President Donald Trump introduces U.S. Circuit Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh as his nominee to the United States Supreme Court during an event in the East Room of the White House July 9, 2018 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
Jul 10, 2018
In addition to the mountain of much-discussed reasons the American public should be alarmed by President Donald Trump's Supreme Court pick Brett Kavanaugh--from his anti-abortion views to his past opinions favoring the interests of big polluters--advocacy groups are warning that the 53-year-old judge's established record of hostility to net neutrality and support for mass surveillance shows that his confirmation would spell "disaster for internet freedom."
"Trump's SCOTUS pick Brett Kavanaugh is an enemy of net neutrality and has sided with big cable companies in the lower courts," noted Demand Progress on Twitter following Trump's official selection of Kavanaugh Monday night, citing his previous argument that net neutrality rules violate the free speech of internet service providers.
\u201cTrump's SCOTUS pick #BrettKavanaugh is an enemy of #NetNeutrality and has sided with big cable companies in the lower courts. 86% of Americans support a free and open internet, this guy clearly doesn't. https://t.co/aZk8dhL1GX\u201d— Demand Progress (@Demand Progress) 1531184815
In an analysis of Kavanaugh's past opinions late Monday--which include his assertion that net neutrality rules are "unlawful and must be vacated"--Slate's April Glaser notes how the record of Trump's pick for the court reveals a judge who is vastly more "sympathetic to the handful of companies that control the internet...than to the hundreds of millions of Americans who use it."
"Judge Brett Kavanaugh is notorious for his hostility to international law and infamously ruled in favor of the NSA's expansive and illegal dragnet surveillance program."
--Jamil Dakwar, ACLU
While the net neutrality protections established in 2015 were officially rolled back by FCC chair and former Verizon lawyer Ajit Pai last month, this telecom-backed move is facing a slew of legal challenges from advocacy groups and state attorneys general that could ultimately make it to the nation's highest court.
"If any of those cases do make it to the Supreme Court, Kavanaugh probably feels that net neutrality isn't something the federal government should take strides to preserve," Glaser writes.
While Kavanaugh's past rulings as a federal appeals court judge demonstrate his concern for the rights of giant corporations, they also lay bare his apparent contempt for the privacy rights of Americans.
As Politicoreported ahead of his nomination, Kavanaugh "has a history of embracing warrantless surveillance and rejecting Fourth Amendment challenges to it."
In a concurring opinion in 2015, Kavanaugh argued that the National Security Agency's warrentless metadata collection program--which was exposed by whistleblower Edward Snowden in 2013--is "consistent with the Fourth Amendment" and insisted that "critical national security need outweighs the impact on privacy occasioned by this program."
\u201cJudge Brett #Kavanaugh is notorious for his hostility to int\u2019l law and infamously ruled in favor of the NSA\u2019s expansive and illegal dragnet surveillance program. Judge Kavanaugh held that the Government\u2019s metadata collection program is entirely consistent with the 4th Amendment.\u201d— Jamil Dakwar (@Jamil Dakwar) 1531184869
Glaser of Slate argued that, if confirmed by the Senate, Kavanaugh will "cement a conservative majority that is likely to agree that the government should be allowed to make broad requests to access the data that companies collect on us without a warrant."
"Many of the major problems we have on the internet today--dragnet corporate and government surveillance, a handful of powerful companies that are allowed to control how we use the internet--could be deepened by a Supreme Court justice who could well be there for decades," Glaser concluded.
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
In addition to the mountain of much-discussed reasons the American public should be alarmed by President Donald Trump's Supreme Court pick Brett Kavanaugh--from his anti-abortion views to his past opinions favoring the interests of big polluters--advocacy groups are warning that the 53-year-old judge's established record of hostility to net neutrality and support for mass surveillance shows that his confirmation would spell "disaster for internet freedom."
"Trump's SCOTUS pick Brett Kavanaugh is an enemy of net neutrality and has sided with big cable companies in the lower courts," noted Demand Progress on Twitter following Trump's official selection of Kavanaugh Monday night, citing his previous argument that net neutrality rules violate the free speech of internet service providers.
\u201cTrump's SCOTUS pick #BrettKavanaugh is an enemy of #NetNeutrality and has sided with big cable companies in the lower courts. 86% of Americans support a free and open internet, this guy clearly doesn't. https://t.co/aZk8dhL1GX\u201d— Demand Progress (@Demand Progress) 1531184815
In an analysis of Kavanaugh's past opinions late Monday--which include his assertion that net neutrality rules are "unlawful and must be vacated"--Slate's April Glaser notes how the record of Trump's pick for the court reveals a judge who is vastly more "sympathetic to the handful of companies that control the internet...than to the hundreds of millions of Americans who use it."
"Judge Brett Kavanaugh is notorious for his hostility to international law and infamously ruled in favor of the NSA's expansive and illegal dragnet surveillance program."
--Jamil Dakwar, ACLU
While the net neutrality protections established in 2015 were officially rolled back by FCC chair and former Verizon lawyer Ajit Pai last month, this telecom-backed move is facing a slew of legal challenges from advocacy groups and state attorneys general that could ultimately make it to the nation's highest court.
"If any of those cases do make it to the Supreme Court, Kavanaugh probably feels that net neutrality isn't something the federal government should take strides to preserve," Glaser writes.
While Kavanaugh's past rulings as a federal appeals court judge demonstrate his concern for the rights of giant corporations, they also lay bare his apparent contempt for the privacy rights of Americans.
As Politicoreported ahead of his nomination, Kavanaugh "has a history of embracing warrantless surveillance and rejecting Fourth Amendment challenges to it."
In a concurring opinion in 2015, Kavanaugh argued that the National Security Agency's warrentless metadata collection program--which was exposed by whistleblower Edward Snowden in 2013--is "consistent with the Fourth Amendment" and insisted that "critical national security need outweighs the impact on privacy occasioned by this program."
\u201cJudge Brett #Kavanaugh is notorious for his hostility to int\u2019l law and infamously ruled in favor of the NSA\u2019s expansive and illegal dragnet surveillance program. Judge Kavanaugh held that the Government\u2019s metadata collection program is entirely consistent with the 4th Amendment.\u201d— Jamil Dakwar (@Jamil Dakwar) 1531184869
Glaser of Slate argued that, if confirmed by the Senate, Kavanaugh will "cement a conservative majority that is likely to agree that the government should be allowed to make broad requests to access the data that companies collect on us without a warrant."
"Many of the major problems we have on the internet today--dragnet corporate and government surveillance, a handful of powerful companies that are allowed to control how we use the internet--could be deepened by a Supreme Court justice who could well be there for decades," Glaser concluded.
In addition to the mountain of much-discussed reasons the American public should be alarmed by President Donald Trump's Supreme Court pick Brett Kavanaugh--from his anti-abortion views to his past opinions favoring the interests of big polluters--advocacy groups are warning that the 53-year-old judge's established record of hostility to net neutrality and support for mass surveillance shows that his confirmation would spell "disaster for internet freedom."
"Trump's SCOTUS pick Brett Kavanaugh is an enemy of net neutrality and has sided with big cable companies in the lower courts," noted Demand Progress on Twitter following Trump's official selection of Kavanaugh Monday night, citing his previous argument that net neutrality rules violate the free speech of internet service providers.
\u201cTrump's SCOTUS pick #BrettKavanaugh is an enemy of #NetNeutrality and has sided with big cable companies in the lower courts. 86% of Americans support a free and open internet, this guy clearly doesn't. https://t.co/aZk8dhL1GX\u201d— Demand Progress (@Demand Progress) 1531184815
In an analysis of Kavanaugh's past opinions late Monday--which include his assertion that net neutrality rules are "unlawful and must be vacated"--Slate's April Glaser notes how the record of Trump's pick for the court reveals a judge who is vastly more "sympathetic to the handful of companies that control the internet...than to the hundreds of millions of Americans who use it."
"Judge Brett Kavanaugh is notorious for his hostility to international law and infamously ruled in favor of the NSA's expansive and illegal dragnet surveillance program."
--Jamil Dakwar, ACLU
While the net neutrality protections established in 2015 were officially rolled back by FCC chair and former Verizon lawyer Ajit Pai last month, this telecom-backed move is facing a slew of legal challenges from advocacy groups and state attorneys general that could ultimately make it to the nation's highest court.
"If any of those cases do make it to the Supreme Court, Kavanaugh probably feels that net neutrality isn't something the federal government should take strides to preserve," Glaser writes.
While Kavanaugh's past rulings as a federal appeals court judge demonstrate his concern for the rights of giant corporations, they also lay bare his apparent contempt for the privacy rights of Americans.
As Politicoreported ahead of his nomination, Kavanaugh "has a history of embracing warrantless surveillance and rejecting Fourth Amendment challenges to it."
In a concurring opinion in 2015, Kavanaugh argued that the National Security Agency's warrentless metadata collection program--which was exposed by whistleblower Edward Snowden in 2013--is "consistent with the Fourth Amendment" and insisted that "critical national security need outweighs the impact on privacy occasioned by this program."
\u201cJudge Brett #Kavanaugh is notorious for his hostility to int\u2019l law and infamously ruled in favor of the NSA\u2019s expansive and illegal dragnet surveillance program. Judge Kavanaugh held that the Government\u2019s metadata collection program is entirely consistent with the 4th Amendment.\u201d— Jamil Dakwar (@Jamil Dakwar) 1531184869
Glaser of Slate argued that, if confirmed by the Senate, Kavanaugh will "cement a conservative majority that is likely to agree that the government should be allowed to make broad requests to access the data that companies collect on us without a warrant."
"Many of the major problems we have on the internet today--dragnet corporate and government surveillance, a handful of powerful companies that are allowed to control how we use the internet--could be deepened by a Supreme Court justice who could well be there for decades," Glaser concluded.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.