A new initiative launched by the Center for Media Justice called Black Voices for Internet Freedom, was launched yesterday for the purpose of putting real, outside-the-Beltway faces on the issue on Internet openness.

In general, any attempt to get more people online, especially people of color, is positive. I’m preaching to the choir when I say that the Internet provides a quick and efficient method to access and exchange information.

It is probably no coincidence that this initiative launched on the day that final net neutrality rules were posted in the Federal Register.

While the Center claims that this initiative is an outgrowth of a schism between traditional civil rights groups and Netroots activists, it sounds more like a clarion call to the troops in preparation both for legal challenges to net neutrality rules and efforts to leverage these rules as part of an overall strategy of intrusiveness.

Broadband access providers and their investors should expect this initiative to leave no rock unturned every time a consumer’s upload speed decreases by one or two bytes.

On 6 August 1991, the world wide web became accessible to the public. Ironically, just like that date meant little to most people twenty years ago, it ironically means little to most of the billions of Earthlings who post and exchange information with people around the globe who they may not have met yet.

The expected question is, “I wonder what’s next?“ I think what is happening right now is just as exciting as considering the possibilities. My personality quirk, however, finds me thinking less about a future point in time that continually shifts in the time-space continuum based on what we do right here, right now.

So, to celebrate 6 August 1991 while anticipating the possibilities of 6 August 2031, policymakers should be focusing on making optimal use of our resources such as spectrum and public-rights-of-way and providing the best incentives to broadband investors that would help maximize their returns on broadband deployment.

The best guidepost for policy decisions is the determination by broadband investors and industry participants as to where the next markets are, while clearing the regulatory barriers that might make accessing these markets less profitable.

An article in The Wall Street Journal discussing the business upside of internet pornography. Cable television is seeing their, shall we say, prurient interest being eaten by free availability of pornography on adult websites. Not exactly one of the coming attractions that we think of as a tool for inciting interest in broadband.

With the exception of potential new privacy protection measures from the federal government on the horizon, consumers may feel even more comfortable visiting these sites. Not only will consumers get a rise out of this, but investor expectations and valuations of online porn entertainment ventures may get a lift as well.

The Wall Street Journal yesterday reported that French president Nicolas Sarkozy wants to get the most out of the Internet as an engine for economic growth while regulating it to protect consumer privacy and the copyrights of content producers. Meanwhile, President Obama has just landed in Ireland and I expect the president to echo Mr. Sarkozy’s sentiments.

While there is nothing wrong with disclosure statements regarding what may be done with a consumer’s personally identifiable information that is submitted to a website nor enforcing the copyrights of artists, scholars, and other content providers, neither Europe or the United States should promote regulations that reach to internal management decisions of broadband access companies.

A couple days ago I had a flashback to the 1970s. It happens more and more as one approaches eligibility age for AARP benefits. Anyway, as I started buckling up, I thought about the freedom I enjoyed as a child from not having to buckle up. Freedom. Back then it was an integral part of the driving experience.

On the information superhighway we also have to buckle up. To avoid a negative experience while surfing the Web, we are encouraged to change our passwords, update our firewalls, and only go to websites we trust. These precautions make sense. But the question is, should these precautions include a driver’s license for the Internet?

That appears to be what the Obama administration is proposing. According to a blog post published in The New York Times, the administration is currently drafting a proposal that allows consumers to voluntarily sign up for a national electronic identification card. This one piece of ID will allow you to sign in to a multitude of websites. The alleged rationale behind the voluntary requirement is that a national ID will help the U.S. crack down on fraud and identity theft.

I don’t know. I can buy in to putting on my seat belt to reduce my chances of physical injury. I can’t buy into a driver’s license keeping me safe on the road. Driver’s licenses are issued in order to regulate who gets access to the road. I am also concerned that what is voluntary today becomes mandatory for accessing an increasing number of websites, particularly government websites like those of the Internal Revenue Services or your local tax collector.

When you add a national Internet ID to the Federal Communications Commission’s recent rules on managing access to the Internet, it does not add up to freedom.