If the devil could quote the Bible, the word “fairness” could be used as a trick to hide it. united nationsfairness. Similarly, the word “neutrality” can be used as a cover for prejudice and discrimination. It’s all about words and power, and the US government is a master of both.
Case in point: “fairness principle” This nice-sounding rule, issued by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 1949, is actually Unfair In its application. In reality, conservative speech was restricted, but liberal speech was not. Conservative editorials were banned, and the penalty for going through the FCC was loss of broadcast license, but a consistent liberal bias in news reporting made him A-OK.
And it was all part of a consistent plan. In the words of bill ruderAs a former Kennedy administration Commerce Department official who later worked for the Democratic National Committee said: [in the early 1960s] The idea is to use the Fairness Doctrine to challenge and harass right-wing broadcasters, and hope that the challenge will be so costly for them that the broadcasters will be blocked and decide it is too expensive to continue. It was. ”
Not surprisingly, the right has never liked the Fairness Doctrine. In 1987, President Ronald Reagan’s appointees to the FCC finally abolished it.
The result of abolition is Cambrian explosion Conservative expression on the airwaves. The greatest of them all was Rush Limbaugh, who burst onto the national scene in the early 1990s and remained at the top until his death in 2021.
Rush Limbaugh reacts after being presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by First Lady Melania Trump at the Capitol in Washington, DC, on February 4, 2020. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Meanwhile, liberals sought to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine as a way to silence Limbaugh and other speakers. In Limbaugh’s case, had the doctrine been in place, his three-hour daily program would have had to be comparable to a daily three-hour program. liberal We’re running a show on the same station. The FCC would then use its legal authority to decide on details such as salaries, promotions and advertising fees. Limbaugh would have lost his job—and, of course, that was the dream that impartialists aspired to.
In 2009, the Obama administration moved to reimpose this doctrine.limbo torn apart This effort is just the “tip of the iceberg” in the federal government’s power grab. Sean Hannity agreed, calling Obama’s move an “attack on the First Amendment.” Newt Gingrich derided the doctrine as “affirmative action against liberals.”
However, during this same period, it became clear that the proliferation of media (websites, blogs, social media accounts, etc.) was undermining the principled premise that FCC bureaucrats could monitor “impartiality.”
Jonathan Lahr/Null Photography via Getty Images
But of course, fairness That was never the actual purpose of the equity doctrine. Instead, the goal is always unfair-Prejudice and discrimination against conservatives.
With that in mind, the Fairness Principles have been transformed into new ideas for the digital age. net neutrality. Officially, net neutrality is primarily about how much phone and cable companies can charge for “transporting” Internet traffic over their “pipes.” In fact, the acceleration of the Internet was a stunning success of capitalism. today, 95 percent of Americans use the Internet, and 80% have broadband.
Still, there are controversies. Big tech companies, for example, want to make sure they pay the lowest possible price for their products: every Google search or Netflix stream. In fact, as we look to the future of artificial intelligence (AI), technology lords want to make sure that the most data-intensive of all, AI, is available to our advantage and at a lower cost.
David Gunn/Getty Images
But net neutrality is more than a negotiation between Big Tech and Big Pipes (internet providers). Why? Because net neutrality advocates want the FCC to enforce it, and as part of that enforcement, they want to sneak in all of the Fairness Doctrine’s old tools to knock down conservatives. Body.
Former President Donald Trump sees this clearly.President Barack Obama responds to Trump’s push for net neutrality after appointing him to the FCC tweeted In 2014, he wrote, “Obama’s Internet attack is yet another top-down power grab. Net neutrality is a principle of fairness. It will target conservative media.” FCC appointed by President Trump in 2017 abolished Net neutrality.
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai smiles after voting to repeal net neutrality in Washington, D.C., on December 14, 2017. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Martin)
Now, let’s fast forward to October 2023, when the Biden administration finally won a majority of five FCC commissioners. Bidenize the FCC immediately. signaled The intention is to restore net neutrality. At the time, Brendan Carr (one of only two Republicans appointed by President Trump and remaining on the committee); warned“FCC begins implementing President Biden’s plan to strengthen government control of the internet.”
Now, six months later, it happened. The bureaucratic whip has fallen. For fans of the 46th president, this is all the more delicious because it’s another downfall for the 45th president.Therefore, this April 2nd heading: “FCC to vote to reinstate net neutrality rules, reversing Trump”
In a slick campaign-style video touting net neutrality, Jessica Rosenworcel, Biden’s pick to head the FCC, said: Said The internet needed to be “fair.” She used this word twice to emphasize her commitment to passing on principles of fairness. Net neutrality, she declared, is necessary to give the FCC the power to “protect the Internet in the name of national security and public safety.” what do we know that means.
Latest video: Net neutrality and why it’s so important. Internet services are essential and require effective oversight to address internet outages, national security concerns, and consumer protection.Learn more about voting for future restoration here #netneutrality pic.twitter.com/X1yA2PhtNc
— FCC (@FCC) April 3, 2024
Rosenworcel continued: “If bad actors or foreign adversaries are using our networks for nefarious purposes,” the FCC now gives itself “additional tools to combat them.” ing. Oh yeah, so the FCC will be fighting “disinformation.” You know, along with Nina Jankowicz and other Foo Fighters in the Biden administration.
in interviewRosenworcel added: “The pandemic has made it clear that broadband is an essential service, no matter who we are or where we live, if we are to succeed equitably in the digital age. , it became clear that we all need broadband.” it is interesting A way to remember those days. Many of us believe that the coronavirus pandemic and lockdowns have taught Americans that the federal government can work with industry to: shutdown Access; You know, just like Big Government and Big Tech shut down Hunter Biden’s laptop articles in 2020 and Trump’s Twitter account in 2021. In terms of how that enforcement process actually works; twitter filereleased in 2022-3, reveals the revolving door between Big Tech and Big Government. They’re all on the same side. And that’s, uh, influence Towards 2024.
One key to understanding how net neutrality will play out is to look at how the FCC will roll it out. already Use regulatory powers to micromanage media companies and use mandatory reporting and quotas to increase enforcement. don’t offend us or we’ll shut you up. In other words, we celebrate diversity, equity, and inclusion.
As Mr. Carr, a Trump appointee, said in an interview with Breitbart News, the net neutrality order is “a power grab by the administrative state…an illegal overreach.” Carr said as the agency’s opposition to the net neutrality ruling rang out. Added“The FCC is once again trying to pressure broadcasters to make hiring decisions based on race and gender.” He concluded that such pressure was “unconstitutional.”
But of course, in the minds of progressives, the Constitution is not a fixed document;life” could mutate to pursue modern goals, such as reelecting Joe Biden. toTo achieve this goal, the FCC will use the net neutrality hammer.
