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How FCC Regulation Would Change the Internet

November 6, 2009 | Filed Under 1st Amendment, Business, Capitalism, Computers, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Free Trade, Freedom, Google, Government, Corruption, Inernet, Liberals, Media Bias, Net Neutrality, Scott Cleland, Society/Culture, Taxes, Technology | No Comments

-By Scott Cleland

The FCC’s claims that their proposed net neutrality regulations would just “preserve” the open Internet are simply not true. The facts clearly state that the FCC’s proposed regulations would: Be a big change in FCC Internet policy; Implement big Internet policy changes without Congressional authorization; and Change the Internet in big ways. (The one-page PDF version of this post is here)

The FCC’s proposed net neutrality regs are a big change in FCC Internet policy; they would:

• Replace the FCC’s voluntary net neutrality guidelines with mandated net neutrality regulations;
• Selectively apply net neutrality regulations to only broadband and not to applications/content providers like the current principles do;
• Add two completely new net neutrality principles that are not found in law or congressional policy:
• Mandate the strictest non-discrimination requirement in the last 75 years;
• Mandate public disclosure of detailed proprietary network management techniques for the first time;
• Expand application of net neutrality to wireless and satellite broadband for the very first time;
• Expand consumers access to content entitlement by adding entitlement to send/distribute content as well;
• Redefine entitlement to competition in the current fourth principle, to favor resale competition over facilities-based competition;
• Subject broadband companies to a new “Mother-may-I” FCC approval process for offering new managed services and for experimenting with new business models; and
• Subordinate private standard-setting bodies, like the IETF, to new FCC omni-technical oversight/approval.

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Clueless Arizona GOP Heavies Demonizing Bloggers?

October 28, 2009 | Filed Under 1st Amendment, Blogging, Computers, Conservatives, GOP, Government, Corruption, Inernet, Republicans, State Government, Technology, Warner Todd Huston | 2 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

My friend Ken Marrero over at Blue Collar Muse has posted an interesting if not entirely infuriating story about GOP officials coming down on other officials and certain county employees for having the gall to talk to those eeeevil Arizona bloggers that have been doggedly reporting the corruption stories of county officials.

GOP officials of Maricopa County have been in a bit of trouble recently having been accused of wasteful spending, power grabs and criminal investigations. Marrero even notes that there is a Twitter feed used to needle these officials called CorruptAZSupes.

The barbs have been coming fast and furious and County Manager David Smith has decided to try and stop the bleeding. So, did Smith decide to clean up the Supervisor’s office? Nope. He’s decided to attack Republicans that have talked to the press and the bloggers. Classic shooting the messenger mistake.
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Takeaways from FCC’s Proposed Open Internet Regs

October 28, 2009 | Filed Under Budget, Business, Capitalism, Computers, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Google, Government, Corruption, Inernet, Liberals, Scott Cleland, Technology | No Comments

-By Scott Cleland

The FCC’s proposed Open Internet regulations (NPRM) are sweeping and audacious.

First, the FCC proposed rules are audaciously attempting to implement the introduced-but-never-passed Markey bill (HR 3458) entitled: the “Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2009.” The purpose, premises, language and core positions are nearly identical for anyone willing to forensically compare the NPRM and HR 3458.

This presents a substantial legal problem for the FCC in that the premises and justifications undergirding their current NPRM can be found nowhere in existing law as the FCC’s own thin 28 line legal justification confirms (paras 83-87).
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Open Un-Neutrality – Will FCC Re-Distribute Internet Opportunity? For Consumers? Businesses? Investors?

October 24, 2009 | Filed Under Business, Computers, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Free Trade, Google, Government, Corruption, Inernet, Liberals, Scott Cleland, Society/Culture, Technology | No Comments

-By Scott Cleland

In effectively reversing fifteen years of bipartisan U.S. communications policy from promoting competition and reducing regulation to promoting regulation and reducing competition, the FCC’s coming “Open Internet” regulations are anything but neutral; they pick sides and strongly skew outcomes.

• First, the FCC is proposing new preemptive business bans mid-game, the harshest, most disruptive form of economic regulation possible.
• Second, the FCC is arbitrarily discriminating among increasingly similar and converging businesses, resulting in the arbitrary punishment of some businesses for what they allegedly might do, while rewarding others with protection from competition for what they allegedly might not do.
• Third, the FCC is arbitrarily mandating one-way technology convergence without any supportable justification, i.e., banning distribution convergence into applications/content, while encouraging application/content convergence into distribution.

The chaotic result of this “open un-neutrality” will be regulation that is increasingly at war with inexorable technological convergence and economic efficiency — requiring ever-increasing FCC regulatory artifices to keep the Internet’s original technological layers, market segments and business models from naturally converging, evolving and competing.
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The Internet as the Post Office?

October 21, 2009 | Filed Under Business, Capitalism, Computers, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Free Trade, Government, Corruption, Inernet, Scott Cleland, Society/Culture, Taxes, Technology | No Comments

-By Scott Cleland

I produced a new, brief, and different op-ed against the FCC’s proposed net neutrality rules that ran on BigGovernment.com today. It employs a new “delivery” metaphor that I believe most people will easily grasp and find compelling.

The Internet as the Post Office?

by Scott Cleland

Why force the private Internet to be as inefficient as the old public post office? For the first time, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) plans to regulate how private companies can deliver the quadrillions of broadband Internet packets that are sent over the Internet every day.

Americans know from experience that private companies competing for customers deliver better service than Government. Who thinks the Government can do a better job than private companies in designing, building, and managing broadband Internet networks? Who thinks the Government can run the Internet better, faster, cheaper, and more innovatively than private networks do now?
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Why FCC proposed net neutrality regs are unconstitutional

October 19, 2009 | Filed Under Blogging, Business, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Free Trade, Freedom, Government, Corruption, Inernet, Scott Cleland, Society/Culture, Technology | No Comments

-By Scott Cleland

My NPR Online op-ed, “Net Neutrality Regulations Compromise Freedoms” makes the case why the FCC Chairman’s proposed net neutrality regulations are likely unconstitutional in multiple dimensions.

If you like the op-ed, please click on the “Recommend” check button above the title or at the end of the piece because that will keep the op-ed posted longer than otherwise:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113297709

My proposed title, which was supplanted for space concerns, was: “Taking Freedom From Some Takes Freedom From All.”

Below is the text of my NPR Online op-ed:
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Healthcare Conference Call With Representatives Shadegg and Rodgers

October 14, 2009 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Blogging, Business, Capitalism, Communism, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Free Trade, Freedom, GOP, Government, Corruption, Health, House of Representatives, Inernet, Liberals, Nancy Pelosi, President, Republicans, Socialism, Society/Culture, Taxes, Technology, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Today at 4:30PM eastern a blogger conference call was held by Representatives John Shadegg (R, AZ) and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R, WA). The subject we spoke about was that of House Republican’s ideas and problems on healthcare reform issues in both the Senate and the House. The following are my notes of the call, any direct quotes are in quote marks but the rest is my summation of what was said.

The call opened with a welcome from Cathy McMorris Rodgers who introduced herself and Rep. Shadegg. Rodgers talked of the situation in the House and reminded us that 44 House Democrats said they’d vote no on the bill if it has public option and 57 said they’ll vote no if it doesn’t have the public option so the Democrats might not have the votes to pass H.B. 3200.

Shadegg reminded us that the CBO score on the Senate bill was made on 10 years of taxes being taken by the federal government but with only 7 years of coverage afforded, so it’s no wonder the bill sounds like it is paid for. Shadegg also warned of the political monkeying that is going on with the Baucus bill in the Senate. He mentioned that Harry Reid is down in the polls back home so he tried to slip through a sleight of hand way for four favored states to get special Medicaid provisions (including Nev., Oregon, Mich.) forcing the other 46 states to pick up the tab. This was Reid’s attempt to find success in his upcoming elections in Nevada.
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Obama’s Internet Supporters Are All Pot Heads and Poker Addicts

October 1, 2009 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Democrats/Leftists, Elections, Government, Corruption, Inernet, Liberals, New Media, President, Society/Culture, Technology, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

You know, we all love the Internet. Heck, I make a good portion of my living on Al Gore’s most famous invention so it gets a big thumbs up from me, for sure. But we have to admit that there are an awful lot of goofballs on these Internet tubes. In some ways, the whole venue isn’t quite ready from prime time, if you will.

Let’s take Obama’s Internet experience, for instance. His giant email list and heavily active campaign website was touted as the new way to affect politics. Obama’s mybarackobama.com site was crowned as the new mover and shaker of Washington. During the end stages of the campaign millions of people streamed to his site every day, polls were taken, ideas shared, “meet-ups” planned and executed, and a massive voter drive all successfully added to Obama’s big November win. And once he took the White House it was assumed that Obama would take this Internet army to new heights of political activism. So, what has happened since Obama took residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue…

About nuthin’ at all.
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Lefty Outrage at ‘Conservative’ Article Misses Key Fact, Writer Isn’t Conservative

September 30, 2009 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Blogging, Conservatives, Cook County, Democrats/Leftists, Government, Corruption, Inernet, Journalism, Liberals, Media Bias, Military, Republicans, Society/Culture, Technology, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

The left is in an uproar today. They got their panties in a bunch over a piece that ran on the conservative newsblog NewsMax.com where it was suggested that Obama’s irresponsible actions as president could result in a military coup that would “restore” the Constitution.

Not completely without reason, many lefty blogs have lost their tiny little minds over this article. The piece was written by NewsMax blog contributor John L. Perry and talked of a “bloodless coup” where “Skilled, military-trained, nation-builders would replace accountability-challenged, radical-left commissars.” Perry wondered if some “patriotic general” might confront the president (or a president of the future) and demand that he allow the military a shared power in government or face a military overthrow.

It was all speculation and phrased as a question, not asserted as fact or presented as imminent, of course. But this sort of over-the-top foolishness really does not add to the national debate, I have to agree. So, the lefty sites that railed against this NewsMax.com piece were right on that base level.

NewsMax.com has since removed the article and issued a statement that Perry is an unpaid member of NewsMax.

But there is one tiny, little, bitty fact about this story and its author that every single one of these lefty sites that are railing about this story have left out.

The fact of the matter is that John L. Perry is not a conservative. In fact his bio page says that he’s worked for Jimmy Carter, a Democrat governor of Florida and other Democrat Party institutions.
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The Many Vulnerabilities of an Open Internet

September 29, 2009 | Filed Under Budget, Business, Capitalism, Computers, Congress, Economy/Finances, Government, Corruption, Inernet, Jobs, Liberals, Scott Cleland, Society/Culture, Technology | No Comments

-By Scott Cleland

What an “Open Internet” does not mean is as important as what it does mean. Surely an “Open Internet” is not intended to mean what it certainly could mean: unprotected, unguarded, or vulnerable to attack. Thus, it is essential for the FCC to be explicit in defining what the terms — “Open Internet,” “net neutrality,” and Internet non-discrimination — don’t mean, as well as what they do mean.

The word “open” has 88 different definitions per Dictionary.com and the word “open” has even more different connotations depending on the context. While the term “open” generally has a positive connotation to mean unrestricted, accessible and available, it can also have a negative or problematic connotation if it means unprotected, unguarded or vulnerable to attack.

When such an amorphous, multi-use term like “open” is proposed as a new effective purpose for the FCC, and a new formal basis for new economic regulation, it is essential that the term be defined very specifically, for what it is, and just as importantly, for what it is not.
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YouTube Caught Red-handed Cooking Stats for Obama

September 28, 2009 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Barack Obama, Business, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Freedom, Government, Corruption, Inernet, Journalism, Media Bias, President, Selwyn Duke, Socialism, Society/Culture, Technology, YouTube | No Comments

-By Selwyn Duke

News aggregator DrudgeReport.com is currently linking to a YouTube video of a government schoolteacher instructing young students to praise Obama in song. While this is shocking, there is an even bigger story here. Consider this: the video’s “views” counter listed only 363 views as of 1:04 p.m. EST on Sept. 24.

But at the same time it had 2,279 comments.

What’s wrong with this picture?

Obviously, those figures should in the least be reversed. After all, since the number of comments on high-traffic YouTube videos generally represents only one-half of one percent to three percent of the total views, we can estimate that the Obama worship video had in excess of 200,000 hits at the time. But what accounts for this? Is it a technical glitch? I doubt it.

But why would YouTube cook the statistical books?
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Joe Wilson: Petition to Put Bills On Line for 72 Hours Before House Vote

September 25, 2009 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Computers, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, GOP, Government, Corruption, Health, House of Representatives, Inernet, Technology, Warner Todd Huston | 4 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

I was part of a small number of bloggers and Internet writers invited to speak with Representative Joe Wilson (R, SC) Friday afternoon. Rep. Wilson wanted to alert us all to a resolution that would provide that all bills that go through the House of Representatives would be posted on the Internet for 72 hours prior to any possibility of a floor vote.

The Resolution is House Res. 554, amending the Rules of the House to require legislation and conference reports to be available on the Internet 72 hours before consideration. If this resolution is approved by the members of the House, all bills — including H.R. 3200, the House Healthcare bill — will be placed on the Internet for all to see for three days before the bill can be voted on.

In an email on this issue Wilson said, “Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats have continually rushed major legislation to a vote to ensure little to no public scrutiny. If we succeed, Americans can finally separate fact from fiction.”
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10 Great Events in the Rise of the New Media

September 25, 2009 | Filed Under Chicago, Computers, Congress, Conservatives, Cook County, Government, Corruption, Illinois, Inernet, State Government, Technology, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

WGN talk show host Jerry Agar, a recent member of the Illinois Policy Institute, has an interesting post on 10 events that have put the Internet on the map. These 10 incidents and the Internet’s work fostering the stories that pushed them into national prominence has led to the Internet being considered one of the movers and shakers of both the news cycle and the political scene.

Agar contacted a few of us bloggers and asked us to give him our insight on the idea (myself included) and this is the resulting article.

I look forward to more interaction with Mr. Agar and the IPI with such future projects.

So, go on over to Agar’s piece and give it a look over.

It can be seen at 10 Great Events in the Rise of the New Media.
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Wireless Innovation Regulation — ‘Believe it or Not!’

September 23, 2009 | Filed Under Business, Computers, Economy/Finances, Free Trade, Government, Corruption, Inernet, Liberals, Scott Cleland, Society/Culture, Taxes, Technology | No Comments

-By Scott Cleland

With due to credit to “Ripley’s Believe it or Not!®,” so much odd and bizarre is happening in Washington in the “name” of “wireless innovation” and competition that the topic calls for its own collection of “Believe it or Not!®” oddities.

Skype co-founder Niklas Zennstom, also the co-founder of illegal-music-downloading site Kazaa, who had to avoid entering the U.S. because of copyright-infringement liability… is now seeking a U.S. court injunction to shut down eBay’s Skype for alleged copyright violations!

Amazon, a leading proponent of net neutrality legislation to ban Internet providers from blocking any content, abruptly removed without permission thousands of copies of George Orwell’s books from Kindle reading devices… just like “Big Brother” would have done in “Nineteen Eighty Four“!
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Googleopoly IV: Monopsony Control over Digital Info Competition — New White Paper

September 21, 2009 | Filed Under Business, Capitalism, Computers, Congress, Economy/Finances, Free Trade, Freedom, Government, Corruption, Inernet, Scott Cleland, Society/Culture, Taxes, Technology | No Comments

-By Scott Cleland

My latest Google antitrust white paper, “Googleopoly IV: The Googleopsony Case,” is the first antitrust analysis which connects-the-dots between Google’s search advertising selling monopoly and Google’s information access buying monopoly or “monopsony” by explaining and documenting how Google is harming competition in digital: news, books, broadcasting, artwork, documents and analytics; and harming consumers seeking quality digital information that is not free.

(Googleopoly I was the first public analysis of why Google ultimately would emerge as a monopoly and Googleopoly II & III were the first public antitrust analyses why the DOJ should block the Google-Yahoo ad agreement, which the DOJ did block 11-5-08.)

Anyone trying to see-the-world-whole and and understand how the Internet’s digital information ecosystem fits together and is devolving– needs to read this white paper.
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“Systemic Risk Laundering” — Financial Crisis Root Causes — Part II

September 17, 2009 | Filed Under Budget, Business, Capitalism, Computers, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Google, Government, Corruption, Inernet, Liberals, Scott Cleland, Society/Culture, Taxes, Technology | No Comments

-By Scott Cleland

How could American taxpayers get stuck with a multi-trillion dollar tab that they weren’t even aware that they were running up? How could that huge tab still be allowed to run up unchecked today? For the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, the sad answer is one of the biggest root causes of last fall’s devastating financial crisis and one of the biggest continuing systemic risks to the financial system and the economic recovery.

A decade ago, in what may prove to be the most expensive bipartisan legislative mistake in U.S. history, a bipartisan policy became law that effectively ensured that no Federal regulator had oversight or enforcement jurisdiction over derivative financial instruments. The Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 (CFMA) created “legal certainty for excluded derivative transactions.” That law allowed a shadow derivative overlay system to be built literally on top of the public financial system, with none of the inherent accountability of the underlying financial system. In other words, a deliberate bipartisan U.S. government policy change a decade ago unwittingly created an unaccountable “black hole” market that sucked enormous value out of public markets (Bear Stearns, Lehman, AIG, Fannie, Freddie, securitized sub-prime mortgages, etc.), while laundering the risk to the U.S. taxpayer.

Simply, in fostering an unaccountable marketplace that derived all its real value from public markets, the Government fostered systemic risk laundering from the unaccountable to the accountable, which ultimately left the U.S. taxpayer holding the bag. More specifically, with no accountability to fairly represent or disclose risk, too many did not. Too many figured out that they could launder huge financial risk with impunity, because most public investors assumed someone somewhere was ensuring that these derivative instruments were fairly represented, disclosed and accountable. Oops!
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Top Ten Pitfalls of Wireless Innovation Regulation

September 1, 2009 | Filed Under Budget, Business, Capitalism, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Free Trade, Freedom, Government, Corruption, Inernet, Liberals, Media Bias, Scott Cleland, Socialism, Society/Culture, Taxes, Technology | 1 Comment

-By Scott Cleland

Analysis of the potential pitfalls of wireless innovation regulation is a necessary complement to the FCC’s upcoming Notice of Inquiries into wireless competition/innovation and the DOJ’s review of wireless competition in order to ensure policymakers get a balanced view of the big picture.

What are the Top 10 Pitfalls of Wireless Innovation Regulation?

#1 Pitfall: Losing focus on universal broadband access

“Wireless innovation” appears to be the latest rebranding iteration of “net neutrality” and “open Internet” as the net neutrality movement searches for more mainstream support of their views.
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Why proposed net neutrality bill is the most extreme yet

August 20, 2009 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Barack Obama, Budget, Business, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Government, Corruption, Inernet, Liberals, Scott Cleland, Society/Culture, Taxes, Technology | No Comments

-By Scott Cleland

While the latest net neutrality bill introduced in Congress has no chance of passage as drafted, it is a bay window view into how extreme the net neutrality movement has become and what they are seeking from the FCC via backdoor regulation.

The proposed Markey-Eshoo bill, HR 3458, which was drafted in close coordination with FreePress and the Open Internet Coalition, is much more extreme than previous bills in 2008 and 2006.

Why is this bill the most extreme version of net neutrality yet?

First, it is a completely unworkable framework.
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A Maslow “Hierarchy of Internet Needs”? — Will there be

August 5, 2009 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Business, Communism, Congress, Conservatives, Constitution, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Free Trade, Freedom, Government, Corruption, Inernet, Journalism, Liberals, Media Bias, President, Scott Cleland, Security/Safety, Socialism, Society/Culture, Taxes, Technology | No Comments

-By Scott ClelandInternet priorities or a priority-less Internet?

A central policy question concerning the future of the Internet, cloud computing and the National Broadband Plan is whether there should be Internet priorities or a priority-less Internet?

The crux of the grand conflict over the direction of Internet policy is that proponents of a mandated neutral/open Internet insist that only users can prioritize Internet traffic, not any other entity.

To grasp the inherent problem and impracticality with a mandated neutral or priority-less Internet, it is helpful to ask if the Internet, which is comprised of hundreds of millions of individual users, has a mutual “hierarchy of needs,” just like individuals have a “hierarchy of needs,” per Maslow’s famed, common sense “Hierarchy of Needs” theory.

Briefly, renowned psychologist, Abraham Maslow, devised his common sense “Hierarchy of Needs” to explain inherent human priorities, i.e. that some human needs are more important or urgent than others.
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Defining the Problem(s) is the Crux of the National Broadband Plan

July 29, 2009 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Google, Government, Corruption, Inernet, Scott Cleland, Society/Culture, Technology | No Comments

-By Scott Cleland

FCC Broadband Coordinator Blair Levin described the crux of the National Broadband Plan in testifying before the Commission 7-02 as “identifying where there are currently ‘demonstrable public interest harms.’” That central task is essentially defining the problem(s) and is necessary to complete the last task of the plan: “identifying ways to lessen those public interest harms,” or recommending solutions. Defining the problem largely defines the range of recommended solutions.

The plural use of “harms” here suggests that the Plan could end up “identifying” more problems than the obvious core problem prompting the Plan — that not “all people of the United States have access to broadband capability.”

Levin’s choice of a classic organizational structure, background-problem-solution, is a wise, useful and simplifying approach for such an exceedingly complex endeavor.
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