A Telco Lobbyist Strikes Back...

I don't know enough about "net neutrality" to have an opinion, other than that Telco regulation is incredibly complicated. The argument against "net neutrality" is that it is a form of rate regulation, and even good rate regulation tends to turn very bad over time--witness the ICC--and I tend to think that that is a good argument.

But Telco lobbyist Mike McCurry deserves some kind of prize for claiming that what is in the interest of the side that has been writing him paychecks for eight years just happens to be "what I believe." I don't think McCurry knows enough about technology or economics to have an opinion on net neutrality--let alone a belief. I might have a different view of McCurry if he knew what the first name of Vinton G. Cerf was.

The Blog | Mike McCurry: Hostile Commentary and Net Neutrality | The Huffington Post: Reading lots of comments on my last post, I guess my point got made: the culture and discourse of the Internet is not what you would teach kids at the dinner table -- unless you kept a bar of soap handy.

On net neutrality, I feel like screaming "puh-leeeze." The First Amendment of the Internet is under assault! Oh yeah, how many of you lifted a finger to protect the First Amendment when the Washington Post and other "MSM" cited it to ferret out the truth about WMD and the wars inside the U.S. intelligence community over the pre-Iraq war (and now pre-Iran war)?...

The Internet is not a free public good. It is a bunch of wires and switches and connections and pipes and it is creaky. You all worship at Vince Cerf who has a clear financial interest in the outcome of this debate but you immediately castigate all of us who disagree and impune our motives. I get paid a reasonable but small sum to argue what I believe. How many of the net neuts out there are honest about the financial resources and special interests behind your side of the argument? Do you really believe this is good v. evil or just an honest disagreement about what will make the 'net flourish and prosper?...

As it is, I think Arianna Huffington is making a mistake in letting McCurry use her podium to do his work as a lobbyist for his clients.