On net neutrality
This is somewhat off-topic, but then again, it is relevant especially to those of us who use and publish on the internet.
Early in November, 2017, I was convinced that the FCC plan to kill net neutrality in December was ill-conceived and pretty much catered to corporate interests. I was of the opinion that net neutrality meant that all of the stuff that was sent over the internet got the same priority and fair treatment. For example, if you had Comcast, Verizon, or AT&T cable internet access, the principle of net neutrality meant that your favorite news channel, website, or blog will not be throttled and censored. You would not be charged extra to view Netflix or specific websites.
Since then, I have reversed my opinion, based on the following points:
- Net neutrality was implemented by the Obama administration in 2015 - an administration not particularly noted for their support of democratic process. It also should be noted that Obama gave away control of the internet - essentially giving it to the U.N.
- Even under net neutrality, carriers such as Comcast could still charge differential rates for different services and content.
- The current FCC plan would restore the authority of the Federal Trade Commission, America's premier consumer protection agency, to police the practices of Internet service providers. Net neutrality had removed this authority.
- The current FCC plan will move from a heavy-handed regulation to light-touch regulation, not a completely hands-off approach.
- Even under net neutrality, Google, Facebook, and Twitter are censoring content on the internet.
- The internet worked and evolved remarkably well before net neutrality in 2015. The current FCC plan will move the internet back into that environment.
- There is nothing preventing Congress, or a future FCC or FTC, from expanding government power later if truly necessary.
See the following articles for more information on why net neutrality should be rescinded:
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai Calls Out Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Silicon Valley for Censorship and Internet Content Manipulation, The Last Refuge, November 28, 2018.
Ajit Pai Responds to Celebrities, 'Verified Liberals,' Net Neutrality Concerns, Breitbart, November 28, 2017.
Net Neutrality: A Primer, by Daniel Lyons, National Review, November 29, 2017.
Revisiting Net Neutrality, by Daniel Lyons, The Free State Foundation, November 10, 2017.
The FCC’s Open Internet Order – Contradictions and Legal Infirmities, by Andrew Regitsky, March 20, 2015.
For those that aren’t familiar, Free Press is the George Soros-funded net neutrality group who essentially wrote the “Open Internet Order” (OIO) regulating the Internet, passed by the FCC in 2015. Free Press is even mentioned 46 times in the actual legislation.
Free Press advocates for the theft of the infrastructure that was funded by private companies to make the internet a public resource or a right.
“What we want to have in the US and in every society is an Internet that is not private property, but a public utility. We want an Internet where you don’t have to have a password and that you don’t pay a penny to use. It is your right to use the Internet,” Robert McChesney, one of the founders of Free Press, stated.
While “free stuff” is an easy sell to those who don’t understand economics, the reality is it doesn’t exist. Consumers will most certainly be hit the hardest and the ISPs and the state will win.