Agencies

stressed the importance to these groups of maintaining the low barriers to entry that the open Internet offers. Clyburn said the challenge is “last half-mile” -- the distance from those without broadband to the physical infrastructure right outside their doors. The Internet can worsen inequality, Levin said. He said adoption can been spurred by a social infrastructure that “weaves our investments in digital access into the fabric of our communities,” including libraries and community centers; “social innovation” like online credit counseling or grant programs to “micro entrepreneurs;” and “social purpose media” -- high-quality government and private content, Levin said. What has happened with U.S. minority media ownership shouldn’t happen to the Internet, Clyburn said, advocating open Internet rules to empower communities of color. There has been no discussion of the importance for under-represented groups to maintain the low barriers to entry that the Internet has provided, she said. “I believe in smart regulation,” Clyburn said. That’s why the commission has started a process that will account for reasonable network management, she said. Clyburn endorsed imposing strong rules that don’t cede control of the “most significant communications advancement.” With an open Internet, “we have the chance to lower the bar,” she said. CEO Andrew Schwartzman of the Media Access Project said Clyburn understands that transferring old media ownership models to the Internet, and increasing gatekeepers’ control over it, would reduce its benefits in free expression civil rights.