
Congress took $101M in donations from the ISP industry - PleaseHelpMe
https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/11/16746230/net-neutrality-fcc-isp-congress-campaign-contribution
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gjem97
I've always been confused about stories like this. My understanding is that
companies cannot give directly to campaigns. So, can someone please ELI5 the
exact mechanism by which influence is exerted in these cases? For example, if
we're talking about employees of the companies giving to campaigns, they're
capped at a small number of thousands of dollars per person, and it seems
unlikely that a member of congress would look at the long list of donations
and (consciously or subconciously) favor the company that they work for.

What are we really talking about here?

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sorrymate
Money is a pretty good predictor of who will win elections. The idea is that
Congress is constantly seeking re-election. And because campaigning is so
expensive (TV ads, signage, events, staff etc...). You gain influence by
either changing the laws, or changing the congressional representative. You do
this by donating to those candidates that will favor the ISP providers cause.
And because money has such a large impact on who wins elections, by donating
more to ISP sympathizers, you gain influence.

Its not that the congress members are looking at who specifically donated.
Rather its the other way around. ISP companies pick a pony and bet on their
horse.

Money wins elections: [https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/money-pretty-
good-pred...](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/money-pretty-good-
predictor-will-win-elections)

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gjem97
That makes sense, but it is certainly the opposite of the narrative that is
advanced in pieces like this: that the compliance of a given representative is
purchased with dollars. But I guess what you're saying is that the compliance
of the congress as a whole is what matters.

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notyourday
Each of Facebook, Google, Apple etc could single handedly write a billion
dollar checks and put their money where their pro NN mouths are. They did not.
NN is just a popular value signaling for FB, Google, Apple, etc. Nothing more.

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ksk
But they've discovered its cheaper to get their 'users' to do their work for
them.

"What do you mean zero cost?! You're telling me the users are going to simply
give us this data themselves?" -Overheard in a VC meeting two decades ago

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diogenescynic
These “donations” are bribes. Let’s stop splitting hairs.

