Openness Labeling
Since its beginning, the Julia Group has had Net Neutrality as one of its primary focuses. More specifically a problem that arises when discussing and working on the subject, which is the lack of clear definitions of what constitutes net neutrality from a Swedish perspective.
Thanks to a grant from .SE’s Internetfond, the Julia group has been given the opportunity to launch a project which aims to study and define common net neutrality conditions. The goal of the project is to establish guidelines concerning principles of openness on the Internet.
The working title of the project is “Project Openness Labeling” which refers to the idea that common principles for openness on the net could facilitate the creation of an “Openness label”. This label would help differentiate internet providers that deliver an open and “true” Internet, from those which don’t. The Julia group is convinced this would provide several benefits:
• As a consumer label it would help Internet users determine what type of Internet an operator delivers, whether it can be classed as Internet or a mere package of media services.
• As a point of discussion it can open up a more thorough dialogue regarding what constitutes a real Internet.
• We question the benefits of legislation surrounding net neutrality and suggest that a label could be a valuable alternative.
The project will be running over a period of 6 months starting March 2010 and will include conferring with providers, interest groups, and authorities. This will hopefully lead to a more open discussion regarding the subject. The results will be presented in a seminar as well as in a report available under CC-license.