The one thing that can stop Moore’s Law: Title II Internet regulation

[Commentary] Gordon Moore’s prediction of exponentially growing computer power, based on the silicon integrated circuit, is 50 years old in April. What happens when we change the regulatory environment of something that is working this well? Looks like we're about to find out.

The biggest threat to Moore’s law is Washington’s new effort to rein in and reign over the entire digital dominion. The Federal Communications Commission’s assertion of vast regulatory control of the Internet is a dramatic departure from the policy framework that allowed Gordon Moore, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and millions of others to build today’s information economy. Yes, we should find targeted ways to help extend digital products to the underserved. The failure of every single person to adopt immediately the most advanced form of a technology -- when in fact that technology is among the fastest spreading and most widely used technologies in history -- is not, however, a reason to blow up a manifestly successful policy. Title II regulation will reduce incentives to invest in new networks and services, especially in the most difficult-to-serve geographic and socio-economic arenas. We have something that works far better than Title II, and which is free to taxpayers: the exponential uplift of Moore’s law.

[Bret Swanson is the president of Entropy Economics]