La Salle Prof. On Net Neutrality: If People Don't Get What They Want, 'Social Media Will Take Care Of This Pretty Quickly'
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Rich Zeoli talked to Dr. William Weaver, Associate Professor of Integrated Science, Business, and Technology at La Salle University, on Talk Radio 1210 WPHT about the Federal Communication Commission's proposed net neutrality rules.
Weaver said that the FCC is looking to change the classification of internet service.
"They wish to propose that the internet and the people that provide services, like the Comcasts and the Verizons, instead of being governed and regulated as an information service which, very loosely is sort of like having the choice between UPS or FedEx or the US Mail, there's definitely a different price you can pay to get your package or your letter to the other side pretty quickly. They'd like to regulate the internet providers as telecommunications services, sort of like guaranteeing that everybody has a dial tone to their house if they'd like it. This guarantees that you can get Netflix to house if you want it."
He believes internet service providers have already addressed this problem and more intervention, like this proposal from the FCC, will only create more problems.
"Competition wise, the providers have already arrived at a solution, but the federal government, for whatever reason, doesn't like free market capitalism and really, really hates winners because that means there's some losers, and that means it's not fair and it's not neutral. The federal government would like to ensure that there's not losers and, of course, as everyone knows, the flip side of ensuring there's no losers means that you guarantee there's no winners either."
Weaver thinks if the FCC oversteps in regulating the internet, the public will use the greater access they have to voice their opinions, via social media, to let them know about the decision.
"If it turns out that the federal government is correct and net neutrality, this is the way you solve it, and everything is nirvana, then we're just all going to have broadband falling from the sky. But if it's the other direction, if people start to see degradation of services or they don't get what they want, I'm pretty sure social media will take care of this pretty quickly."
