[12678] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
Re: EFF and the big bad T (tax) word [medium but fun]
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Bill Frezza (via RadioMail))
Thu May 26 02:47:40 1994
Date: Wed, 25 May 1994 13:04:57 PDT
From: Bill Frezza (via RadioMail) <frezza@radiomail.net>
To: djw@eff.org, com-priv@psi.com, alt-politics-datahighway@cs.utexas.edu
Dan,
Thank you for your posting.
Thank you for admitting, in your own tortuous way, that the EFF supports
an info-tax to fund direct subsidization of network access.
I enjoy lively disagreements but I don't like being called a liar.
Please inform your on-line activist of your organization's support for a
tax as well as direct subsidies. He has been denying it causing much confusion.
Now that we have established what you are and the means with which you
intend to pursue the "new social contract" described in OP 2.0, a
few questions on the details.
1) Who gets socked with this tax? All Internet access companies? On-line
service providers like AOL and Compuserve? Cable TV operators?
Information publishers? All end-users? Only end-users that make over $100k
per year? Modem manufacturers? All taxpayers, period? None of the above?
All of the above?
2) Who decides how to distribute this money to deserving information
have-nots? Will the money go only to end-users or will the money also go
to worthy not-for-profit companies that offer "socially desirable" services
that compete with crass commercial services offered by greedy for-profit
companies? Will a cyber branch of PBS be set up with this money?
3) Just how much money are we talking about here? Have you done a ballpark
estimate on how much will be required to support "the needy." Does this
include only operating costs or construction costs for loss-making
branches of the Information Superhighway as well?
4) What are the criteria for obtaining an info-entitlement besides "need"?
Does one have to demonstrate a history of past marginalization? Will there
be specific set-asides based on race, gender, and other such criteria
similar to those being proposed for PCS spectrum?
5) What strings are attached to this money when it is handed out? Will
recipients only be allowed to access "wholesome" info with restrictions
similar to those that disallow the use of food stamps to buy cigarettes?
6) Should we expect a big debate on whether subsidized information
have-nots can access on-line abortion counseling services or whether
subsidized cyber-artists can publish "objectionable" art? Is all of this
fun coming to the net? Do you guys get to spend the rest of your lives
testifying on these weighty issues? Is this what the EFF calls civilizing
cyberspace?
Hang in there, Danny, this is just the beginning.
Regards,
Your favorite pernicious ankle biter
