The real looming threat to net neutrality

[kandrathe]

The Worst Lies From Yesterday's Anti-Net Neutrality Speech

• Net neutrality is worse for online privacy -- The FCC privacy rules that Congress just obliterated were undoubtedly stronger than the FTC status quo, because they required opt-in consent before ISPs could sell your browsing history.
  
  
• Net neutrality has harmed broadband investment -- An analysis by Free Press provided to attendees to Pai’s speech yesterday shows that ISPs’ capital expenditure increased more after net neutrality was passed than in the two years before it.
  
  
• Net neutrality accentuates digital redlining -- Pai ignores the entire notion of regulatory action, acting as if the free market is the only thing that can determine where broadband service exists. We wouldn’t accept that argument for electricity service or phone service; why accept it for internet service?
  
  
• The internet wasn’t broken before net neutrality rules -- Note how Pai said ISPs weren’t blocking traffic to certain sites, because sure, that wasn’t happening. But blocking wasn’t the only kind of harm prevented by the net neutrality order: it also had bright-line rules against paid prioritization and throttling, where ISPs would limit or boost traffic to certain websites.