California considering ‘net brutality’
March 13th, 2007 by Brendan SteinhauserLooks like yet another state is trying to set price controls on internet content, in the form of “net neutrality.” For what this policy does to the net, it should be called “net brutality.”
Here is the story from the Left-wing blogosphere.
Assemblyman Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) announced today he will introduce “Net Neutrality” legislation that will preserve the free and open Internet by allowing all users to access the content of their choice.
Similar legislation has been introduced in Maryland and Maine, but the sizable force of California’s economy is expected to help secure Internet freedom nationwide if the legislation becomes law. The language of the bill closely resembles a concession made by AT&T in finalizing its merger with BellSouth late last year. Last month US Senators Byron Dorgan (D-North Dakota) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) introduced legislation to preserve network neutrality. Co-sponsors of this congressional bill include Senators Kerry, Boxer, Harkin, Leahy, Clinton and Obama.
The government’s taking more control over the internet hardly seems to be consistent with “internet freedom”, which the Left claims to care about.
The leftists take it one step further to the point of comedy with this statement, “Assemblyman Leno has a long history as a civil rights leader and sees this legislation as a continuation of that work. ‘This is about the equality of opportunity and access online,’ Leno said. ‘The entire premise that has allowed the Internet to flourish is that the network itself does not discriminate.’
Price discrimination is clearly not comparable to racial or gender discrimination, but the Left will use the rhetoric necessary to convince people that the government should set price controls on internet content.
