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Is the new Congress watching?

America’s government-advantaged aristechracy, which enjoys the most favorable taxation, regulation, and law enforcement treatment of any American industry by far, has the hubris to lobby the FCC for billions of dollars in implicit economic subsidies from consumers via the imposition of maximal FCC Title II regulation, taxation and law enforcement of ISPs.  

Consider the Internet Association’s Title II position.

In November, the Internet Association’s President Michael Beckerman said: “Using Title II authority, along with the right set of enforceable rules… would establish the strong net neutrality protections Internet users require.”

Please don’t miss my Daily Caller op-ed here: “Will the FCC Break the Internet?”

It explains how the FCC could effectively break the Internet and seriously undermine U.S. trade and foreign policy interests, if it redefined the legal status of American Internet services to ITU utility-regulated “telecommunications” services.

This is Part 68 of my FCC Open Internet Order Series.

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FCC Open Internet Order Series

Part 1: The Many Vulnerabilities of an Open Internet [9-24-09]

Please don’t miss my Daily Caller op-ed here: “Silicon Valley’s Biggest Internet Mistake,” to learn the disastrous international repercussions for the Internet of the FCC regulating the American Internet as a “telecommunications” utility.

This is Part 67 of my FCC Open Internet Order Series.

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FCC Open Internet Order Series

Part 1: The Many Vulnerabilities of an Open Internet [9-24-09]

If Silicon Valley folks are indeed the smartest of the smart, how could they be so easily fooled on net neutrality?

Normally smarts distinguish between what’s testable and real versus what is the pixie-dust of dreams.  

So where’s the real data and sound scientific thinking behind Silicon Valley’s grandiose net neutrality presumptions?

Why isn’t Silicon Valley adhering to its own data-driven, scientific decision-making principles?

Summary of Silicon Valley’s 6 Biggest Net Neutrality Fantasies:

Some things are way too important to let slip by uncontested.

The FCC has asserted a foundational regulatory premise that warrants rebuttal and disproving, given that the FCC is considering if Internet access, and Internet backbone peering, should be regulated like a utility under Title II telephone common carrier regulation.

In an important speech on Internet interconnection last month to the Progressive Policy Institute, the very able and experienced Ruth Milkman, Chairman Tom Wheeler’s Chief of Staff, asserted that “communications networks are no different” than railroad and electricity networks when it comes to interconnection. “… At bottom… the fact is that a network without connections and interconnections is one that simply doesn’t work. Disconnected networks do not serve the public interest.”

Thanks and Kudos to Mike Wendy of Media Freedom for this <3 minute commentary (video here) about how naïve Silicon Valley is in pushing for broadband regulation that could easily boomerang and apply to core parts of Silicon Valley’s distribution and cloud  businesses.

They are living proof of the old adage: be careful of what you ask for, you may just get it.

They also could find themselves getting acquainted with a new adage: live by three FCC votes, die by three FCC votes.

If Netflix’ position on net neutrality was justified on the merits, why does Netflix need to say so many deceptive things that are demonstrably untrue, in order to justify its case for its version of net neutrality?

Unregulated Google is increasingly pushing for maximal FCC net neutrality and price regulation of its direct broadband competitors, potentially via FCC reclassification of broadband as a Title II telephone utility service.

Please see my latest Daily Caller op-ed: “Top Ten Reasons to Oppose Broadband Utility Regulation.”

It provides a great overview of the best arguments why the FCC reclassifying broadband as a Title II monopoly telephone service, is a very bad idea. 

• It is Part 50 of my FCC Open Internet Series.

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FCC Open Internet Order Series

Part 1: The Many Vulnerabilities of an Open Internet [9-24-09]

Dear Executives of Internet Association Companies,

Have you thought through the global implications of your businesses’ public lobbying for regulating broadband like a public telephone utility? 

Possibly you are unaware that “The French government said it would push for a new European law later this year to classify Google and other Web giants like public utilities, forcing them to guarantee access to all services like phone operators. … We don’t want to become a digital colony of global Internet giants” said the French Economy Minister, per Wall Street Journal reporting.

As members of the global Internet giant association, and as global companies with large majorities of your current or future revenues coming from overseas, it could be beneficial to better think through the global implications of your high-profile policy support for new broadband utility regulation in the U.S.