When Net Neutrality Becomes Programmed Censorship | Global Research
When Net Neutrality Becomes Programmed Censorship | Global Research
The worst fears of all free speech proponents are upon us. The Verizon suit against the Federal Communications Commission, appellate decision sets the stage for a Supreme Court review. The Wall Street Journal portrays
the ruling in financial terms: “A federal court has tossed out the
FCC’s “open internet” rules, and now internet service providers are free
to charge companies like Google and Netflix higher fees to deliver content faster.”
In essence, this is the corporate spin that the decision is about the future cost for being connected.
“The ruling was a blow to the Obama administration, which
has pushed the idea of “net neutrality.” And it sharpened the struggle
by the nation’s big entertainment and telecommunications companies to
shape the regulation of broadband, now a vital pipeline for tens of
millions of Americans to view video and other media.
For consumers, the ruling could usher in an era of tiered Internet
service, in which they get some content at full speed while other
websites appear slower because their owners chose not to pay up.
“It takes the Internet into completely uncharted territory,” said Tim
Wu, a Columbia University law professor who coined the term net
neutrality.”
What the Journal is not telling you is that this “uncharted
territory” is easy to project. If ISP’s will be able to charge varied
rates or decide to vary internet speed, it is a very short step towards
selectively discriminate against sites based upon content. Do not get
lulled into thinking that constitutional protective political speech is
guaranteed.
