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FCC Says Net Neutrality Decision Delay Is About Courts, Not Politics

blottsie writes with this news from The Daily Dot: "The Federal Communications Commission's seemingly suspicious timing in delaying its net neutrality decision has absolutely nothing to do with recent politics, according to an FCC official. Instead, it's a matter of some people in the agency insisting they be more prepared before going to court to defend their eventual plan. In January, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., ruled in favor of Verizon, which challenged the FCC's 2010 Open Internet rules, striking down the agency's net neutrality protections. The court found that the FCC did not use the proper legal structure to establish its regulatory authority over broadband service—something that many legal experts say would not be the case if the FCC invokes Title II. The FCC's move to delay the net neutrality decision, which followed President Obama's support of Title II reclassification, was just a coincidence, according to the FCC official:" Before the president weighed in, several of our staff felt like the record was a little thin in areas, and the last thing you want when you go to court for the third time is for a court to say the record was too thin, or you didn't give adequate notice. We are going to be so careful this time that we have crossed every T and dotted every I. Some of the staff felt we're not quite there yet."

34 of 60 comments (clear)

  1. Nov 25 or 26?, or Dec 19, 22, or 23? by Bob9113 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The best days to announce things like, "We've decided to completely ignore the will of the people and do what the guys with wheelbarrows full of money tell us to" are the days right before Thanksgiving and right before Christmas. My bet is on Nov. 25, leaving a day to get home to family, but Nov 26, or Dec 19, 22, or 23 would not surprise me.

    We can also say with some certainty when they won't announce; Dec 2, 9, or 16 -- Tuesdays during full work weeks -- are extremely unlikely.

    1. Re:Nov 25 or 26?, or Dec 19, 22, or 23? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      They're feds. Why don't they just pass it in the secret courts like they do everything else?

    2. Re:Nov 25 or 26?, or Dec 19, 22, or 23? by Etherwalk · · Score: 2

      These guys don't really think like that, usually.

      They'll be aware of it, sure; they will avoid making decisions that tank later opportunities in the private sector. But they are also usually not actively trying to do the wrong thing--they're trying to figure out what a fairly decent policy is that they can get traction on.

      The FCC doesn't have big teeth, and it has a lot of people who have industry experience and therefore an industry point-of-view. They are realists, and will probably try to put together a policy that makes things slightly better than they would be otherwise.

      If they try to be too active, Congress will whip them around. Communications vendors are major Congressional donors.

      As to the will of the people--we're talking net neutrality. People support it because they like the word "Neutral." This is one of those cases where democracy is a really bad basis for decision-making; kinda like asking voters to design a network topology.

    3. Re:Nov 25 or 26?, or Dec 19, 22, or 23? by strack · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Theres not much democracy in this particular decision making process. Theres the public private revolving door and plenty of lobbyist cash. And while democracy can be a bad basis for decision making, rampant regulatory capture by a industry with a natural monopoly in order to squeeze as much money out of customers as possible, and enact regulations that allow you to funnel customers to the sites of your vertically integrated media production companies, is a worse basis for decision making. People dont support it because they like the word "neutral", they support it cause it dosent take much imagination to figure out how fucked the internet is if net neutrality is not in place.

    4. Re:Nov 25 or 26?, or Dec 19, 22, or 23? by Bob9113 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      As to the will of the people--we're talking net neutrality. People support it because they like the word "Neutral."

      There may be some like that, but people like me, who have been working on the Internet since before hypertext, support it because the idea of letting ISPs make deals for fast lanes is about as stupid as allowing the electric company make deals with companies to cut off electricity to their competitors.

    5. Re:Nov 25 or 26?, or Dec 19, 22, or 23? by Attila+Dimedici · · Score: 1
      I like the idea of Net Neutrality. However, I do not believe that the government regulation that will implement "Net Neutrality" will reflect that good idea. And of course that leaves out the question of which form of Net Neutrality? Is it:
      • A) All packets must be treated the same, no matter what protocol they are?
      • Or

      • B) All packets must be treated the same, no matter their source or destination (but different protocols can be treated differently)?
      • I am convinced that government regulators will find a third definition for Net Neutrality if they actually implement a regulation which will contain some provision which will encourage (and possibly require) ISPs to throttle data from those who represent those not politically favored.

      --
      The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
    6. Re:Nov 25 or 26?, or Dec 19, 22, or 23? by Bob9113 · · Score: 1

      which form of Net Neutrality? A) protocol neutral? B) endpoint neutral?

      Both -- the carrier should not make prioritization decisions for me. My network and software should handle that, since my ISP can't know which packets are highest priority to me.

      I am convinced that government regulators will find a third definition for Net Neutrality

      That is a good reason to be eternally vigilant of the FCC, and the Internet is worth our effort. It is not a good reason to abdicate the decision to the ISPs, whose financial interests and both naturally- and regulatory- limited competition ensures a market-inefficient solution. The ISPs have the privilege of operating the carriage of our network for a profit. If they don't want that privilege, they can sell their gear and rights-of-way to a competitor. Both Google and municipal operations are wiping the floor with the incumbents everywhere they pop up.

  2. It's not about courts or politics by Monoman · · Score: 1

    It's about money.

    --
    Keep the Classic Slashdot.
    1. Re:It's not about courts or politics by NotInHere · · Score: 2

      Yeah, and politics is never about money.

    2. Re:It's not about courts or politics by houstonbofh · · Score: 1

      But at least they are willing to reach across (reach around) the isle to support this.

    3. Re:It's not about courts or politics by duck_rifted · · Score: 1

      Politics is about convincing people. What they're being convinced of is about money.

  3. Pbbbt by koan · · Score: 1, Troll

    It's been a conspiracy since day one, Obama appointed a lobbyist for the industry to the head of the FCC, then after it's a republican controlled congress and he has zero clout he comes out for "Net Neutrality" mean while fascist like Cruz say it will hurt Internet commerce, and that it's extreme.

    This is about buying time to grease the congressional wheels with industry cash and figuring out the best argument against the common carrier.

    --
    "If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied."
    1. Re:Pbbbt by houstonbofh · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Come on... At least this is one thing both sides totally agree on and give bi-partisan support. "Screw the people" is the motto.

    2. Re:Pbbbt by NotSanguine · · Score: 1

      It's been a conspiracy since day one, Obama appointed a lobbyist for the industry to the head of the FCC, then after it's a republican controlled congress and he has zero clout he comes out for "Net Neutrality" mean while fascist like Cruz say it will hurt Internet commerce, and that it's extreme.

      This is about buying time to grease the congressional wheels with industry cash and figuring out the best argument against the common carrier.

      Absolutely! GW Bush would never have appointed someone beholden to the industry to head the FCC

      There's plenty of blame to go around -- and even more money, especially after the Citizen's United decision.

      --
      No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr
  4. "staff" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    "Some of the staff felt we're not quite there yet." by "staff" they mean Verizon, right?

  5. Full Title II by sonicmerlin · · Score: 1

    If they weren't opting for a trashy "hybrid" approach designed specifically to avoid preventing ISPs from abusing consumers, and instead were going for full bore Title II reclassification, they wouldn't need so much time to create a legal defense.

    1. Re:Full Title II by Todd+Knarr · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Except for the Congressmen and Senators and ISP reps who're saying the FCC doesn't have the authority to change the classification to Title II. What they're probably doing, what I'd be doing, is preparing an iron-clad argument based on the statute and on case law since then that the FCC does indeed have not just the authority to decide the classification (easy, the statute explicitly says they do) but also the authority to change it at a later date (this takes more research to nail down).

    2. Re:Full Title II by Truekaiser · · Score: 2

      And then a month later, the law is changed after it's attached to something that 'must' pass. Then the lawsuits pour in.

  6. Like we ever believe anything the Gubment says... by Kili · · Score: 1

    It's not like we the people ever believe anything the government says anymore. The American people have been so filled with BS over the last few administrations regardless of which part is in power that we have all become jaded. If you are a republican you don't believe anything the democrats say. If are a democrat you don't believe anything the republicans say. If you are one of the aforementioned parties you have been sucked into the false dichotomy and they have you pitted against each other so they can maintain control. To quote one of the wises men ever to be quoted... "It's a big club, and you ain't in it!" -George Carlin.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

  7. I guess they have to say these things by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

    Constant repetition is a proven method of reenforcing an idea, no matter how absurd it might be. People are believing. All is well. There is nothing to complain about.

    --
    “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    1. Re:I guess they have to say these things by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 1

      And even if you don't believe in a certain course of action, more than 99% of people simply won't oppose the wisdom of the crowd / authority / whatever. Going along to get along appears to be an inherent trait of humans - and one that explains everything from Nazi death camps to the mortgage scams to "My country right or wrong".

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    2. Re:I guess they have to say these things by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

      Going along to get along appears to be an inherent trait of humans...

      Nothing 'human' about it. It's plain old herd instinct. It's hardwired in. This is what is being exploited so easily, and we're not ever going to argue our way out of it. On the contrary, we will continue to write holy books wholly rationalizing it as necessary subservience to whoever's god rules that particular century. The best we can do about our biological nature is ponder. Change is not forthcoming.

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
  8. Today I realized... by BringsApples · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Only today, I realized that slashdot is actually over. I've been wondering why I get 15 mod points every time I log in, and only now does it hit me. I'll bet that I'm one of probably 5 people that are moderating, and I'll bet that there's less than 50 people that are actually participating in slashdot at all (commentators and moderators). Looking at the last few stories, it looks like there are less than 30 comments to most stories these days, and I haven't been seeing many posts even getting points, most (that aren't AC) are staying at 1 or 2, depending on karma I'm assuming. The stories are crap, and no one is actually participating.

    I'm out. It was fun.

    Oh, and to "I kan reed" it was me that modded you flaimbait today. :)

    --
    Politics; n. : A religion whereby man is god.
    1. Re:Today I realized... by PAjamian · · Score: 1

      I find that I tend to get them after making a few posts, I think their algorithm identifies active participants and gives them points.

      --
      Windows is a bonfire, Linux is the sun. Linux only looks smaller if you lack perspective.
    2. Re:Today I realized... by tooyoung · · Score: 1

      We all went to Soylent News - the stories are more like the slashdot of old.

    3. Re:Today I realized... by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      I'll bet that I'm one of probably 5 people that are moderating

      I don't moderate because moderation is fundamentally broken. You cannot moderate and comment in the same story, so the people best qualified to do both have to choose one or the other.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    4. Re:Today I realized... by rsmith-mac · · Score: 1

      If that were the case, more of us would get mod points more often.

      What happens is that the moderation system is biased against frequent visitors. Visit more than once a day and you'll basically never get mod points. Go away for a day or two and you'll come back to a heap of them virtually every time.

      I'm not sure why Slashdot does this. One would think frequent visitors would be the people you'd want modding - someone who will see a story before it's too old - but perhaps they want someone a little less fanatical? Or maybe the mod points are to entice you to stay?

    5. Re:Today I realized... by WankersRevenge · · Score: 1

      Sadly, I have to agree. I've been a frequent visitor to the site since 1999, and in that time, I've seen lots of ups and downs. I think things really culminated in a fever during the iOS vs. Android arguments three or four years ago when every article was clickbait to get the masses to chew each other up. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of the "old guard" packed up and left during that time.

      Since things have calmed down, Slashdot seems to be slowly sinking into irrelevance. I'm seeing a lot more conversation that almost mimics the comments of any CNN political article. I'm also seeing some terrible moderation -- flamebait being labeled as insightful and so forth.

      From 2000-2010, I probably only modded down five posts. In the past couple years, I feel like I'm moddng down all the time. It's sad but this place used to feature high quality discussion. It just doesn't anymore. It's running on pure inertia. The only thing that keeps me coming back is habit, but I rarely read stories anymore. I just skim the frontpage like it were a news aggregator, then move on.

      I'll keep doing so because of habit, but once the beta becomes the defacto version, I'll bow out. It was a great site with some good memories, but all good things must come to an end.

  9. Re:Like we ever believe anything the Gubment says. by NotSanguine · · Score: 2

    Total nonsense. You've been sucked into the false equivalence trap.

    Really, AC? What's the real truth? You obviously have the corner on the "way it is," so do tell.

    The way I see it is (sorry not a car analogy) that with the Center Right party (the Democrats), it's like walking through an underground access tunnel with a sewer pipe at the ceiling. The pipe is cracked and raw sewage is dripping on your head.

    With the Far Right party (the Republicans), it's the same tunnel, but the sewer pipe is ripped wide open and you're choking on the raw sewage instead of getting drenched.

    I suppose you could say that one is worse than the other, but I'd rather not be in that tunnel at all.

    --
    No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr
  10. Re:"Net Neutraility" a cover for regulating Intern by NotSanguine · · Score: 1

    Do NOT be fooled by the "Net Neutrality" cover story. This is an effort to regulate the Internet by hardcore leftists, and if allowed to proceed will be the end of the Internet as we know it.

    The unregulated Internet CHANGED THE WORLD. Allowing government regulations will only destroy what has been created.

    You sir, are uninformed. Until 2002 Cable inernet service *was* classified as a common carrier under Title II. DSL Internet was also a common carrier until 2005.

    Since those orders reclassifying internet access under Title I rather than Title II, the ISPs have slowed innovation, dragged their feet with infrastructure upgrades despite the USD$200 billion subsidies given to them, raised prices, created ever more abusive terms of service, and consolidated their stranglehold over both content distribution and last-mile infrastructure through consolidation, lobbying at the municipal, state and federal levels and plumbed the depths of poor customer service.

    All of this since we lessened regulation on the ISPs. There was huge growth, innovation, new infrastructure, more competition and fairer terms of service, *before* that. So, as I said, you're uninformed. Either that or you're being deliberately obtuse for partisan reasons. Or, you're just a shill for the big ISPs. I'll assume you're just uninformed, rather than a liar.

    --
    No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr
  11. Re:"Net Neutraility" a cover for regulating Intern by anegg · · Score: 1

    In fact. the original Internet was heavily "regulated" with rules against commercial use of any kind. I worked for a company that had an Internet connection through a regional educational network, and we were careful to even only send e-mail messages that were related to either educational subject matter or subject matter related to the work we were doing under government contracts with organizations reachable through the Internet.

  12. Re:Like we ever believe anything the Gubment says. by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

    Total nonsense. You've been sucked into the false equivalence trap.

    It's not false equivalence, because the argument is not that they are two things which are the same. The argument is that they are two parts of one thing, and that they are united in screwing over the non-wealthy public because they both work for the wealthy. The wealthy write the laws, then pay for them to be passed, and sometimes they pay the (R)s and sometimes they pay the (D)s and sometimes they pay both. Big Pharma, for example, gives lots of money to both sides. After the failure of Hillary Clinton's Single Payer Healthcare campaign, she took a massive wad of their money and shut the fuck up about health care reform. Then we got Romneycare (not really his idea anyway) relabeled as Obamacare. Obama is supposedly a Democrat, but he brought us the Republican health insurance plan. (It is not a health care plan. Many of us are receiving less care under the new system.)

    Also, your vote doesn't count. The People never elected GWB. Given that we can vote for one candidate and get the other, either vote is equivalent. They'll assign us whichever president the wealthy have chosen.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  13. Re:Better to accept it, folks... by NotSanguine · · Score: 1

    We know net neutrality is something that could be enforced, there is enough bandwidth available now over fiber to give everyone a standard amount of bandwidth. Fast lanes are probably inevitable; if that is the price for getting standardized internet access then fine, do it. It's a reason for companies to roll out the upgrades.

    Let's face it, business will not upgrade the networks to the speed required without being told that they will get to charge for premium access. It's a fact, you can't get around it. It's better for everyone to just accept what can't be changed, live with it, deal with it, and let's get IPTV to everybody nationwide so we get more channels, more content, etc, etc.

    Just imagine a future time when you don't have to watch football on the weekend, where you can watch whatever minority sport you prefer, be it surfing or chess or mountaineering or whatever. Imagine having the freedom to choose what shows you watch when. It's not going to happen if we don't get the networks upgraded and that is not going to happen without fast lanes, I don't believe.

    I don't think we'll ever get net neutrality, but by the trickle-down theory, we should be able to get serviceable internet to everyone which is sufficiently neutral for it not to matter. Let's shift the cost onto content rather than the medium, and we'll need fast networks to do that, and that requires fast lanes for now, I think.

    That's a steaming load of grade A bullshit. Do you work for the CTIA? Or just one of its members?

    --
    No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr
  14. Re:"Net Neutraility" a cover for regulating Intern by NotSanguine · · Score: 1

    Do NOT be fooled by the "Net Neutrality" cover story. This is an effort to regulate the Internet by hardcore leftists, and if allowed to proceed will be the end of the Internet as we know it.

    The unregulated Internet CHANGED THE WORLD. Allowing government regulations will only destroy what has been created.

    Hardcore leftists? Who exactly are you talking about? Dennis Kucinich is about as left as it gets in major parties in the US, and he isn't too far to the left of center. Obama is center-right on most issues. Eizabeth Warren is straight up center-left, as is Bernie Sanders. Based on their policy decisions, most of the rest of the Democrats in the house/senate would have been considered moderate Republicans not so very long ago.

    What the hell is it with you guys? Based on the rhetoric, if Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon ran on their records and platforms, you'd be calling them communists.

    Seriously. Go and actually look at the policies those guys pursued -- if their names weren't on them, you'd be screaming bloody murder about marxist ingrates with most of it. Geez Louise.

    --
    No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr