In the great tradition of Washington’s solving vaporous problems, Congress is moving on Net Neutrality legislation, while the FCC is also working on the very same issue with an eye to regulate and eventually strangle free speech on the internet. Net Neutrality, for those who have better things to worry about, is a proposal for the government to regulate internet service providers to force them to give the same priority to all types of data (i.e. an email transmission must be treated the same as a song download). The battle lines are drawn according to self-interest: content providers such as Google support Net Neutrality, while service providers like AT&T oppose being told how to run their networks. Considering the telecom industry’s record of self-serving lobbying and inappropriately close ties to its regulators, the fact that AT&T opposes Net Neutrality is no medal of valor.

While the cry to regulate the internet has come from Silicon Valley leftists for years, the movement crystalized in 2007 when Comcast internet customers reported that certain downloads were being slowed or blocked. Comcast denied all allegations, but it was later proven that Comcast was actively blocking certain software commonly used to share very large files. Silicon Valley leftists like Google’s Eric Schmidt demanded new regulation. With less fanfare, the FCC later found that Comcast had violated existing rules by not disclosing its filtering program.

Comcast blocked traffic because its bandwidth is shared among its customers. The incremental cost to transmit an extra packet of data is extremely small, but not zero. If a customer were to continuously upload or download huge files, he would reduce the service quality for regular users. Comcast clumsily blocked people who exchange movie files that can be several gigabytes long. Comcast’s error was in its method, not its intention to protect average customers from bandwidth hogs. With ever expanding applications for bandwidth, service providers cannot profitably offer unchecked access.

Why would Google advocate for Net Neutrality? Google is much more than a search engine. Google is seeking to dominate all aspects of internet content, including the high bandwidth applications of the future. Google wants a free media through which it can provide its high value content. Any restrictions on internet use, even if based on reasonable operating costs and the desire to provide good service, are a road block to content providers like Google.

For the vast majority of internet users, this is much ado about nothing. Only a tiny fraction of internet users consumes bandwidth like movie sharers. Many service providers cap their customers’ monthly data usage at 250GB, about ten times the usage of a typical heavy user, or 100 times that of a casual web browser and email sender. In short, the internet is already fully open without regulation. Google acknowledges that there is no current problem, but still seeks government intervention.

Aside from self-interest, why are giants like Google lobbying for Net Neutrality? Contrary to the spirit of Silicon Valley’s legacy of individualism and capitalism, the industry’s dominant players are lefties. They reflexively reach for government regulation and support at every turn. Even Microsoft’s leaders are lefties, and they were put through the screws by government prosecutors over purely partisan attacks by their competitors. As always, the well connected seek government protection from competition through ‘reform’ and ‘consumer protection.’

Worse still, Net Neutrality is a backdoor to regulating internet content. By establishing the FCC’s right to force the carry of certain content, Washington will open the door to regulating the priority of content (in the name of service quality). That is a slippery slope to regulation of all types of content, including videos of ACORN stings and Presidents screwing up their lines without teleprompters. Spkr. Pelosi is pushing her fairness doctrine to regulate the radio, the FTC has regulated blogs that seek to state certain opinions, and now the FCC is on the path to regulate video content on the internet. The Constitution is hanging by a thread from left wing attacks on the very liberties Democrats claim to support.

Just as socialized medicine will force healthy people to subsidize the sick, Net Neutrality will force reasonable internet users to subsidize those who wish to transmit terabytes of data. The end result for both industries will be mediocre service because service providers will be disincented to invest and innovate. Considering the internet works well for nearly every American, and many access channels are actually free, voters should reject yet another heavy handed government program that can only do harm.