Cass Sunstein, Obama "regulatory czar", proposed "fairness doctrine" for internet

From this:

Barack Obama's nominee for "regulatory czar" (Cass Sunstein) has advocated a "Fairness Doctrine" for the Internet that would require opposing opinions be linked and also has suggested angry e-mails should be prevented from being sent by technology that would require a 24-hour cooling off period... Sunstein first proposed the notion of imposing mandatory "electronic sidewalks" for the Net. These "sidewalks" would display links to opposing viewpoints... Later, Sunstein rethought his proposal, explaining that it would be "too difficult to regulate [the Internet] in a way that would respond to those concerns." He also acknowledged that it was "almost certainly unconstitutional."

There's a longer treatment of these issues here. It's important to note that some of the proposals above and the others at WND (such as banning hunting and gun control) may be positions he no longer holds or positions that were mostly rhetorical in nature. However, no doubt the positions he'll hold if nominated will have some of the same underlying features.

Tue, 04/28/2009 - 07:30 · · Importance: 4