Why Liberals Should Think Twice About Net Neutrality

[Commentary] The Left should back off the network neutrality charade and move on to a better agenda.

First, "neutrality" means simply that everything on the Internet must travel at the same speed, whether it's the Bluetooth device that connects my cardiac monitor to a hospital or a kid downloading a video of a cat playing the xylophone. It's an awkward proposition, but proponents say it's needed to protect broadband providers from cutting off some sites and content, and to allow "the little guy" to challenge the Big Websites -- Google, Facebook, Netflix and the like. Frankly, these explanations are hooey. For one, broadband providers -- cable, telco, wireless, and other companies who have paid tens of billions for the privilege of competing for your allegiance -- know that their job is to bring you everything the Internet offers. Would you subscribe to an ISP that gave you Fox News but not Olbermann, or gave iTunes an exclusive on music, or only allowed Warner Brothers movies on their system? It's a ridiculous proposition.

And, second, the Internet isn't "neutral" right now! Big websites cache their content in server farms around the world, like squirrels burying nuts for the winter. That way, they reach you faster than the "little guy," even though the net is allegedly "neutral." But this takes the kind of resources only the Big Websites can generate. Want proof? Well, who's funding the "neutrality" push to protect the "little guy?" It's the Big Websites themselves!