For bragging rights, the U.S. government often cites its role in the invention of the Internet. But Bill Moyers, in an edition of Moyers & Company this week, wonders how it is that “many other countries offer their citizens faster and cheaper access than we do.” He interviews Susan Crawford, author of the book Captive Audience: The Telecom Industry and Monopoly Power in the New Gilded Age, in which she points out that most Americans are still plugged in with outdated broadband connections rather than the much faster fiber optic technology. An additional 19 million Americans have no access at all to a high-speed Internet connection. Why? Too much support for a monopolized industry and not enough support for consumers, she argues.
Amien Essif is a regular contributor to Working In These Times and maintains a blog called The Gazine, which focuses on consumerism, gentrification, and technology with a Luddite bent. His work has also appeared on the Guardian and CounterPunch. You can find him using Twitter reluctantly: @AmienChicago
