If the FCC Had Regulated the Internet
Conn Carroll /
The most common myth that appears in “net neutrality” debates, even ones that appear in our comment section, is that the internet needs regulation in order to stay “neutral.” In reality, the internet is as open and adaptive as it is because it has been free of government regulation. Slate’s Jake Shafer has fun with this fact with “A counterfactual history of cyberspace” that explores what could have happened “If the FCC Had Regulated the Internet.”
Read the whole thing (and our own “net neutrality” research here), but here are some good excerpts:
In January 1993, idle regulators at the FCC belatedly discover the burgeoning world of online services. Led by CompuServe, MCI Mail, AOL, GEnie, Delphi, and Prodigy, these services have been embraced by the computer-owning public. … The FCC declares that because these private networks use the publically regulated telephone system, they fall under the purview of the Communications Act of 1934. The commission announces forthcoming plans to regulate the services in the “public interest, convenience, and necessity.” (more…)