This is why the government should never control the Internet

[Commentary] July 15 is the deadline for the public to comment on the Federal Communications Commission’s attempt to regulate the Internet under the seemingly innocuous moniker of “net neutrality.”

The architect of this movement, and the man who coined the term “net neutrality,” is Columbia law professor Tim Wu. Unfortunately, he has been immensely influential among regulators. Net neutrality advocates have argued that ISPs have an economic incentive to act anti-competitively toward consumers and competitors.

While some tech companies have been inspired by Wu as they try to “regulate their rivals,” phone and cable companies, they may be forging their own regulatory chains, link by link. Wu’s vision shows how their ostensible goal could continue to morph into a regulatory regime for the entire Internet ecosystem, affecting far more than ISPs. Inviting regulators into your neighborhood is likely to embolden them to control not only your neighbor but you, too.

Wu’s supporters should be careful what they wish for.

[McDowell served as a commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission from 2006-2013 and is currently a visiting fellow at the Hudson Institute’s Center for Economics of the Internet]