USTelecom's Spalter: Internet Freedom Has Been Restored... Now What?

In a speech to the Media Institute, USTelecom President Jonathan Spalter said it is time to establish "consistent safeguards" across the entire internet. The key to those consistent safeguards, he suggested, were their broad application, echoing the growing chorus of internet service providers and legislators from both parties that believe mammoth edge players like Facebook and others need minding. "[T]he reality today is the companies making headlines for privacy missteps or blocking content aren’t the ISPs," Spalter said. "Just witness the back-and-forth between Google and Amazon blocking the sale of each other’s products and services on their respective platforms. This was a fatal flaw of Title II: It is no longer acceptable to write rules either here in Washington or in any state that omit the most powerful and valuable — at least in terms of market cap — players of the digital age. We all have a stake in getting modern rules right because if we don’t, then others will continue to fill the void."