Guide arms Tea Party members with anti-network neutrality talking points

The Heartland Institute released "The Patriots Toolbox" on Oct 4. The telecommunications chapter includes a list of 10 major points for Tea Party activists who want to discuss communications policy.

"Oppose network neutrality regulations," the guide instructs. "Attempts to legislate network neutrality risk a repeat of the disaster that was caused by the Telecom Act of 1996." The guide condones four network neutrality principles that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted in 2005, but says policymaking should end there. "Should the FCC or state regulators do more to enforce network neutrality?" it says. "Most surely not." The guide also tells activists to support the repeal of discriminatory taxes and fees and argue for less government involvement in broadband deployment. It also says telecom companies should have greater leeway to set prices. The guide has low regard for the FCC as a consumer protection agency and encourages making a single entity responsible for consumer protection. "The agency has not set measurable enforcement goals, developed a well-defined enforcement strategy, or established performance measures linked to the enforcement goals," it says, commending what it sees as superior efforts at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).