Follow up to previous posting – Role of the Networked Public Sphere in the U.S. Net Neutrality Policy Debate, an article from The Register that contributes more resources and perspective to the debate: “With commissioners at US watchdog the FCC due to vote on proposed net neutrality rules next week, a poll of Americans has revealed two interesting and important aspects:

1. Most of them don’t know what on Earth net neutrality actually is.
2. Most of them want to see the rules before they are approved.

This is unlikely to stop the expected 3-2 vote from going ahead next Thursday, or halt what has been an increasingly partisan and mindless campaign on both sides. Yet it does highlight a significant problem on the part of the FCC and, by extension, the Obama Administration. Why are top officials voting on rules that will regulate ‘net access like a telephone service, impacting everyone, and yet to this day remain a secret? That basic concern leaves the FCC open to attack from Congress and to public opinion. The survey by the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) spoke to a cross-section of 800 adults aged 18+, giving a four per cent margin of error and a 95 per cent confidence level. Unlike some other recent announcements in favor or against the proposed rules, it appears to be an unbiased study. Its main findings [PDF] were:

• 74 per cent of Americans are unfamiliar with the term “net neutrality” or what it refers to
• 73 per cent want “greater disclosure” of the FCC’s plans
• 79 per cent wants public disclosure of the exact before the FCC votes on it
• Just one in three think regulating the internet like the telephone is helpful”