Unless you are Amish or a hermit, the internet really is a necessity
Someone drag
this jackass into the 21st century, please.
Federal Communications Commission member Michael O’Rielly yesterday argued that "Internet access is not a necessity or human right" and called this one of the most important "principles for regulators to consider as it relates to the Internet and our broadband economy."
In other words, since he thinks the internet is totally optional in this day and age, regulators should basically ignore the needs of people to have access to it.
[P]eople do a disservice by overstating [the internet's] relevancy or stature in people’s lives. People can and do live without Internet access, and many lead very successful lives.
Hermits can live successful lives, sure, but that's not what the modern economy is built on. It should go without saying that those without access to the internet are economically disadvantaged. Indeed, one of the problems with the digital divide (in which communities of color were less likely to be online) was the widening economic gap between those with access and those without. This is not controversial stuff. If you aren't online, you aren't part of modern society.
What chafes Republicans like O'Rielly is that the needs of people are being put ahead of the desires of Comcast, Verizon, and the rest of the industry heavyweights. That is deeply offensive stuff to conservatives, a violation of their very core philosophy.