OpEd:
Do Not Allow A Distraction From Net Neutrality
September 24, 2009 by Kyle BradyTags: America, Barack Obama, Congress, Digital Freedoms, Digital Rights, FCC, ISPs, Net Neutrality, Politics
As required by the FTC, a Full Disclosure is available - this piece adheres to the Code of Ethics
It was inevitable, and rather predictable, that the FCC would announce interest in Net Neutrality regulation, with Congress scheduled to be close behind, since copyright law is being used as an offensive weapon towards ISPs and their customers, ISPs feel they can throttle user’s connections at will, many network managers have strange ideas about their equipment, and the same ISPs tend to disconnect users they consider troublesome as a matter of normal practice. All of these issues, and a few more, make up the core of Net Neutrality, which remains a fundamental digital freedoms and rights issue that must be addressed in the near-term for continued modern growth.
However, all of this has been said before.
What has not been said before is that while the upcoming fight was known to be difficult, thanks to the obvious self-interest of the ISPs and deep-pocketed interest groups like the RIAA, it will now be considerably harder – the political willpower that should be interested in the rights of the American people is demonstrably weaker than the nation previously believed. The “healthcare debate” may be almost over, but the last six months has proven that this specific American flavor of democracy is highly partisan, filled with misleading propaganda, easily influenced, and often irrational or childish. The issue of Net Neutrality will be no different.
In fact, Republican Senators have already moved to protect their campaign financiers before any official action or legislation has even been proposed. It should come as no surprise that elected officials hell-bent on preventing regulation of any sort and downsizing government, while contributing to Big Government themselves, would take such action. What is surprising is that members of the minority party would take a stand on what amounts to merely a speech by another official, even as their current partisan behavior lands them in further trouble with the nation-at-large.
Assuming for a moment that these Senators actually understand the issues surrounding Net Neutrality, and were not simply reacting to the idea of increased regulation by a Federal agency, it presents a worrisome reality: no matter the issue, its public support, or the need for legislation, the Republican Party is going to automatically object to any and all actions by President Obama, his Administration, and any Democratic politician. On the issue of Net Neutrality, it is very clear that regulation is not only necessary and practical, but would serve as a formal recognition of the fundamental digital rights that American citizens hold – the only parties that contest such a regulatory need are those would actually be regulated. And yet, just as in the issue of healthcare reform, it is being fought against for vague and highly suspect reasons that do not echo the beliefs of the People.
The FCC, along with President Obama and the intelligent portions of Congress, must not allow the issue of Net Neutrality to degrade in the manner in which healthcare reform did – this would result in unnecessary compromises and extended debate, both of which are entirely unacceptable in this issue of digital rights and freedoms for American citizens. Besides undermining the Obama Administration by sandbagging the issues with all their might, while destroying their own party from the inside, Republicans absolutely cannot be allowed to hijack American politics for their own selfish and childish goals.
The needs of the American People must come before those of self-serving, partisan Congressmen who cannot fully comprehend most of the issues on which they legislate, and Net Neutrality is too important to fall prey to such political machinations. Digital rights and freedoms must be officially recognized by the Federal Government in order to move intelligently forward as a connected nation – to ignore, write off, or otherwise sidestep addressing this issue would be nothing short of Unconstitutional.
A phrase with which the Republican Party should now be intimately familiar.
Kyle can be found on Twitter and MySpace, or reached via email.
