The End Of Net Neutrality

It's looking more and more like promises made by Democrats to preserve Net Neutrality and level the playing field among internet content providers has run into big money provided by Google and Verizon.  Now, the same Democrats who promised to keep the internet regulated for all to use are now effectively killing the idea.

Legislative text put forward by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) under the banner of mandating network neutrality would instead prevent the government from requiring broadband providers to treat all Internet traffic equally.


Waxman, who has vowed that he would support the so-called 'Net Neutrality' policy proposals favored by most Democrats and progressives, has instead put forward an as-yet-unsettled legislative framework that explicitly prohibits the Federal Communications Commission from regulating broadband Internet under Title II of the Communications Act: a caveat key to implementation of what's been called the Internet's First Amendment.

Should the president sign a bill containing Waxman's language, it would effectively kill 'Net Neutrality' efforts and make key parts of a hotly contested proposal by Google and Verizon the law of the land.

While the bill [PDF link], first published by National Journal blog Tech Daily Dose, carries language that speaks of preventing ISPs from "unjustly or unreasonably" discriminating against "lawful traffic," the spirit of the rule is completely undermined by text that follows.

For today's fast-growing wireless networks, largely seen as the future dominant mode of Internet access, it makes a provision allowing for "reasonable network management," but prohibits blocking "lawful Internet websites".

The bottom line is that wireless networks would be exempt from the provisions, and with a $2 million fine for blocking sites or choking traffic, companies could make much more money by charging an extra monthly fee for "premium" wireless access.   Any any traffic that comes from sites critical of the practice, say, bloggers who write about tech companies who limit access, could in turn be limited or eliminated.

Have a bad review of Verizon's newest product on your blog?  Poof, nobody on a Verizon network will ever see it at anything higher than dial up speeds.

Google and Verizon have a deal?  What if you're using a non-Verizon phone to access Google maps?  Good luck with that...and for individual internet users, it'll be impossible to prove.

Gotta love it.  Making money with robbery on the information superhighway.  And it's the Dems leading the way.