One of the most interesting things to me during the whole net neutrality debate was the fact that privately owned internets existed for most of the history of computing. It was only once the thing we call The Internet with the immense backing of nation states became the de facto communications network that many of them shut down.
To me, that fact can push you in either direction. On one hand, companies trying to start to make up new rules on this public good after accepting billions in subsidies to build it is awfully sketch and I can see an argument for allowing the government to regulate this thing they largely built.
On the other hand, the government comes in, uses its tremendous wealth and power to create a government funded version of a thing and drive all competitors out of business, then once everyone is on the thing they basically forced everyone to use they start clamping down on it. That's pretty sketch.
sj_zero@lotide.fbxl.net 3 years ago
One of the most interesting things to me during the whole net neutrality debate was the fact that privately owned internets existed for most of the history of computing. It was only once the thing we call The Internet with the immense backing of nation states became the de facto communications network that many of them shut down.
To me, that fact can push you in either direction. On one hand, companies trying to start to make up new rules on this public good after accepting billions in subsidies to build it is awfully sketch and I can see an argument for allowing the government to regulate this thing they largely built.
On the other hand, the government comes in, uses its tremendous wealth and power to create a government funded version of a thing and drive all competitors out of business, then once everyone is on the thing they basically forced everyone to use they start clamping down on it. That's pretty sketch.