In addition to being a public good that ought to be regulated, the internet is also an amplifier of panic, malice, and intemperance. Like it or not, those vices helped get the nation into the political moil it currently faces, from internet policy to immigration to taxation to health care—as well as to the validity of elections themselves.
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Under the new rules, dubbed “Restoring Internet Freedom” by the FCC, ISPs would have to disclose any steps they take to limit or sell special access... The FCC voted in favor of repeal despite
widespread support of net neutrality among the American public
.. Even the FCC hearing itself was disrupted by the internet’s feral anxiety about itself.
.. progressive advocacy for net neutrality can’t credibly claim to be acting on behalf of consumers and small businesses when venture-backed technology start-ups are the main beneficiary.
.. but it’s not clear that the online-video market hasn’t been taken over by incumbents anyway, like search and social networking have.
.. Pai insists, telco investment in broadband infrastructure has declined
.. better solutions to broadband competition exist. One is local-loop unbundling, a policy that requires telcos to share last-mile connections with competitors. It’s one of the reasons that broadband is
so much cheaper in Europe than it is in the United States.