[Originally Appearing on the National Post / Financial Post website] Hype aside, network neutrality violations haven’t happened, and aren’t likely to “Network Neutrality†has become a headline-grabbing subject of late. Internet advocates warn that if regulatory rules are not imposed (and strictly enforced) to preserve a “neutral†Internet, cable and phone companies will have the…

[Originally Appearing on the Financial Post website] In The Evolution of Everything, British scientist Matt Ridley observes that many of our large and defining systems — the economy, technology, the human population — have no central planners. Rather, they evolve in a bottom-up way and produce surprisingly wonderful results without anyone intending them. But when…

[Originally Appearing on the National Post / Financial Post website] Is the U.S. about to kill the open Internet and will Canada save it? The new chair of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) plans to jettison America’s “net neutrality†regulations and replace them with guidelines. The New York Times, in a spirited editorial headline…

[Originally Appearing on the New York Times website] TORONTO — The Federal Communications Commission is planning to jettison its network neutrality rules, and many Americans are distraught. Such a move, the Electronic Frontier Foundation warned, “invites a future where only the largest internet, cable and telephone companies survive, while every start-up, small business and new…

Two years ago, in another op-ed, I made an unpopular prediction. I guessed that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)’s plan to scrap network neutrality rules in the United States would not break the internet. In fact, contrary to the dire forecasts of pro-regulation groups, I thought the measure wouldn’t amount to much of anything: that…