Page 56 - AVN January 2018

BUSINESS
NET LOSSES
What’s at stake in the war over net neutrality
granted, a fact of which you are
reminded when a storm downs
power lines, leaving you in the
YOU TAKE ELECTRICAL SERVICE for
dark for a few hours. You also
take the price for granted. After
all, there is only one source of
electricity in most places. Gas is
similar. And telephone service
was until the late 1970s, when Ma Bell was broken up.
How electricity is delivered arises from the fact
that it is considered a public utility and regulated
accordingly. Thus, the electric company is not allowed
to charge what it wants and is required to furnish 24/7
service to anyone willing to pay for it.
Internet connectivity has become almost as
important to day-to-day life as electricity. Consumers
and businesses rely on internet service as a staple of
their existence: banking, booking airline reservations
or movie tickets, following the weather, checking the
sports scores, and more. An increasing number of us
(not me) have ceased reading paper newspapers in
favor of the online versions; the rest of us supplement
news with online sources.
Now, supposing that the electric company decided it
would not furnish residential service during business
hours—your electricity would shut off at 9 a.m. and
resume at 5 p.m., or some similar arrangement. You
would pitch a fit!
An analogous phenomenon is hitting the internet
with the end of “net neutrality,” the rule that says
broadband providers can’t discriminate amongst
customers. Your privilege to post something to
YouTube is equal to that of American Airlines to post
its schedule. American Airlines is prohibited from
giving the broadband provider extra money to speed up
its connections. The end of net neutrality is the end of
“Repealing those rules would allow internet providers to experiment with new ways to make money. In
recent years, some broadband companies, such as AT&T, have tried offering discounts on internet service to
Americans as long as they agree to let the company monitor their web browsing history, for example. Other
companies, such as Verizon, have tried to drive users to their own apps by exempting them from mobile data
limits.”
That’s right: Republicans are all about giving businesses new ways to make more money. But former FCC
Chair Tom Wheeler reminds us, “The job of the FCC is to represent the consumer.” Repealing net neutrality is
the antithesis of that.
The most discussed aspect of the repeal of net neutrality is the ability of broadband providers to charge extra
for better bandwidth and to give bulk discounts of sorts. Put another way, the providers can slow down some
sources of content as compared to other sources who pay for the speed.
More important but less mentioned is that broadband providers are not only able to slow certain sources of
content; they can block them altogether. With that power, stand by for censorship groups to be clamoring for
broadband providers to block porn. Republicans like to regulate speech, too.
that.
Is this important to anyone? Net neutrality is a
creature of the Federal Communications Commission.
The FCC, like other commissions (SEC, FTC, etc.), has
been granted the power to issue regulations concerning
the activities it is empowered to supervise. Thus,
More important but less mentioned is that broadband providers are not only able to slow certain sources of content; they can block them altogether. With that power, stand by for censorship groups to be clamoring for broadband providers to block porn.
for example, the FCC has promulgated regulations
designating which radio frequencies are to be used for
what activities.
When a commission or agency promulgates
regulations, there are procedural requirements
requiring that the proposed regulation be published
for comment by the public. So, you may recall, when
the Department of Justice set out to amend the 2257
regulations there were scores of comments (this author
LEGALESE | By Clyde DeWitt
and Larry Walters prepared an extensive one). When
the FCC’s proposed regulation to scuttle net neutrality
was published, there were 23 million comments,
although apparently a couple of million of them had
spoofed identities. But it’s still 23 million—or maybe
20 million. Either way, it’s a record.
The FCC, like all commissions, is governed by an
odd number of commissioners—five—no more than
Another potential problem is the merger-by-the-numbers craze and the government’s complete disregard
of antitrust laws. Even when the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission (the folks charged
with enforcement of the nation’s antitrust clause) were under Democratic control, antitrust laws were largely
ignored. Look at what’s happened: If someone builds a new cable channel that becomes popular, it is promptly
sucked up by Disney, Time-Warner, Fox or one of the other biggies. A Republican-controlled Department of
Justice and Federal Trade Commission will make matters much worse.
Why is that a problem? Because when broadband and content begin to merge, broadband can favor its own
content. So, when Fox buys broadband, you won’t get Rachael Maddow there. Look at the attempted AT&T/
Time Warner merger.
This is just another example of Republicans facilitating businesses to make more money so that they can
contribute it to the Republicans. Citizens United strikes again. Can you say “corporate aristocracy”?
three of which can be from the same political party.
It now is 3-2 Republican, which led the commission
to vote 3-2 to repeal net neutrality. Thus, what the
Washington Post explained is no surprise:
Clyde DeWitt is a Las Vegas and Los Angeles attorney, whose practice has been focused on adult entertainment since 1980. He can be reached at
ClydeDeWitt@earthlink.net. More information can be found at ClydeDeWitt.com. This column is not a substitute for personal legal advice. Rather, it is
to alert readers to legal issues warranting advice from your personal attorney.
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