Internet Firms Raise Profile on Capitol Hill

Carl Bialik from the WSJ writes "Internet companies have long been dwarfed in Washington by the lobbying might of telecoms. But now some firms are beefing up their D.C. operations, the Wall Street Journal reports, partly in an effort to push legislation that would prevent telephone companies from charging Internet companies for guaranteed fast delivery of Internet content. A telecom lawyer hired by Google last summer to build the company's Washington office tells the WSJ, 'Carrier control over Internet activity is bad for consumers. ... We're not worried consumers won't be able to reach Google. The real threat is to the next Google and to the services that are important for consumers.'"

Comments

Lobbyists are just bad

[Rooked_One]

if we want to ever have a decent form of government, we can't have the big corps making all the rules. We are "THE PEOPLE" and when "A COUPLE OF PEOPLE" are making the rules instead of us, then why don't we just bend over for them to save some time. ;(

Re:Lobbyists are just bad

[Neoprofin]

Actually there are a lot of perfectly justifiable reasons to have lobbyist, what you're you're against seems to be the corrupt state the lobbying has reached today where it has become more of a way for the rich to influence those in power with a golf trip rather than paying someone to make sure congressmen know how things effect your interests. There are limits to the effects and logistics of letter writing campaigns.

If your company is involved with in international trade (say Kodak) and you think that curretn trade laws are being exploited by your competition (say Fuji) how would you tell congress that the laws need to be looked at? Have all your employees take a day off to write to their congressmen? No, you hire a lobbyist to get the attention of some power people and tell them you're being screwed. Of course right after he leaves the Fuji lobbyist will be right in there saying that nothing they've done is unfair and no action needs to be taken. The same system applies for political action campaigns like gun control or environmental issues as well as for the big companies looking to protect their market.

There is nothing wrong with teh practice of lobbying, there is certainly something wrong with the Money For Votes program that exists today.

The machine changes hands...

[TheNoxx]

Whenever the structure of power and technology changes, there is a brief opening window to actually implement good change. I would advise that people up their efforts of letter writing and such to Capitol Hill, as the newly refashioned, malleable nature of the machine makes it vulnerable to ensuring good.

Re:Ironic? The real hypocrisy - China

[saskboy]

"Company shitting all over US law = BAD COMPANY! NO! STAY!
Company shitting all over China law = GO DEMOCRACY!"

I think maybe you misunderstood me. Google is the hypocrite here, they are in the USA saying that carrier control of the Internet will stifle capitalism [which most people equate with democracy]. Yet just this week in China they were willing to censor the world's Internet content that they are [essentially the monoploy] carrier of.

How exactly is my view of this hypocritical, and why isn't Google's as you see it?

I'm starting to think....

[Statecraftsman]

that politics.slashdot.org is their most important subdomain.

Politics is what happens when more than 2 people get together to do something. At this point there are a whole lot more than 2 people on the internet and controlling the wires and running the servers and administering the routers.

It's time the bloggers and the users of the internet start lobbying for themselves....no not buying golfing trips but educating congress, educating the administrative branch, and educating the judiciary. Only through education can our government regulate the internet that they(Al Gore) created. Only through education can the internet's contribution to free society and the efficient spread of information be fully realized.