GulMadred posted:

But... that makes it a more useful threat:

• enacting the Sword of Damocles option would be harmful to ISPs but beneficial to taxpayers (i.e. voters)
  • this option can be trotted out whenever the administration wants to distract from a scandal, and may be activated when the President needs a boost in poll numbers (e.g. election season)
  • ISPs have no reason to cooperate, because they see activation as a foregone conclusion. Their rational course of action is to increase their market share (and/or gouge consumers) as much as possible before the inevitable shift in regulations takes effect.
• enacting the Sword of Damocales option would be harmful to everyone
  • the option will exist as a threat, but would not conceivably be activated except to curtail a greater ill (e.g. Comcast bans porno; millions riot immediately; economy crippled)
  • ISPs know that they can avoid the MAD scenario by limiting fuckery to acceptable levels (e.g. throttle BitTorrent, but don't openly sabotage municipal fiber projects; gobble up competitors to create regional monopolies, but don't jack up rates until at least 12 months after the acquisition is complete)