June 19, 2006
Bush Ruins The Internet
The Bush administration prepares to wreck the Internet. That's the headline, and the subhead is equally subtle: "The Internet is an economic and social triumph; who could possibly wreck it? The Bush administration, natch."
TNR's knickers are in full elastic twist over net neutrality. It seems it is not about forcing users to pay their fair share for bandwidth, it's an Administration plot to derail freedom. Without Congressional regulation, FOXNews will load faster than CNN!
Most important, as Stanford Law Professor Lawrence Lessig has argued, the Internet is not only a tool for economic growth, it is also a public commons for the exchange of ideas. It is where Americans can not only search for the best deal on a new digital camera, but also debate the country's future. Unlike the telephone, it is a medium in which thousands, even millions, of people can participate in the same discussion at the same time. Unlike television, it is interactive. But it can't function optimally if content is prioritized or filtered by telecom companies. Allowing companies to levy a toll on information providers is not just a blow to consumer choice--it's a blow to democracy.
I hope those of you with impressionable daughters will keep them away from this week's TNR. "Daddy, why does President Bush want to destroy Vice President Gore's Internet?"
Will the last Democrat leaving the plane of reality please turn off the lights?