| It is successful content creators who have a lot of leverage. Aspiring content creators (and distributors) have none. "These are just all for-profit companies hoping to make a bunch of money off consumers." Unfortunately you have completely ignored all discussion of The Internet being a communications platform, and not merely a commercial platform. Ignoring that point entirely has allowed you to continue making your own point, which is to refute the idea that we should care what happens to a bunch of for profit internet companies. I agree with your point, FWIW, once once a company reaches the size of a Facebook, or Netflix I don't care what happens to it. I do care desperately that individuals are able to easily create and distribute content to each other, of any kind. The Internet as a communications platform that is available to everyone, for everyone, is what is endangered by the proposed anti-NN measures. |
I'm not ignoring this point, I just don't buy it. The internet is mostly just a bunch of privately owned networks, operated for profit. I think it has public-interest value as a communications platform for certain non-profit enterprises like Wikipedia, etc, and maybe we need legislative protection of those functions. But I don't think ensuring that some new for-profit startup can function without paying the people that own the wires rises to the level of "public interest" even if they aren't the size of a Netflix or Facebook. I think this is primarily where we disagree: once you're for-profit, you're on your own.