2010-03-07

doc_strange: (Default)
2010-03-07 11:11 am

Rambling thoughts about the drive to "Net Neutrality"

I've wondered whether the drive to "Net Neutrality" is little more than a drive to force private property to act like public property, without the deep government interference... except where the government decides which violations of "neutrality" to prosecute/fine/etc., creating an ad hoc regulatory scheme out of the current administration's political goals. Ultimately, I see it as a struggle for the control stick, and little more. But the struggle for the control stick isn't one of simple greed (Internet provisioning is not itself actually a very profitable business; just look at the pure-play backbone shops' quarterlies for profit; it has to be married to content and, ultimately one way or another, ad revenue), but of something deeper, social, and perhaps a complicated product of 250+ years of complex government-private interaction in regulation, license, and tax. I'm ultimately concerned the arguments are happening skew to whatever real problems are out there (I think that about a lot of social issues), so here are some disconnected thoughts on the topic to get some dialog going here. I appreciate any helpful new ways to slice the potato.
Let's dig in... )