Cable's Top Lobbyist Again Calls For Hyper Regulation Of Silicon Valley

Cable's Top Lobbyist Again Calls For Hyper Regulation Of Silicon Valley

6 years ago
Anonymous $gIi3-PxxKB

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20180307/08492239375/cables-top-lobbyist-again-calls-hyper-regulation-silicon-valley.shtml

For years telecom monopolies have downplayed the lack of competition in the broadband sector, and the chain reaction of problems this creates for everybody (from privacy infractions to net neutrality violations). At the same time, large ISP lobbyists (and the regulators, politicians and policy flacks paid to love them) have insisted that it's Silicon Valley companies the public really need to worry about. As a result, ISPs like Comcast and AT&T routinely insist that we need new regulations governing companies like Google and Facebook, but entrenched natural monopolies should be allowed to do pretty much whatever they'd like.

This of course requires you ignore a few things. One, that the lack of competition in broadband makes the two sectors an apples to oranges comparison. Customers frustrated by Facebook's bad behavior can vote with their wallets, something most Comcast customers can't do. You're also supposed to ignore the fact that large ISPs are simply trying to saddle Google and Facebook with additional regulation because they're increasingly trying to challenge them for advertising revenue in the video and media space.