Testimony of Phil Galdston

Before the New York City Council

In Opposition to Proposed Net Neutrality Regulations
November 20, 2009

Good morning, Madame Chairwoman and Members of the Council. My name is Phil Galdston,
and I am just one of the thousands of songwriters who not only help give New York is justly-
deserved title of “Arts Capital of the World,” but who significantly contribute to its economy.

Thank you for this opportunity to testify in opposition to current proposals by the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) to expand and codify certain “Network Neutrality”
principals. Given the poor policy choices made by the FCC in its current proposed regulation, I
strongly urge the Council to avoid any endorsement of Resolution 712A-2007.

Mr. Chambers, my colleague and collaborator, has testified how digital looters have severely
damaged the music industry, and the songwriting profession, in particular. It is the belief of
many in the songwriting community that the current proposed FCC rule would worsen the
situation by: (1) creating a legal safe harbor for those who steal valuable intellectual property;
and (2) preventing network operators from taking actions to prevent such misconduct from
occurring on the networks they own.

The FCC is proposing to enshrine forever rules governing the Internet that are responsible for the
devastation described by Mr. Chambers. While these rules require that all lawful uses be treated
“in a non-discriminatory manner,” they ignore whether or not the usage is unlawful. The tragic
result is that the property created and owned by songwriters like me is discriminated against.
This is anything but neutral.

Comments to the FCC have clearly illustrated that 70% of the volume of traffic on broadband
networks is Peer to Peer (P2P) file sharing generated by just 5% of the networks’ users. What’s
more, an astonishing 90% or more of such traffic represents unlawful theft of copyrighted
works.1 The current situation, which permits a small percentage of looters to control a vast
majority of a communication network’s bandwidth for the purpose of committing illegal acts, is
simply unacceptable to songwriters, and we believe it should be unacceptable to anyone who
respects the rule of law, including lawmakers. The FCC’s efforts to perpetuate this system,
which, it should be noted, are causing frequent and significant slowdowns in service to the law-
abiding users they purport to represent, is difficult to fathom.

Songwriters love the First Amendment; we thrive on it! That said, we’re looking to anyone who
can help us combat the outrage of unauthorized and illegal use of our work. At the same time, we
care deeply about our audience. While creating a new song can be a very personal act, in many
cases, we write as much for our audience as for ourselves.
Testimony of Phil Galdston
November 20, 2009
1 See Comments of NBC Universal, Inc., In the Matter of Broadband Industry Practices, FCC WC Docket No. 07-
52, Feb. 13, 2008 at 2 (citing various sources).
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Therefore, we’re committed to helping to forge solutions that protect our rights and those of
music-lovers.

The greatest risk of harm to our audience, the consumers of music, comes from regulatory and
legislative proposals — such as those of the FCC — that prevent responsible ISPs from
managing their networks. If ISPs are unable to do so, or if they have no economic incentive to
do so, music makers will continue to suffer from a loss of income and a drastic reduction in
opportunity. And our audience will suffer as my colleagues and I — many of us creating right
here in New York — find it no longer viable to make a living as songwriters.

Although technology created the illegal file-sharing monster we face every day, technology can
be developed and employed to detect and deter those practices that are illegal. Simply put, in the
same way American society wages war on other illegal behaviors, we must fight technology with
technology. Unfortunately, the current net neutrality regulatory proposals would smother any
effort to use technology to deter the rampant looting of our work.

I hope the Council will pause before endorsing the proposed rules and consider their impact on
songwriters, music lovers, and the City of New York.