One of the many things that the Congress wants to try and pass before the end of the year and its “lame duck session” is “net neutraility” and it associated attempts to limit free speech. Leading left-wing heavyweights like Al Gore and Moby seem to want to let the FEC determine what you can do with your internet. They believe the free market does not do it well enough and think capitalism could lead to corporate censorship of content.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation one of the leading lights in the fight to retain internet freedom is upset by the law that is making its way to the vote in the next few weeks. Its called Combatting Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA) and its certainly not what the name implies.
“This is a censorship bill, with a blacklist and everything…Senator Leahy is leading the government into the swamp of trying to decide which websites should be blacklisted and which ones shouldn’t, and they’re going to discover that the line between copyright infringement and free political speech can be awfully murky.”
Reason has a Dummies Guide that explains the basics of the case against an FCC take-over of the internet.
In fact the Chairman of the FCC doesn’t even want to bother and wait for the Legislative branch to act and aims to introduce net neutrality in a truly arbitrary manner as soon as the end of the year. Big Government reports on this epic power grab.
“Of course, this attempted sleight of regulatory hand does not get The Chairman past one glaring problem – the D.C. Circuit Court has already unanimously ruled that the FCC doesn’t have the authority to regulate the Internet under Title I – at least as far as enforcing Network Neutrality is concerned. (Which is why Free Press & Co. have been clamoring for Title II Reclassification.)”
As the CATO’s Adam Therier explained in a recent article.
““Net neu- trality” regulation on the Internet’s physical infrastructure providers, which would let the FCC toss property rights out the window and regulate broad- band networks to their heart’s content”
So its not just one flank but both flanks that are under attack. Those who care about the internet need to sit up and take notice quickly. There are those bound and determine to limit the chaotic and free nature of the internet.
