Net Neutrality Opponent Tribe joins Justice Department

Harvard law professor Laurence Tribe will join the Justice Department next week to lead an effort focused on increasing legal access for the poor. He will serve as a senior counselor for access to justice. In recent weeks, speculation within legal circles about Tribe's move to Washington had focused on a troubleshooting role that the law professor might play in hot-button areas, such as national security and international issues. But department officials Thursday said his portfolio would involve domestic affairs, and that he would report to Tom Perrelli, the associate attorney general.

The National Cable & Telecommunications Association's Brian Dietz points out that Tribe opposes Network Neutrality mandates. In a 2009 paper authored with Thomas Goldstein, tribe wrote: "Net neutrality regulation, if not carefully crafted, could squelch the ability of [broadband service providers] to continue to innovate and provide consumers with the products and services they desire." they cautions that net neutrality threatens the First Amendment because "it interjects the government into private decisions about speech."