Interestingly, Kerry didn’t choose to criticize either organization. The FTC proved that “[b]aseline privacy protections in law remain common sense,” the politician said, and he gave Google credit for admitting its error.

Kerry even added, “I fully expect Goggle will do that, keep innovating, and continue creating exciting services for users around the world.” But he still believes the settlement justifies the creation of more legislation.

Kerry reasoned, “Google is far from alone in the collection, use, and distribution of immense amounts of our information. Today’s settlement is rooted in the idea that if an entity is going to engage in the collection of people’s personally identifiable information, then it must build strong privacy protections into all of its operations. Every company should adhere to this kind of standard, not just Google, and it’s best for businesses and consumers alike to have certainty about the rules and standards going forward.”

So a privacy bill Kerry’s working on should surface sometime this year, as promised.

That’s sure to annoy many companies that deal in advertising, although perhaps not Google. Our own Josh Wolford pointed out earlier that the search giant’s already facing regular privacy audits as part of its settlement with the FTC.

A Car In Every Garage, Fast Internet On Every PC

This involves, he said, changes in regulations to ensure universal broadband access and adequate competition in the marketplace.

"To compete and win in the new global economy, we need a national broadband strategy that encourages competition and expands access," said Kerry, who is also Chairman of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

"Previous generations put a toaster in every home and a car in every driveway as signs of economic progress-it’s time we do the same with high speed Internet access."

Kerry criticized the Bush administration for failing to live up to its promises of universal high-speed access.

Federal Communications Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein echoed Sen. Kerry’s call for opening up broadband competition. "Only rational competition policies can ensure that the U.S. broadband market does not devolve into a stagnant duopoly, which is a serious concern given that cable and DSL providers now control approximately 96 percent of the residential broadband market."

Kerry also pushed the FCC to change its outdated broadband measurement methods, which have been cited by incumbent broadband providers as arguments against regulation and Net Neutrality.

The FCC has received similar criticism from within via Commissioner Michael Copps. "The FCC’s current efforts at data gathering are woefully out-of-date and out-of-whack," said Copps. The Commission is still calling 200 kilobits per second ‘broadband’ and assuming that if one person in a ZIP code has broadband access, everyone else does as well.

"This is 2007, not 1997. We need a more credible definition of speed and more granular measures of deployment, as well as to start gathering data on price and the experience of other nations."

The US is ranked about 15th in the world in terms of broadband penetration and speeds, maybe 16th, now that Hong Kong telecoms are offering up to 1 Gbps fiber connections for around $200 per month, about 30 times the speed of Verizon’s fastest fiber offering for about the same price. 

This latest skirmish between SaveTheInternet and the telecom and cable industries is part of a larger battle for Network Neutrality, a movement to block phone and cable companies from manipulating Internet – wired or wireless – activity the way they do with telephone and cable lines.

The 700 MHz spectrum is considered ideal for wireless broadband access and is capable of penetrating walls, much like television and radio signals. Divided appropriately, the spectrum could open up broadband competition by offering another channel by which Internet access could be provided.

Kerry began his letter by reminding the FCC just where the US stands in the world in broadband penetration.

"The US is lagging behind much of the world in broadband penetration. Nearly 60% of the country does not subscribe to broadband service – in large measure because it is either unavailable or unaffordable."

Kerry and others believe that if chunks of spectrum are reserved for non-incumbent interests, and not for the highest bidder (the assumption here is that few are able or willing to outbid AT&T and the like), then doors will be open for broader competition in Internet access and reduce the price of connecting.

In the letter, Kerry complains that alternatives to DSL and cable modem technologies, which are the only options available in 96% of the US market, have not materialized as free-market advocates have promised over the past decade.

"It has not yet materialized, and today Americans pay as much as ten times more than broadband consumers in Asia and Europe. Worse still, competition has been insufficient to drive the innovation that brings faster speeds, next generation applications, and a richer, diverse and multifaceted Internet."

Though he admits expanding wireless broadband "may not be a silver bullet," Kerry believes it is a step in the right direction. He also mentions that part of the 700 MHz spectrum could be used to build a national emergency frequency.

But one of the biggest fears is that those in the telecommunications industry will buy up the spectrum with the intention of preventing others from buying it.

"This spectrum should not sit dormant in the hands of winning bidders," said Kerry. "We cannot allow this spectrum to be hoarded by large companies who don’t intend to use it."

Kerry informed readers that because an amendment to Sen. Ted Stevens’ telecommunications bill was voted down by a vote of 11-11 in the Senate Commerce Committee, the battle would now be fought on the Senate floor. Kerry joins a list of other senators who’ve pledged to vote down or stall Stevens’ bill if no Net Neutrality protections are included.

“It will not stand,” said Kerry.

Kerry’s running mate in the 2004 elections, John Edwards, also put in his two cents earlier this month. Edwards was joined by Virginia Governor Mark Warner, who is running for the Democratic ticket in 2008.

“The companies that want to charge for the Internet are running a slick public relations campaign to make themselves look like a grassroots operation. That’s why the folks on our side need to wage a real – and overwhelming – grassroots effort to make sure Congress understands that Americans want to keep the Internet the way it is – free and open to everyone,” wrote Edwards.

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