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Zero-Rating Harms Poor People, Public Interest Groups Tell FCC (vice.com)

Posted by msmash on from the along-the-lines-of-net-neutrality dept.

An anonymous reader links to an article on Motherboard: The nation's largest internet service providers are undermining US open internet rules, threatening free speech, and disproportionately harming poor people by using a controversial industry practice called "zero-rating," a coalition of public interest groups wrote in a letter to federal regulators on Monday. Companies like Comcast, Verizon and AT&T use zero-rating, which refers to a variety of practices that exempt certain services from monthly data caps, to undercut "the spirit and the text" of federal rules designed to protect net neutrality, the principle that all content on the internet should be equally accessible, the groups wrote. Zero-rated plans "distort competition, thwart innovation, threaten free speech, and restrict consumer choice -- all harms the rules were meant to prevent," the groups wrote. "These harms tend to fall disproportionately on low-income communities and communities of color, who tend to rely on mobile networks as their primary or exclusive means of access to the internet."

4 of 205 comments (clear)

  1. A complex game? by kheldan · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Is it possible that the wireless companies are playing a complex psychological game here, trying to turn public sentiment away from net neutrality, by first offering to not (in essence) charge for certain services, secretly expecting someone to raise complaints against the practice because it violates net neutrality, so they can then throw up their hands and say "Sorry, the FCC won't allow us to give this to you for free, so now we're forced to count it against your data cap"?

    --
    Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
    1. Re:A complex game? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      If that's what the wireless operators think they're doing, they're just beyond stupid. What do they think will happen? Every web hoster in the world buys their service? No, they'll buy their place on Facebook, and Facebook becomes the ISPs' only client, with obvious effects on negotiations. They don't like to compete for the millions of customers because we're all cheap bastards who want more bandwidth for almost no money? Just wait until they have to compete for a handful of gatekeepers who can ruin them with a signature under some other ISP's contract.

  2. Re:can someone give the TL;DR by Sigma+7 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Zero rating causes some websites to not count towards the data cap.

    Seems minor, but consider users worrying about a data cap limit and not playing Netflix streams, when another competitor isn't subject to that restriction.

  3. Re:can someone give the TL;DR by parkinglot777 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    QUIT TRYING TO GET THE GOVERNMENT TO SOLVE ALL YOUR ISSUES - THIS STORY IS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENS!

    So let me ask you this. Who is going to do if not government involved? Let corporations make their own decision and you just keep praying that they won't screw you for their own benefit?

    Any rules have work around. It just happened that corporations have found a way to work around the rules. It is expected later or sooner. Sadly, they found it so early. Now what FCC could do is either to make it a precedence (court ruling) or tighten the rules up. Not sure which one is better...