Let me be clear, however, as to what I believe is not “commercially reasonable” on the Internet:
- Something that harms consumers is not commercially reasonable. For instance, degrading service in order to create a new “fast lane” would be shut down.
- Something that harms competition is not commercially reasonable. For instance, degrading overall service so as to force consumers and content companies to a higher priced tier would be shut down.
- Providing exclusive, prioritized service to an affiliate is not commercially reasonable. For instance, a broadband provider that also owns a sports network should not be able to give a commercial advantage to that network over another competitive sports network wishing to reach viewers over the Internet.
- Something that curbs the free exercise of speech and civic engagement is not commercially reasonable. For instance, if the creators of new Internet content or services had to seek permission from ISPs or pay special fees to be seen online such action should be shut down.
This is the basis of his proposed Internet ruling. Perhaps he does not know that legally no one relies on his blog. The Courts will decide on the term, and his Blog will not even have a footnote reference. He can try to be as clear as he wants but as centuries of legal efforts have disclosed again and again his comments bear no weight. Shame.
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