47.533 --> 01:09:49.333
- I\'m homesick.
01:09:49.367 --> 01:09:52.867
I\'m crabby because
I don\'t have my things,
01:09:52.900 --> 01:09:55.267
the things
that make me comfortable.
01:09:55.300 --> 01:09:56.367
Sit.
01:09:57.800 --> 01:10:00.867
Everything is gonna
kind of have to unfold
01:10:00.900 --> 01:10:03.300
so that I can get on
with my life.
01:10:05.567 --> 01:10:07.733
Eventually I\'ll be able
to go home
01:10:07.767 --> 01:10:12.833
and get my fix of my grandkids
and my kids and my mom,
01:10:12.867 --> 01:10:16.667
and, so, yeah,
I\'m certainly not on an island
01:10:16.700 --> 01:10:18.367
in the middle of the Pacific.
01:10:28.333 --> 01:10:30.367
- Ruled on the blocking
of peer-to-peer transmissions
01:10:30.400 --> 01:10:32.167
by a cable broadband provider.
01:10:32.200 --> 01:10:34.867
It was not until an engineer
and hobbyist living in Oregon
01:10:34.900 --> 01:10:36.300
brought the problem
to the attention
01:10:36.333 --> 01:10:38.367
of the media
and internet community,
01:10:38.400 --> 01:10:40.667
which then brought it
to the attention of the FCC,
01:10:40.700 --> 01:10:42.867
that the improper network
management practice became known
01:10:42.900 --> 01:10:44.233
and was stopped.
01:11:19.200 --> 01:11:20.267
- Our family was just like,
01:11:20.300 --> 01:11:22.667
the house -
the door was never closed.
01:11:22.700 --> 01:11:25.167
The lights were never off.
01:11:25.200 --> 01:11:28.233
And this idea came to my mind
that an open -
01:11:28.267 --> 01:11:30.867
like, an unlocked door means
01:11:30.900 --> 01:11:34.600
that occasionally you might get
a devil coming in.
01:11:36.033 --> 01:11:39.033
But a locked door means, like,
a thousand angels walk by.
01:11:44.900 --> 01:11:46.567
There\'s always gonna be a point
in people\'s lives
01:11:46.600 --> 01:11:48.267
where these, like,
generations come in,
01:11:48.300 --> 01:11:49.433
whether they\'re young people
01:11:49.467 --> 01:11:51.600
or just people coming
to a new sense of awareness,
01:11:51.633 --> 01:11:52.600
where they\'re like,
01:11:52.633 --> 01:11:55.833
\"We don\'t accept
what you\'re giving us,
01:11:55.867 --> 01:11:57.300
and we\'re gonna make
our own thing.\"
01:12:01.567 --> 01:12:03.567
- A lot of people in D.C.,
they walk up to you
01:12:03.600 --> 01:12:07.167
and, \"Hi, I\'m John Smith,
and I\'m the scheduler
01:12:07.200 --> 01:12:08.600
\"for Senator so-and-so,
01:12:08.633 --> 01:12:10.700
and, you know,
I can get you in,\"
01:12:10.733 --> 01:12:14.367
and, you know,
I think I\'m gonna try,
01:12:14.400 --> 01:12:15.567
\"Hi, I\'m Robb Topolski,
01:12:15.600 --> 01:12:18.633
\"and I sing baritone
in a barbershop quartet,
01:12:18.667 --> 01:12:22.100
\"and I have no particular
power to offer,
01:12:22.133 --> 01:12:23.433
but that\'s who I am.\"
01:12:25.867 --> 01:12:27.233
- And that\'s punk.
01:12:51.500 --> 01:12:54.467
[laid-back rock music]
01:12:54.500 --> 01:13:02.500
♪ ♪
01:13:29.367 --> 01:13:32.267
- ♪ When they start falling ♪
01:13:32.300 --> 01:13:35.933
♪ Executions will commence ♪
01:13:38.533 --> 01:13:42.033
♪ Sides will not matter now ♪
01:13:42.067 --> 01:13:45.433
♪ Matter makes no sense ♪
01:13:47.800 --> 01:13:52.233
♪ How did a difference ♪
01:13:52.267 --> 01:13:56.900
♪ Become a disease ♪
01:13:56.933 --> 01:14:00.400
♪ I\'m sure you have reasons ♪
01:14:00.433 --> 01:14:03.633
♪ A rational defense ♪
01:14:06.267 --> 01:14:09.767
♪ Weapons and motives ♪
01:14:09.800 --> 01:14:13.067
♪ Bloody fingerprints ♪
01:14:15.333 --> 01:14:17.933
♪ But I can\'t help thinking ♪
01:14:20.000 --> 01:14:22.733
♪ It\'s still all disease ♪
01:14:24.367 --> 01:14:27.233
♪ Here comes the argument ♪
01:14:28.933 --> 01:14:31.767
♪ Here comes the argument ♪
01:14:33.500 --> 01:14:36.433
♪ Here comes the argument ♪
01:14:38.033 --> 01:14:40.900
♪ Folderol ♪
01:14:42.667 --> 01:14:46.300
♪ It\'s all about strikes now ♪
01:14:46.333 --> 01:14:49.533
♪ So here\'s what\'s striking me ♪
01:14:52.033 --> 01:14:55.467
♪ That some punk could argue ♪
01:14:55.500 --> 01:14:59.100
♪ Some moral ABCs ♪
01:15:01.333 --> 01:15:06.033
♪ When people are catching ♪
01:15:06.067 --> 01:15:08.500
♪ What bombers release ♪
01:15:10.500 --> 01:15:15.067
♪ Well, I\'m on a mission ♪
01:15:15.100 --> 01:15:18.133
♪ To never agree ♪
01:15:18.167 --> 01:15:26.167
♪ ♪
01:15:51.600 --> 01:15:54.500
♪ Here comes the argument ♪
01:15:56.033 --> 01:15:58.967
♪ Here comes the argument ♪
01:16:00.500 --> 01:16:03.433
♪ Here comes the argument ♪
01:16:04.933 --> 01:16:07.400
♪ Here comes the argument ♪
01:16:07.433 --> 01:16:12.767
♪ Here it comes ♪
01:16:12.800 --> 01:16:20.800
♪ ♪
Distributor: Bullfrog Films
Length: 77 minutes
Date: 2011
Genre: Expository
Language: English
Grade: 10-12, College, Adult
Color/BW:
Closed Captioning: Available
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