53% Oppose FCC Regulation of the Internet

Thanks to Simon for sending this article to me.

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53% Oppose FCC Regulation of the Internet

Friday, April 09, 2010

Just 27% of Americans now believe the Federal Communications Commission should regulate the Internet like it does television and radio. That marks a 22-point drop in support for federal regulation of the Internet since June 2008.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 53% of adults oppose FCC regulation of the Internet, with another 19% not sure whether it’s a good idea or not.

Among those who use the Internet every or nearly every day, opposition to FCC regulation rises to 63%.

Sixty-four percent (64%) of Republicans and 58% of those not affiliated with either major party oppose government regulation of the Internet, while Democrats are closely divided on the question.

A U.S. federal appeals court on Tuesday ruled against an FCC effort to impose so-called “net neutrality” rules on Internet providers which would force them to treat all Web traffic equally. But some Internet providers have been attempting to slow the traffic of major downloaders, arguing that they slow Internet service for other customers.

The court ruling, says The Washington Post, “could prompt the FCC or Congress to write new rules or laws to more concretely establish the agency as a regulator of Internet services.”

Thirty-four percent (34%) of Americans think Internet providers should be able to slow down the downloading of large amounts of material so other customers are not effected. Thirty-eight percent (38%) disagree and say the providers should not be able to slow down those large downloads. Twenty-eight percent (28%) are undecided.

Among those who download music or movies from the Internet several times a week, not surprisingly, 72% say Internet providers should not be able to slow large downloads.

Fifty-one percent (51%) of all adults now say they use the Internet every day or nearly every day, with another 11% who say they use it several times a week. Just 19% say they rarely or never go online, while another 11% describe their Internet usage as occasional.

Sixty-nine percent (69%) of those who use the Internet every day or nearly every day say they rarely or never download music or films. Just seven percent (7%) of these regular Internet users say they download films or music at least once a week.

Opposition to government regulation of the Internet is highest among adults under 40. Fifty-seven percent (57%) of investors oppose such regulation, compared to 50% of non-investors.

Internet usage is highest among those ages 30 to 49.

Only 23% of adults think they personally spend too much time using the Internet, computers and mobile communications devices. But 75% believe young children spend too much time on computers and other electronic equipment.

Personal blogsites are becoming increasingly more common on the Internet, but just 11% of Americans believe that the government should regulate their content.

Forty-six percent (46%) of Americans say they would be less likely to use an Internet gambling site if the site was approved by the government. Only14% say they would be more likely to use a government-sanctioned online gambling site.

Just after last year’s Christmas shopping season, Americans also were more wary about shopping online. Just 49% said they were at least somewhat comfortableusing credit cards for online purchases, down 11 points from the same time in 2008. Nearly as many, 47% were not comfortable using their credit cards for online purchases.

Fifty-four percent (54%) of Americans say violent computer video games leads to more violence in our society.

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I think the term "govt. regulation of the internet" carries a stigma. I don't think people are aware that the alternative to govt control, is corporate control of the internet. It's "either/or", no choice "C." And corporate control, as they will be the first to tell you, means certain sites will download more quickly than others, not due to the amount of content, but due to the site's affiliation with the ISP's telecommunication company ownership. If you're down with Comcast and Comcast is down with you, expect your site to download "like the wind." If you are critical of Comcast or oppose Comcast's view in other arenas, well, you can expect your website won't be viewable in homes that use Comcast as their ISP. The FCC isn't much better, but at least every website would have the opportunity to be viewed no matter who the user's ISP is.-jp