Libertarian-founded tech giants start new lobby group; the 'Internet Association

[Atlas]

http://www.inc.com/flash-steinbeiser/tech-giants-and-startups-join-forces-in-internet-advocacy-group.html

The Internet Association, the Internet's first special interest group, has announced its official roster of members and its policy platform.

The membership includes titans of the tech world: Google, Facebook, Amazon.com, AOL, eBay, Expedia, IAC, LinkedIn, Monster Worldwide, Rackspace, salesforce.com, TripAdvisor, Yahoo! and Zynga.

With forces combined, the 14 companies announced a group platform that has three major goals: Protecting Internet freedom; fostering innovation and economic growth; and empowering the internet user.

"It is the Internet's decentralized and open model that has unleashed unprecedented entrepreneurialism," Capitol Hill veteran and CEO of The Internet Association Michael Beckerman told Reuters. "Policymakers must understand that the preservation of that freedom is essential to the vitality of the Internet itself and the resulting economic prosperity."

According to the announcement, the Association will work to educate policymakers on the Internet’s potential impact on job creation, commerce and the global economy.

The Association said it will work to defend Internet freedoms from any constrictive policies, like the proposed Stop Online Piracy Act that buckled beneath a wave of protest from most internet companies earlier this year. “SOPA and PIPA came almost out of nowhere and would have had a devastating impact,” Beckerman said.

While older tech companies (including Microsoft) have been lobbying in Washington for some time now, Facebook and Google are just two examples of relatively younger tech companies that reportedly have been eager to up their presence on Capitol Hill.

[myrkul]

The Internet Association, the Internet's first special interest group, 

Wouldn't that honor go to The EFF?

[Atlas]

The Internet Association, the Internet's first special interest group, 

Wouldn't that honor go to The EFF?

It seems so but it doesn't represent the corporate interest. ; )

[Charlie Prime]

The Association said it will work to defend Internet freedoms from any constrictive policies

Hahaha!

Microsoft is the third largest U.S. military contractor in the world.  Google works with intelligence agencies.  The rest of those giant corporations get government funding in other ways.

Yeah, I'm sure this new lobbying organization will have Joe User's best interests right at the tippy-top of its list.

[myrkul]

The Association said it will work to defend Internet freedoms from any constrictive policies

Hahaha!

Microsoft is the third largest U.S. military contractor in the world.  Google works with intelligence agencies.  The rest of those giant corporations get government funding in other ways.

Yeah, I'm sure this new lobbying organization will have Joe User's best interests right at the tippy-top of its list.

Yeah, that was pretty much my read on it, too, but they can hardly come out and say "We're going to fuck you over," now can they? It's the same story all over again: "fair" legislation ends up benefiting the companies, and not the users.

I'm going to say it again, guys: EFF all the way, screw these a-holes.

[myrkul]

Are you guys misreading "Internet users"? We (you and I, and other private individuals) are not Internet users from the POV of those companies. They are the Internet users. Notice what the corporations in that top 14 list all have in common? They maintain 'user-bases', which are marketed to third parties such as advertisers and governments.

E.g.:
from Facebook's POV, the social network is the product that they pimp out to advertisers/guvmint.
Ebay/Amazon, etc: similarly, the merchants who sell stuff are their clients, the users of the free service are not.

...And that would be the verbal gymnastics required to turn "We're gonna fuck you." in to "We're empowering the internet user."

[myrkul]

Are you guys misreading "Internet users"? We (you and I, and other private individuals) are not Internet users from the POV of those companies. They are the Internet users. Notice what the corporations in that top 14 list all have in common? They maintain 'user-bases', which are marketed to third parties such as advertisers and governments.

E.g.:
from Facebook's POV, the social network is the product that they pimp out to advertisers/guvmint.
Ebay/Amazon, etc: similarly, the merchants who sell stuff are their clients, the users of the free service are not.

...And that would be the verbal gymnastics required to turn "We're gonna fuck you." in to "We're empowering the internet user."

Precisely!

Yay! We agree on something! TGIF

Today seems to be the day for that.

Can't wait to see the showdown between these guys and the EFF.

[myrkul]

Can't wait to see the showdown between these guys and the EFF.

For some reason my mind is conjuring up images of a Medieval re-enactment party with soft plastic swords, at best. 404 errors if things go badly.

lol... the Braveheart battle scene with boffer swords and Nerf guns.