*** The loss of freedom on the online highway. *** In Washington, D.C., this past Tuesday, an appeals court made a decision that jeopardizes the future of the free flow of Internet communication weve all come to rely on. You see, the FCC had a rule requiring Internet service providers to treat all the data on the net equally. No selective treatment — good or bad — could be given to one provider or to one platform. That ruling was struck down this week. If this decision remains unchanged, we could see the likes of Verizon, AT&T and the like start to charge companies extra for delivering their content to their subscribers. Of course, one would believe that those who pay more will get quicker delivery times, better service, etc. And the free flow of data would become a pit of those who can afford to bid the highest. I need not prove my support for free enterprise and free market principles but I think this is a harmful decision. Internet providers should be treated as common carriers under well-developed U.S. laws. Read the U.S. history of industrial and economic expansion beginning after the Civil War continuing until World War I and even up to today. It is a record of shameful business monopolies abusing economic power, first by John D. Rockefellers Standard Oil, and then by Carnegie and U.S. Steel and J.P. Morgan in railroads, shipping and banking. They and their imitators in coal, sugar, meat and numerous other trusts drove out or bought up competitors, then raised prices to whatever they thought they could get away with. They also restrained trade by choosing who they would sell to and serve, based on insider deals, kick-backs, price breaks and subsidies for the favorites that granted them exclusive contracts. Farmers were particularly subjected to monopoly rail-shipping rates. Along with government deficits, diminished gold reserves, as well as worldwide depressions, business monopoly practices were one of many factors that contributed to serious financial panics in 1893 and 1907. It was not until Teddy Roosevelts accidental presidency in 1901 that the Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890 was brought to life. It, and the Clayton Act of 1917, prohibited activities that restricted interstate commerce and competition in the marketplace. But after 1901, it took another 30 years for the judiciary and Congress to act effectively against monopolies — which persist even today, especially in banking and finance, and even in sugar, dairy products and farming, with our current government subsidies and sweetheart rules exchanged for campaign cash. The Internet is every bit as vital now as the railways, telephone and telegraph were at their inceptions. Communication companies that have already sold out our privacy to the NSA, under pressure from officials, certainly cannot be relied upon to give Americans a fair deal on price when left to their own devices. A watchdog is needed to curb harmful monopolistic behavior. While the FCC could easily keep the flow of data free by declaring Internet providers “common carriers,” I fear the FCC will likely fall victim to control by those they are supposed to regulate … as have most current government agencies. – Fmr. Rep. Bob Bauman
Posted on: Sun, 26 Jan 2014 07:43:21 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015