Marc Oestreich
Prior to joining Heartland, Marc was a graduate student at Purdue University studying political psychology and education policy. He enjoys defending liberty, writing about education and technology, music, designing websites, and is a fan of the NFL team in Indianapolis. Go Colts!
Latest posts by Marc Oestreich (see all)
- The ‘Right to Work’ Hoax - April 26, 2011
- An Attack on Capitalism and the Disadvantaged - April 21, 2011
- Netflix Tax a Disaster for Web and the Economy - April 5, 2011
Facebook representatives this week denounced the attempt by Google and Verizon to craft a free-market approach to net neutrality (“Facebook at Odds With Google, Verizon on Net Neutrality,” Digits, August 11).
“Facebook continues to support principles of net neutrality for both landline and wireless networks,” spokesman Andrew Noyes wrote in an email. “Preserving an open Internet that is accessible to innovators — regardless of their size or wealth — will promote a vibrant and competitive marketplace where consumers have ultimate control over the content and services delivered through their Internet connections.”
Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes insists net neutrality rules would create a more competitive marketplace for innovation, but economists at New York University disagree.
Those NYU economists think net neutrality could kill as many as 500,000 jobs, billions of dollars of Internet revenue, and smother sectors that rely on packet prioritization, such as tele-medicine and online trading.
In fact, the co-founder of the protocol upon which the Internet is built (TCP/IP) says any dogmatic approach to Internet regulation would stifle competition and slow the progress of the technologies that drive the net, not just those that use it. Regulation and competition are, for the most part, mutually exclusive.
Rather than listening to the maddening crowd of Second-Life socialists, call on legislators to protect business in the best way they can by leaving it alone.
