What ever happened to Net neutrality? Last year it seemed the phrase was on everyone’s lips, and activists supporting the principle — which would prohibit broadband carriers from favoring certain network traffic with fast-lane delivery — had built up a good bit of momentum.
But now the debate over Net neutrality has devolved into “a third-rate performance with no budget and slumping attendance,” writes Declan McCullagh of CNET News. He offers a list of 10 factors that conspired to kill the topic, including a fragmenting coalition of activists, partisan gridlock, and the less-than-receptive Bush administration.
When Net neutrality was still a hot topic, campus researchers helped stoke the flames. Has their attention drifted elsewhere? Could the concept make a comeback? —Brock Read
