Strange Allies in Fight for Net -- Tea Party Activists Join Forces with Telecoms

Summary

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WASHINGTON - In the debate over Internet neutrality, tea party and other conservative activists have aligned their interests with those of major telecommunications companies.

Theirs is a strange alliance: By opting for corporate control of the Internet rather than government regulation, tea party activists may be acting against their own best interests, say people knowledgeable about the fight.

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Extract

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Strange Allies in Fight for Net -- Tea Party Activists Join Forces with Telecoms

Last month, many of the groups represented at Glenn Beck's rally at the Lincoln Memorial, including tea party activists and Americans for Prosperity members, wrote to the Federal Communications Commission asking it to abandon attempts to regulate the Internet.

They oppose Net neutrality - the notion that the federal government should establish rules of the road to prevent companies from indiscriminately blocking or slowing traffic for their own competitive advantage.

They asked the FCC, which is considering regulating the Intern...

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