Net User Bill of Rights

June 21, 2006

I’ve said in the past that the sign of a balanced CRTC decision is one that equally annoys the incumbents, new entrants and consumer groups.

I don’t think the same measure can be used for legislation. A Senate Committee in the US has proposed the Communications, Consumers’ Choice, and Broadband Deployment Act of 2006 and it promises to provide lots of fodder for my writings this summer.

Let’s start with the Consumer Internet Bill of Rights that appears 145 pages into the document:

SEC. 903. CONSUMER INTERNET BILL OF RIGHTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided in this title, with respect to Internet services, each Internet service provider shall allow each subscriber to:

  1. access and post any lawful content of that subscriber’s choosing;
  2. access any web page of that subscriber’s choosing;
  3. access and run any voice application, software, or service of that subscriber’s choosing;
  4. access and run any video application, software, or service of that subscriber’s choosing;
  5. access and run any email application, software, or service of that subscriber’s choosing;
  6. …

These are well meaning and they even sound good, until you stop to think a little bit about item (1): “access and post any lawful content…”.

What does it mean to allow each subscriber to post any lawful content of that subscriber’s choosing? To start with, it would invalidate Acceptible Use Policies and force ISPs into hosting content that they find to be offensive, unless it is actually illegal.

Extremists, purveyors of adult content and their ilk are interesting bedfellows for the ‘Save the Net’ crowd that are behind this provision.

In a non-digital world, this section says that the manager of a local grocery store would be forbidden from taking down ads for escort services that get posted on the community bulletin board at the store’s entrance.

Sounds to me like the store is losing control of their private property and their ability to apply discretion over the type of business they want.

Exactly which consumer’s rights are being defended in Section 903(a)(1)?

Downtime

June 20, 2006

Mike Urlocker has a posting on his blog about 7×24 accessibility versus downtime.

His conclusion merits discussion.

As a self-employed, independent consultant, one of the services I offer is always being available. As a result, I find that mobile access is an enabler of downtime, not a detractor from family time.

In my pre-Blackberry days, I can recall helping a client negotiate a contract during the weeks leading up to the school March break. We planned a vacation in Colorado with the kids. The contract wasn’t signed, but I had my cel phone and my client knew how to reach me.

On the slopes at Loveland, the phone rang and I stopped to deal with an issue that arose during the drafting of the agreement. 15 minutes later, I was done and got to enjoy the rest of the vacation.

The point: accessibility didn’t interfere with my ski trip; it enabled me to go on the vacation. The alternative was for me to stay in the city waiting by the phone.

Voice is voice

June 19, 2006
The CRTC has decided to review its own Decision on local forbearance and it has issued Public Notice 2006-9, Proceeding to examine whether mobile wireless services should be considered to be in the same relevant market as wireline local exchange services with respect to forbearance, and related issues.

Catchy title, eh?

In some ways, the CRTC was put in a difficult position by Statistics Canada. On the very day before the Commission rejected considering wireless a substitute for regular phone service, StatsCan released its Residential Telephone Service Survey which showed that there was far greater substitution than the CRTC had previously considered. In Vancouver, mobile wireless has replaced home phone service in 10% of households.

It is good to see that the Commission has decided to conduct a review of its Decision on its own motion, rather than delay by a more lengthy process by way of an application.

In its VoIP Decision, the CRTC had stated that Voice is Voice, independent of the underlying technology. Mobile wireless had been a service that had regulatory treatment somewhat inconsistent with this approach.

Will the results of this Public Notice take advantage of our view that unbundles voice from access; to look at the underlying transport independently of the voice application? It may help the CRTC uphold its view on voice, by considering the regulatory treatment of the bundled service based on the competitiveness of the access delivery.

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Busy doing nothing

June 18, 2006

Mike Urlocker contacted me yesterday, while I was at the cottage, reading the paper, listening to the waves lapping up on the shore.

Mike was asking my views on whether 7×24 availability via Blackberry, cel, etc. makes for more or less family time.

I’ll reserve my answer until Mike publishes his piece on the subject. But I note that I was reading a piece by Jim Bawden in the Star Week magazine section on the BBC documentary about Queen and her portrait by Rolf Harris.

HRH has sat for 139 portraits. She says that she likes sitting for them because “People can’t get at us. We’re busy doing nothing.”

I like that: Busy doing nothing.

Anyone want to paint me this summer?

Paul Gillespie 2.0

June 17, 2006

Detective Sergeant Paul Gillespie of the Toronto Police service retired from active duty on Thursday, only a few days after delivering a powerful request for carriers to help him do his job during the session on Illegal Internet Content at The 2006 Canadian Telecom Summit.

He has gone on to pursue the next phase of his career dedicated to fighting the scourge of child pornography and the exploitation of children on the Internet.

The following is reproduced from a KINSA press release issued Friday:

Six years ago, Detective Gillespie started the now world renowned Child Exploitation Unit of the Toronto Police Service and has been involved in the investigation and “saves” of 84 exploited children. In the next phase of his career, Gillespie will be working with law enforcement from around the world teaching them the tools and techniques that made the Toronto Police and the Child Exploitation Unit so successful in their efforts.

“The crime of child exploitation using the internet is a global one and extends well beyond the boundaries of a municipal, provincial or even a national police force,” says Gillespie. “My efforts will be dedicated to consulting with law enforcement from around the world and helping them set up the systems and tools they need to build a global community of law enforcement that can deal with these criminal elements using the same tools they use.”

Paul’s ventures will be supported by three organizations going forward.

  • Paul Gillespie Consulting (www.paulgillespieconsulting.com) will offer training and consulting services to private companies and law enforcement in what they can do to help stop the exploitation of children.
  • Microsoft Corporation will continue to support CETS – the Child Exploitation Tracking System – which was co-developed by Paul and Microsoft.
  • Paul will work with Microsoft and provide training to any law enforcement agency in the world that decides to use CETS, which is offered free of charge by Microsoft.

Much of Paul’s time and efforts will focus on KINSA, the Kids Internet Safety Association, a charity dedicated to advocacy, awareness and research & training around the issue of child exploitation on the internet. Launched in 2005, KINSA (www.kinsa.net) is an advocate for greater resources in Canada and around the world to dedicate to this cause and hopes in the very near future to build an international training centre called the “KINSA Centre for Child Rescue and Cybercrime Investigation” here in Toronto.

As Paul embarks on this next phase of his career, he is available to media to discuss the issue and his plans going forward. As one of the most recognized and decorated authorities on the subject, Paul makes a compelling case for action with his passion and dedication.

Paul has received local and international acclaim too numerous to list here. Broadcast media ranging from CNN, ABC, NBC, FOX and MSNBC in the US and CTV’s W5 and CBC’s The Fifth Estate in Canada have featured Paul and his team.

Print articles have appeared in Readers Digest, Time Magazine, Toronto Life Magazine, The Globe and Mail and The L.A. Times. Most recently, ABC News named Paul Gillespie their “Person of the Week“

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