Internet Governance and Regulation: What Should Be Government’s Role?

Transcript

DARRELL WEST: Good afternoon. I’m Darrell West, vice president of governance studies and director of the Center for Technology Innovation at the Brookings Institution. And I’d like to welcome you to our forum on “Internet Governance and Regulation: What Should be the Government’s Role?”

Broadband plays a powerful role in commerce, communications, and entertainment. It is a vital part of job creation, innovation, and long-term economic development. Virtually no part of our lives is unaffected by the digital revolution. But in recent years there have been controversies over who should run the Internet. FCC Chief Julius Genachowski came to Brookings a year ago to proclaim his support for net neutrality and an open Internet. And I know that speech was big when there were 1,500 news stories about it the next day.

Since there have been lots of new developments. The FCC put out its National Broadband Plan. Advocacy groups have taken out full page newspaper ads calling for speedy action one way or another. There have been court cases involving the role of Internet service providers. So it’s obvious that opinions and emotions run very strongly in this area. People are worried about what the future Internet will look like and whether it will retain the same features that we have had over the last two decades. So people who say that Americans are apathetic about government clearly don’t follow the technology and telecommunications areas. And of course, all that was before the midterm elections.

With the large Republican gains in the November elections, all of us are wondering how our national leaders will address these issues and the broader subject of Internet governance. What should be the relationship between the public and private sectors? And what is the role of government in this area?

View Full Transcript »