The swollen FCC docket on network neutrality is now closed after more than 10,000 comments were filed. There are some truly odd entries in the docket, including one by "Rosemary's Baby" that basically has to be seen to be believed (PDF).

But slightly less odd were the filings of two heavy hitters in Washington—the MPAA and the RIAA—which weighed in on network neutrality. The fillings, which made nearly identical points, argued that the FCC should encourage ISPs to adopt "graduated response" rules aimed at reducing online copyright infringement.

They also reveal a content-centric view of the world in which Americans will not "obtain the true benefits that broadband can provide" unless "copyrighted content [is] protected against theft and unauthorized online distribution."

That's right, we called it "theft"

What could graduated response possibly have to do with network neutrality? The movie and music businesses have seized on language in the FCC's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that refuses to extend "neutrality" to "unlawful content." The gist of the MPAA and RIAA briefs is that network neutrality's final rules must allow for—and in fact should encourage—ISPs to take an active anti-infringement role as part of "reasonable network management."

Not that the word "infringement" is much in evidence here; both briefs prefer "theft." The RIAA's document calls copyright infringement "digital piracy—or better, digital theft," and then notes that US Supreme Court Justice Breyer said in the Grokster case that online copyright infringement was "garden variety theft."

To stop that theft, the MPAA and RIAA want to make sure that any new FCC rules allow ISPs to act on their behalf. Copyright owners can certainly act without voluntary ISP assistance, as the RIAA's lengthy lawsuit campaign against file-swappers showed, but both groups seem to admit that this approach has now been hauled out behind the barn and shot.

According to the RIAA, "Without ISP participation, it is extremely difficult to develop an effective prevention approach." MPAA says that it can't tackle the problem alone and it needs "broadband Internet access service providers to cooperate in combating combat theft."

"No industry can, or should be expected to, compete against free-by-theft distribution of its own products," the brief adds.

"We thus urge the Commission to adopt rules that not only allow ISPs to address online theft, but actively encourage their efforts to do so," says the RIAA.

Content is king

To tie their arguments into the broader debate about an "open Internet," both groups argue that they are essential to the online environment. "The Internet without content would be nothing more than a collection of hardware," writes MPAA, "a series of computer links and protocols with great capacity to communicate but nothing to say."

The RIAA goes beyond broadband. "Digital theft means less art is produced, a harm that cannot be precisely measured, but whose impact on our culture is undoubtedly profound."

This emphasis on "content" as the driver of broadband access is certainly debatable. Academics have argued for some time about whether networks are driven by content or by "connectability." (Think the phone network, which offers little access to "content" but was a powerful tool of connection to others... and achieved near-total ubiquity because of it.)

But the MPAA is convinced that people get Internet access in order to acquire its content. "When Internet users seek access to stolen copyrighted material online, educational strategies can help inform them about authorized alternatives for online content, which in turn could spur broadband adoption as consumers seek legitimate offerings."

(One wonders what this means; presumably those "Internet users" seeking out stolen content already have broadband and would not be encouraged to adopt it by better online access to movies.)

Still the basic idea is clear: content drives broadband, pirate material is clogging the tubes, and everything broadband-related would be better if ISPs got involved in policing their own networks.

Also, the FCC should allow ISPs to prioritize traffic, especially latency-sensitive traffic like movies. But transparency—well, the MPAA and RIAA both support more ISP transparency on network management, just so long as it's not detailed enough to be a piracy blueprint.