CyberMonday Shopping: Celebrate Net Neutrality
Submitted: November 30, 2009 - 3:06pm
Last updated: November 30, 2009 - 3:07pm
Last updated: November 30, 2009 - 3:07pm
Source:
Huffington Post, The
Author:
Marvin Ammori
[Commentary] Apparently, the first Monday after Black Friday is a big online shopping day, as Americans go back to work ... and shop online. Whether CyberMonday is hype or not for retailers, it's a good day to celebrate Internet openness. For years, a debate has raged in DC over whether phone and cable companies should be allowed to block, discriminate against, or otherwise interfere with users' access to everything online. The millions of people and hundreds of groups favoring Internet openness advocate for a network neutrality law, ensuring this openness. Many favor net neutrality because of free speech concerns. But let's not forget that an open Internet supports American business. Any company, or person, can sell any products online without permission. Any person can go to any site -- not one with a special deal with the phone or cable company -- to buy any gift for any loved one.
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Virtually all markets incorporate vertical relations where upstream firms have special deals with downstream firms.
This is especially so of retailing, which Ammori uses as an example here. No store carries all brands, and it would be an exceptional store that did not take payments for shelf space or product location, or did not have a special relationship with particular wholesalers and manufacturers.
So Ammori needs to explain is what is different about the Internet.
In my view, if there is a reason to be worried, it is that where Internet access providers have substantial market power, they may use that power to exclude downstream rivals to the harm of us all.
But we already have an effective way of dealing with that problem: antitrust law. Thus, even if Ammori's wild claims are amended so as to identify a potential problem, no case has been made for new broadband specific regulation.