The View from Right Field

A Big Year-End Thank You to Our Internet and Wi-Fi Providers

Before Thanksgiving Megan McArdle wrote about her candidate for less obvious hero of 2020: supply-chain managers and operations chiefs; i.e., the men and women who got the toilet paper and meat and rice from the office buildings and restaurants to the grocery stores and homes.

Well, it’s Christmas now, not Thanksgiving, but Christmas is a good time to give thanks, too, so let me give thanks to another group of people who helped get us through this pandemic so far and who we haven’t thought much about.  My candidate is a dog that didn’t bark; i.e., somebody who did their job and who we didn’t notice because nothing much went wrong, even though things changed entirely: The companies that provide us our wi-fi and internet.

Mark Zuckerberg Wants to Be Regulated

Of course, he does, the cynic would say.  It’s the best way to protect himself – and his money.  In an Op-Ed in The Washington Post last week,¹ Mr. Zuckerberg called for regulation of the Internet.  Among other things, he wants “a globally harmonized framework” for privacy and data protection.  He suggests that third party bodies set standards on distribution of harmful content.   And he wants laws on “verifying” those who buy/pay for political ads and political speech.

There will be plenty of legislators willing to take Mr. Zuckerberg up on his request.  There is nothing that many people in Washington like more than passing laws and looking like they are doing something.²  Plus regulating speech on the Internet is a great way for incumbents to protect their jobs.