Capable Quote by Michael Copps
“If you have an internet service provider that's capable of slowing down other sites, or putting other sites out of business, or favoring their own friends and affiliates and customers who can pay for fast lanes, that's a horrible infringement on free speech. It's censorship by media monopolies. It's tragic: here we have a technology, the internet, that's capable really of being the town square of democracy, paved with broadband bricks, and we are letting it be taken over by a few gatekeepers. This is a first amendment issue; it's free speech versus corporate censorship.”
About This Quote
Source Speech: Testimony before the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee, 2010
The quote warns that ISPs that prioritize or block content threaten free speech, turning the internet into a censored platform controlled by a few powerful companies.
In simple terms: ISPs can censor by favoring some sites over others, harming free expression.
Key Takeaway
Demand net neutrality and regulatory oversight.
Themes
free speech
corporate power
media control
Mood
concerned
urgent
Type
political
activist
When to use this quote
- policy advocacy
- consumer awareness
- legislative hearings
Key Concepts
net neutrality
first amendment
digital democracy
Questions to Reflect On
- How can citizens ensure open internet access?
- What role should government play in regulating ISPs?
A Different Perspective
Regulation may stifle innovation or be hard to enforce globally.
![“Every man — in the development of his own personality — has the right to form his own beliefs and opinions. Hence, suppression of belief, opinion and expression is an affront to the dignity of man, a negation of man’s essential nature." [ Toward a General Theory of the First Amendment (1963)]” quote by Thomas Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/a43/thomas-emerson-282924_beliefs_every-man-in-the-development-of-his-own_469388.jpg)
![“[Confiscating a book and punishing its author] is a sign that one does not have a good case, or at least doesn't trust it enough to defend it with reasons and refute the objections. Some people even go so far as to consider prohibited or confiscated books to be the best ones of all, for the…” quote by Laszlo Radvanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/7c9/laszlo-radvanyi-189846_being-the-best_confiscating-a-book-and-punishing-its-au_217917.jpg)
![“[The Community's] crosses and trials give me confidence. But I derive my hope above all, and most especially, from our utter incapacity, for it is always upon nothingness that God is pleased to rear His works. If at any day we accomplish some good here, the glory will certainly be His alone, since…” quote by Theodore Guerin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/2b8/theodore-guerin-54729_accomplish_the-community-s-crosses-and-trials-give_7176.jpg)
