@bkcunningham Regarding the legality of the FCC regulating the Internet, the agency is a part of the Executive branch, whose job is to put the laws passed by the Congressional branch into action and to enforce them. The FCC is acting under broad provisions that Congress enacted to ensure the First Amendment provision to allow freedom of speech and press are upheld in all forms of communication technology. The Constitution does not say Congress shall make no law… “abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press that is profitable to large corporations”. It just says “abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press,” period. There is nothing in the Constitution defining speech as involving written communications on paper and speech on radio and TV as separate from that carried on the Internet.
But a court that determines that Corporations are persons and entitled to the rights of citizens is likely to put profit ahead of people (or at least the kind of people that aren’t large corporations funneling masses of money to the Republicans that packed the court with Con Men.
Verizon and others have already mounted legal challenges. The corporate greed boys are arguing that the FCC overstepped it’s authority. Since greed is good, anything that impedes satisfying it must be bad. Consumer and public advocates are suing on the opposite side of the issue, saying that the FCC didn’t go far enough. They argue that the FCC should apply the rules toi wireless carriers as well. So now the Judicial branch gets to play their appointed role in governance. Let the games begin.