Stop freaking out over “Net neutrality”, The repeal of the crony regulations is a good thing for you and innovation, The Netflix/Hollywood lobbyists lose

We’ve written plenty on “net neutrality,” particularly when the first power grab happened under Obama. The regs were literally reviewed and likely directly tweaked by big net company lobbyists at Netflix and Google before the public ever saw the regs. It was a crony power grab that the people in the media went along with, some because they didn’t know better, others because they had no choice.

And it must be said that Netflix and company have largely won the PR war because people don’t understand what “Net neutrality” actually is. Which is to say that they have no idea that they are being manipulated by large crony corporations. That’s right, “net neutrality” is big time corporatist crony capitalism.

Basically in a nutshell this is the deal. – Streaming movies take up a lot of bandwidth. The Internet service providers (ISPs) provide the bandwidth. The ISPs built much of the information superhighway. On this highway Netflix and other streaming services want to push their products through without paying for the clog factor they create on a highway they do not own. The ISPs argue that if Netflix and co want to use their highway, and create potential traffic jams of data Netflix should have to pay for the rerouting the ISPs must do to get the information through. But this would hurt Netflix’s bottom line, and this is why the Netflix and Google lawyers went to the Obama administration to essentially get the government to take the highways built by the ISPs by force. (Or at least regulate them to death soft fascism style.) Net neutrality is a jack. And the PR people for Netflix and co have manipulated the public’s addiction to virtual circuses very effectively. As the DHH said in their song in the 1990s – “TV Drug of a Nation.” People are afraid that their drug is going to go away. It’s not. If anything things will be smoother in the future.

The FCC has been a tool of censorship from the horrible day it was born. It is a soft(?) fascistic tool used to keep communication (The People) in line. It always has been. It is also a tool that has been used to reward cronies with licenses etc over the years. The FCC creates censorship. Reducing its role (really it should be totally abolished and seen as the tool of crony manipulation that it is) is a good thing. You’ll still get to see your video soma.

“Hollywood” wants to keep selling you their “product.” Don’t worry the dealers will still get you what you need.

(From Rare)

Is everyone who uses regular Amazon currently being terrorized by the fact that others have purchased Amazon Prime? I stand in line at the movies in the accelerated “premiere” line I pay $15 annually to get popcorn quicker. Does the government need to step in? Obviously, the internet is something we all rely on more than just Amazon or your local theater, but much of the current hyperventilating sounds more like fear of the unknown than a reason to be genuinely concerned.

Of course, there’s also more to this issue than just this aspect. But while I don’t pretend to be an expert on net neutrality, I do recognize manufactured hysteria when I see it. Stoking fear is the easiest way to get people to support your position, something both left and right do shamelessly.

That’s what’s happening right now. If I really thought this was the end of the internet as we know it, I’d be going nuts too.

I remember when my old boss Senator Rand Paul would introduce bills to cut Pentagon spending, hawkish Republicans would accuse him of cutting the military in half or even siding with terrorists. He’s “dangerous!” They couldn’t fear monger quick enough.

And that’s what it’s all about folks. Hollywood and the media lobbyists doing what they do to earn their fat paychecks. This ain’t about “freedom” or access. This is about Netflix making money at the expense of those who built the infrastructure Netflix’s product runs on.

Simple – as – that.

Click here for the article.

http://www.againstcronycapitalism.org/