Big Cable: Net neutrality violates ISP 1st Amendment rights
Cable internet providers are arguing that possible FCC rules ordering Internet Service Providers (ISPs) not to exert any discrimination that flows over their network.
“…the First Amendment is framed as a shield for citizens, not a sword for government.” True enough, the First Amendment “promotes democratic values,” McSlarrow added, “but it does so best by freeing citizens from government regulation of their speech, not by regulating it.” …
“I don’t know how to say it any more clearly than this,” McSlarrow reiterated. “Internet Service Providers do not threaten free speech; their business is to enable speech and they are part of an ecosystem that represents perhaps the greatest engine for promotion of democracy and free expression in history.”
This strikes me as a bit of a stretch. If we’re to look back to the media landscape that existed when the Constitution was written, we might equate ISPs to paper. Much like paper, ISPs provide a medium by which others are able to communicate. Seen in this light, the framers would certainly have argued for “paper neutrality.” Given their opposition to the British tax on paper (in the Stamp Act of 1765), I think the framers would want to guarantee the free flow of information–be it over paper or the network.
Perhaps ISPs should be grateful they were not forced to open their networks to competitors in the Brand X decision.
Thanks for good info 🙂