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Google and Facebook Give Net Neutrality Campaign a Boost (fortune.com)
The fight over net neutrality just got more interesting as two tech giants said they will step off the sidelines and join a so-called "day of action" on July 12, which aims to preserve rules that forbid Internet providers from favoring some websites over others. From a report: Until now, Google and Facebook -- which have been staunch supporters of net neutrality in the past -- have stayed out of the debate. But this week, they confirmed they will join other companies in telling consumers to oppose the FCC's plan to tear up the current rules. The participation of Google and Facebook in the day-of-action campaign could be a game-changer because their sites are visited by hundreds of millions of Americans, and a message from them could rally new opposition to the FCC plan. The two tech giants have yet to explain what specific actions -- such as displaying a banner on their homepage -- they will take. Other companies that are participating in the protest are.
Any chance these companies could get together and, you know, come up with a plan to fix the problem?
How about suggesting a law that congress could pass that would implement net neutrality?
It could be a model of common-sense legislation. It could be vetted by legal teams of several big companies, and distil the knowledge and understanding of a highly technical subject from experts in the field.
It could avoid the underlying problems of the current net-neutrality law, the aspects that got it canned in the first place.
EVEN IF you believe there will be partisan opposition, Democrats could keep the legislation available in case they re-win control of government. It could be a plank in the liberal position for the times to come, something the public could get behind and use as an [albeit minor] rallying point for the party.
Or is it more effective to just publicly come out in opposition of things?
throw your weight behind the 2018 mid terms. Make it clear that they'll be blood at the polls when NN gets struck down.
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Not true. Quite the opposite, in fact. Google and Facebook, like Netflix, are big enough that they can throw their considerable weight around (or, failing that, throw money at the problem) to get favorable access to last-mile access providers with minimal effort. No ISP (at least in the U.S.) would be crazy enough to significantly throttle any of them at this point, because their users would march with pitchforks.
If anything, net neutrality is actually slightly contrary to the financial interests of big companies like Google, Facebook, Netflix, etc., because net neutrality makes it easier for smaller content providers to get the same treatment as the big boys, and thus encourages competition.
No, Google, Facebook, Netflix, etc. support net neutrality because their employees overwhelmingly support net neutrality. If you try to read anything else into it, you'll be wrong.
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throw your weight behind the 2018 mid terms. Make it clear that they'll be blood at the polls when NN gets struck down.
That is one of those plans that "sounds good, doesn't work".
1) NN is a minor issue that will be lost among much larger issues such as immigration, the economy, and health care.
2) The left, and I'm not saying this as a cheap insult, is in shambles with no obvious path to recovery and lots of potential paths to complete disaster. (Example: legislature is considering investigating Podesta's ties to Russia.)
3) The left has no one showing any sign of leadership today, which will come up in 2018 when we examine the past performances of whoever the party chooses to run. (Also true of the 2020 presidential election.)
The only positive thing I can see about the Democratic party today is the plan to choose their political positions by referendum.
The referendum thing could work, it could generate a solid foundation of positions that the people could support, but it's being presented and run in a low-class manner, and apparently the proposals won't be curated to weed out immature political emotion-baiting.
The 2018 elections will be largely in full swing a year from now, and all of Nancy Pelosi's incoherent ramblings, all of Chuck Schumer's self-victimizing, all of CNN's arrogance (and loss of viewers), and every stupid thing the left does between now and then will be put on display for the entire country to see.
Pity that - I'm all for having the parties compete with each other for effective leadership ideas.
Net Neutrality will get another article or two on Slashdot, nerds will feel a brief sense of outrage at the click-bait headline.
And then we'll move on to something else.
Did you forget what sparked Net Neutrality? Verizon and ATnT heads had a conference where they described their plan to charge companies to access their customers. "Why should companies get a free ride"....then they faced opposition and calls for a law to stop them, and paid a bunch of shills to promoted their side...remember "it's a series of tubes" Ted?
So the problem presented itself, fought its side, LOST, and now it's bribed its way into swamp town for a second attack.