People spend a lot of time about whining about the internet. But really they miss the point all together. The internet is a transportation system and the common carrier rules that apply to it are similar to that of any transport system so I will use some analogies with common transport systems which have the benefit of having been around for a long time.
- As a common carrier, the people who supply the basic internet, such as telecommunications companies and ISPs have the same role as other carriers like, the post office, bus, train and airline companies. They are obliged to carry whoever and what ever they are requested to. They are not allowed to open your baggage or mail and sift through it, keep copies or reject it unless requested to do so by an approved government agency, such as the police. These sorts of rules should also imply to the internet. In fact, if the laws were well written they would automatically also cover the internet.
- The post office is not allowed to reject mail becuase it came from a suspected child pornographer or came from a country that is considered an enemy of the state, let alone becuase it contains paper with dangerous images or thoughts. However, they do expect you to sign a declaration that what you are sending does not contain dangerous (and in this case specifically physically dangerous) goods. Something similar should apply to the internet and it is why it should be free. After all, then who decides what is or is not a dangerous idea?
- I have never seen on a car rental agreement a reasonable use clause that states that I am not allowed to use the car, say for transporting drugs, transporting stolen goods, kidnappings, murders, suicides or smash and grab runs. So I wonder why there are all these reasonable use clauses in ISP services. Is it just that they let a bunch of overzealous lawyers onto the case? Why is my ISP deciding what I should use the product for? That is the job of the law enforcement agencies. I can understand clauses about using a normal line as an internet cafe line as it impacts materially on the service provider.