Net Neutrality is a Loser

As I've said here before, net neutrality is an awful idea.

Investors Business Daily offers an insightful editorial explaining why this anti-capitalist nonsense deserves to be soundly rejected by Congress.

"It's clear that one of the most liberating developments of recent history has been the Internet. But those who would obstruct Web freedom are on the move.

Massachusetts Rep. Edward Markey seldom has used the language in such an exquisitely Orwellian fashion since he tried to thwart the Reagan administration's space-based defense project by comparing it to "Star Wars."

This time, he's joined by far left groups such as Moveon.org in demanding new regulations to ensure "nondiscriminatory" content.

These political activists are teaming with Web giants Google, Yahoo and Microsoft who want new rules to protect their established dominance. Doing them all a huge favor, Markey has introduced a bill to guarantee what proponents call "net neutrality."

Markey and his legionnaires aren't too worried. Armed with Internet-gathered petitions, they expect the House Judiciary Committee to take up "net neutrality" in coming days.

As you might expect, their objective cannot be realized without introducing seriously anti-competitive, indeed anti-capitalistic, enforcement measures.

The bill targets Internet service providers, who must find ways to pay for making content accessible to the seemingly limitless world of online users.

That could mean charging content providers - like Google, Yahoo and Microsoft - extra for faster service and other fees. So Markey would put the government behind the big content providers, sparing them any inconvenient expenses through "neutrality."

(Click the link above to read the editorial in its entirety.)