Surely the government has played an instrumental role in developing (i.e. paying) for much that led to the early success of the internet. That, however, does not imply that it has been the source of innovation. Amazon, google, Vonage, and others had little to do with the government, yet they are innovators and profitable companies. I think people like oldhats are trying to suggest that government regulation of the net neutrality sort will actually make it harder for innovators like these companies to come along and compete as regulation of any industry has a tendency to slow growth and hurt innovation in favor of promoting the status quo.