NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad
[ NNSquad ] The First Amendment and the FRC
We've been over this. There is a First Amendment issue -- it goes back to the formation of the FRC (Federal Radio Commission) when congress reluctantly agreed to compromise the First Amendment in order to issue radio licenses and decide who was most worthy. The FCC was grandfathered. We wouldn't have to ask for neutrality as a patch if we didn't maintain scarcity by handing over our very means of communicating to companies whose business models can't survive abundance. This is why it's so important to understand the underlying technology and business models rather than coming in after-the-fact and trying to solve a symptom rather than addressing the fundamental problem -- being forced by networking as a service. Today value chains (silos) are the new trusts. How long till a new Teddy Roosevelt goes after them? Any good capitalist should abhor government managed markets and companies that thwart free markets. -----Original Message----- From: nnsquad-bounces+nnsquad=bobf.frankston.com@nnsquad.org [mailto:nnsquad-bounces+nnsquad=bobf.frankston.com@nnsquad.org] On Behalf Of Edward Almasy Sent: Monday, July 26, 2010 18:06 To: Richard Bennett Cc: nnsquad@nnsquad.org Subject: [ NNSquad ] Re: Sen. Franken to the Netroots: Only You Can Stop the Corporate Takeover of Free Speech On Jul 26, 2010, at 3:33pm, Richard Bennett wrote: > Franken's remarks stand the First Amendment on its head. The First Amendment protects the citizens from violations of our speech rights by the government, while net neutrality laws are attempts to have the government limit the services and business models of a group of companies. This is only true if network connectivity is purely a matter of private commerce. If (as I and many others believe) the Internet has become a de facto part of our public infrastructure, then we have to consider the services and business models controlling that infrastructure in a different light, on par with those operated by the government. Franken's speech is just one more facet of the push to remold the old legal model to allow it to function as intended within the new 21st century reality. Ed --- Edward Almasy ealmasy@scout.wisc.edu Co-Director 1210 W Dayton Street Internet Scout Madison WI 53706 Computer Sciences Department 608-262-6606 (voice) University of Wisconsin - Madison 608-265-9296 (fax)