A new Internet Innovation Alliance has been formed to promote policies that encourage online innovation and broadband adoption. The group said it will focus on creating and disseminating useful information for consumers and non-expert policy leaders.
The new Internet Innovation Alliance, whose founding members include AT&T, CapNet, Comptel/ASCENT, Covad, the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) and Pulver.com among others, issued the following principles to guide lawmakers:
- First, do no harm. From the FCC's Computer I & II decisions to the policy of non-regulation of e-mail, decision-makers have best served innovation and competition through regulatory restraint. The growth in broadband availability has made it even more imperative that policy makers continue the policy of low taxation and limited regulation of Internet technology.
- Second, consider that new technologies might not fit into traditional regulatory or taxation regimes. Just as e-business, e-learning and e-government offer new ways of serving customers, new Internet-based applications often demand new and more flexible regulations. For example, VoIP promises great consumer benefits provided it remains unburdened by legacy regulations such as
local telephone company access subsidy charges. - Third, consider ways to make new technologies part of the solution in achieving critical public policy objectives such as universal telephone service and law enforcement objectives, instead of viewing them as part of the problem. Technological innovations may help us realize our goals at lower cost and higher quality, and we must be open to achieving timeless policy needs in new ways.
