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You are hereFirst Amendment 2.0 Ratified by 3 FCC Commissioners? The Principle-less-ness of Net Neutrality
Submitted by Scott Cleland on Fri, 2009-12-11 13:08
The foundation of American Democracy for over 200 years has been respect for the U.S. Constitution and the rule of law. The advent of the mainstream Internet in the 1990's created a new and exceptional medium for free expression, much as telephone, radio, movies, TV, faxes, dial-up, email, texting, etc. have created new technological mediums for free expression.
Current justifications for new net neutrality regulations to implement a "21st Century First Amendment" via three votes by un-elected FCC commissioners as net neutrality proponents like Marvin Ammori advocate, could not be a more radical assault on America's real institutions of democracy. If net neutrality supporters really cared about advancing American Constitutional Democracy, they would respect that the U.S. Constitution is designed to prevent Government tyranny of the people by creating powerful institutional checks and balances, a Bill of Rights, and definitive processes to change laws or amend the Constitution.
In sum, the specious argument that net neutrality is First Amendment 2.0 will not stand after it passes through the America's Constitutional processes.
Regulations, like elections, have consequences.
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