The Internet and Independence

The lead article in today’s New York Times, “U.S. Court Curbs F.C.C. Authority on Web Traffic,” describes a recent ruling that gives more power to Internet service providers (ISPs) to control the services they offer and at what price.

Though the company involved, Comcast, said it had no plans to abandon an open Internet, the ruling could affect President Obama’s policy of “net neutrality” and a plan to increase access to high-speed Internet service, particularly in rural areas.

Net neutrality means that all Internet content should be treated equally by network providers, and this principle seems rooted in free speech principles enshrined in the Constitution.

However, Republicans, who have supported Comcast,  seem more concerned with corporate freedom than that of the people. This case is a telling revelation of where true Republican sympathies lie, despite all their recent rhetoric.

Internet companies could easily abuse their new found freedom to violate the principles of the Internet rather than maintain them, and the F.C.C. has vowed to find new avenues to regulate and enforce net neutrality. The issue involves maintaining the freedom of the Internet and the smaller content provider instead of the freedom of large ISPs like Comcast.

The court ruling was described as narrow and case-specific so the Internet is still free … for now.