Net Neutrality Needs to be Revisited By U.S. Congress

Have been talking with many millennials lately and they are extremely upset with the revocation of "net neutrality" in favor of Big Business.  Most millennials use the internet as an integral part of the their everyday lives.  In fact, the internet is where most millennials seem to get their primary news and information from, in favor of alternative sources such as magazines, newspapers and television/cable.  To most millennials the thought that some company can now limit their access to information or charge more for certain types of information literally scares the hell out of them.  Furthermore, millennials blame President Trump and his administration for failing to adequately address their concerns on the matter and rightly so.  I've heard time and again from the FCC and other Big Business advocates that "net neutrality is complicated", while these same individuals fail to offer any tangible facts or evidence in support of this claim.  Furthermore, the fact the the FCC Director used to be a Big Business, high-powered lawyer for Verizon doesn't do much to give confidence to millennials or "we the people" that a revocation of net neutrality is in their/our best interests.

To my way of thinking, President Trump, if you truly want to show that you can be a President for ALL of "we the people", and not just the president for those who put you into office, then you should take seriously the concerns of those of us who fear only the worst from a repeal of net neutrality.  You should immediately call for Congressional hearings on all matters relating to the internet (e.g., consumer privacy protections, as well as net neutrality).  Let the experts speak before the U.S. Congress, sharing facts and data in a transparent fashion for all of "we the people" to see.  Then, if at the end of testimony actual legislation is found to be warranted --in order to protect all citizens while using the internet and to provide equal access to internet content for all-- then Congress can move to enact the needed legislation that would provide for a permanent framework for regulation of the internet on behalf of "we the people."

I think an on-line petition to this end should be started, along with letters written to the President and members of Congress.  What say you???  Surely, if the U.S. Congress of the 1990's can visit music lyrics and the need for labeling music albums for rating "content violations", then surely the U.S. Congress of 2018 can visit consumer protection issues related to accessing the internet and content therein.

And on another matter close to millennials hearts, Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, of the U.S.  Justice Department might want to think through a bit more thoroughly his decision to revoke the Cole memorandum which had directed --under President Obama-- Feds not to interfere with state laws concerning marijuana legalization and use thereof.  Seems to me the Justice Department has more pressing matters to attend to these days (e.g., Russia probe wrap-up, Clinton investigation follow-up, unseating Deep State actors, immigration, heroin and opioid epidemics), especially when the majority of Americans, per on-going polling, seem to be in favor of marijuana legalization.  From a cost-benefit perspective the Justice Department and the Trump Administration stand to lose a whole lot more than they could ever possibly gain by moving forward with federal prosecutions for marijuana use in states that have legalized the product.  Timing is everything???  See Attorney General, Jeff Session's memo here.  And yes, Congress could eventually legislate on the matter, removing Federal laws from the books, but for the time being, I think the U.S. Congress already has a pretty full plate.  


2/14/2018 The recent abuses by senior level individuals at FBI, DoJ and State Department (by Obama Administration holdovers) that have been brought into the light --abuses which weaponized the intelligence apparatus and which threaten our very democratic republic and the constitutional democracy upon which the latter is founded-- coupled with the unprecedented number of Congress men and women renouncing their committee chair positions and not seeking re-election (34++ by my last count) makes me think that not only "net neutrality" but also consumer privacy protections --which were rescinded over the summer-- all need to revisited in order to minimize opportunities for nefarious individuals to gather dirt with which to influence our duly elected officials.  Perhaps legislation needs to be passed that would require all ISP's to provide VPN bundled with their internet access?  We live in a world much in need of good and women to run for public office, but with the potential for abuse of what should be private information --given the above gaping holes-- we may not wind up with those individuals most highly capable being willing to run for office or if they do run and are elected they may be compromised by blackmail for less than criminal offenses.  If information is truly power, then we must respect the potential for abuse of information, at all levels, in today's highly technological and globally connected world.