February 13th, 2008
New majority loses nerve on net neutrality
Now that Democrats have a majority in Congress, they are losing their appetite for direct confrontation with the phone monopolies over network neutrality.
HR 5353, introduced by Rep. Edward Markey, carries no enforcement provision on network neutrality, and even carries the co-sponsorship of a neutrality opponent, Rep. Chip Pickering of Mississippi.
Pickering has said he plans to leave Congress after this term and is expected to become a lobbyist. Defanging the network neutrality bandwagon will doubtless please his potential corporate employers.
The bill is a fig leaf, offering vague “principles” which would be “guide stars” for future policy.
Violation of the principles carries no penalty. The FCC would merely study the question and then suggest whether rules are necessary later.
In fact this is a shot across the bow, reminding the monopolists that Democrats are favored to win the White House, appointing new FCC commissioners who could act if the monopolists abuse their current position.
If Markey thinks his surrender is going to cause the monopolists to wilt, however, he is mistaken. Bell advocate Scott Cleland has already warned on his Precursor blog that this is a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” and will be fiercely opposed.
If the Bells are smart they might stick to rhetoric and let the kumbaya continue. Harshing the mellow of the rising party is no way to get what you want.
On the other hand beating the most modest reform while Democrats hold a majority may be the best way to prove to Internet advocates that resistance to the monopoly is futile.
Dana Blankenhorn has been a business journalist for 30 years, a tech freelancer since 1983. You can follow Dana on Twitter. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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