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So, is your position that we shouldn't pass any laws or regulations because they may have unintended side-effects on companies that may exist in the future ? T

So, is your position that we shouldn't pass any laws or regulations because they may have unintended side-effects on companies that may exist in the future ? That sounds like pretty weak tea to me. What on earth is wrong with the FCC stating that no company can give precedence to any specific source/destination's traffic over another source/destination's traffic ? All it does is codify the basic principle that the Internet was founded on, and the same principle that allowed it to become what it is today. More importantly, it doesn't involve any changes for any company unless they're already breaking the rule, in which case isn't it a good thing that we make them stop doing so ?

tptacek 16y ago
Listen to yourself. Where did you get the idea that I think we shouldn't pass laws or regulations at all? This is a message board political flame war rattling its cage trying to escape. Kill it. I don't particularly support this regulation (I'm not totally against it, either). Many other things, I do think we should regulate. What's wrong here is that I think it's too early in the connectivity industry to say that the incumbents we have now are so powerful that we should freeze them into place with regulations. And even if it isn't, it's not the place of an unelected and unaccountable FCC commissioner to pass a law that couldn't get passed through Congress, where the Constitution says new laws should come from. Every time you say the FCC should be able to make up a new rule, you're in effect saying that the executive branch should be able to make rules there by fiat. I don't recall any us being so psyched about that prospect when Cheney was President.
- TimJYoung 16y ago
  I did not say that you were against passing laws or regulations at all. I was asking you if you were against passing laws or regulations if they might result in unintended consequences, which is what your position seemed to be, based upon your prior statement. As for the rest, it's nothing more than a reflection upon the sorry state of affairs in Congress that we cannot get a law passed that re-affirms one of the fundamental principles that established the Internet, especially when it is clear that the major players in regional markets are already trying to prioritize traffic for their own content. My issue with your post was that it seemed to be offering another excuse for inaction, and the problem with our Congress is not that it does too much, but rather that it does too little.
- calibraxis 16y ago
  A real democracy isn't about pulling a lever for some guys every few years, then going home and letting them run wild. If citizens want their FCC to pursue certain policies, they have every right to organize against the decisionmaking of the professional politicians. They don't have to remain apathetic non-participants in politics. People who are effective in politics, participate in it.

tptacek 16y ago

Listen to yourself. Where did you get the idea that I think we shouldn't pass laws or regulations at all? This is a message board political flame war rattling its cage trying to escape. Kill it. I don't particularly support this regulation (I'm not totally against it, either). Many other things, I do think we should regulate. What's wrong here is that I think it's too early in the connectivity industry to say that the incumbents we have now are so powerful that we should freeze them into place with regulations. And even if it isn't, it's not the place of an unelected and unaccountable FCC commissioner to pass a law that couldn't get passed through Congress, where the Constitution says new laws should come from. Every time you say the FCC should be able to make up a new rule, you're in effect saying that the executive branch should be able to make rules there by fiat. I don't recall any us being so psyched about that prospect when Cheney was President.

TimJYoung 16y ago
I did not say that you were against passing laws or regulations at all. I was asking you if you were against passing laws or regulations if they might result in unintended consequences, which is what your position seemed to be, based upon your prior statement. As for the rest, it's nothing more than a reflection upon the sorry state of affairs in Congress that we cannot get a law passed that re-affirms one of the fundamental principles that established the Internet, especially when it is clear that the major players in regional markets are already trying to prioritize traffic for their own content. My issue with your post was that it seemed to be offering another excuse for inaction, and the problem with our Congress is not that it does too much, but rather that it does too little.
calibraxis 16y ago
A real democracy isn't about pulling a lever for some guys every few years, then going home and letting them run wild. If citizens want their FCC to pursue certain policies, they have every right to organize against the decisionmaking of the professional politicians. They don't have to remain apathetic non-participants in politics. People who are effective in politics, participate in it.