Debate Examines Presidential Hopefuls' Telecommunications Policies

Former Federal Communications Commission Chairmen Reed Hundt and Michael Powell, surrogates for Sens Barack Obama (D-IL) and John McCain (R-AZ) respectively, debated telecom policy on Tuesday. Powell said Sen McCain, his sponsor in the Senate many moon ago, would not support network-neutrality legislation, but would push for a regulatory regime that did not draw boundaries between broadcast and cable and perhaps even the Internet. Hundt said Sen Obama would oppose further media consolidation until there was a sufficient diversity of voices and support network neutrality as a way to ensure that the American people had unfiltered access to the "true facts" important to them. Hundt, who is backing Obama and advises him on communications policy, said the Bush administration's "disinformation campaign" about the run-up to the Iraq war was reason enough to back network neutrality. He added that the major media had helped to "buffalo and delude" the country. Powell said there had not been a lack of voices on the war, pointing to the rise of the Internet and bloggers. Powell said network neutrality would be the first step toward regulation of the Internet. He added that McCain supported a free and open Internet, including the FCC's four open-access principles, but that it would be "dangerous" to legislate before a problem had been identified. He said the antitrust laws could deal with anticompetitive conduct, but Ph.Ds were still battling over the difference between discrimination and reasonable network management and the issue was not ripe for Congress to step in.
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