Re: What Net Neutrality should and should not cover

[Robert Tarrall <robert () tarrall org>]

On Mon, Apr 28, 2014 at 7:22 AM, Kristopher Doyen <
kristopher.doyen () gmail com> wrote:

> When last mile ISPs no longer have pressure or over-sight to maintain a
> business model that puts user's needs first, because a happy user is a
> returning user, you now have an entity who will do anything for a dollar as
> long as it can't be proved illegal for the moment. [...]

I think Kristopher's email was a fantastic description of the situation,
but I'd like to make one minor correction: "you now have an entity who will
do anything for a dollar" full stop.

Recent US antitrust litigation has tended towards penalties like "promise
to stop doing that, and make sure the lawyers get paid."  (Sometimes the
initial penalty is much higher, but it gets reduced on appeal.)  Nobody
goes to jail and the financial penalties don't threaten the profits gained
from the illegal behavior.

If a corporation stands to make a few extra billion dollars a year from
illegal behavior... their "worst case" outcome is they're fined $100
million and told to cut it out... and there's a good chance they can
postpone this outcome by spending $18.8 million a year on lobbying... you
do the math (because they certainly have).

(All numbers made up except the $18.8MM which is in fact what Comcast spent
on lobbying last year.)

              -Robert.-