The Confusion that is "Net Neutrality"

This issue is a deceptive Gordian knot. People whose opinions I value have opposite opinions on it.

In the final analysis, I come down on the side of Gummint Out!

Whatever goodness they promise never works out—even when it sounds perfectly reasonable, and perfectly beneficial. Without knowing more than that, my instinct is to be agin' it if the Lawmaking Lords are for it.

And if Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski is for it, considering he's probably got the hammer and sickle tattooed on areas of his anatomy better left unmentioned, there is not the slightest possibility it's good for anyone but Leftist government power grabbers—and maybe ACORN.

Here's one of the arguments on the "anti" side. And I particularly like how this quote sums it up:

"Think of it as the Fairness Doctrine or McCain-Feingold for the Internet. Or a mythical solution in search of an imaginary problem."

Sounds about right. Perfectly in line with everything we know about how the government works.

"Although the term “Net Neutrality” sounds innocuous enough, its name conceals very destructive consequences. Instead of an open Internet in which competing service providers and wireless carriers remain free to experiment with alternative models, Net Neutrality would for the first time impose regulatory control on one of the few flourishing sectors in our current economy. That's hardly "neutral".

wtp