- Network neutrality—the idea that Internet service providers (ISPs) should treat all data that travels over their networks equally—is a principle that EFF strongly supports. However, the power to enforce equal treatment on the Internet can easily become the power to control the Internet in less beneficent ways. Some people have condemned last week’s court decision (pdf) to reject the bulk of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Open Internet Order as a threat to Internet innovation and openness. Others hailed it as a victory against dangerous government regulation of the Internet. Paradoxically, there is a lot of truth to both of these claims.
Much of the debate is dominated by the false dichotomy of the FCC getting involved or not. The important question remains: how can we enforce net neutrality without FCC involvement?
Meshnets and community net infrastructure might work at the local level, and could be an instrumental part of an eventual solution, but our immediate concern should be about things that enable the internet to be a global unfettered network.
ISPs are exactly the kind of utility that lead to a Natural Monopoly. I find the anti-regulatory stance myopic and filled with a lot of mostly inflammatory rhetoric. We absolutely need government regulation, but we need effective government regulation. There is a piece by Marco Arment in which he notes correctly that "the government" is not one monolithic entity. The response to poor regulation or laws in some areas is not to remove the regulator or sidestep it, it is to address the poor regulation and laws, and keep effective, good regulation on the books. Removing regulation in this case isn't going to yield a better result for people who rely on this essential utility, -especially with the fallout regarding packet neutrality. I'm all for alternatives, but the ISPs that exist need increased and importantly more effective regulation. And we need to stop with the myopia that there cannot be more effective regulation because of crony-capitalism. Yes, that is a problem, but it's on us to address it and overcome it, not throw our hands up and say "It's futile, abandon ship", or worse, cynically use poor regulation in one area to attack good regulation (a la libertarianism in many cases). My view anyway. Edit: I just want to further say that I'm really tired of Republican's Scorched Earth rhetoric and strategy regarding government's regulatory role. It is harmful.
I don't see why a democratic institution can't be used to ensure net neutrality. All they have to do is classify ISPs as common carriers and boom, net neutrality.