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September 07, 2007

Justice Department Opposes Net Neutrality

In case you harbored any doubts as to who owns the Justice Department, yesterday it stepped outside its Mission statement and took the stance that market forces should be allowed to work in the realm of the Internet. ISPs, it said, should be allowed to charge a fee for priority Web traffic - something being pushed by companies such as AT&T, Verizon, and Comcast. For some reason, the Justice Department feels its opinions matter as to the workings of the economy, and it is expressing concern that “Net neutrality” laws could interfere with the development of the Internet, preventing ISPs from upgrading or expanding their networks. Worse, it says, such legislation could place the “entire burden of implementing costly network expansions and improvements onto consumers.”

Sounds so Norquistian – help the corporations make more money, but make it sound like you’re looking out for the financial well-being of the little guy. Funny that opposing “Net neutrality” legislation happens to be one of Grover Norquist’s pet projects. Funny that Norquist has been paid good money before to lobby the Justice Department on several other antitrust matters, including Microsoft and Oracle. And funny how the Justice Department has at the same time repeatedly failed to investigate or prosecute Norquist’s ongoing money laundering activities. Something stinks here - but then, whenever Norquist is involved, that is par for the course.

Posted by Becky at September 7, 2007 11:37 AM