So what do you think about the scuttlebutt of Musk interfering in Ukraine?

Thu Sep 14 03:10:51 UTC 2023

On Wed, Sep 13, 2023 at 5:47 PM Michael Thomas <mike at mtcc.com> wrote:
> Doesn't this bump up against common carrier protections?

Hi Michael,

Internet providers aren't common carriers. If they were, it'd be
unlawful to stop your customers from sending email spam that was
merely offensive rather than illegal. It's also why Internet providers
aren't required to follow network neutrality. Internet providers gain
their immunity through section 230 and the DMCA instead.

Common carrier status typically applies to shipping companies and
basic telephone service. Part of the mess with unwanted phone calls is
that the caller has to break the law (e.g. by calling a number on the
do-not-call list) before the phone company is allowed to act against
them.

> I sure don't
> want my utilities weaponizing their monopoly status to the whims of any
> random narcissist billionaire.

Starlink isn't a monopoly. Ukraine could have guided their munitions
with Iridium or another satellite Internet system.

That said, volunteering services to the military of a nation at war
and then pulling the rug out from under them is so classless, one
wonders if Musk isn't trying to build a communist utopia.

Regards,
Bill Herrin

-- 
William Herrin
bill at herrin.us
https://bill.herrin.us/