BOSTON, MA — You don’t have to be a pornographer to be worried about governmental regulation of the internet, although it helps. Attendees of last month’s 10th anniversary VON show in Boston were nearly as concerned about the possibility that their favorite forms of internet video might come under the government’s direction as the average webmaster at an adult industry conference.Keynote speaker Jeff Pulver, founder of VON, spoke openly about his concerns regarding the potentially stifling effects of intervention on a technology currently experiencing tremendous growth and the potential for more. With the price of producing, hosting, and transmitting content becoming increasingly affordable, the ability of consumers of all ages to make and transmit their own creations has likewise increased. But, as was the case with VoIP in 1996, the power of the FCC to slow things down is a real concern.
“Expect [the FCC] to be loud,” Pulver warned his audience, pointing out that FCC Commissioner Deborah Tate had indicated that efforts to eliminate child “porn” from the internet would well lead to restrictions on other forms of content. “I consider it a warning shot,” Pulver observed.
Pulver expects that internet entrepreneurs can expect a long battle and vowed that “The VON coalition will take people through the stages of what’s going to happen.”
Although it’s tempting to draw comparisons between internet content and that found on television networks, he cautioned against such a thing, citing concerns that such a thing could play into regulator’s hands. Currently, the FCC controls what can be seen and heard on broadcast and cable television. Pulver indicated that he felt it likely that the FCC would like to regulate internet video productions, as well, because they are “TV-like.”
Although he reassured conference attendees that “There are ways to fight this,” he also encouraged them to continue being innovative and not allow fears of regulation to stand in their way of developing new and unique content for the internet.
