(RepublicanJournal.org) – The commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has slammed his Democrat colleagues for pushing ahead with Obama-era plans to increase government control of the internet. Brendan Carr, a Republican, warned that the so-called “Net Neutrality” plan was favored by big tech companies — but wouldn’t help ordinary Americans who want freedom of speech online. The issue centers on how much control the government should have over the internet, and Conservatives and Liberals have very different ideas about that.
What Is Net Neutrality?
In the US, the battle over who controls the internet has been going on for at least 20 years. Under the Obama administration, the government got the upper hand when the FCC issued the 2010 Open Internet Order. This established six “neutrality principles” that on the face of it prevented internet service providers from discriminating against any kind of content.
However, opponents argued that the rules favored large web companies and gave them an advantage over smaller competitors. When President Trump took office in 2017 he quickly rolled back the “net neutrality” rules. However, Democrats haven’t given up their dream of regulating the internet more strictly — and, although the FCC has a Republican commissioner, Democrats still have majority control of the regulator.
Right now the problem Conservatives are most worried about is online censorship, especially by social media platforms and search engines. Even Google’s defenders admit that its searches are more likely to come up with liberal sites than conservative ones — a lot more likely, in fact; 32% of results are left-leaning and only 5% favor the right. At the same time, social media platforms like Facebook are notorious for their liberal bias. X, formerly Twitter, used to be one of the worst. Now, under new owner Elon Musk, it treats both sides equally; in return, it’s constantly attacked for allowing “hate speech.” Net neutrality doesn’t solve either of these issues.
FCC Chief Speaks Up
On September 27 Commissioner Carr issued a statement condemning President Biden for, “like President Obama before him,” using executive orders to “apply vast and expansive government controls to the Internet.” He pointed out that since Trump revoked Obama’s rules, Americans are enjoying faster internet at lower prices, and broadband infrastructure is improving. He also warned that Democrat lawyers are openly discussing how increased regulation would give the FCC much greater powers to control what’s available online. Liberals seem to think that’s a good thing; Conservatives, in general, don’t.
Copyright 2023, RepublicanJournal.org
