The Obama administration’s ongoing crusade against government whistleblowers — which culminated last year in the imprisonment of former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling — has reignited a debate over the role journalists should play in defending their profession and the sources and networks on which it depends.
While not every fight ended in a win for Internet users, 2015 was a year when millions of advocates defied the conventional wisdom that tech policymaking was an arcane and secretive world limited to a small circle of insiders.
The big Internet service providers argue that the First Amendment gives them the right to block, throttle and degrade the communications of everyone using their services.
Think-tank analyst Hal Singer is a favorite hired gun of Washington’s phone and cable lobby because he delivers exactly what the industry pays him for. But a close look at his anti-Net Neutrality claims shows a clear failure to analyze data properly.
In the last few weeks at least five anti-Net Neutrality Op-Eds have appeared in newspapers around the country. These pieces strike suspiciously familiar notes — and in some cases use identical language.
Want a blazing fast Internet? Well, you can get it if you live in select parts of the United States where ultra-high-speed services are available — and if you’re willing to pay a lot of money.
