Rational Politicking

The Communications Act of 1934 established the Federal Communications Commission to regulate all non-government use of the radio spectrum originating or terminating within the United States. This includes all telecommunications via wire, satellite and cable. The telecommunications environment has obviously been through some significant changes since the creation of the FCC, but this has not diminished the power of the FCC. It remains the preeminent authority of establishing communications protocol and ensuring communications access to U.S. citizens and businesses.

It is not the FCC however that provides the necessary infrastructure to support this access. We are all well aware of our telecommunication providers be it AT&T, Verizon, Comcast, etc. These companies provide communication service to their customers and reap the profits and losses of such endeavors. Amongst these services is access to the internet, which has proven to be a revolutionary tool for communication, education, entertainment, and innovation across all sectors of society. The power of the internet lies in its regulated nondiscrimination of content, no piece or source of information takes precedent.

On October 22, John McCain (R-AZ) introduced The Internet Freedom Act of 2009: a lovely title for a rather ominous pursuit of power consolidation by the telecommunications industry. McCain’s proposal would eliminate the authority of the FCC over the internet, leaving our providers with the sole discretion to determine what information is most important. Our access to data would no longer be ubiquitous and our providers could block anything they found objectionable. They would also have complete control over bandwidth rates recalling the days of per hour rate plans.

The proponents of this bill exclaim their support for a free internet by describing net neutrality as a government takeover of the internet. This argument ignores the fact that the FCC has always maintained regulatory power over the internet and helped to promote it to its current state. It is also notable that Mr. McCain has received $963,614 from the telecommunication industry, the most of any senator.

It is not the responsibility of service providers to regulate our access to data. It is imperative to freedom of speech and thought that the internet maintain it’s current standard of nondiscrimination, and the FCC has thus far succeeded in doing so. What warrants a shift of that responsibility to corporations which already operate in a near monopolistic manner?