CWA adds voice to Democratic Platform

This election season, the Obama campaign has encouraged people to host grassroots events as part of the process to develop the Democratic platform. Organizers have been working hard to put together meetings on a huge variety of issues -- and CWA members were no exception.

At meetings around the country, CWA members came together to discuss the need for the U.S. to adopt a comprehensive high speed Internet policy to achieve universal access.

One such meeting in Columbus, O

From the 2008 Democratic Party Platform:

A Connected America

In the 21st century, our world is more intertwined than at any time in human history. This new connectedness presents us with untold opportunities for innovation, but also new challenges. We will protect the Internet's traditional openness and ensure that it remains a dynamic platform for free speech, innovation, and creativity. We will implement a national broadband strategy (especially in rural areas, and our reservations and territories) that enables every American household, school, library, and hospital to connect to a world-class communications infrastructure. We will rededicate our nation to ensuring that all Americans have access to broadband and the skills to use it effectively. In an increasingly technology-rich, knowledge based economy, we understand that connectivity is a key part of the solution to many of our most important challenges: job creation, economic growth, energy, health care, and education. We will establish a Chief Technology Officer for the nation, to ensure we use technology to enhance the functioning, transparency, and expertise of government, including establishing a national interoperable public safety communications network to help first responders at the local, state and national level communicate with one another during a crisis.

We will toughen penalties, increase enforcement resources, and spur private sector cooperation with law enforcement to identify and prosecute those who exploit the Internet to try to harm children. We will encourage more educational content on the Web and in our media. We will give parents the tools and information they need to manage what their children see on television and the Internet – in ways fully consistent with the First Amendment. We will strengthen privacy protections in the digital age and will harness the power of technology to hold government and business accountable for violations of personal privacy. We will encourage diversity in the ownership of broadcast media, promote the development of new media outlets for expression of diverse viewpoints, and clarify the public interest obligations of broadcasters who occupy the nation's spectrum.

Marc Ambinder at the Atlantic has posted a PDF of the full platform.

It is encouraging that Barack Obama has opened up the Democratic platform process to involve regular Americans, and thanks to the hard work of CWA members across the country, the issue of universal high speed Internet will be well represented at the Democratic Convention next week.

The DNC Platform, Revised (The Atlantic)