When Philip Verveer was confirmed last year as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and U.S. Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy, our nation was fortunate to have one of the most thoughtful, knowledgeable and skilled experts in global communications advancing the nation’s interests at the State Department. This is one reason that the attack on Amb. Verveer in the Huffington Post this week by Harold Feld of the organization Public Knowledge is so unfortunate and so wide off the mark. Feld attacks a distinguished U.S. civil servant in the interest of advancing a deeply misguided view of the Internet. Amb. Verveer deserves better.
Here’s what happened. Speaking at a public forum earlier this month, Amb. Verveer expressed concern that the push to impose “net neutrality” regulations on Internet companies might complicate U.S. diplomatic efforts. So Feld accused Amb. Verveer of mouthing “Republican talking points” and of undermining the FCC’s recently released Broadband Plan.
…