AUSTIN, Texas – Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) said he will introduce antitrust legislation to curb the influence of telecommunications lobbyists, but that effort will ultimately fail without the support of artists involved in online technology.
Franken, who kicked off a number of panels debating network-neutrality issues during the Interaction portion of the South by Southwest Music Conference and Festival, showed appreciation for the Austin community’s willingness to assist artists and help them thrive in the hill country of central Texas. Notes from Franken’s presentation include how musicians leverage the Internet for marketing purposes but are in danger of paying tiered services for content, which he says would limit the size and scope of bandwidth capabilities for independent business.
Consumers as a whole are tied to the issue, while those in the business of the Web could be affected on a greater scale, especially those who use direct distribution. As an example, Franken warned of companies such as Comcast Corp., which has taken action to charge Level 3 Communications Inc. more for services used by Netflix Inc. to stream movies on its network. Adoption of such practices could affect pricing and options for entertainment online and hurt those who are in creative fields such as film, music and development.
