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Net neutrality is the First Amendment issue of our time. Today, a blog can load as fast as the Wall Street Journal — and, if the blog is good, it can get more traffic than any media conglomerate. But if bigger companies can pay for faster, priority Internet access, that blogger no longer has a shot. And these big companies know that when they pay for access, they win. They want preferred treatment on the Internet like the preferred treatment they get in the rest of their lives.

— Al Franken on Net neutrality in the United States

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Net neutrality is the First Amendment issue of our time. Today, a blog can load as fast as the Wall Street Journal — and, if the blog is good, it can get more traffic than any media conglomerate. But if bigger companies can pay for faster, priority Internet access, that blogger no longer has a shot. And these big companies know that when they pay for access, they win. They want preferred treatment on the Internet like the preferred treatment they get in the rest of their lives." in the context of "Al Franken, in "Sen. Franken's Speech to Free Press Group in Minneapolis" (19 August 2010)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Net neutrality in the United States" (Quotes) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Al Franken

About Al Franken

Alan Stuart "Al" Franken (born May 21, 1951) is an American writer, actor and politician. He was the junior United States Senator from Minnesota from 2008 to 2018, when he resigned following sexual harassment allegations from several women. He is a member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, which affiliates with the national Democratic Party. Franken achieved note as a writer and performer for the television show Saturday Night Live from its conception in 1975 before moving to writing and acting in films and television shows. He then became a political commentator, author of five books and host of a nationally syndicated radio show on the Air America Radio network.