Lacking a Stick, Google Speaks Harshly

Vint Cerf, Google VP and Chief Internet Evangelist, announced Tuesday in Bulgaria that if a network neutrality amendment is not passed by Congress the company will readily file anti-trust complaints against network operators that discriminate against content providers.  Yet if the discrimination is already illegal and can be prosecuted under existing laws, one wonders why a strong network neutrality amendment is necessary.  Indeed the public push for government coerced neutrality by multi-billion dollar companies like Google and Microsoft and the intense response of many suggest that widely available and disseminated information about the practices of broadband providers would be more than sufficient to maintain the open nature of the internet that consumers crave, demand, and enjoy and which has rarely if ever been denied to them.  It is unfortunate that Google does not believe in the marketplace of ideas and the intelligence of its consumers to make their own decisions and instead turns to the big stick of government instead of using persuasion.  One should expect more from the people supporting net neutrality who claim that they believe in the free exchange of ideas.