The FCC's Comcast decision
The FCC today ordered Comcast to stop "discriminatory" techniques for managing traffic on its network, the second time it's taken a high-profile enforcement action against an Internet service provider for such behavior. Unlike the first go around in 2005 (when it sanctioned a rural North Carolina communications company for blocking Voice Over Internet Protocol phone services) the FCC's actions were highly controversial -- probably because it was acting to defend potential competitors, not actual ones. Despite the apocalyptic criticisms from some quarters, however, the FCC's actions didn't amount to a dramatic increase in government regulation of the Internet. That's my take, at least, and you can read it in full at the Bit Player blog. For more on what the FCC did today, check out this post from the Times' Jim Puzzanghera. For a reminder of where the editorial board stands, you can read our editorial from Thursday's paper here.
Photo of FCC Chairman Kevin Martin courtesy of Joshua Roberts of Bloomberg News.
It's very disheartening to hear how backwards people can get it. The government orders internet companies to stop interfering with people's free use of the internet, and people see that as government interference with their free use of the internet. I had hoped that this would show people that corporations can be just as regulatory and apt to violate consumer freedoms as the government, and that often what we call "regulation" is the government working in defense of consumers.
Posted by: Andrew | August 04, 2008 at 08:37 AM