WGXC-90.7 FM
Radio News: Presidential candidates differ on net neutrality
Jun 26, 2016 11:11 pm
Click here to download or play an audio version of this report.
Techdirt reports that the ultimate fate of net neutrality probably rests with the results of the November presidential election. Congress continues to try and hack away at the idea that the virtual playing field be level for digital services. Last week the U.S. House Appropriations Committee voted 29-17 for a Federal Communications Commission appropriations bill that would dramatically reduce the FCC budget and try to hamstring net neutrality rule enforcement. President Barack Obama's White House, and the federal courts, have so far supported the latest version of net neutrality against the Republican-led attacks in the House. So, clearly, net neutrality's long-term success will hinge on the results of the presidential election. Donald Trump does not support net neutrality, tweeting in 2014, “Obama’s attack on the internet is another top down power grab. Net neutrality is the Fairness Doctrine. Will target conservative media.” Hillary Clinton says she supports net neutrality, but has expressed concern that regulations could mean stagnant competition among service providers, saying “we’ve got to do more about how we incentivize competition in broadband.” Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson opposes net neutrality, "regulations that would lead to a larger government role in the use of Internet bandwidth." Green Party candidate Jill Stein is in favor, and discussed the public support for the measure, saying, "And FCC got some four million letters, which were, like, 99 percent to preserve net neutrality. We have the numbers. What we don't have is the conviction and the infrastructure to use that power. And what we want to do in our campaign is to flick that switch in our brains from powerlessness to powerfulness."
Techdirt reports that the ultimate fate of net neutrality probably rests with the results of the November presidential election. Congress continues to try and hack away at the idea that the virtual playing field be level for digital services. Last week the U.S. House Appropriations Committee voted 29-17 for a Federal Communications Commission appropriations bill that would dramatically reduce the FCC budget and try to hamstring net neutrality rule enforcement. President Barack Obama's White House, and the federal courts, have so far supported the latest version of net neutrality against the Republican-led attacks in the House. So, clearly, net neutrality's long-term success will hinge on the results of the presidential election. Donald Trump does not support net neutrality, tweeting in 2014, “Obama’s attack on the internet is another top down power grab. Net neutrality is the Fairness Doctrine. Will target conservative media.” Hillary Clinton says she supports net neutrality, but has expressed concern that regulations could mean stagnant competition among service providers, saying “we’ve got to do more about how we incentivize competition in broadband.” Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson opposes net neutrality, "regulations that would lead to a larger government role in the use of Internet bandwidth." Green Party candidate Jill Stein is in favor, and discussed the public support for the measure, saying, "And FCC got some four million letters, which were, like, 99 percent to preserve net neutrality. We have the numbers. What we don't have is the conviction and the infrastructure to use that power. And what we want to do in our campaign is to flick that switch in our brains from powerlessness to powerfulness."