Topic: Internet Bill

The hosts trace the explosion of online pornography back to the Clinton administration's relaxation of enforcement rules in the 1990s. They contrast this with the Reagan and Bush eras, where BBS operators were arrested for distributing adult content. The evolution of the web from Usenet binaries to the Mosaic browser is credited with making adult media accessible to the general public.

Representative Ro Khanna is advocating for an "Internet Bill of Rights" to regulate how tech companies handle personal data. The proposed legislation includes the right to know, transfer, and delete personal information, similar to the EU's GDPR. Khanna also highlights the power of social media for political mobilization, citing the Parkland student activists as a positive example of the platform's influence.

Donald Trump suggested that the U.S. should talk to Bill Gates about "closing up" parts of the internet to prevent ISIS recruitment. This proposal is criticized as technically illiterate, noting that Microsoft was famously late to the internet. The discussion points out that while the media mocks Trump, other government officials like FBI Director James Comey are also seeking ways to regulate or backdoor internet communications.

Comcast's CEO predicts that usage-based billing will be rolled out across the company's footprint within five years. The model involves setting a high "basic level" of usage (e.g., 300-500 GB) and charging for additional "buckets" of data. The hosts argue that this is the inevitable result of net neutrality regulation, as ISPs seek to recoup costs from heavy users like Netflix while maintaining high profit margins.

In a forward-looking statement, Brian Roberts predicts that Comcast will have a "usage-based billing model" rolled out across its entire footprint within five years. He describes pilot programs where users get a base "bucket" of data (e.g., 300GB) and pay for additional increments. Adam highlights this as the "smoking gun" of what the Net Neutrality debate is actually facilitating.

Protests have erupted in Turkey against a new "draconian" internet bill as the Turkish lira hits record lows. The hosts discuss the power struggle between Prime Minister Erdogan and the Gulenist movement, suggesting the unrest may be part of a broader "Turkish Spring" narrative.

Former President Bill Clinton suggested the creation of an independent federal agency, similar to the BBC or NPR, to verify the accuracy of information on heavily visited websites. This "Ring The Bell" agency would be designed to counter falsehoods and protect reputations from online attacks. Clinton emphasized that such an entity would need to be transparent and independent of presidential control to avoid the appearance of government censorship.