A few companies with enough resources being able to decide who is a "schmuck that you really don't want hanging around" is worse than a government doing it IMO.

A few companies with enough resources being able to decide who is a "schmuck that you really don't want hanging around" is worse than a government doing it IMO. At least the latter have to pretend to follow process and be accountable to the people Though I'm not sure how to really solve it. I support ISPs being considered utilities with an obligation to serve any customer unless they can argue a compelling reason why they can't, but DDoS protection is not a technical essential like an internet connection is. Even if it's almost essential for a popular site in 2023