FCC Chairman Ajit Pai Criticizes Companies That Oppose His Efforts To Repeal Net Neutrality Rules (recode.net)

Tony Romm, writing for Recode: FCC Chairman Ajit Pai thinks everyone from Cher to Twitter has it wrong when they say that his efforts to roll back the U.S. government's existing net neutrality rules will spell the death of the web. Instead, Pai said during an event in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday that tech giants could pose the greatest threat by discriminating against viewpoints on the internet. "They might cloak their advocacy in the public interest," he said, "but the real interest of these internet giants is in using the regulatory process to cement their dominance in the internet economy." The surprising rebuke came as Pai forged ahead with his plan to end the net neutrality protections adopted by the Federal Communications Commission under former President Barack Obama. Those rules subject broadband providers like AT&T, Charter, Comcast and Verizon to utility-style regulation, all in a bid to stop them from blocking access to web pages, slowing down connections or prioritizing some content over others. [...] He didn't spare tech companies from that criticism, either. Companies like Facebook, Google and Twitter -- speaking through their main Washington, D.C.-based trade group, the Internet Association -- have urged Pai to stand down. In response, Pai sought to make an example of Twitter. He specifically raised the fact that the company at one point prevented a Republican congresswoman from promoting a tweet about abortion, only to change its mind amid a public backlash. "Now look: I love Twitter," Pai began. "But let's not kid ourselves; when it comes to a free and open Internet, Twitter is a part of the problem. The company has a viewpoint and uses that viewpoint to discriminate."

Comments

Re:He's confusing free speech with Net Neutrality

[Archangel Michael]

Except that all packets are not treated equally, almost universally. There are all sorts of QOS, packet discarding rules etc all over the place. Hell a firewall breaks net neutrality's basic tenant. The idea that Government knows best for everyone is really really stupid, and will result in lots of unintended consequences and work arounds designed to bypass stupid rules.

Our work blocks all sorts of IP addresses from unsavory countries. That is a violation of Net Neutrality. No, not all packets are the same, and anyone pretending they are, doesn't really know anything about how the Internet actually works.

And since just about the whole of the internet is not "public", but rather private lines provided by companies to their customers, it is the customer's responsibility to demand the kind of internet they need.

The worst laws start out with the phrase "There ought to be a law".

FYI, I am for the real version of Net Neutrality, which is getting government out of the regulation of internet, starting with franchise agreements that create the monopolies that are breaking Net Neutrality. The problem started with government, removing that problem solves net neutrality at the source, the freedom of the customer to choose the vendor they want, not the one the local Municipality choose 35-50 years ago.