Intellectual Property Law

Perhaps feeling burned by Barack Obama's about-turn on the Bush domestic surveillance program, techies appear to be keeping a keen watch over any signs of unwelcome change when it comes to the important issue of network neutrality.

Hence when "method9455" reported on Slashdot Monday morning that the Obama campaign had significantly revised its technology policy pages, it set off an extended debate over the meaning of the changes.

"Strangely, it seems net neutrality is no longer as important as it was a few months ago, and the swaths of detail have been removed and replaced with fairly vague rhetoric," method9455 wrote.

The changes had been recorded by Versionista, an automated online tracking service that allows subscribers to track the changes on a web site over time.

A relatively detailed 297-word explanation of what the concept of net neutrality is, and Obama's position that the internet should retain its open character, was replaced last week with a simple 45-word statement of principle.

"A key reason the Internet has been such a success is because it is the most open network in history," reads the statement. "It needs to stay that way. Barack Obama strongly supports the principle of network neutrality to preserve the benefits of open competition on the Internet."

Similarly, Obama's unusually detailed section on privacy in the digital age was boiled down to the following 48-word summary:

The open information platforms of the 21st century can also tempt institutions to violate the privacy of citizens. As president, Barack Obama will strengthen privacy protections for the digital age and will harness the power of technology to hold government and business accountable for violations of personal privacy.

But the Obama campaign tells Threat Level that netizens are reading too much into a routine website edit.

"We've been updating the entire website to ensure consistency across the pages," says Moira Mack, an Obama campaign spokeswoman.  "The full tech plan is available on the page and there is absolutely no substantive change to our policy."

See Also:

• McCain Campaign Uses Web Spider to Sting Obama
• McCain Uses Versioning Software To Tarnish Obama's Reformer Image ...
• Obama Woos Silicon Valley
• Netroots Activists Mad at Obama for Spy Bill Flip-Flop
• Net Neutrality Gains Traction In 2008 Senate Races
• The New York Times Calls For Network Neutrality Legislation
• Obama Would Make Comcast's Interference with BitTorrent Illegal ...