Hoover Institution Press today released The Illusion of Net Neutrality: Political Alarmism, Regulatory Creep, and the Real Threat to Internet Freedom, by Bob Zelnick and Eva Zelnick.  In this book, the authors examine the ongoing battle between private industry and government regulators for ownership and control of the Internet.  They point out that the battle centers on a concept known as “network neutrality,” which is not as benign as it sounds.  Calling on a number of riveting examples, the Zelnicks sound the alarm on the ever-growing threat of Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulation of the Internet and the way in which government oversight would strip the Internet of its full potential. 

“In this insightful exploration of the most radioactive information-technology policy debate of our time, the Zelnicks explain why the push for net neutrality regulation could decimate the Internet economy by discouraging ongoing innovation and investment,” said Adam Thierer, senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.  “Their meticulous history of the FCC’s shenanigans over the past century also serves as a powerful cautionary tale of what we can expect going forward if policy makers start smothering the net in layers of regulatory red tape.”

In The Illusion of Net Neutrality, the Zelnicks point out that, as an open, unregulated enterprise, the Internet continues to expand and change at an unprecedented pace.  They explain the importance of network providers’ having total freedom to manage their networks as they see fit in order to promote efficiency and innovation, and give examples of how FCC regulations will halt  the Internet’s growth, just as it stymied the development of other important technologies, such as  the telephone and cable. Although individuals and groups from both the private and the public sectors and from both sides of the political ideological divide are advocating that the FCC bring the Internet under its regulatory wing, the Zelnicks lay out a strong argument for allowing the Internet to continue to thrive and evolve in the same unregulated manner as it has, which made it what it is today.. 

“Like the web itself, former television news veterans Bob and Eva Zelnick take the reader seamlessly from node to node as they address the technology, economics, and politics behind net neutrality,” said James Gattuso, senior research fellow in regulatory policy at the Heritage Foundation.  “Clearly written and fact-filled, The Illusion of Net Neutrality brings into sharp focus the debate over the government’s role in the digital world. Must-reading for anyone concerned about the future of Internet freedom.”

Bob Zelnick is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution and a professor of national and international affairs at Boston University, where his course on media law and ethics is a student favorite. Before joining Boston University, Zelnick spent twenty-one years with ABC as a news correspondent and won two Emmys for his work in journalism.

Eva Zelnick, who specializes in public policy and technology-related issues, is an assistant district attorney in Massachusetts and a former television news producer.  She is a cum laude graduate of the University of Virginia and Boston University’s School of Law.

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