----- Original Message -----
From: The John Birch Society
Sent: Wednesday, April 06, 2011 5:09 PM
Subject: Stop Government Takeover of the Internet
Stop Government Takeover of the Internet
On March 15 the House Energy and Commerce Committee passed H.J. Res. 37,
a resolution
of disapproval that would reverse the Federal Communications Commission’s “net
neutrality”
regulations put forward last December but set to take effect in mid-2011. The
resolution is
heading for a House vote tomorrow, April 7. It will face a steep climb in the
Senate, but
one that is not insurmountable.
The new rules have the FCC claiming jurisdiction over all the Internet as
arbiters of
how Internet Service Providers (ISPs) carry on business, from pricing to
“blocking” and
prioritizing traffic. The FCC placed themselves as sole authority for
administering
punishment for those who disregard the decrees of this august agency. Some of
the details of
the December regulations described as “high-level” have still not been made
public but the
presidential “kill switch” claim for emergencies, and controlling all links
between the
United States and the rest of the world are expected along with a monitoring
system for
affordability and capacity purposes.
The problem with “net neutrality” is that so many take the term quite
literally,
believing the government just wants to keep the Internet a neutral medium and
that the FCC
is totally dedicated to, as its chairman has stated, protecting “the freedom
and openness of
the Internet.” But as we’ve come to know, whenever the government interferes,
the result is
a distorted and uncompetitive market and loss of individual freedoms.
The FCC is not tasked, as is Congress, with making laws. As with all
things connected
to big government -- consider the IRS, EPA, ObamaCare, FDA, etc., -- the FCC
would become a
regulatory law unto itself, a gigantic bureaucracy restricting freedom and
ingenuity while
stifling competition and harming broadband investment through price controls.
The FCC is
also supposed to be an independent agency with no oversight from the Obama
Administration,
but thanks to Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) that illusion has now been destroyed.
Rep. Issa cites White House records indicating FCC Chairman Julius
Genachowski visited
the White House 81 times from January 2009 to November 2010, an almost unheard
number of
visits, calling into question just who is determining the FCC’s agenda. One of
those visits
was four days before the oddly simultaneous announcement of the proposed “net
neutrality”
orders by both the White House and the FCC. Issa had asked in late 2009 for
transparency in
the matter of Genachowski's visits and the Obama administration's role in FCC
policy.
Genachowski was to provide a log of all the meetings and the emails between the
White House
and the FCC that took place for the House Oversight and Government Reform
Committee.
Genachowski took until February 2011 to even respond to Rep. Issa and still has
not
furnished the requested information.
Because the Internet has become such an incredible force for alternative
information
and instant communication, it’s no wonder the government would want to have a
hand in
controlling it. Government oversight of the Internet would be a violation of
the First
Amendment if any limitations on the exchange of information occurs. The
Internet has
flourished exactly because our government has maintained a hands-off approach
to it. That
will change if the FCC’s power grab is not reversed.
Americans have come to depend on the Internet, so opposing a government
takeover in
this area is vital. There is no major cybersecurity threat that private
enterprise cannot
handle better than the government, nor are there any problems with Internet
Service
Providers that savvy consumers can’t cope with by switching companies.
With a vote expected in the House on April 7, please send your message to
Congress
immediately.
Thank you,
Your friends at The John Birch Society
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