The prospect of regulating internet platforms has recently gained a strange confluence of support, from progressive, tech-savvy policymakers such as Tim Wu and Lina Khan to conservative politicians such as U.S. President Donald Trump and former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon. Although they have different concerns, they agree that web platforms have too often misused their power over the way that news travels. The recent proposals to use antitrust law to break up technology companies are at odds with the U.S. government's broader push to deregulate the internet, treating the symptoms instead of the causes of the internet's trust crisis.
This summer, the U.S. House of Representatives refused to vote to protect net neutrality, ending a long-contested set of regulations designed to ensure equal access to the internet. Net neutrality advocates held that the policy protected innovation and fairness by requiring internet service providers to provide equal access to all traffic. Net neutrality opponents said that the policy limits innovation by preventing internet service providers from adapting their offerings to maximize value and use. While there are already examples of collateral damage, the federal debate is over for now, and what's left is navigating how the end of net neutrality will change the internet.
Read Full Article »