Originally Posted by far_beyond_sane

Yeah, this was moderately interesting.

Now, here's why this isn't particularly important.

The internet more than anywhere else consists of people who are rabidly interested in their own freedom of communication. It's avery malleable tool, and subversion online is very, very easy. Stealing music and software, committing fraud, committing libel, denying access to information, it's all a cakewalk for even a teenager with a boner and a modem. If the actual data pipes themselves are controlled, alternatives will immediately be structured. Online development is produced in realtime - blocked sites will be mirrored,
search engines which are neutral will immediately be championed, and bad ISPs won't get the custom of those smart enough to know their practices.

Partisanship on the internet is very tenuous. If you suddenly realised that Google gave bad results, would you change immediately? Yes, to any number of half a dozen other services. It makes consuming a much more rational act when decisions are only hyperlinks away.

The legislation is a great idea. But I have more faith in the whole system being self-regulating than ever being successfully regulated to be neutral.

Originally Posted by Michael C. Burgess, M.D. Member of Congress

Thank you for taking the time to share your views with me regarding net
neutrality and the Communications Opportunity, Promotion, and Enhancement Act of 2006 (COPE).

As you may know, the House passed the COPE Act by a vote of 321-101 on June 8, 2006. I voted in favor of COPE. There has been a lot of misinformation about the net neutrality issue and I would like to share the facts with you. I do not support any efforts that would place new regulations on the internet, in fact I voted against placing new mandates on the internet. We all agree that an Internet service provider shouldn't block access to your favorite sites or internet applications.

The COPE bill will give the Federal Communication's Commission (FCC) strong authority to protect access to Web sites and Internet applications by allowing the FCC to enforce its broadband principles on a case-by-case basis that ensure consumers are entitled to: (1) Access the lawful content of their choice; (2) Run applications and services of their choice, subject to the needs of law enforcement; (3) Connect their choice of legal devices that do not harm the network; (4) Competition among network providers, application and service providers, and content
providers.

The FCC has already established solid and simple net neutrality principles that, under the COPE act, Congress will, for the first time, be giving the FCC the explicit authority to enforce. In contrast, imposing "nondiscriminatory" requirements on Internet service providers would create unprecedented regulation of broadband services and chill investments in innovative new services and networks. Today's Internet is the product of a "hand's off" regulation policy - think of the
innovation the Internet has produced over the past decade. I think we need to continue to foster that spirit of innovation.

Thanks again for sharing your views with me. Please feel free to contact me should I be of assistance to you in the future.
Sincerely,

Michael C. Burgess, M.D.
Member of Congress

Originally Posted by powersofterror

Don't you just love being right all the time sane?