Favouring free markets over net neutrality

Canadian Press is reporting that the Conservative government is favouring a free market approach to the internet, avoiding government intervention that could damage businesses that offer Internet access.

Documents obtained by The Canadian Press indicate that Industry Minister Maxime Bernier, who has previously declared a “consumer first” approach, is carefully heeding the arguments of large telecommunications companies like Videotron and Telus against so-called Net neutrality legislation.

The implication by the tone of that sentence seems to be that the Minister’s views are in conflict with a “Consumer First” policy. I think that free markets tend to favour consumers. Think about how consumer friendly milk marketing is for us.

Michael Geist is quoted in the article saying:

These documents reveal that in Canada, the industry minister and his policy people appear unlikely to provide Canadian Internet users with similar protections to those being offered in the United States

Actually, I would say that Minister Bernier and his people have recognized that the success of the internet has been when government has stayed clear. Internet for the masses has been driven by profit – for applications developers, content owners and infrastructure builders. All three together.

The fear-mongerers who profess to want to Save the Internet tend to forget that use of the internet flourished only after its control was liberated from the tight control by government and universities.

Let freedom reign.

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