Posted on 08/12/2008 2:23:35 PM PDT by Rufus2007
There’s a huge concern among conservative talk radio hosts that reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine would all-but destroy the industry due to equal time constraints. But speech limits might not stop at radio. They could even be extended to include the Internet and “government dictating content policy.”
FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell raised that as a possibility after talking with bloggers at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. McDowell spoke about a recent FCC vote to bar Comcast from engaging in certain Internet practices – expanding the federal agency’s oversight of Internet networks.
The commissioner, a 2006 President Bush appointee, told the Business & Media Institute the Fairness Doctrine could be intertwined with the net neutrality battle. The result might end with the government regulating content on the Web, he warned. McDowell, who was against reprimanding Comcast, said the net neutrality effort could win the support of “a few isolated conservatives” who may not fully realize the long-term effects of government regulation.
“I think the fear is that somehow large corporations will censor their content, their points of view, right,” McDowell said. “I think the bigger concern for them should be if you have government dictating content policy, which by the way would have a big First Amendment problem.”
...(more w/video)...
(Excerpt) Read more at businessandmedia.org ...
I'm still disappointed in what has happened to the party of Polk, Pierce, Buchanan, Cleveland, Wilson, and others from the days when democrats were patriots who believed in the Constitution of the United States and in the rule of law. The "Fairness Doctrine" is intended purely for partisan advantage, at the expense of the Constitution, and that is inexcusable.
Can't be said enough!
This is the road to Big Brother Infinity!
Well since the USA does not own the Internet content. It comes from all over, I guess the US would become just like China, monitoring what Internet content could be served to the USA. Not gonna happen.
Can you say WiFi, WiMax, wireless Ethernet? It goes through the air just fine. FCC also regulates telephone companies. The internet is routed over wired facilities owned by telephone companies.
This is a big stink bomb and a liberal wet dream. The left would like nothing better than total control of all communications. Hugo Chavez must be wetting his pants at this news.
I think it was Stalin who said that it doesn't matter who votes. What matters is who counts the votes. In the internet world, the content doesn't matter. It's who controls the routers. It's pretty damn easy to shut it down.
Obama supports the Fairness Doctrine.
John McCain opposes the Fairness Doctrine. He's even said, as POTUS he'd veto any such legislation that comes to his desk.
Well, I know that. The problem is that, I don't believe that the USA would want to be seen as just another censor like China, because that is what the world would see.
They’ll have to take my computer out of my cold dead hands.
Unfortunately there are too many people just like that who would love to see this country under censor/rules and we see them trying to get control of everything and they are called Democrats.
There is a little thing called the constitution that prevents this from happening.
Wilson??!!!?
WOODROW WILSON????
He was a racist and proto-Marxist who did everything possible to destroy the Constitution and comity amongst the races. Wilson is one of the most vile, leftist DEMOCRAT segregationist pigs who ever infested the whitehouse. He destroyed decades of work done by Republican presidents.
Read for yourself, FRiend -
http://www.reason.com/news/show/33906.html
All the blather about worrying about what the "world" thinks of the United States is just RAT propaganda aimed at Bush. All they really want is control. The opinion of the rest of the world be damned. Besides, if they achieve that level of control, the press will be controlled as well. The "world" will only hear what they want heard.
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