There is little dispute that the Internet should continue as an open platform," notes the Federal Communications Commission. Yet in a curious twist of logic, the FCC has moved to upend the rules yielding that outcome, imposing "network neutrality" regulations on broadband-access providers. The new mandates purport to prevent Internet "gatekeepers" by prohibiting networks from favoring certain applications. In this comprehensive Broadside, Thomas W. Hazlett explains the faulty economic logic behind the FCC's regulations. The "open Internet"--thriving without such mandates--allows consumers, investors, and entrepreneurs to choose the best platforms and products, testing rival business models. Networks are actively (and efficiently) involved in managing traffic and promoting popular applications, making the entire ecosystem more valuable. This is a spontaneous market process, not a planned structure, and the commission's restrictions threaten to stifle innovation and economic growth.
Cover -- Half Title -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction: Magic and Cacophony -- PART ONE: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE -- 1 Dances with Regulators -- 2 Etheric Bedlam -- 3 Protection by Subtraction -- 4 Myth Calculation -- 5 Eureka-nomics -- PART TWO: SILENCE OF THE ENTRANTS -- 6 The Death of DuMont -- 7 "Thank God for C-SPAN!"--8 Lost in Space -- 9 Baptists, Bootleggers, and LPFM -- PART THREE: ADVENTURES IN CONTENT REGULATION -- 10 Orwell's Revenge: The Fairness Doctrine -- 11 Must Carry This, Shall Not Carry That -- 12 Indecent Exposure -- PART FOUR: SLOUCHING TOWARD FREEDOM -- 13 The Thirty Years' War -- 14 Deal of the Decade -- 15 The Toaster Tsunami -- 16 Dirigiste Backlash -- 17 What Would Coase Do? -- 18 Hoarders Anonymous -- PART FIVE: BEYOND -- 19 The Abolitionists -- 20 Spectrum Policy as if the Future Mattered -- Notes -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- X -- Y -- Z
“There is little dispute that the Internet should continue as an open platform,” notes the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. Yet, in a curious twist of logic, the agency has moved to discontinue the legal regime successfully yielding that magnificent platform. In late 2010, it imposed “network neutrality” regulations on broadband access providers, both wired and wireless. Networks cannot (a) block subscribers’ use of certain devices, applications, or services; (b) unreasonably discriminate, offering superior access for some services over others. The Commission argues that such rules are necessary, as the Internet was designed to bar “gatekeepers.” The view is faulty, both in it engineering claims and its economic conclusions. Networks routinely manage traffic and often bundle content with data transport precisely because such coordination produces superior service. When “walled gardens” emerge, including AOL in 1995, Japan’s DoCoMo iMode in 1999, or Apple’s iPhone in 2007, they often disrupt old business models, thrilling consumers, providing golden opportunities for application developers, advancing Internet growth. In some cases these gardens have dropped their walls; others remain vibrant. The “open Internet” allows consumers, investors, and innovators to choose, discovering efficiencies. The FCC has mistaken that spontaneous market process for a planned market structure, imposing new rules to “protect” what evolved without them.
Cover -- Half Title -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction: Magic and Cacophony -- PART ONE: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE -- 1 Dances with Regulators -- 2 Etheric Bedlam -- 3 Protection by Subtraction -- 4 Myth Calculation -- 5 Eureka-nomics -- PART TWO: SILENCE OF THE ENTRANTS -- 6 The Death of DuMont -- 7 "Thank God for C-SPAN!"--8 Lost in Space -- 9 Baptists, Bootleggers, and LPFM -- PART THREE: ADVENTURES IN CONTENT REGULATION -- 10 Orwell's Revenge: The Fairness Doctrine -- 11 Must Carry This, Shall Not Carry That -- 12 Indecent Exposure -- PART FOUR: SLOUCHING TOWARD FREEDOM -- 13 The Thirty Years' War -- 14 Deal of the Decade -- 15 The Toaster Tsunami -- 16 Dirigiste Backlash -- 17 What Would Coase Do? -- 18 Hoarders Anonymous -- PART FIVE: BEYOND -- 19 The Abolitionists -- 20 Spectrum Policy as if the Future Mattered -- Notes -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- X -- Y -- Z
The authors argue that TV regulation should be based on the same principles used for print media, for which control of editorial content lies in private hands rather than the government.
Clear, provocative, and persuasive, Ever Green is an inspiring call to action to conserve Earth’s irreplaceable wild woods, counteract climate change, and save the planet. Five stunningly large forests remain on Earth: the Taiga, extending from the Pacific Ocean across all of Russia and far-northern Europe; the North American boreal, ranging from Alaska’s Bering seacoast to Canada’s Atlantic shore; the Amazon, covering almost the entirety of South America’s bulge; the Congo, occupying parts of six nations in Africa’s wet equatorial middle; and the island forest of New Guinea, twice the size of California. These megaforests are vital to preserving global biodiversity, thousands of cultures, and a stable climate, as economist John W. Reid and celebrated biologist Thomas E. Lovejoy argue convincingly in Ever Green. Megaforests serve an essential role in decarbonizing the atmosphere—the boreal alone holds 1.8 trillion metric tons of carbon in its deep soils and peat layers, 190 years’ worth of global emissions at 2019 levels—and saving them is the most immediate and affordable large-scale solution to our planet’s most formidable ongoing crisis. Reid and Lovejoy offer practical solutions to address the biggest challenges these forests face, from vastly expanding protected areas, to supporting Indigenous forest stewards, to planning smarter road networks. In gorgeous prose that evokes the majesty of these ancient forests along with the people and animals who inhabit them, Reid and Lovejoy take us on an exhilarating global journey.
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