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[ NNSquad ] Re: Sen. Franken to the Netroots: Only You Can Stop the Corporate Takeover of Free Speech


On Jul 26, 2010, at 5:40pm, Richard Bennett wrote:
> All communications infrastructure has a quasi-public nature, whether it's IP, broadcast TV, or radio, and for that reason it's all regulated. That doesn't bring the First Amendment into the picture, however; it involves the Communications Act, the Commerce Clause, and anti-trust law. The use of the First Amendment doesn't advance the debate.

But IP isn't broadcast, like TV or radio, or point-to-point, like the telephone -- it's both and more.  The closest cousin with respect to public discourse might be the Postal Service, but precedents won't carry over very well there either because of the radical speed and cost differences.  This is a new animal -- that's why the tenets upon which our society is built, like the First Amendment, need to be considered as part of the discussion.

Ed


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   Edward Almasy                                     ealmasy@scout.wisc.edu
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