I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news: The internet is not a fair place. And the current fight over “net neutrality” is not going to change that.
For those of us whose eyes glaze over at the mention of net neutrality, here’s the basic principle: Companies such as Comcast Corp. and AT&T Inc. that sell internet connections shouldn’t be able to give some of the digital data flowing through their broadband pipes faster access to people’s computers, phones and TV sets, nor should they cause internet blockages for others.
During the Obama administration, the Federal Communications Commission made legal changes to bar such business tactics. In theory, the regulations let the internet’s little guys compete on equal footing with the titans. Netflix Inc., for example, isn’t allowed to pay your broadband provider for a faster lane into customers’ homes compared with the tiny rival that can’t afford tolls to ensure its videos are crystal clear.
Recently, however, the FCC gave preliminary approval to scrap that approach and instead apply “light touch” regulation of internet providers, in the words of FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. He says companies that sell broadband don’t engage in preferential treatment of internet data, and regulations shouldn’t be imposed on them because of hypothetical risks of abuse. Expect months or years of fighting over this in Washington and on the TV airwaves. But no matter what happens at the FCC, the ideals behind net neutrality are essentially dead already. Whatever the law says, the notion that all digital data are created equal is pure fiction. The reality is big technology companies already have a big advantage in reaching homes because they have the money and technical expertise to make sure their videos stream without hiccups.
Likewise, rich companies can legally pay internet-service providers to connect directly into the providers’ broadband plumbing.
Many Americans have as much affection for their internet and mobile providers as they do for toe fungus. While I’m not on the side of the telecom companies that have fought net neutrality rules tooth and nail, it’s also true that keeping stricter government regulations probably won’t change America’s broadband reality: The rich and powerful dictate the internet’s winners and losers.
Shira Ovide is a Bloomberg Gadfly columnist.
