Senator: Internet gatekeepers biggest threat to free speech

By Nate Anderson

Comedian-turned-senator Al Franken (D-MN) has ditched the potty jokes and Stuart Smalley routine since taking office, turning himself into a surprisingly articulate and strident voice in favor of net neutrality and against the Comcast/NBC merger. Back in February, when a Senate hearing offered him the chance to grill Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, Franken took it.

"In other words," Franken lectured, "looking to get approval for this merger, you sat there in my office and told me to my face that these rules would protect consumers, but your lawyers had just finished arguing in front of the Commission that it would be unconstitutional to apply these rules."

Feisty! But it turns out he was just getting warmed up. At last week's Netroots Nation conference in Las Vegas, Franken put aside all pretense of subtlety. While government was once the greatest threat to First Amendment rights regarding freedom of speech, Franken argued that the great threat now is corporations. Specifically, the threat comes from corporations who also control the major Internet pipes.

"I believe that net neutrality is the First Amendment issue of our time," Franken said.

"Comcast merges with NBC. How long do you think it will take for Verizon and AT&T to start looking at CBS/Viacom and ABC/Disney? If no one stops them, how long do you think it will take before four or five mega-corporations effectively control the flow of information in America, not only on television but online? If we don't protect net neutrality now, how long do you think it will take before Comcast/NBC/Universal or Verizon/CBS/Viacom or AT&T/ABC/DirecTV or BP/Halliburton/Walmart/Fox/Domino's Pizza [laughter] will start favoring its content over everyone else's?"

But how many others in Congress share this view? While net neutrality was a hot topic last year and the year before, it has languished on Capitol Hill as the Republican and Democrat FCC Chairmen asserted their rights to regulate ISP behavior. Now that a federal court has shot down the FCC's legal arguments and the new "third way" proposal has attracted plenty of criticism, passing an unambiguous law might be the simplest way to resolve the debate.

It's safe to say that Franken would vote in favor of such a bill, and other top Democrats have expressed support, as have a few Republicans like Susan Collins of Maine. Political will to tackle the issue looks limited, however, even if it is the "First Amendment issue of our time."

(Bonus discussion question: is net neutrality the First Amendment issue of our time?)