Mason Morgan
This article focuses on the most recent hearings that have
to do with net neutrality as a “common carrier.” The background behind this is
that Internet service providers have never had to deal with the same
regulations as other communication mediums. The new laws give the FCC the right
to regulate the outputs of the Internet and ISP’s can censor what people see
and don’t see. The journalist reporting this says it predates back to the
McCarthy era during the Red Scare; where the government could trump free expression
to the point where it violates the First Amendment. He quotes a vice president
of Public Knowledge that says we have become “so dazzled by the promise of new
technology that we forgot the foundational principles on which (mass
communications) networks (and our freedoms must be built.”
This article is interesting because it brings in prior
history to reference a current issue. Sort of like how Geoffrey Stone organizes
his book, the right of free expression is applicable to everyone, no matter what
form of communication method is used. The author might over-dramatize the
situation a little bit by comparing it to the Red Scare, but it is a legitimate
threat to our normal understanding of free expression.
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