Net “Neutrality”: Google Says Nondiscrimination for Me, But Not for Thee
Surprise, surprise. So Google, perhaps the leading proponent of so-called “Net Neutrality,” predictably doesn’t consider itself constrained by the same rules of nondiscrimination from which it seeks to benefit via government intervention:
Progressives have long argued that the federal government must protect the Internet from discrimination by treating service providers like Comcast as public utilities. Now we learn that the Net doesn’t have to be neutral, as long as Google is the company targeting legal businesses that are politically unpopular. Google recently announced in a blog post that the search engine would no longer run advertisements for payday loans with high interest rates and a 60-day repayment period. ‘Ads for financial services are a particular area of vigilance given how core they are to people’s livelihood and well being,’ the company wrote.”
Moreover, Google’s hypocrisy is compounded by its crony capitalist angle:
Google’s timing is also curious, given that the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is finishing up a rule to wipe out the payday industry by cutting a lender’s ability to collect. This political assault includes Justice Department investigations into banks that do business with payday lenders, which are also lawful outfits. You don’t have to be a cynic to wonder if Google isn’t providing some cover for this political campaign: the Obama Administration has certainly done a lot for Google. The company’s top lobbyist visited the Obama White House 128 times as of October 2015 – more than counterparts at Comcast, Facebook, Amazon and Verizon combined.”
And then there’s its assault on intellectual property rights angle:
Last month the White House endorsed a Federal Communications Commission proposal that would allow Google to pirate television content, and last year the FCC exempted Google from its net-neutrality regulatory scheme.”
It’s just another illustration of the public policy, crony capitalist monstrosity that Net “Neutrality” is. Whether by the judicial system or the political system, it must be put to an end.
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