I have always followed the rule that one need know only the funding behind propositions and candidates to know what to vote against: the side with the laughably small funding probably best represents the interests of the vast majority of the populus. The oligarchs, as always, have their shills. Telco (telephone company) funding of front groups opposed to internet network neutrality, as reported by Common Cause, should, therefore, come as no surprise (Wikipedia network neutrality introduction).

The Common Cause site provides a revealing look at each of the front groups. For example, there is a description of the deceptive advertising of HOTI (Hands Off the Internet), a group that includes BellSouth, Cingular, and AT&T:

With its pithy name, viral web cartoons, high profile spokesman (former White House press secretary Mike McCurry) and barrage of print and television advertising, HOTI has been effectively injecting the telephone industry’s arguments on net neutrality into the public debate in recent months.

And they manage to do it while hiding their relationship with their corporate backers. K Street Confidential columnist Jeffrey Birnbaum wrote in The Washington Post that “no one can determine who is supporting Hands Off the Internet by looking at its ads alone. To find out, one must dig into its Web site.”[1]

Not surprisingly, the Common Cause report continues, HOTI poses as a wolf in sheep’s clothing, and fundamentally misrepresents the issue at hand:

HOTI ads “are the epitome of doublespeak,” according to Birnbaum.[4] For example, one print ad attempts to frame the Hands Off the Internet message in pro-consumer terms. “Net neutrality means consumers will be stuck paying more for their Internet access to cover the big online companies’ share,” the ad claims.[5] But every major consumer group supports net neutrality, and opposes HOTI’s plan to give telephone and cable companies gatekeeper status over the Internet.[6]

HOTI’s web-based advertising campaigns look and feel like something a consumer or grassroots group might publish. Their catchy, flash animation web videos try to persuade citizens that the government and Google are trying to control the Internet through net neutrality. The benefits that would accrue to the telephone and cable industry if telecom legislation passes without net neutrality language are never discussed, of course.

Learn more: visit Save the Internet’s FAQ.

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 12th, 2006 at 9:53 pm and is filed under Digital Rights / Digital Wrongs, General, Internet, Network Neutrality, Pigopoly. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.