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Aftermath From The Net Neutrality Vote: A Mass Movement To Protect The Open Internet? (mashable.com)

After Thursday's net neutrality vote, two security guards pinned a reporter against a wall until FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly had left the room, the Los Angeles Times reports. The Writers Guild of America calls the FCC's 2-to-1 vote to initiate a repeal of net neutrality rules a "war on the open internet," according to The Guardian. But the newspaper now predicts that online activists will continue their massive campaign "as the month's long process of reviewing the rules begins." The Hill points out that Mozilla is already hiring a high-profile tech lobbyist to press for both cybersecurity and an open internet, and in a blog post earlier this week the Mozilla Foundation's executive director sees a larger movement emerging from the engagement of millions of internet users. Today's support for net neutrality isn't the start of the Internet health movement. People have been standing up for an open web since its inception -- by advocating for browser choice, for open source practices, for mass surveillance reform. But net neutrality is an opportunity to propel this movement into the mainstream... If we make Internet health a mainstream issue, we can cement the web as a public resource. If we don't, mass surveillance, exclusion and insecurity can creep into every aspect of society. Hospitals held hostage by rogue hackers can become the status quo.
Meanwhile, The Guardian reports that it's not till the end of the FCC's review process that "a final FCC vote will decide the future of internet regulation," adding that however they vote, "court challenges are inevitable."

132 comments

  1. Open and free Internet by Attila+Dimedici · · Score: 0, Troll

    Let me see if I have this right: the key to an open and free Internet, and limiting mass surveillance, is empowering the government to thoroughly regulate the Internet?

    --
    The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
    1. Re:Open and free Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Welcome to progressive left wing thinking. Empowerment by sheer weight of bureaucracy and destroying other people who disagree.

    2. Re:Open and free Internet by Highdude702 · · Score: 0

      Well put!

    3. Re:Open and free Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      The central idea of the Internet is that every service has the same priority, so any user and company can deliver data over the Internet without having to pay way tolls. FCC regulations were in place to ensure this neutrality, and now they are about to be taken away. If they are taken away, the Internet in the US will be gone. It will be a "data delivery service to whoever can afford to pay" network and small Internet companies can close their shops in the US.

      On a side note, people like you are bigots, because everybody with a brain already knows all of what I've just said.

    4. Re:Open and free Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But don't you remember the hellscape that was pre-government regulated Internet during the 90s, when there were many ISPs and Internet access was cheap, before government regulations ensured that only a few cable monopolies could provide Internet access?

      Clearly we need more regulations to decrease competition and raise prices.

    5. Re:Open and free Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      FCC regulations were in place to ensure this neutrality, and now they are about to be taken away.

      The FCC regulations to reclassify under Title II were ruled in February 2015, but were not yet in effect. Furthermore, those regulations did not exist before 2015. Thus the internet spent almost its entire existence without the regulation people are convinced is essential. Somehow, it managed.

    6. Re:Open and free Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Who is saying NN is to empower the government to thoroughly regulate the internet? It's as insane as saying all the laws on the books are there to empower the government to thoroughly regulate the private lives of citizens. Do you even hear yourself?

      NN allows the government to force ISPs to treat the network as a series of tubes.

      That's all.

      ISPs aren't forced to spy on people with NN, it never was needed.

    7. Re:Open and free Internet by klingens · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Yes. The same way the key to open and free roads ist the power of the government to make laws how everyone can use said roads.

      Both, internet and roads, are essential infrastructure for society to actually work and therefore cannot be left in the hands of private interests. So even if either of them are (partially) privatized, one still needs very strict laws and regulations.

    8. Re:Open and free Internet by NotInHere · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Yes, the government's biggest job is to ensure a free environment. E.g. there are laws that forbid people to rob or kill others. This allows you to freely roam the country without fear of being robbed or killed. Of course, you could say such rules are just government intervention, and require private armies to be set up, or gated communities, etc. But generally, gated communities are not a good solution to the problem, as a) it is only a solution for people who can afford it and b) it impairs freedom.

      The net neutrality rules are similar here: they ensure that the companies don't fuck with their customers, and ensure that you can enjoy any service you want. Yes, its limiting the ISP's but it creates a big free environment in turn for competition, companies and business to thrive.

    9. Re:Open and free Internet by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 1

      Let me see if I have this right: the key to an open and free Internet, and limiting mass surveillance, is empowering the government to thoroughly regulate the Internet?

      No, not regulate the Internet itself but rather thoroughly regulate your connection to the Internet.

      --
      Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
    10. Re:Open and free Internet by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Let me see if I have this right

      No, you do not have it right. If the market for ISPs was competitive, then Net Neutrality would not be needed, because if consumers didn't like their ISP's policies, they could just switch to another. But the ISP market is NOT competitive, not even close. Most consumers have a choice of exactly one broadband provider.

      Regulating monopolies to prevent them from abusing their dominance is a legitimate role of government.

    11. Re: Open and free Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, the same way that your freedom is achieved by the government having laws that prevent others from walling you in, locking you up, or even paying you in company scrip, the same way government keeps you safer by keeping toddlers from having guns and not letting people throw you out of their business because of your skin color or religion.

    12. Re:Open and free Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Strawman. Net Neutrality is to preserve competition (among content deliverers) and has nothing to do with the number of ISPs out there.

      Besides, the number of ISPs in the 90s was due to the low cost of entry of dial-up, which was on a (government-imposed) public utility. You should be advocating for more government here. If cable/fiber were regulated as a public utility, that should bring back the glory days of the 90s!

    13. Re:Open and free Internet by runningduck · · Score: 1

      Wrong! The key to an open and free Internet is to regulate the Internet providers.

      --
      -rd
    14. Re:Open and free Internet by alexo · · Score: 2

      A little disingenuous of you to lump everything under the same "regulation" umbrella, don't you think?

      Anti-trust laws, consumer right regulations and criminalizing murder are also "regulation".

      It all depends on the actual and specific mandate.

    15. Re:Open and free Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The central idea of the Internet is that every service has the same priority

      The central idea of the internet is scalability, redundancy, and routing around damage. Without discrimination based on service QoS, IP phones, teleconferencing, digital telephony, and many other technologies that people associate with the internet could not exist.

      On a side note, people like you are bigots, because everybody with a brain already knows all of what I've just said.

      Perhaps you should look up the history of the internet, Quality of Service, and Ad Hominem.

    16. Re:Open and free Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Empowerment by sheer weight of bureaucracy and destroying other people who disagree.

      And you still end up, more or less, with a system dominated by corrupt oligarchs. See Nomenklatura.

    17. Re:Open and free Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      pick your poison, gov or isp. bet gov wont charge you more to watch video over intertubes instead of just reading web site content though. you decide.

    18. Re:Open and free Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Except someone decided you're not free to use the roads without government permission in the form of a license.

      And the government didn't build the internet and doesn't maintain the internet. So the people who actually did build it and pay the bills to maintain it might rightfully oppose government thugs trying to bully them.

      So it's not really like roads at all. Nor should it be unless you want to apply for an internet license -- a license that can be revoked by the government.

    19. Re: Open and free Internet by SuperKendall · · Score: 0

      Double Strawman: Network Neutrality has NOTHING to do with content provider competition, and in fact helps protect in the largest content providers from upstarts trying to cut it with discounted services.

      You are protected the largest of corporations. Why??? They do not need your help.

      --
      "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    20. Re:Open and free Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's competitive some places. Yet the net neutrality people never seem to want to exempt those places from the rules...

      There are at least 4 major competitive wireless providers in the US. Should they be exempt from net neutrality then? Or is talk about competitive markets phony?

    21. Re:Open and free Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Uhm, yes. That's how our society is set up. You have the police, and lawmakers, and judges. What would you prefer to enforce your local monopoly from now slowing down Netflix? An empty promise?

    22. Re:Open and free Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The central idea of the Internet is that every service has the same priority

      No, that has never been a "central idea of the internet", and is demonstrably false. In fact, a large amount of money and R&D has been spent on the exact opposite of that, because you do not want latency sensitive applications such as VOIP delayed by latency insensitive applications such as a batch download.

    23. Re:Open and free Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You probably don't have this right, but it's hard to tell when you're being so vague. What specifically do you mean by "thoroughly regulate the Internet"? The government is already empowered to regulate the Internet, and that isn't changing. The question at hand is what exactly the regulations will be.

      Regulations ensuring an open and free Internet certainly help for ensuring an open and free Internet - that's obvious. And regulations limiting mass surveillance can limit mass surveillance to an extent. That's also obvious.

      Conversely, regulations limiting an open and free Internet or ensuring mass surveillance will have the exact opposite effect.

      Previous regulations, now often referred to as "Net Neutrality" were put in place to prevent those in power from introducing restrictions on how the Internet could be used. Ajit Pai is currently pushing for new regulations that allow those in power to control who is allowed to compete and what Internet-users are allowed to do on the Internet.

    24. Re:Open and free Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Uh no that is not the reason...

      The reasons that there is not competition are:
      1) Large players buying up smaller providers.
      2) Monopolistic agreements between localities/buildings and providers that prevent other companies from competing if they even wanted to.
      3) The few providers that are available are colluding with one another to NOT compete (see Time Warner and Comcast circa 2006), or simply deciding to not go into markets that are already served by another provider. (Verizon has been doing this for years)
      4) The tele-comms are no longer required to allow access by third parties to the central offices (happened in early 2000). After the courts ruled on this the number of available providers went to nil almost overnight. I personally had tried 5 different DSL providers and finally found one whose price vs service was great then this ruling came down and I was FORCED to switch to the the monopoly phone companies (SWBell) service which was more expensive and had crappier service BEFORE my contract with my existing provider was over.

      Before you start saying that it was "Their Infrastructure" keep in mind most of the phone infrastructure was build with govt grants and using the FUSF (Federal Universal Service Fee) that are a fee specifically allowed by the government to go on top of our payments whose sole purpose is to expand and maintain the infrastructure, so in effect most of said infrastructure is paid for bu public funds

    25. Re:Open and free Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There are competitive to a point except since you cannot just move you phone to another company you are locked in unless you want to buy a new phone and with the high costs of phones these days there is effectively no competition.

      Now when all mobile companies are required to use GSM and are required to sell all phones unlocked then I would say that there is MOSTLY reasonable competition.

      Of course this does not take into account coverage (or lack thereof) of most providers outside of major cities.

    26. Re:Open and free Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ding Ding Ding

      We have a Winner.

      Regulations that protect the right s of "real" people are generally needed as Cooperations have proven that on the whole they have only the interests of their bottom line in mind.

    27. Re:Open and free Internet by thegarbz · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Except someone decided you're not free to use the roads without government permission in the form of a license.

      They decided no such thing. There's nothing stopping you walking down a road, cycling down a road, or otherwise. You're not restricted from using the road, only using it in a way that could negatively impact others (i.e. driving a 2T metal deathtrap without training or after specifically showing you're incapable of doing so within the rules).

      And the government didn't build the internet

      Before you look any more ignorant you may want to look up the history of your country with regards to:
      a) where the telcoms came from and with whose money they were built.
      b) where the internet itself came from and with whose money it was built.
      c) just how much government funding goes into the companies currently providing said internet to citizens.

    28. Re:Open and free Internet by Areyoukiddingme · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The FCC regulations to reclassify under Title II were ruled in February 2015, but were not yet in effect. Furthermore, those regulations did not exist before 2015. Thus the internet spent almost its entire existence without the regulation people are convinced is essential. Somehow, it managed.

      Yes, Response #2 in the shill playbook.

      Prior to 2015, asshats hadn't thought of breaking the fucking Internet for profit. Monopoly ISPs realized they were monopolies and are now trying to break the Internet. Therefore, they must be regulated. Regulations are for reining in asshats. Don't want regulations? Don't be an asshat. But you are, aren't you, shill...

    29. Re: Open and free Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Have you ever used roads, flew in an airplane, lived in a house, owned land, went to a national park, owned a car, etc.

      All that stuff has a lot of regulations that protect you, make them standard, and available to the general population. All of which without regulations were quite shit with different companies going in different directions.

    30. Re:Open and free Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's because those places aren't even in this country.

      Yes, it's absolutely competitive in south korea. There's even a bit of competition between ISPs in Canada.

      And both of those have competition BECAUSE of anti-monopoly regulation.

    31. Re: Open and free Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Paid fast lanes are what Big Media wants. It protects the established big guys and penalizes new entries. Also since Big Content owns the big ISPs (AT&T is Time Warner, Comcast is NBC etc), they can make it easier for consumers to get to their own stuff at the expense of everything else out there. Being ISPs allows them to prioritize their own content, which is what the zero-rating thing was all about.

      So yeah, care to try again to claim that Net Neutrality protects the interests of the largest of corporations? Seriously? Why do you think Big Media and the ISPs are spending millions on politicians here? Because they expect to make billions doing so. They're doing this at the expense of everyone else - the little guys, other content distributors, and the customers!

    32. Re:Open and free Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Do you know why the market for ISPs isn't competitive?

      Yes, I do. You don't. Or you pretend that you don't.

      Excessive government regulation.

      No, that's not it.

      Removing these pointless regulations is just one step in increasing competition.

      No, that's not a step in the right direction.

      Stop getting in the way of the market.

      That would be you getting in the way of an actual free market.

      Seriously. Do you shills think everyone buys your crap?

    33. Re:Open and free Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Even with competition, a lack of enforced net neutrality makes fair behavior a losing proposition. Net neutrality violations allow an ISP with a high market share to use customers as hostages and extort money from remotely connected hosters. The ISP can then use this money to lower prices and make up any temporary customer drain with new subscribers. As hosters pay, the disadvantages disappear for the customers of that ISP, and that solidifies the high market share. Smaller ISPs don't have that bargaining power and have to ask higher prices, so even if they never throttle anything, they are at an increasing competitive disadvantage. The economic reason why net neutrality is important even where competition exists, is that getting paid by both sides is an externalization of cost for the customers. It's like credit cards: If you don't use the cash-back, you still pay for everybody else's cash-backs: A system tilted in favor of double-dipping.

    34. Re:Open and free Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The government is already empowered to thoroughly regulate the internet. The question is will they and what will those rules be.

        We already have thorough regulation of the telephones. So the phone company is not supposed to be able to sell your phone records. I'm not sure how a libertarian might imagine such a rule will result in a horrible dystopia. Actually, I doubt Libertarians really contemplate to the level of accurately determining consequences of their own actions much less anyone else's. So yes it would be nice to have our personal internet activities remain our own property rather than allowing an ISP to sell that information.

        It would also be good to have google, netflix and others pay for access like anyone else without having to pay again for your ISP to allow that access to mean they can reach you and me. It really isn't hard to understand the basic fairness of paying for initial access then all the internet is then available as opposed to allowing interests to set themselves up as highwaymen who hold YOU hostage unless each interest you would like to communicate with pays their toll. I suppose a libertarian would prefer everyone's access to be different as determined by a huge mess of interests actively trying to extort as much money as possible from each and every possible website you may have wished to visit.
      But can't because they haven't paid the toll.

      Almost all the roads where I live are open and free. Yet they have policemen patrolling them to make sure the roads are safe and useable. I'm not sure how people can abuse their noggins to the point where the most basic of regulations and enforcement would somehow seem a huge and terrible intrusion. Certainly this pathetic dysfunction is not due to maintaining a grasp on reality.; There are too many examples of regulation making open and free situations possible. There are too many examples making it obvious that open and free situations for large numbers of people requires some basic ground rules of fairness.

    35. Re:Open and free Internet by mrclevesque · · Score: 2

      "The central idea of the Internet is that every service has the same priority"

      Right, VOIP from one company doesn't have priority over other VOIP services, streaming video from one company isn't prioritized over streaming from another, and so on.

    36. Re:Open and free Internet by bigfinger76 · · Score: 1

      Who is saying NN is to empower the government to thoroughly regulate the internet?

      Talk radio.

    37. Re:Open and free Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So, in other words... not all services have the same priority, and the original claim was false.

    38. Re:Open and free Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I suppose by "Quality of Service" you little cunt mean the ToS flag in IPv4? Well, there is no problem with that. But you have no idea how angry people like you make me. Maybe you can drone strike wedding parties and invade country, but when you destroy the Internet, then you're really crossing a red line. Also, you have obviously no idea what an ad hominem argument is. If someone is a stupid bigot, it's okay to call him that way. The argument was elsewhere.

    39. Re:Open and free Internet by Orgasmatron · · Score: 1

      Prior to 2015, asshats hadn't thought of breaking the fucking Internet for profit

      LOL

      --
      See that "Preview" button?
    40. Re:Open and free Internet by mrclevesque · · Score: 1

      No, it just depends on how you read it.

      And there is no reason ISPs couldn't just give all services the same priority. It would then be up to the customer to decide, according to what he wants to pay, if/what he wants to prioritize, latency, bandwidth, and so on.

    41. Re:Open and free Internet by Orgasmatron · · Score: 1

      I'm not in South Korea or Canada, and I have access to two fiber optic ISPs, plus DSL from the phone company, plus two wireless ISPs, plus I think 3 cellular ISPs. I'm in the US, in a semi-rural area a few minutes outside of a small town and about 100 miles from a major metro area.

      There are anti-monopoly regulations here, but they are inoperative. Meaning that the phone company must allow competing companies access to their physical infrastructure at below-cost rates, but no one is interested.

      The competing fiber ISPs are the result of not having pro-monopoly regulation, and I strongly suggest that you urge your local regulator bodies to consider it if you are unhappy with your local options. And don't try the "it costs too much to build two plants" line of bullshit on me - I've debunked it many times in my post history.

      --
      See that "Preview" button?
    42. Re:Open and free Internet by PoopJuggler · · Score: 1

      Do you think speech would be free if it wasn't legislated? Not every regulation is bad.

    43. Re:Open and free Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Shorter version: You're totally free to use roads except all the ways you're not free. Cars are way too scary to allow anyone any freedom in relation to them. Everyone be afraid of the scary, scary cars.

      And the government once paid for a very small fraction of the internet, so it should get carte blanche to seize the rest of it at any time, with the barest hint of justification.

      Even shorter version: Wielding power over others is cool. Haha, fuck those guys.

    44. Re: Open and free Internet by PoopJuggler · · Score: 1

      helps protect in the largest content providers from upstarts trying to cut it with discounted services

      That's the exact opposite of what's good for consumers.

    45. Re:Open and free Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah only those crazies on the left would think it's bad to prevent corporations from controlling distribution networks... Dumbass.

    46. Re: Open and free Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Double down, dude.

      We need the salt.

    47. Re: Open and free Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In general speech isn't regulated. The cases when a regulated entity has to thep in to preserve free speech are exceptionsâ.

    48. Re:Open and free Internet by Caesar+Tjalbo · · Score: 3, Informative

      Prior to 2015, asshats hadn't thought of breaking the fucking Internet for profit.

      The Netherlands got their net neutrality in 2011 because one of the big telco's was dreaming aloud about new pricing schemes. Chile was the first in the world in 2010.

      --
      "I'm not much interested in interoperability. I want substitutability. I want to be able to throw your software out."
    49. Re:Open and free Internet by Boronx · · Score: 2

      What the government wont do is set a faster speed for Chevys over Toyotas because Toyota won't pay up.

    50. Re:Open and free Internet by sonicmerlin · · Score: 4, Informative

      The internet was regulated under Title II until a Republican FCC Commissioner named Kevin Martin deregulated it in 2004.

    51. Re:Open and free Internet by sonicmerlin · · Score: 2

      Oh god shut the frack up you stupid anarchist 12 year old piece of trash. No, we will not let you drive like a drunken maniac and endanger those around you.

    52. Re:Open and free Internet by sonicmerlin · · Score: 2

      You're a freaking moron. Even Google is giving up on building out fiber to compete, and you think it's not too expensive?

      You don't even understand the basic problems inherent to infrastructure markets.

    53. Re:Open and free Internet by Attila+Dimedici · · Score: 1

      Oh, I see, since the government used its power to create monopoly ISPs, it needs to have even more power to ensure that the ISPs do not abuse the power which the government gave them. Who is going to make sure that the government does not abuse this power?

      --
      The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
    54. Re:Open and free Internet by Attila+Dimedici · · Score: 1

      Got it. Since the government created a problem it needs to be even more powerful to fix the problem which it created.

      --
      The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
    55. Re:Open and free Internet by Attila+Dimedici · · Score: 0

      I have noticed that in those places where speech is regulated in order to make sure that it is "free' it is less free than in places where it is not regulated at all.

      --
      The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
    56. Re:Open and free Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I see you are just like every other Republican that only heard the phrase "net neutrality" 2 years ago when Fox News suddenly cared about getting rid of it.

    57. Re:Open and free Internet by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 1

      I see, so they won't regulate the Internet, just what my ISP is allowed to let me see on the Internet.

      Incorrect. They will legislate that your ISP cannot interfere with what you can see on the internet.

      --
      Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
    58. Re:Open and free Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And the government didn't build the internet

      So if the "federal government" isn't part of the "government" as you claim, then why are you at all worried about net neutrality laws being made by that same "federal government"?

      After all, that isn't regulation by the "government" according to you, so there is no government regulations at all here by having the regulation laws on the books.

    59. Re:Open and free Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And the government didn't build the internet and doesn't maintain the internet.

      You sweet summer child.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARPANET

      If the Department of Defense isn't part of the government, I don't know what is.

    60. Re:Open and free Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Congress passed the law which allowed those local governments to give out monopolies. Without that law, those local monopolies would have been illegal under existing federal laws.

      If that's true, start stating it and citing it. Stop making these glib one liner posts that don't add anything to the argument.

    61. Re:Open and free Internet by Attila+Dimedici · · Score: 1

      No, that is what you want them to do, not what they will actually do.

      --
      The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
    62. Re:Open and free Internet by lsatenstein · · Score: 1

      Yes, the government's biggest job is to ensure a free environment. E.g. there are laws that forbid people to rob or kill others. This allows you to freely roam the country without fear of being robbed or killed. Of course, you could say such rules are just government intervention, and require private armies to be set up, or gated communities, etc. But generally, gated communities are not a good solution to the problem, as a) it is only a solution for people who can afford it and b) it impairs freedom.

      The net neutrality rules are similar here: they ensure that the companies don't fuck with their customers, and ensure that you can enjoy any service you want. Yes, its limiting the ISP's but it creates a big free environment in turn for competition, companies and business to thrive.

      When neutrality is taken away, the Internet providers, who by the way, earn their money from your connection, are going to be in the position to refuse a small business (or you ) to provide the small business's website access (your contacting his site), unless the business pays a fee to allow him to use the web. You already pay the ISPs a fee through your monthly bill, and they, the ISPs want more. You will be paying for sending your emails, perhaps a 1/10th cent or so, and yes, its a money grab.

      Shame Shame Shame.

      --
      Leslie Satenstein Montreal Quebec Canada
    63. Re:Open and free Internet by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 1

      Then throw the executives of companies who violate the regulations in jail. Problem solved.

      --
      Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
    64. Re:Open and free Internet by runningduck · · Score: 1

      Got it. Since the carriers are in a psudo-monopoly position they should be free to exploit their protected position for all its worth.

      --
      -rd
    65. Re: Open and free Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Holy shit broham.... You sound like a 12 year old with no experience whos never met a women much less seen a pussy.

        If the government build a road and says hey your free to use it in nearly anyway you like, but just follow some ground rules with regards to cars.... Cause they have the ability to injure 22 people and kill a few more pretty easily...

      Your response is to bitch about how they're taking your freedoms away.....

      Keep it up Bro

    66. Re:Open and free Internet by Attila+Dimedici · · Score: 1

      How would it help to do that when the executives will be perfectly happy to follow the regulations which give them more power and make it hard for startups to compete with them?
      The problem is that A) you do not realize that the FCC does not legislate, it regulates and B) you think that the FCC net neutrality rules will be that the ISP cannot interfere with what you can see on the Internet when in fact the regulation will require your ISP to interfere in what you can access on the Internet according to the whims of the bureaucrats at the FCC.

      --
      The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
    67. Re:Open and free Internet by Attila+Dimedici · · Score: 1

      No, we should pressure the government to break up the semi monopolies which it created.

      --
      The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
    68. Re:Open and free Internet by runningduck · · Score: 1

      I don't disagree with breaking up the semi-monopolies. The problem is that spectrum and last mile right of way tend to put companies into a monopoly position. It is probably easier to open up the last mile market, but pole rights complicate things greatly. Some carriers "service the poles" in exchange for exclusive competitive access. Spectrum, on the other hand, must be governed if it is to work at all.

      --
      -rd
    69. Re:Open and free Internet by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 2

      How would it help to do that when the executives will be perfectly happy to follow the regulations which give them more power and make it hard for startups to compete with them?

      Obviously you don't understand what net neutrality is.

      --
      Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
    70. Re:Open and free Internet by AutodidactLabrat · · Score: 1

      Do you think it is good for unelected representatives of the Oligarchs to control access to information?
      Well WELCOME to Nazi Germany!
      Where Fascism is the perfect power, the joining of the Corporate power to the power of the State!

    71. Re:Open and free Internet by AutodidactLabrat · · Score: 1

      No, just bigots tend to hold contra-factual beliefs

    72. Re:Open and free Internet by Attila+Dimedici · · Score: 1

      Obviously, you don't understand how government regulatory bodies work.

      I understand what you mean by net neutrality, but I also know that government regulations always end up favoring the incumbents, not the consumer.

      --
      The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
    73. Re:Open and free Internet by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 1

      I understand what you mean by net neutrality, but I also know that government regulations always end up favoring the incumbents, not the consumer.

      Generalizations are easily proved wrong.

      --
      Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
    74. Re:Open and free Internet by Attila+Dimedici · · Score: 1

      That's true, sometimes government regulations have negative consequences for both the incumbents in the industry AND the consumer.

      --
      The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
    75. Re:Open and free Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Remove the part about "limiting mass surveillance" and it's correct at least. This is the same way the government currently regulates other utilities or industries.

      I used to be a very staunch Republican conservative capitalist until 2008 when I finally saw the true underbelly of greed in capitalism. Like many other millennials I know, we are still somewhat conservative in our views, but we agree now that some parts of capitalism require government regulation (or at least some other form of oversight) to protect us from ourselves.

      Raise my rates for Internet access if that's what the corporations want and it is their invest of infrastructure, but do not limit my abilities to access sites, services, or information that I want to access because it's not sanctioned by the corporation or cuts into their own services profits.

    76. Re:Open and free Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      TL;DR There is no middle ground between crony capitalist dystopia and totalitarian dystopia.

      Apparently we live in the BioShock universe.

    77. Re:Open and free Internet by peawormsworth · · Score: 1

      Without discrimination ... QoS, IP phones, teleconferencing, digital telephony ... could not exist.

      You are Wrong.

      My ISP is Shaw. My independent VOIP service worked fine until they came in with their own VOIP service. I did not realize immediately, because they forced me to take a "free" service upgrade. When the upgrade expired and I was returned to my original service, my own VOIP did not function properly. When I confronted them on this, they told me to upgrade my plan or pay them an additional $10/month QOS service fee. I know that the fee was BS and my previously working service now used traffic shaping to intentionally cause my competing VOIP service to fail.

      In essence, my ISP (Shaw) used QOS as an excuse to effectively tax users of competing internet services to make their own service appear more attractive in price.

      Providing Internet access and providing internet services should be as separate as Church and State. That is why I support net neutrality. Because without it, people will be harmed financially through lack of competition.

    78. Re:Open and free Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not quite. It is actually illegal to walk on many freeways around the United States. I would look it up for you, but it is easier if you just go walk on a freeway and find out for yourself. I thought so, too, once. But then I was informed otherwise by the State Patrol. So it goes.

  2. Trump by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Thank the Trump administration for this.

  3. Trump's real legacy by whoever57 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Tristani was allowed to sit in the media area but said she was not allowed to move from there during the meeting. Other protesters were allowed only in an overflow room that had a video feed of the meeting.

    It speaks to the current atmosphere,â she said of Washington after President Trump took office. âoeItâ(TM)s a Trumpian atmosphere not only with the press but with anybody who has a different view.â

    This is Trump's legacy: thugs employed by the government feel immune to any restraint. The stories just keep on coming about this type of behaviour from government employees, for example, the abuses committed by ICE.

    Look at the assaults committed by Erdogan's bodyguards. Yes, Erdogan has immunity as head of state, but his bodyguards don't. Why hasn't anyone been arrested and charged?

    --
    The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
    1. Re:Trump's real legacy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      1. ICE deporting people who are not here legally is not 'abuse.'

      2. net neutrality is a wash. We get fucked by the state or by ISPs/SaaS.

    2. Re:Trump's real legacy by hyades1 · · Score: 1

      I'll believe Trump is finally on his way out, willingly or not, when I see a Washington Walmart that has a huge lineup of rats trying to buy life jackets.

      --
      I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
    3. Re:Trump's real legacy by hyades1 · · Score: 1

      And yet, it is liberal Blue States that support all those welfare leech Red States. It's working out great for the Red Staters, as long as they don't piss off liberals so much they finally kick all those slope-headed conservative moochers to the curb.

      --
      I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
    4. Re:Trump's real legacy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah.. maybe it's a good idea for those blue states to drop the socialism.

    5. Re:Trump's real legacy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There's only one response that works once things have devolved to this point. Because you certainly can't expect the Don's brigands to arrest themselves now can you?

      The tree of liberty is dried up and dying of thirst.

    6. Re:Trump's real legacy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      1. ICE deporting people who are not here legally is not 'abuse.'

      It is if:

      They do it abusively, like by excessive physical force, deceit, malice, etc. There's a reason they don't want to admit they've detained numerous Americans, put some people in solitary confinement, and let others die in custody.

    7. Re:Trump's real legacy by Boronx · · Score: 1

      1. Abuse is abuse.
      2. You are stupid. On one side you get shafted, on the other you get what you want.

    8. Re:Trump's real legacy by hyades1 · · Score: 1

      Why? So far, socialism has been so profitable Blue State liberals have been able to maintain a decent standard of living and still support all those welfare queen Red State conservatives, too.

      Socialism isn't the problem. Conservative morons who lack the intellect and self-discipline to educate themselves and participate actively in the world economy are the problem. The pathetic creatures still think they'd be alright if only they could get slavery legalized again.

      --
      I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
    9. Re: Trump's real legacy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I will know Trump is well established in power when the big auction houses start inventorying equipment and furnishings in huge empty office buildings in D.C. for resale.

  4. FTC by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Calm down. All they're doing is transferring regulatory domain to the Federal Trade Commission.

  5. Browser power by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why doesn't Mozilla do a Jimmy Wales with Firefox and everytime one visits any world government site have a banner slide from the page top pushing the site down an inch showing that governents stance on net nuetrality and why it is bad for them?

  6. There is NO "review" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They already made their mind to stop net neutrality ever since that guy was put in charge. Nothing you say will change that. Better luck in 4 years.

  7. We're gonna need somebody else in charge by rsilvergun · · Score: 4, Insightful

    if we want Net Neutrality back. I know it's not popular to bring up politics (which is odd, since this discussion couldn't get any less political) but the ruling party has always been opposed to NN. Their arguments are pretty straight forward: It's undue and unnecessary regulation that stifles innovation. Let the Market sort it out.

    There's plenty of counter arguments that I want get into. I don't want to get off track anymore. Bottom line is this: The Republican party is ideologically opposed to Net Neutrality. It is, after all, a massive government regulation. It just so happens to be one that's popular with techies. Said it before, say it again: If you elect a party that takes as a central tenet that regulation is usually unnecessary, bad and a drain on Free Market principles you're going to have to accept the results. Net Neutrality is fundamentally incompatible with that ideology.

    TLDR; Vote in your Mid Terms.

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
    1. Re:We're gonna need somebody else in charge by guises · · Score: 1

      The Republican party is ideologically opposed to Net Neutrality. It is, after all, a massive government regulation.

      This isn't accurate. As is always the case with politicians, you have to look at what they do and not just what they say: Republicans love regulations, just not all of them. For a related example to the topic at hand, Republicans in many states have passed or attempted to pass regulations prohibiting the establishment of municipal ISPs. Ensuring that once net neutrality is dead, no one will have access to an open internet.

  8. Could we just invent a Citizen Internet? by gatkinso · · Score: 1

    Base the whole thing on Wifi, and a very few strategic tunneled internet hops?

    --
    I am very small, utmostly microscopic.
    1. Re:Could we just invent a Citizen Internet? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's an attractive idea for sure, but in practice is extremely difficult. For one thing, it only works where there is sufficient density of wifi, and then, the routing is a mess. Any kind of distance requires many hops and each hop adds latency, so it wouldn't be useful for gaming, VOIP, or many other uses. It also doesn't cope well with sparser rural areas without LOS to neighbors.

      For better or worse, you do need some kind of long distance point to point high bandwidth links for a network of worldwide scale, and that raises the bar to companies that can afford to lay undersea cables or launch satellites.

      I dunno, maybe a different funding model could be found, more like crowdsourcing, where the expensive infrastructure would be funded by everyone.

    2. Re:Could we just invent a Citizen Internet? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I dunno, maybe a different funding model could be found, more like crowdsourcing, where the expensive infrastructure would be funded by everyone.

      You mean, like the taxpayer money that was given to Verizon over a decade ago to build a fiber network that they never built and never dealt with the legal ramifications of taking taxpayer money and not holding up their end of the deal? Personally I think the US gov't should just step in and shut these a$$holes down, take the infrastructure and declare it a public utility. But I guess that would require gov't employees to not have been bought and paid for by these ISPs...

  9. Government neutrality by alexo · · Score: 1

    Mozilla is already hiring a high-profile tech lobbyist to press for both cybersecurity and an open internet

    When your so called democracy has paid high-speed lanes, what do you expect from your Internet service?

    1. Re:Government neutrality by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 1

      When your so called democracy has paid high-speed lanes, what do you expect from your Internet service?

      Well, given that you can get Gbit internet some places if you're willing to pay more for the connection, I'm not sure I'm seeing much difference really.

      Except that lack of Net Neutrality laws will allow ISPs and such to be sued for the content they prioritize/deprioritize. That's what this is all about, ultimately. Net Neutrality protects ISPs from (some) lawsuits. It won't after this change goes through. If it goes through.

      --

      "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
  10. Yes by rsilvergun · · Score: 5, Insightful

    and it's ridiculously counter intuitive.

    Look, I get it. Nobody likes to have a ruling class. But you've got one. You always will. That's because people pass money, property and other advantages to their children and those things build up over time. Then those children form groups, organizations and societies to protect and expand that wealth. It's always been this way and it will continue for the foreseeable future. These days the way it works is they form mega corps and sit on each other's board of directors.

    Now, you've got two options. First, pretend the ruling class doesn't exist and ignore their influence. Second, form a large organization comprised of members of the working class who can counteract that influence by shear weight of numbers. We call that organization Government and we call the system that manages it Democracy. When it actively looks out for the interests of the working class we call it Democratic Socialism.

    Think of it this way: Government is like a box of loaded rifles sitting out in the open. If you pretend the box isn't there somebody's gonna come along and pick up those rifles (e.g. your ruling class). The only real option is to pick one up yourself. But now you've got a different problem, everybody's armed to the teeth. So you've got to start making rules to keep them from shooting & looting. What I'm saying is, Government is a tool. It's a tool so useful that if you don't use it somebody else will. You're letting somebody else use that tool right now, and they're running roughshod over you with it.Please stop it. The rest of use don't have enough rifles to stand up without you.

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
    1. Re:Yes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Third option: Estate taxes. AC

    2. Re:Yes by Attila+Dimedici · · Score: 0

      So, since the ruling class has power, we should give them more power to keep them from acquiring more power.

      --
      The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
    3. Re:Yes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No I think his/her point is that if we have to chose between giving power to people we can't control (corporations) or people we can control to some limited degree (government) we should choose the latter.

  11. Who decided that was the central idea? by SuperKendall · · Score: 0

    The central idea of the internet is NOT that all traffic gets equal priority, not by a long shot. There is a huge amount of networking gear dedicated in fact to traffic shaping and prioritization.

    The central idea of the internet is connectivity, period.

    There is nothing inherently wrong, and much desirable, about people being able to define what traffic takes priority from what source. If you polled people asking them if they should be able to pay $10/month to prioritize Netflix traffic, I'm thinking 90% of them would say that would be great to be able to do that. Under "Network Neutrality" as commonly thought of, it would be illegal for companies to offer such a service...

    You know it's a bad law when it blocks things a vast majority of people want to be able to do. Network Neutrality is just a digital War on Drugs under a different guise. I don't care you if are doing it "for the children" as it were, it's a bad idea to legislate.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:Who decided that was the central idea? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      BULLSHIT.

      There is no reason to pay to prioritize Netflix traffic if it already has the same priority as other traffic. The only reason to pay to increase priority is if it will otherwise be de-prioritized.

      As a customer, I have already paid for all of my data traffic. Now you demand that I pay more for certain bits than for the rest?

    2. Re:Who decided that was the central idea? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you polled people asking them if they should be able to pay $10/month to prioritize Netflix traffic, I'm thinking 90% of them would say that would be great to be able to do that.

      The fuck they would! Who would say it would be great if they could pay $10 extra per month for what they're already getting today? What the hell are you huffing?

    3. Re:Who decided that was the central idea? by Boronx · · Score: 2

      The network would exist without government interference, but the internet certainly wouldn't. The whole point is to make the connections between the networks transparent.

      You may not understand why that's valuable to the country, but it is.

    4. Re:Who decided that was the central idea? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I think you're the one who doesn't understand how the Internet works if you're making a comparison between your rackspace and BGP announced subnets to the companies that provide last-mile service throughout the country. I suggest that you need to do a lot more thinking about your statements before you try to explain that which you lack understanding of yourself.

    5. Re:Who decided that was the central idea? by mrclevesque · · Score: 2

      "The government does not get to interfere in private property"

      The government permits and manages the very existence of private property so of course they (we) get to say how it works.

    6. Re:Who decided that was the central idea? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wrong. The people with monopoly control over the wires entering your house want to censor what you can do online. The government was telling them to play fair. Perhaps if it were a real marketplace, we wouldn't need the government to say that, but we do.

    7. Re:Who decided that was the central idea? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why the fuck would I pay $10 to prioritize Netflix? Is there something wrong with yours? Why do I need to pay to fix that? Seems like it would be better to set a standard, like..some sort of Net Neutrality agreement or something.

  12. Re: Good riddance. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That's how they be.

  13. We will know they were right when by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    they all go back to print journalism.

  14. The RFC comittee, dumbass by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They decided that would be the central idea. The DoD decided when they designed the idea.

    Indeed the routing around damage is WHY it's the central idea: there's no difference between damaged cables and an ISP blocking from a source. Nothing there about "But only if it's VOIP!".

  15. Sherman Anti-Trust Act by Areyoukiddingme · · Score: 3, Interesting

    It's time to start seriously talking about the Sherman Antitrust Act. It has been illegal since 1890 for monopolies to leverage their monopoly status in one line of business into another line of business. ISPs breaking the Internet by violating Net Neutrality are a posterchild for illegal activity. And this isn't difficult to understand. Let's look at the text of section 1, in its entirety:

    15 U.S. Code 1 - Trusts, etc., in restraint of trade illegal; penalty

    Every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, is declared to be illegal. Every person who shall make any contract or engage in any combination or conspiracy hereby declared to be illegal shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and, on conviction thereof, shall be punished by fine not exceeding $100,000,000 if a corporation, or, if any other person, $1,000,000, or by imprisonment not exceeding 10 years, or by both said punishments, in the discretion of the court.

    Obviously Comcast doesn't give a damn about a piddling million dollar penalty.[1] But Comcast executives might care a little bit about a federal felony conviction.

    There's 38 sections in 15 U.S.C., half a dozen of which have been repealed. Section 15c is an interesting one. That's the one that says State attorneys general are allowed to sue to enforce this law. It does not require a federal prosecutor. There's an aggressive New York state attorney general who might be interested.

    Section 15 is also interesting. That's the one that says, "any person who shall be injured in his business or property by reason of anything forbidden in the antitrust laws may sue therefor in any district court", and recover triple damages plus attorney's fees. And since corporations are persons... Netflix needs to grow some balls and sue Comcast in federal court. They qualify. It's black letter law, with zero difficulty proving damages. The dollar amount Comcast extorted from them is the amount of damage they suffered. It's trivial to prove Comcast is an interstate monopoly. Done and done. I just wish Netflix had a lawyer like NewEgg's general counsel.

    ISPs might be more interested in Title II protections after a few felony convictions. Eric Schneiderman, are you listening?

    ----
    [1] Obviously the law needs to be inflation-adjusted. That penalty cap should be at least $25,791,700. Still a drop in the bucket. I would argue it needs to be 10 times the inflation adjusted amount.

  16. Re:Exterminate indo-chimps and protect America by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's ok, you don't need to attack others anymore, your one of us.

  17. Boycott by wasteoid · · Score: 1

    If there is one thing social media is good at, it's stirring people into a frenzy, and previous frenzies have worked to boycott companies that are deemed offensive. Hit a corporation in the money bags, and it'll adjust. Talk is cheap and politicians can be bought, but corporations fear loss of revenue more than anything else.

  18. Using a Hammer to Tighten Screws by Cinnamon+Beige · · Score: 1

    When your so called democracy has paid high-speed lanes, what do you expect from your Internet service?

    Well, given that you can get Gbit internet some places if you're willing to pay more for the connection, I'm not sure I'm seeing much difference really.

    Except that lack of Net Neutrality laws will allow ISPs and such to be sued for the content they prioritize/deprioritize. That's what this is all about, ultimately. Net Neutrality protects ISPs from (some) lawsuits. It won't after this change goes through. If it goes through.

    The problem is that what we had was regulations, not laws. Laws would provide the ISPs reliably with that protection in court, and given that the MAFIAA and co have been moving to going after ISPs, the odds are likely very good that ISPs will not fight a law that gives them those protections even if Net Neutrality is explicitly intrinsic to getting said protections.

  19. Re:Exterminate indo-chimps and protect America by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Exterminate the leftists that let them in, too, while your at it. Otherwise you'll just have the same problem over again.

  20. Re: Exterminate indo-chimps and protect America by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And the rightists and the centrists! And the upsies and the downsies.

  21. Syncronicity - government control of the Internet by eric_harris_76 · · Score: 1

    Amusing pair of Slashdot stories today.

    • Aftermath From The Net Neutrality Vote: A Mass Movement To Protect The Open Internet?
    • UK Conservatives Pledge To Create Government-Controlled Internet

    Sometimes the jokes just write themselves.

    --
    There's no time like the present. Well, the past used to be.
  22. Screwing with the internet has a price by Neuronwelder · · Score: 1

    As more and more people become disenchanted with the Internet, don't you think that the money that is made with it will drop? (Money speaks louder than perverted laws!!)

  23. Dildo Trump by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Dildo in Cheif Trump is against net neutrality. There's never been a government policy allowing privledged profiteers to fuck the public that he's opposed. Instead he pops a Tic Tac and a Viagra and bends his ignorant voters over for a wild ride. He's like Bill Cosby.

  24. you wont win by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    For every tech savvy person, there are two Republican Trump supporters watching Fox news and drinking beer. in their trailer.