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Robin Sloan: So one of the great things about the internet, maybe the great thing about the internet, is that it is a truly open platform. We shouldn't take this for granted, because the internet could have evolved many different ways, and we could have ended up with an internet that feels and operates a lot more like cable TV, which is a closed system controlled by a relatively small number of players. So this is a good thing about the internet, but we got to be vigilant to make sure the internet stays this way.

People talk about the idea of net neutrality, which is saying basically that the internet should be a platform that can be used by anybody for any purpose. It shouldn't favor content or services from one particular company over the other. And the people who operate the internet shouldn't be able to create systems that do that.

Jonathan Adelstein: The concern is that large media companies, the very ones that dominate the landscape for old media, will also take over the new media and find ways to become gatekeepers and try to throttle the freedom of expression over the internet in order to expand their own revenues.

Amy Goodman: Right now, there is a major effort by the cable companies and the telecommunications companies to write legislation that would privatize the internet. Now, the internet is absolutely critical to grassroots all over the world communicating. It is the answer to corporate globalization, grassroots globalization.

And if they privatize this invaluable public resource, it's going to shut down the information flow. So that if you want to go to att.com or google.com, you can get there right away. You want to go to democracynow.org, maybe it'll take an hour. If you want to go to a internet site of an untouchable organization in India, maybe it won't come up at all. That's not acceptable.

Jonathan Adelstein: It could be used for learning. It can be used for health care. It can be used for commerce for democracy itself. All of these many important aspects of our lives are improved by the internet.

But in order for the internet to achieve its highest potential, it has to maintain openness. It has to maintain freedom for expression, for the exchange of views, and for communications. And basic rules of the road, which the FCC is in a position to create and to enforce, are really needed to ensure that that openness remains the hallmark of the internet.