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FCC Backs Net Neutrality, Chairman's Full Speech Posted
ArmyofGnomes writes "FCC chairman Julius Genachowski delivered Monday on President Obama's promise to back 'net neutrality' — but he went much further than merely seeking to expand rules that prohibit ISPs from filtering or blocking net traffic by proposing that they cover all broadband connections, including data connections for smartphones. Genachowski stated: 'I understand the Internet is a dynamic network and that technology continues to grow and evolve. I recognize that if we were to create unduly detailed rules that attempted to address every possible assault on openness, such rules would become outdated quickly. But the fact that the Internet is evolving rapidly does not mean we can, or should, abandon the underlying values fostered by an open network, or the important goal of setting rules of the road to protect the free and open Internet. ... In view of these challenges and opportunities, and because it is vital that the Internet continue to be an engine of innovation, economic growth, competition and democratic engagement, I believe the FCC must be a smart cop on the beat preserving a free and open Internet.'"
As a web hosting provider, I feel that they've left an important part of it out, the server side. At what point does net neutrality apply to me? They need to define this before they make any laws. Otherwise rules could be applied to things that they shouldn't.
No, because that isn't a case of net neutrality but a case of copyright silliness.
Net Neutrality (proper net neutrality) means that Hulu should Hulu ever be 'allowed' to service Canada, you won't have to worry about still not being able to access it because Hulu chose not to pay grift to the five telcom/ISP companies between Hulu's hosting provider and you.
Before the people which you're trolling get here... 1) The department already exists, it was the head of that department who gave the speech; congress has nothing to do with it as it's already the law for the FCC to regulate communication lines and has been since its inception, oh, a hundred odd years ago. 2) The problem exists; denial ain't just a river in Egypt. DNS hijacking is just a tip of a very big iceberg if you care to look. 3) You have no idea what "behest" means; try not to use it until you do.
It's not your ISP (or Hulu's ISP) that is prohibiting you from viewing Hulu. It's Hulu themselves (at the behest of content creators). That's not a network neutrality issue.
Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
No, it would mean nothing like that at all.
It would be similar to common-carrier telephone rules. Telephone providers are not allowed, for example, to prevent or degrade calls their customers make to the phone number of a competing telephone provider or a telephone consumer complaint hotline. They must give all calls the same prioritization and quality of service (with a few exceptions, such as a call to an emergency number).
Nothing in common-carrier law, however, means that the person at the other end must accept your call or do what you ask if they do. The server is the person receiving the phone call in our scenario, not the phone company. It is not required to accept your connection or do anything in particular with it if it does, and it may determine authorization to use any given service by any (otherwise legal) criteria. Its owner may choose to serve the public at large, it may choose to serve only those who pay, it may choose to serve only those who concurrently subscribe to a different service like a magazine or pay TV provider, or it may serve only residents of a certain country. These restrictions can generally be sidestepped, of course, but it doesn't violate net neutrality for them to attempt to implement them, any more than it violates common carrier law for me not to answer unexpected calls from 800 numbers.
All net neutrality ensures is that if that computer at the other end does wish to accept your connection, your ISP (the telephone company, in our analogy), cannot interfere with them doing so based upon whose server it is or misuse network restrictions to favor one person's data over another's.
To fight the war on terror, stop being afraid.
I guess as a slashdot reader I'm supposed to be for "net neutrality" however I trust profit grabbing companies more than I trust the FCC. If I don't like the way a company is routing their traffic I can at least switch companies. If the FCC gets involved and they do something stupid there is no alternative. The worst case for a business blocking/routing traffic is that someone else creates a competing ISP.
The profiteers took the government's money, our money, while demanding competitive considerations (ie monopolies) and promised us all super fast, super cheap internet would be here three years ago. They're lying whores that can't be trusted to even act in their own interests let alone ours.