Former FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski: 'people have the right to send and receive information over the internet, period'

A Q&A with former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski.

On network neutrality, he says, “One of the things that came out of the intense and loud public debate that we had in 2009 and 2010 was that we won the proposition that people have a right to send and receive information on the internet. We won another debate, which is that the government has a role in enforcing that right. That was also a controversial proposition. But by the end of the day, when we put the framework in place, it was supported by a very broad array of stakeholders including the bulk of companies both on the internet side and on the network side. I think people get it now, and I think more importantly, the business and social norms around internet openness are settling into the cement of the industry. The most important thing for people to understand is that the basic rule that people have a right to send information over the internet — even when they are using a wireless device — is part of the framework. If a carrier blocks a consumer's access to the internet, they are violating our rules.”