KATIE MCAULIFFE
(From The daily caller)
Hungary’s transparent attempt to limit Internet freedom through
taxation brought 100,000 Hungarians into the streets to protest. As of now, the
Hungarian government has put the brakes on an Internet tax.
Why should Americans
be worried about protests in an Eastern European country? A chief cause of
concern for American Internet users is the looming expiration of the Internet
Tax Moratorium (Moratorium) on December 11, 2014. Although Hungary’s
proposed bill could have become the first nationwide Internet tax (seven U.S.
states do tax access), a lapse in the Internet Tax Freedom Act would allow all
states and municipalities to begin taxing Internet usage.
Not only will
Congress allow Internet taxes if the Internet Access Tax Moratorium expires,
the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will allow taxes on the Internet if
the commissioners reclassify it under Title II of the Telecommunications Act of
1996 (Title II).
Hungarian protesters
recognized immediately that any form of an Internet tax, either explicit or
implicit, is about more than just the government seeking another source of
revenue. Limiting a population’s capacity to communicate via the Internet is as
basic an affront to free speech and organization of public protest. Taxation of
the Internet is a clear violation of liberty and freedom of expression.
The tax completely
back fired as citizens took to the streets and their protests gained
international attention. Any steps to infringe on Internet accessibility, no
matter how small the tax or in what country, constitutes an impingement upon
free speech worldwide.
In Hungary over
230,000 citizens joined the protest in some fashion, physically or digitally.
Americans should remain vigilant. The chance that an Internet tax could go into
effect at home is not slim. American activism to protect Internet access should
match and exceed the scale of Hungary’s.
The Republican House
already passed a bill to permanently extend the moratorium, which has been
national policy since 1998. Unfortunately, the Democrat-led Senate wants a
short-term extension rather than permanent one, and is threatening to let the
moratorium expire unless Internet sales tax legislation is part of the package.
The moratorium was
originally set to expire on November 1, right before elections. Instead of
passing a permanent moratorium, Senate Democrats postponed the expiration and
the vote to December 11, during the lame duck. The delayed vote clearly
gives unaccountable legislators the ability to regulate and tax the Internet.
If a failing Senate
isn’t enough, the FCC wants to remove the light touch regulatory barricades
that have been in place since 1996, to reclassify the Internet as a Title II
communications service. Some of these laws date back to 1934.
In short,
reclassification by the FCC means new taxes and fees without a Congressional
vote.
Hungarians spoke out
viscerally against further government interference in their already regulated
communications. Not only will raising taxes on Internet usage limit access, but
it will also allow the government to control the Internet as a utility.
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