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Verizon Wants To Ban States From Protecting Your Privacy (dslreports.com)
DSLReports that Verizon sent a letter and white paper last week to the FCC, insisting that "the FCC has ample authority to pre-empt state efforts to protect consumer privacy, and should act to prevent states from doing so." Verizon's letter reads in part: "Allowing every State and locality to chart its own course for regulating broadband is a recipe for disaster. It would impose localized and likely inconsistent burdens on an inherently interstate service, would drive up costs, and would frustrate federal efforts to encourage investment and deployment by restoring the free market that long characterized Internet access service." From the report: But there's several things Verizon is ignoring here. One being that the only reason states are trying to pass privacy laws is because Verizon lobbyists convinced former Verizon lawyer and FCC boss Ajit Pai that it was a good idea to kill the FCC's relatively modest rules. It's also worth noting that ISPs like Verizon (and the lawmakers paid to love them) have cried about protecting "states rights" when states try to pass protectionist laws hamstringing competitors, but in this case appears eager to trample those same state rights should states actually try and protect consumers. Verizon makes it abundantly clear it's also worried that when the FCC votes to kill net neutrality rules later this year, states will similarly try to pass their own rules protecting consumers, something Verizon clearly doesn't want. "States and localities have given strong indications that they are prepared to take a similar approach to net neutrality laws if they are dissatisfied with the result of the Restoring Internet Freedom proceeding," complains Verizon, again ignoring that its lawsuits are the reason that's happening.
We should make it illegal for Verizon to send shit to the FCC, period. No cash. No gifts. No threats, suggestions, hints, love letters, junk mail, or flowers. This has go to stop. Just shut the fuck up, Verizon. Shut the fuck up now.
The current climate has allowed the FCC to regulate and "protect" people's privacy. The problem with the FCC doing it is their agenda changes via administrations and corporate meddling. Of course providers are going to get testy when states take matters in their own hands and regulate things the proper way via 10th Amendment and using a legislature, instead of a regulatory independent agency and an executive branch that chooses the regulatory body which violates the constitution and opens the door for abuse. The FCC must die and states must take matters into their own hands and get the federal government out of it as much as possible. That is where true freedom is going to come from (sorry net neutrality was never that avenue) and it is the duty of the each People of the each state to hold their state government bodies accountable when they try to follow in the footsteps the federal government has shown.
States Rights are just about the only Constitutional thing protecting normal states from the corporate nazis in Washington DC.
Table-ized A.I.
California has it's own standards. The EPA can go and fsck themselves. Want to sell cars in California? Meet CARB standards. Don't want to build 50 versions of cars? Make them all meet CARB. Same idea for privacy.
[Oblig. Bad Car analogy.]
Have gnu, will travel.
Verizon themselves admitting their business is interstate. Sounds kinda like a utility that should be regulated as Title 2, doesn't it?