Muni Broadband’s Ominous Threat to the First Amendment

As a staunch supporter of limited government and free speech, I have regularly objected to government attempts to own and control the nation’s communications networks. I have been a staunch critic of government projects to build and operate broadband networks. Beyond flirting with a perverse form of socialism, municipalities’ overbuilding of private providers creates market inefficiencies, distorts competitive outcomes, encourages regulatory favoritism towards state-owned networks, and can be a waste of taxpayer money. Even in instances where municipal, or muni, broadband reaches unserved areas, it substantially deters private entities from entering a market. Moreover, as I recently discussed in a speech at the Media Institute’s annual gala in honor of free speech, certain muni broadband providers have been known to precondition access to their networks on acceptance of vague speech codes, creating an ominous threat to the First Amendment.