As the FCC regulations are put into effect that bring net neutrality to its knees, I point to FoxNews to get all Shakespearean about it:
President Obama’s Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has fittingly chosen the darkest day in 372 years to impose potentially devastating regulations on the up-to-now free market Internet.
As the moon was eclipsed earlier today, Congress and the American people will be eclipsed by this regulatory coup d’état — orchestrated by the White House — that will substitute the judgment of three Democrats at the FCC for the legitimate democratic process.
Starting today, the Internet will be regulated, despite the fact that network neutrality regulations have almost no support in Congress, where Rep. Ed Markey’s legislation, which aimed to do by legitimate means what the FCC is now doing surreptitiously, has just 27 co-sponsors.
Senator Al Franken summed up the problem so that any Democrat could understand it:
“Maybe you like Google Maps. Well, tough. If the F.C.C. passes this weak rule, Verizon will be able to cut off access to the Google Maps app on your phone and force you to use their own mapping program, Verizon Navigator, even if it is not as good. And even if they charge money, when Google Maps is free. If corporations are allowed to prioritize content on the Internet, or they are allowed to block applications you access on your iPhone, there is nothing to prevent those same corporations from censoring political speech.”