Monday, December 18, 2017

In Which I Search For Good Reasons To Repeal Net Neutrality

I've found it:The worst take on the FCC's decision to repeal net neutrality.

Over at The Week, Matthew Walther is celebrating the repeal (ie, his big win!).

First, he suggests that liberals are hysterically over-reacting about the FCC's decision. Yet, rather than delving into the harm, or lack thereof, of the repeal, he tells us that we're being dum-dums for caring about a boring issue:
"Having strong feelings about net neutrality — which essentially mandates that your internet service provider treats all internet traffic and data equally — is like getting upset over a public-access TV debate on the generic ballot or the proceedings of the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans, and Insular Affairs."
Secondly, he's mad at the Internet for disrupting the economy, so therefore everyone must pay.
"In the last decade the internet has changed every aspect of our lives in ways that we have largely accepted without a moment's hesitation. As but one example: Was it a good thing — for people, commerce, or art — that Netflix destroyed the video store industry?"
Oh, and one more thing. It's a bit of a buried lede:
"I rather like that 'throttle,' a good old-fashioned strong verb that meant 'strangle or kill' before it was an engineering term, has become the word we use to refer to the practice of internet service providers hindering the transmission of pornographic videos, online shoot-em-up games, and HBO reruns. These are all things that deserve to be throttled. Throttle away."
Walther disapproves of people accessing certain content on the Internet, therefore he's glad Internet Service Providers might limit people's access to that particular content.

When we put it that way, the topic doesn't sound so boring anymore, does it? 

Whatever. Just don't touch my motherfucking Xena vids.

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