OpenInternet The Open Internet & the Freedom of Speech

any attempt to control the flow of information by the government is an unacceptable attack on the first amendment

Please clarify.

If by free you mean 'of no cost', then it will be free only to those who do not pay taxes. Why punish those who contribute to reward those that do not?

If you mean free as in the classic sense of freedom, wouldn't imposing FCC regulation be the complete opposite?

All those who would say about the FCC's proposed open internet regulation, "The government must be constrained and its rules limited," consider that the proposals are there precisely because another set of powers has considered at length instituting policies and rules which would adversely affect you and the rest of the internet-going public.

Only these powers, the large carriers, are worst masters than your government.... more »

Opposing net neutrality because it "regulates the internet" is like opposing rape laws because they "regulate private relationships".

These laws are very clearly designed to keep privately owned internet providers such as Comcast or Time Warner from controlling what information you can access. In no way do they allow "evil government regulators" from "controlling the internet", regardless of what your Republican politicians... more »

The Internet is about the exchange of information and ideas, net neutrality is so important so no one can control or suppress those ideas. Without net neutrality the internet is a propaganda machine for whom ever is in power.

Net Neutrality is about inhibiting network providers from controlling bandwidth hogs such as Google and other companies that wish to put huge amounts of data of the network that affect quality of service of all network customers. It penalizes network companies who work to prevent network outages and provide better service. I prevents you from using the Internet unemcumbered by bandwidth hogs. The network companies and... more »

My conservative fellows, hear me out please before you start arguing against net neutrality.

The internet was created by the government.

Let that sink in for a minute. The internet as we know it today is a spinoff from DARPA projects during the cold war to control nuclear silos. So to all you people who hate the government touching stuff well, give up your use of the internet to show how much you hate government involvement.... more »

When our founding fathers established this country is was so that they could have protection from burdsome goverment that was going on in other countries. It was a Free counry, a country of choice, not of government control. Goverment was established for the Defense of the nation, thats it. They already controld exessivly too many areas of our lives, and we pay for it with taxes.

Plain and simple, the FCC should... more »

Net neutrality is important to free speech and to equal access to the internet and its content. Failure to enact net neutrality guidelines will not benefit the Internet's individuals or small businesses; instead, it will benefit media companies like Comcast and AT&T, both of whom have already tried to restrict equal access to the Internet. As the internet takes on an increasingly larger role in work and personal lives,... more »

I think net neutrality has led to the immoral internet that currently is. The bandwidth should be sold to the highest bidder, so that responsible companies like Fox news and Wal-Mart can control the content. This is what a "free" market is all about. The only exemption should be for Christian churches.

MRMHOUTX
I believe a free and open internet should be preserved. No government, be it the United States, or any other, should have the power or right to control the flow of ideas and knowledge. No government should have the right to monitor, block, or otherwise regulate the flow of ideas and knowledge through any communication medium. Free speech, freedom of expression, right to protest, and the right to speculate,... more »

The Internet is the most valuable tool for the spread of freedom and liberty on the planet. A vote against net neutrality is a vote to remove many of the benefits of this powerful tool from the individual. A vote against net neutrality is a vote to hand the reins of those same tools over to corporations and other large entities who already have a massively disproportionate amount of power in the world. If you feel like... more »

Imagine you picked up the phone to order a Papa John's and Ma Bell tried to steer you towards Dominos Pizza instead, because Dominos pays them commission on your order. Extreme, yes, but illustrative of "traffic prioritization" arrangements that will develop if we don't insist on Net Neutrality. Net Neutrality is fundamental to an Open Internet. Don't be distracted by FUD.

From what I gather, most of the net neutrality effort seems to be directed at the big communications companies. While I certainly believe that they need to be regulated per the other threads in this discussion, I also believe that there is a very-near monopolistic hold on the search engine portals (Google, MSN, Yahoo) that poses an even greater threat to net neutrality. A person could make the greatest and most-useful... more »

This seems like another example of our government

solving non-existent problems?