Everything seems fine now, why are we changing the laws if the internet seems to be working just fine?
Yes, everything is fine. Moreover, everything already seems fair and, all-in-all, working properly. And while a lot of this likely comes down to power grabs and greed (see my post from yesterday), we've come to a point where it has to change. Not for the better, mind you, but because the major players (telecoms and the FCC) now know what their real limitations are. Now this is conjecture, but I have a distinct feeling that the reason the telecoms have not engaged in any quality of service since the FCC told Comcast to stop a ways back. I know what you're thinking; "but the courts told the FCC they can't do that, why wouldn't Comcast just go back to picking and choosing what packets get what bitrate?". Its because the FCC now knows they don't have that power yet, not that they won't have it. I'm pretty sure that all the telecoms are in a "wait and see" business model right now where they aren't doing anything questionable until they have a better handle on whats coming next for them.
Okay, okay, but still isn't the government going to control and censor the internet like they do with terrestrial radio and broadcast television?
Again, this is mostly conjecture, but realistically the answer is no. The latest information from the FCC on the power they are looking to get from new legislation is outlined in this article and then straight from the horse's mouth here. While we won't know as many exacts as we would like to until actual legislation is written for a vote, its seems safe to say that they are not interested in getting into the affairs of regular people or bloggers, but rather how broadband is managed. Yes, I'm sure there will be some mostly unsavory bits to what the FCC will plan on doing, but the same can be said for any change thats coming down the pipe (and yes I'm positive about that). I know it sounds like I'm backing the FCC all the way here, but rest assured I am really trying to dispel rumors and falsehoods, not back them for anything they plan on doing (also I will have a new post soon detailing the info the FCC has put out so far about net neutrality).
Fine, whatever, why is this on a blog meant for marketers then?
Well, a few reasons. First is that as I said in the first place, to have any sort of grasp on net neutrality's effect on marketers, we all need know more about the legislation itself. Secondly, the main "organization" fighting against net neutrality legislation, Americans for Prosperity - who apparently are big on Glenn Beck's program judging from that Ars Technica article -, have launched a $1.4 million ad campaign against it and I thought the cross-over was too juicy not to bring it up. The only reason I find this worth mentioning, then, is to be careful of any misleading information coming in through these messages they are crafting. the group, whose backing information can be found here have most of their financial ties to companies that support republicans and right-wing agendas for good reason. Not saying there is anything wrong with that or any of the points will be trying to make, just be aware that they (like almost every single organization out there that you ever hear about on political issues) are really not much more than lobbyists. Though be on the lookout for when their ads start getting air time because I will take a critical look at it when I get a chance and likely hit up a teacher of mine who both leans right politically and has experience with advocacy campaigns to get his thoughts.
Yeah, so really why? I'm in marketing, remember...
Fair enough - If I'm wrong and the government does have an interest in censoring the internet, there could be much more restrictions on how you advertise depending on who the target is and/or who tends to visit the sites you are advertising on. This article, for instance, talks about how the Obama Administration (specifically the first lady) want unhealthy food marketing to children completely curbed (currently fast food chains et al are their own watch-dog and have tried to institute some marketing regulations regarding messaging for kids). Right now, this relates mostly to traditional marketing, but should the FCC gain the power to regulate messaging online, then marketers for places like McDonalds and BurgerKing would be at the mercy of the government. Again, though, it doesn't seem as though the FCC is trying to gain the power to control content online so much as the power to oversee the management of how the content is delivered.
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