Robert B. Reich: The War on Internet Democracy

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" Zepp " <zepp

Sat, 13 May 2006 21:17:07 -0700

[Zepps_News] Re: Robert B. Reich: The War on Internet Democracy

 

 

 

Robert B. Reich: The War on Internet Democracy

 

[These are the same " pipelines " that are busily turning our emails over

to the NSA. This would be a good time to start talking about making

internet feed public utilities]

 

>

> Robert B. Reich, TomPaine.com, may 11, 2006

>

> http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/051306H.shtml

>

> This week, the House is expected to vote on something termed, in

> perfect Orwellian prose, the " Communications Opportunity, Promotion

> and Enhancement Act of 2006. " It will be the first real battle in the

> coming War of Internet Democracy.

>

> On one side are the companies that pipe the Internet into our homes

> and businesses. These include telecom giants like AT & T and Verizon and

> cable companies like Comcast. Call them the pipe companies.

>

> On the other side are the people and businesses that send Internet

> content through the pipes. Some are big outfits like , Google and

> Amazon, big financial institutions like Bank of America and Citigroup

> and giant media companies soon to pump lots of movies and TV shows on

> to the Internet.

>

> But most content providers are little guys. They're mom-and-pop

> operations specializing in, say, antique egg-beaters or Brooklyn

> Dodgers memorabilia. They're anarchists, kooks and zealots peddling

> all sorts of crank ideas They're personal publishers and small-time

> investigators. They include my son's comedy troupe-streaming new

> videos on the Internet every week. They also include gazillions of

> bloggers-including my humble little blog and maybe even yours.

>

> Until now, a basic principle of the Internet has been that the pipe

> companies can't discriminate among content providers. Everyone who

> puts stuff up on the Internet is treated exactly the same. The net is

> neutral.

>

> But now the pipe companies want to charge the content providers,

> depending on how fast and reliably the pipes deliver the content.

> Presumably, the biggest content providers would pay the most money,

> leaving the little content people in the slowest and least-reliable

> parts of the pipe. (It will take you five minutes to download my blog.)

>

> The pipe companies claim unless they start charge for speed and

> reliability, they won't have enough money to invest in the next

> generation of networks. This is an absurd argument. The pipes are

> already making lots of money off consumers who pay them for being

> connected to the Internet.

>

> The pipes figure they can make even more money discriminating between

> big and small content providers because the big guys have deep pockets

> and will pay a lot to travel first class. The small guys who pay

> little or nothing will just have to settle for what's left.

>

> The House bill to be voted on this week would in effect give the pipes

> the green light to go ahead with their plan.

>

> Price discrimination is as old as capitalism. Instead of charging

> everyone the same for the same product or service, sellers divide

> things up according to grade or quality. Buyers willing to pay the

> most can get the best, while other buyers get lesser quality,

> according to how much they pay. Theoretically, this is efficient.

> Sellers who also have something of a monopoly (as do the Internet pipe

> companies) can make a killing.

>

> But even if it's efficient, it's not democratic. And here's the rub.

> The Internet has been the place where Davids can take on Goliaths,

> where someone without resources but with brains and guts and

> information can skewer the high and mighty. At a time in our nation's

> history when wealth and power are becoming more and more concentrated

> in fewer and fewer hands, it's been the one forum in which all voices

> are equal.

>

> Will the pipe companies be able to end Internet democracy? Perhaps if

> enough of the small guys make enough of a fuss, Congress may listen.

> But don't bet on it. This Congress is not in the habit of listening to

> small guys. The best hope is that big content providers will use their

> formidable lobbying clout to demand net neutrality. The financial

> services sector, for example, is already spending billions on

> information technology, including online banking. Why would they want

> to spend billions more paying the pipe companies for the Internet

> access they already have?

>

> The pipe companies are busily trying to persuade big content

> providers that it's in their interest to pay for faster and more

> reliable Internet deliveries. Verizon's chief Washington lobbyist

> recently warned the financial services industry that if it supports

> net neutrality, it won't get the sophisticated data links it will need

> in the future. The pipes are also quietly reassuring the big content

> providers that they can pass along the fees to their customers.

>

> Will the big content providers fall for it? Stay tuned for the next

> episode of Internet democracy versus monopoly capitalism.

>

> --Robert Reich is professor of public policy at the Richard and Rhoda

> Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California,

> Berkeley. He was secretary of labor in the Clinton administration.

>

>------

>

>

>

>Version: 7.1.392 / Virus Database: 268.5.6/338 - Release 5/12/2006

>

>

 

 

--

" Now, by the way, any time you hear the United States government talking

about wiretap, it requires -- a wiretap requires a court order.

Nothing has

changed, by the way. When we're talking about chasing down terrorists,

we're

talking about getting a court order before we do so "

-George W. Bush, April 20, 2004

 

Not dead, in jail, or a slave? Thank a liberal!

Pay your taxes so the rich don't have to.

 

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