Let's take inventory. Current theory lets speakers censor. Like a monopoly railroad, the phone company offered no content, only conduit. By law, it had to give everyone a phone line, and it could not censor what was said on those lines. Now phone companies want to own the information and the entertainment they carry.
Some courts already think so.
And campaign contributions may win the argument in Congress. We find ourselves arriving a little late in the free-speech day, having already lost our rights to speak through dominant newspapers, broadcast stations, and cable. But insisting on the separation of content and conduit as the Internet becomes privatized may be our best hope for preserving the right of individuals to speak out. Inc. All rights reserved.