More Thoughts on Internet Neutrality

It seems that the Progressives are taking the fore in the argument of Internet Neutrality. They have managed to rephrase it as a means to have the Government protect people who use the Internet. In reality it should be a scheme whereby a user pays for local transport, and all users are the same for the same service. Namely if I choose not to have Netflix downloaded then I should not have to pay for that capacity. It is akin to my arguments against paying for football and funding the debauched lives of its players.

If however I want Netflix and whatever else that requires broadband then I should pay, not everyone else. That is Net Neutrality.

However, the prices are another issue. You see the Internet is really cheap at least per household. The real problem is why do the carriers charge so much? That is where the argument should be.

I fear that the Progressives have turned the argument around so that it now allows Government regulation. What a mess. The should reread Coll's book, The Deal of the Century.

As noted in the New Republic:

Under Title II, Internet service—and in the president’s plan, that means through computer, mobile or tablet—would become a “common carrier,” much like your phone line. And just as phone providers like AT&T or Verizon cannot deliberately slow down particular phone calls or charge certain businesses more money to connect faster, those standards would apply to the Internet under Title II. That means no “fast lanes,” where companies pay for quicker load times for their Web sites. It means no deliberate throttling of any content. It effectively means no special treatment for anyone, from Netflix and Google to photos of your cat.Broadband providers have argued that Title II authority would subject their businesses to all sorts of cumbersome and costly regulations, and potentially even price-setting. But Obama made clear in his statement that the FCC should exclude the industry from those kinds of rules, focusing on only those “relevant to broadband services.” 

 Being a Common Carrier means two things: everyone is treated equally, and the carrier has de minimis liability. Queen Elizabeth I created this in 1602. It allowed British ships to sail and created a world shipping power. The same can be done with the Internet, common carriage in a de minimis manner, meaning all are treated equally.