Open internet: presidential candidates ignore online controversy

US President Barack Obama and his Republican opponent Mitt Romney both argue that innovation is key to creating a strong US economy.

Yet critics claim both candidates have largely ignored one of the crucial issues of the internet age: how to keep the web open so ideas and information are accessible to all.

According to Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, internet freedom is essential for entrepreneurial start-ups to develop the kind of innovative products and services that will drive the economy in the 21st Century.

Mr Ohanian crossed the US this month in a bus tour to argue that an open internet - with all links having equal status rather than being put in a hierarchy determined by price or regulation - matters to everyone, not just "geeks".

The BBC's Matt Danzico spoke to Mr Ohanian as well as Susan Crawford, a former assistant to President Obama for technology and innovation policy, about the campaign.