Ron, Rand Paul Push Internet Freedom

They want the government to keep its hands off
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 5, 2012 4:43 PM CDT
Ron, Rand Paul Push Internet Freedom
Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, accompanied his son Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. campaigns at the Steeple Gate Inn in Davenport, Iowa, Monday, Jan. 2, 2012.   (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Ron Paul and his son Rand are backing a libertarian manifesto seeking to defend the Internet from government regulation. "Around the world, the real threat to Internet freedom comes not from bad people or inefficient markets ... but from governments' foolish attempts to manage and control innovation," says the document, penned by the libertarian group Campaign for Liberty. Both Pauls plan to make the issue a signature one, insiders tell BuzzFeed.

The Campaign for Liberty opposes net neutrality efforts from groups like Free Press, which also call for Internet freedom. The manifesto says such efforts aren't neutral at all, the Hill notes. "They are masters at hijacking the language of freedom and liberty to disingenuously push for more centralized control," the manifesto says. "'Openness' means government control of privately owned infrastructure. 'Net neutrality' means government acting as arbiter and enforcer of what it deems to be 'neutral.'" (More Ron Paul stories.)

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