Technology

Is Net Neutrality A Good Thing? A Conversation With Union Square Ventures' Nick Grossman

The idea to preserve net neutrality and the “open Internet” was a hotly contested issue, and, judging from the rhetoric in the blogo-twitter-sphere, there was very little room for error.

By  
on

Ed. note: This is the latest post by Above the Law’s guest conversationalist, Zach Abramowitz, of conversation platform ReplyAll. You can see some of his other conversations and musings here.

If you haven’t been on Twitter in the last week or seen the John Oliver video, you might not know about net neutrality or the important vote that took place at the FCC last week. Last week, the FCC voted 3-2 to reclassify the Internet under Title II of the Communications Act to to outlaw certain conduct by ISP’s (throttling, blocking, and paid prioritization). The idea to preserve net neutrality and the “open Internet” was a hotly contested issue, and, judging from the rhetoric in the blogo-twitter-sphere, there was very little room for error. You either believe that, without net neutrality, the open playing field that has allowed small startups to challenge big companies will cease to exist, or you believe that net neutrality will allow the government to do what it always does: ruin everything it touches (their words not mine).

I’ve read, watched, and listened to way more information about net neutrality than I ever wanted to, and I still have no clarity on the issue. So, I’m bringing in the big guns. Nick Grossman is the general manager at Union Square Ventures, the New York-based mega fund whose portfolio of Internet companies includes Twitter, Tumblr, and Disqus, the commenting platform below this conversation that lets you commenters skewer me for my entitled attitude and funny looking hair. Nick wrote a post on USV’s blog recently detailing why USV is in favor of the FCC’s vote and he’s been nice enough to join me here on ATL to help us understand the issue more clearly.

Zach Abramowitz is a former Biglaw associate and currently CEO and co-founder of ReplyAll. You can follow Zach on Twitter (@zachabramowitz) or reach him by email at [email protected].

Sponsored

CRM Banner

Topics

, , , ,