“Shadowy” anti-net neutrality group submitted 56.5% of comments to FCC | Ars Technica Form letter campaign makes it appear Americans don't support net neutrality "A shadowy organization with ties to the Koch Brothers" spearheaded an anti-net neutrality form letter writing campaign that tipped the scales against net neutrality proponents, according to an analysis released today by the Sunlight Foundation. http://arstechnica.com/business/201...lity-group-submitted-56-5-of-comments-to-fcc/
“Bipartisan” bill would save Internet providers from utility rules | Ars Technica US Rep. Bob Latta (R-Ohio) yesterday filed what his press release called "bipartisan legislation to keep [the] Internet open [and] accessible." What the bill actually would do is prevent the Federal Communications Commission from applying common carrier rules to Internet service providers, a step the FCC appears likely to take next month. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler may propose reclassifying broadband providers as common carriers to be regulated by Title II of the Communications Act. The move would let the FCC impose net neutrality rules that restrict ISPs' ability to block, throttle, or prioritize Internet content in exchange for payment, but industry groups argue it will expose telecoms to stricter rules and impose new fees and taxes on consumers. “The FCC’s plans to reclassify broadband under Title II are misguided,” Latta said in his announcement. “Imposing monopoly-era telephone rules on a 21st Century industry that has thrived under the current light-touch regulatory framework will undoubtedly impede the economic growth and innovation that have resulted in the broadband marketplace absent government interference. These businesses thrive on dynamism and the ability to evolve quickly to shifting market and consumer forces. Subjecting them to bureaucratic red tape won’t promote innovation, consumer welfare, or the economy. My legislation provides the certainty needed for continued investment in broadband networks and services that have been fundamental for job creation, productivity, and consumer choice.” Latta first proposed the bill last year along with co-sponsors Charles Rangel (D-NY) and Randy Weber (R-Texas). He reintroduced it this week with Republicans now controlling both houses of Congress. Latta is vice chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Communications and Technology Subcommittee. The bill would amend the Communications Act to define broadband Internet access as an "information service" and prevent the FCC from reclassifying information services as common carriers. Though Latta's bill has a Democratic supporter, congressional Democrats and President Obama have generally pushed a different agenda on net neutrality. Continued here: http://arstechnica.com/business/201...d-save-internet-providers-from-utility-rules/
Thanks for the info m8. Here is more info on what is being done to defend net neutrality: (from Fight for the Future organization) "We just got word that the FCC is planning THE vote on new net neutrality rules on February 23rd. This is the one we’ve been waiting for. We’ve got less than two months before the decision. Just when we have victory in sight, Congress is trying to pass a shady law called “Title X” that would undermine all the amazing work we’ve done. Basically it would pre-empt the FCC’s rule and prevent us from getting real net neutrality. Instead, we’d have a weak law in Congress that leaves the door wide open for monopolies like Comcast to abuse their power. We need to act fast to show Congress that we see through the lies. We know they’re taking huge campaign contributions from companies like Comcast and we won’t be fooled. Your signature is needed! Click here to sign our urgent petition to Congress demanding they drop “Title X” and keep the Internet free. There’s such overwhelming public support for the free and open Internet it shouldn’t be hard to defeat this, but we need to move fast. Please sign and share the petition widely. For the Internet, -Evan at FFTF"
Al Franken @alfranken 17 seconds ago Big news: new proposed #FCC rule would enshrine #netneutrality protections & extend them to mobile as well. http://www.alfranken.com/2015/02/05/politico-fcc-chair-proposes-bright-line-net-neutrality-rules/
These rules seemed destined to bring the net under government control. I can't think of a worse steward than government for the net. Innovation will drop, investment will drop, the net will become a public utility, subject to the rules and regulations of a group that thinks that freedom of speech is a problem to be solved through legislation, for our own good, of course.
Notice that I said 'government' is a bad steward, not Democrats, or Republicans. I am non partisan, I consider both parties to be the criminal class of America. The two parties are tweedledee and tweedledum. I don't expect anything sensible from either party. Both parties are full of sociopaths who want to tell us how to live our lives while exempting themselves from the rules they demand we live by sociopaths in charge of the country What could possibly go wrong?
Government control sucks the only thing worse is corporate control. Look what ending government control to the banks did. Yeah. Collapse, and in the case of communications and press corporate control would be super- Fox News, censorship by neglecting the news. We have enough problems with that now.
You ignore so much that it's impossible to even know where to start a conversation. Regulators get captured by their targets, making govt regulation a farce. The consumer is far and away the toughest regulator known to man. No regulator can match the consumer for knowing what they want and need. You seem to want a few, self selecting for being the best liars, highly partisan people to make decisions for all of us. Isn't that the opposite of diversity? isn't that, well, utterly insane? Let the market work out the issues. Govt can't help but get it wrong, since they will set up rules for the current system, thereby fossilizing it. Ever notice that the fields with the least innovation are all govt run? There's a reason for that.
Net neutrality activists are setting up a giant screen showing your comments outside the FCC By Kevin Collier, The Daily Dot Do you have any last words about the FCC’s vote on net neutrality as it draws nearer? Want to shove any memes in a commissioner's face? A group of open Internet activists has your back. The activists, from the Canadian Internet freedom group OpenMedia, plan to truck a 11'-by-17' screen to the front steps of the Federal Communications Commission in Washington, D.C. On Feb. 25, the day before the agency votes on whether to use its legal authority to reclassify the Internet under Title II of the Communications Act, OpenMedia will project user-submitted comments and images for everyone at the FCC to see out their windows. “We're collecting images and memes and messages, basically from our online community, and we're gonna use [the screen] to stream messages from the Internet,” David Christopher, OpenMedia’s communications manager, told the Daily Dot. It's not as surprising as you might think that a non-American group would care about net neutrality in the U.S. “This FCC decision will determine the future of the Internet for people all over the world,” campaign manager Josh Tabish said in a press release. The importance of net neutrality is spreading: the U.K.’s House of Lords recently called for reclassification of the Internet as a public utility to ensure that British Internet service providers can’t charge more for so-called “fast lanes” to certain sites. To contribute a message for the screen, simply visit stoptheslowdown.net and enter your message. Source: http://www.dailydot.com/politics/fcc-open-media-net-neutrality/
If you haven't done so, please head over to FCC.gov and lodge your opinion about the NN vote. Maybe it won't mean jack, but history will have a record.
I agree our votes and ideas don't mean shit in the eyes of the government, we do it because its symbolic now, not because it will change stuff, the only thing that changes things are citizens making the government fear them. This is accomplished by protests and citizens waking up, speaking their minds!
Net neutrality activists score landmark victory in fight to govern the internet | The Guardian FCC says ‘we listened and we learned’, and passes strict broadband rules that represent ‘a red-letter day for internet freedom’ http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/feb/26/net-neutrality-activists-landmark-victory-fcc Net neutrality: FCC approves plan to govern internet like public utility – as it happened | The Guardian http://www.theguardian.com/technology/live/2015/feb/26/net-neutrality-fcc-votes-internet
The FCC approves strong net neutrality rules | The Washington Post By Brian Fung The Federal Communications Commission approved strict new rules for Internet providers Thursday in a historic vote that represents the government's most aggressive attempt to make sure the Web remains a level playing field. The rules would dramatically expand the agency's oversight of the country's high-speed broadband providers, regulating them like a public utility. They were adopted by a 3-to-2 margin with only the commission's Republican members voting against them. Under the rules, it will be illegal for companies such as Verizon or Cox Communications to slow down streaming videos, games and other online content traveling over their networks. They also will be prohibited from establishing "fast lanes" that speed up access to Web sites that pay an extra fee. And in an unprecedented move, the FCC could apply the rules to wireless carriers such as T-Mobile and Sprint -- a nod to the rapid rise of smartphones and the mobile Internet. “This is no more a plan to regulate the Internet than the First Amendment is a plan to regulate free speech,” said FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. “They both stand for the same concept: openness, expression and an absence of gatekeepers telling them what they can do where they can go and what they can think.” Continued here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...c-set-to-approve-strong-net-neutrality-rules/
FCC Approves Net Neutrality Rules, Setting Stage For Legal Battle | Wall Street Journal Telecom, cable industries expected to challenge commission’s 3-2 vote www.wsj.com/articles/fcc-approves-net-neutrality-rules-setting-stage-for-legal-battle-1424974319 FCC Adopts Strong, Sustainable Rules to Protect the Open Internet | FCC.gov Here's page one of five: Rules Will Preserve the Internet as a Platform for Innovation, Free Expression and Economic Growth Washington, D.C. – Ending lingering uncertainty about the future of the Open Internet, the Federal Communications Commission today set sustainable rules of the roads that will protect free expression and innovation on the Internet and promote investment in the nation’s broadband networks. The FCC has long been committed to protecting and promoting an Internet that nurtures freedom of speech and expression, supports innovation and commerce, and incentivizes expansion and investment by America’s broadband providers. But the agency’s attempts to implement enforceable, sustainable rules to protect the Open Internet have been twice struck down by the courts. Today, the Commission—once and for all—enacts strong, sustainable rules, grounded in multiple sources of legal authority, to ensure that Americans reap the economic, social, and civic benefits of an Open Internet today and into the future. These new rules are guided by three principles: America’s broadband networks must be fast, fair and open—principles shared by the overwhelming majority of the nearly 4 million commenters who participated in the FCC’s Open Internet proceeding. Absent action by the FCC, Internet openness is at risk, as recognized by the very court that struck down the FCC’s 2010 Open Internet rules last year in Verizon v. FCC. Broadband providers have economic incentives that “represent a threat to Internet openness and could act in ways that would ultimately inhibit the speed and extent of future broadband deployment,” as affirmed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The court upheld the Commission’s finding that Internet openness drives a “virtuous cycle” in which innovations at the edges of the network enhance consumer demand, leading to expanded investments in broadband infrastructure that, in turn, spark new innovations at the edge. However, the court observed that nearly 15 years ago, the Commission constrained its ability to protect against threats to the open Internet by a regulatory classification of broadband that precluded use of statutory protections that historically ensured the openness of telephone networks. The Order finds that the nature of broadband Internet access service has not only changed since that initial classification decision, but that broadband providers have even more incentives to interfere with Internet openness today. To respond to this changed landscape, the new Open Internet Order restores the FCC’s legal authority to fully address threats to openness on today’s networks by following a template for sustainability laid out in the D.C. Circuit Opinion itself, including reclassification of broadband Internet access as a telecommunications service under Title II of the Communications Act. http://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-adopts-strong-sustainable-rules-protect-open-internet http://www.fcc.gov/
FCC votes for net neutrality, a ban on paid fast lanes, and Title II | Ars Technica Internet providers are now common carriers, and they're ready to sue. Excerpt: What’s next: Lawsuits and Congressional intervention Opponents claim the order will bring new taxes and fees on broadband consumers and onerous procedural requirements for providers. But Wheeler says the order will not authorize any new taxes or fees or impose any "burdensome administrative filing requirements or accounting standards." Broadband providers claim the rules amount to rate regulation because consumers could bring complaints about their bills to the commission, and the FCC could decide that a particular price is unreasonable. But the FCC would not determine any pricing in advance of specific complaints. Even without Title II, the FCC has authority under Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act to impose price caps on broadband, but it hasn't done so. “The order retains core authority to prevent unjust and unreasonable practices, protect consumers, and support universal service,” Melissa Kirkel, an FCC attorney advisor, told commissioners. “The order makes clear that broadband providers will not be subject to utility-style regulation. This means no unbundling, tariffs, or other forms of rate regulation, and the order does not require broadband providers to contribute to the Universal Service Fund, nor does it impose, suggest, or authorize any new taxes or fees.” Today's order could face both legal challenges and action from Congress. Republicans have proposed legislation that would eliminate Title II restrictions for broadband providers and vowed that the FCC vote is just the beginning of the debate. More here: http://arstechnica.com/business/201...rality-a-ban-on-paid-fast-lanes-and-title-ii/
And Here Is the Bill Attempting to Roll Back the New Net Neutrality Rules | Motherboard Marsha Blackburn, the conservative Republican lawmaker from Tennessee, has reintroduced legislation in Congress to block the Federal Communications Commission from implementing its landmark new net neutrality rules, her office announced on Wednesday. Blackburn, who has been one of Capitol Hill’s top recipients of financial support from the nation's largest telecom and cable companies, is a longtime opponent of net neutrality, the internet’s open access principle, which is designed to ensure that all data is treated equally. Last week, the FCC voted to approve robust new net neutrality protections, in an historic victory for open internet advocates and a stinging defeat for telecom industry giants and their allies in Congress. The three Democratic FCC commissioners voted in favor of the new rules; the two Republican commissioners dissented. Blackburn’s bill, which her office said aims to “block the Obama Administration’s efforts to take over the Internet” contains language stating that the new FCC rules that “shall have no force or effect” and prohibits the FCC from revisiting the issue. Blackburn has repeatedly introduced versions of the legislation in recent years. “Last week’s vote by the FCC to regulate the Internet like a 1930s era public utility is further proof that the Obama Administration will stop at nothing in their efforts to control the Internet,” Blackburn said in a statement. “There is nothing ‘free and open’ about this heavy-handed approach. These overreaching rules will stifle innovation, restrict freedoms, and lead to billions of dollars in new fees and taxes for American consumers.” The new FCC rules, which have become a bitterly contested partisan political issue, use the FCC’s Title II authority to prohibit internet service providers from blocking or throttling internet content and services. The new rules also ban paid prioritization, which are commercial deals in which ISPs strike special arrangements with deep-pocketed companies for preferential treatment. Continued here: http://motherboard.vice.com/read/an...ing-to-roll-back-the-new-net-neutrality-rules
I have a question . At first it seemed lots of ideas were proposed to fix this. Some how it seems overnight we had a this is it or nothing. Ignoring what has been passed how does everyone feel about how this has been handled? If this falls as a derail please just toss it.
At first I didn't believe it. I was thinking " Yeah, OK, so, whats the fucking catch?" One has come to believe that governments in general are total douche-bags. So I was expecting the worse possible outcome. Time will tell.
We are seeing the first shot in a major power grab and Power, folks, it's all about asserting power. This will not end well.
Corporate America has infinite reach. We can hope the better laws are in place before the republicans get in. I'm no fan of government but in this case it's the only hope. Internet = utilities is endless taxation and employment for government beurocracy. Better than leaving it to profiteers IMHO
This is an example of corporatism. IE, fascism, pure and simple. Your prejudice are showing, If you think the Dems are better than the Rep, then you have not been paying attention. The GOP can't be worse than the Democrats, since the Dem were the ones who put this fascist act into play. The profiteers, as you call them, created the net, not the government. It makes no sense to think that people with unaccountable power are less scary than private business. Can anyne tell me what, exactly, was wrong with the net that the net needed regulation?
Ok point taken But- the interment was developed by achademics and brilliant start up capitalists. That's not what's suceeding in screwing it up with bandwidth capture. It's corporate America-no,,, it's corporate World. I meant I would much rather pay taxes to support government workers than allow a group of people who run things with limited profits in mind. By that I mean people who happily run banks, employers, and institutions into dust for short term profits for a sml group of people . Not investors. They don't care for people who bought stock.
I think you have the causality arrow backwards. The reason for power grabs such as this is to provide opportunities for graft for politicians to use their political power to grant a (more) secure profit opportunity for friendly business. If you don't play the game, you are at a severe disadvantage. IOW, governments allow (some) companies to avoid competing on a level playing field, giving graft opportunities for politicians who otherwise would have to work for a living The power politicians have is to favor one group over another. Plain and simply, this is what fascism looks like.
I agree, it is an oligarchy. But it is fascism, which Mussolino defined as: That describes exactly what we see in modern day USA, a merger of state and corporate power. It is a soft fascism, especially compared to nazism, but make no mistake, the US government is fascist, a non partisan method for obtaining maximum graft.
The FCC just revealed its rules to protect the open internet When the FCC's commissioners gathered to vote on the future of the internet as we know it a few weeks ago, the actual plan was shrouded in by ambitious (if broad) rhetoric. No paid prioritization? Equal application to wireless services? The thoughtful ignoring of parts of the Telecommunications Act so internet providers wouldn't go absolutely batty? It all sounds pretty reasonable spoken aloud -- even if those providers are pitching a fit anyway -- but until now the public hasn't had the chance to pore over exactly what the FCC spent so much time deliberating on. The FCC has just released the full text of its Open Internet Order, which lays out its contentious vision for how the internet should be managed, along with each commissioner's affirming statement or dissent on the issue. The whole shebang weighs in at about 400 pages, but we'll be spending some time today sifting through the thing to see what juicy bits turn up. In the meantime, feel free to take a gander at the document in its desk-shaking entirety below. http://www.engadget.com/2015/03/12/fcc-open-internet-order-net-neutrality/
Internet Freedom Pisses Off Sellout Representatives Published by The Young Turks on April 12, 2015 Cenk Uygur (http://www.twitter.com/cenkuygur) host of The Young Turks discusses the new net neutrality regulations and the GOP Congresspeople that are pissed off about them. "The FCC has decided to side with the people over corporate interests when it comes to what rules will govern the internet. However, that doesn't mean a lot of people are very happy about that. One such person is Texas Republican Representative Louie Gohmert who verbally assaulted the Federal Communications Commission chairman Tom Wheeler, claiming that Wheeler was trying to '[play] god with the internet!'. He was an outlier to the discussion however, and it is thought that the new rules will pass without much problem."
