On Monday, I did a Google search of the 25 most recent online editorials about Net Neutrality (using Google News, doing a search for “net neutrality” and searching only for editorials), and the 25 most recent blog posts about it on blogsearch.google.com that argued a position on it.

Of the editorials, 68% of them (17) were pro-Net Neutrality, 20% (5) were anti-Net Neutrality, and 12% (3) were neutral or criticized both sides.

The statistics for blog posts were even more skewed: 88% (22) were pro-Net Neutrality, 8% (2) were anti-Net Neutrality, and 4% (1) was even-handed. (There was some overlap in that some posts showed up in both samples.)

Now, the majority is not always right - God knows I have said that many times as the guy arguing for emancipation of people under 18 - but in this case it’s a good sign for Net Neutrality proponents.

One thing I noticed though was that almost none of the articles - on either the pro or anti side - pointed out that ISPs have silently blocked Web sites in the past. Two of the anti-Net Neutrality articles specifically made claims to the contrary:

“Internet service providers have voluntarily upheld content-neutral practices without the need for government intervention.”

“It is generally agreed that except for a few isolated and quickly remedied incidents, neither the cable operators nor the telephone companies providing broadband Internet services have blocked, impaired or otherwise restricted subscriber access to the content of unaffiliated entities.”

To be fair, the authors probably hadn’t heard about Paul Vixie’s “boycott list” and AboveNet and TeleGlobe blocking access to our site for over a year (and, let it be said, such behavior by a backbone operator was the exception rather than the rule). On the other side, however, I’m worried that Net Neutrality advocates might be weakening their argument by casting this as something that might happen rather than as something that actually has happened, in spite of existing anti-fraud laws, anti-trust laws, and “market forces.”

Here is the breakdown of the articles and blog posts that I viewed:

EDITORIALS (Google News search for “net neutrality,” sorted by date, first 25 editorials found)

Pro-Net Neutrality:
Schumer on Net Neutrality
Don’t tie ‘net access to wealth
Net neutrality already written into telco law
Recent Windows update a real bugger/Byte by Bite
DCIA Wants A Neutral Net
Still more in Net Neutrality wars
Net points
Net neutrality gets new angle
More astroturfing on net neutrality issue
Don’t rig the Internet
The ‘American Consumer Institute’
Congress Poised to Unravel the Internet
(No longer available)
Asymmetric Language
Net neutrality? Look who gets your money
Congress Poised to Unravel the Internet
Net Neutrality: Why You Should Contact Your Senators

Anti-Net Neutrality:
eBay vs. Google: Goliaths Battle Over Checkout
Nixing Net Neutrality
Bill would help U.S. catch up with Internet age

Neutral / Even-handed:
Note To Telcos: Please Get Better Shills
Federal Trade Commission to Weigh In on Net Neutrality
United States: Net Neutrality: At Stake, the Future of Content on the Internet

BLOG POSTS (blogsearch.google.com search for “net neutrality,” sorted by date, first 25 blog posts found that were not simply links to news items with no opinion added):

Pro-Net Neutrality:
My Congresswoman Supports Clean Energy… Horray!
The Internet of Tomorrow
Schumer On Net Neutrality
Schumer Comes Out For Net Neutrality
Net neutrality
Net Neutrality Faces Biased FTC
The Wall Street Journal Is Wrong: The US Doesn’t Have Competitive Telecom
Net Neutrality Act… Extremely important to all the sites you go to…
Net Neutrality
Network Neutrality: A 25-Year Perspective
The Internet of Tomorrow
We’re all the Internet
More astroturfing on net neutrality issue
Save the Internet
Don’t tie ‘net access to wealth
Schumer on the Internet
I’m the Internet, you’re the Internet
We’ve Been Heard on Net Neutrality… Now Show the Nation We Stand United in Buffalo!
p2p industry association supports net neutrality
Congress is on Vacation, but Net Neutrality Activists Aren’t
Net Neutrality
Fighting for Net Neutrality and Internet Freedom

Anti-Net Neutrality:
Ebay, Homeschoolers, and “Net Neutrality”
FTC Enters Net Neutrality Debate

Neutral / Even-handed:
Note To Telcos: Please Get Better Shills

[Bennett Haselton]