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One Year After Net Neutrality Repeal, America's Democrats Warn 'The Fight Continues' (cnet.com)
CNET just published a fierce pro-net neutrality editorial co-authored by Nancy Pelosi, the soon-to-be Majority leader in the U.S. House of Representatives, with Mike Doyle, the expected Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, and Frank Pallone, Jr. the expected Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
The three representatives argue that "the Trump FCC ignored millions of comments from Americans pleading to keep strong net neutrality rules in place." The FCC's net neutrality repeal left the market for broadband internet access virtually lawless, giving ISPs an opening to control peoples' online activities at their discretion. Gone are rules that required ISPs to treat all internet traffic equally. Gone are rules that prevented ISPs from speeding up traffic of some websites for a fee or punishing others by slowing their traffic down....
Without the FCC acting as sheriff, it is unfortunately not surprising that big corporations have started exploring ways to change how consumers access the Internet in order to benefit their bottom line.... Research from independent analysts shows that nearly every mobile ISP is throttling at least one streaming video service or using discriminatory boosting practices. Wireless providers are openly throttling video traffic and charging consumers extra for watching high-definition streams. ISPs have rolled out internet plans that favor companies they are affiliated with, despite full-page ads swearing they value net neutrality. And most concerning, an ISP was found throttling so-called "unlimited" plans for a fire department during wildfires in California.
Make no mistake, these new practices are just ISPs sticking a toe in the water. Without an agency with the authority to investigate and punish unfair or discriminatory practices, ISPs will continue taking bolder and more blatantly anti-consumer steps. That is why we have fought over the past year to restore net neutrality rules and put a cop back on the ISP beat. In May, the U.S. Senate passed a bipartisan bill restoring net neutrality rules. Despite the support of a bipartisan majority of Americans, the Republican leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives refused our efforts to bring the bill to the floor for a vote.
Fortunately, the time is fast coming when the people's voices will be heard.
The editorial closes by arguing that "Large corporations will no longer be able to block progress on this important consumer protection issue."
The three representatives argue that "the Trump FCC ignored millions of comments from Americans pleading to keep strong net neutrality rules in place." The FCC's net neutrality repeal left the market for broadband internet access virtually lawless, giving ISPs an opening to control peoples' online activities at their discretion. Gone are rules that required ISPs to treat all internet traffic equally. Gone are rules that prevented ISPs from speeding up traffic of some websites for a fee or punishing others by slowing their traffic down....
Without the FCC acting as sheriff, it is unfortunately not surprising that big corporations have started exploring ways to change how consumers access the Internet in order to benefit their bottom line.... Research from independent analysts shows that nearly every mobile ISP is throttling at least one streaming video service or using discriminatory boosting practices. Wireless providers are openly throttling video traffic and charging consumers extra for watching high-definition streams. ISPs have rolled out internet plans that favor companies they are affiliated with, despite full-page ads swearing they value net neutrality. And most concerning, an ISP was found throttling so-called "unlimited" plans for a fire department during wildfires in California.
Make no mistake, these new practices are just ISPs sticking a toe in the water. Without an agency with the authority to investigate and punish unfair or discriminatory practices, ISPs will continue taking bolder and more blatantly anti-consumer steps. That is why we have fought over the past year to restore net neutrality rules and put a cop back on the ISP beat. In May, the U.S. Senate passed a bipartisan bill restoring net neutrality rules. Despite the support of a bipartisan majority of Americans, the Republican leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives refused our efforts to bring the bill to the floor for a vote.
Fortunately, the time is fast coming when the people's voices will be heard.
The editorial closes by arguing that "Large corporations will no longer be able to block progress on this important consumer protection issue."
Didn’t the Internet come to an end? I was told it was an Internet armageddon, and I wouldn’t be able to post this comment without paying an extra surcharge to Verizon or some other bogeyman. But here I am, paying no such surcharge.
That you know about. Tell how much of your Netflix monthly fee goes to pay off the likes of Comcast and Verizon? What about Amazon Video?
Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
fat lot of good it does me. I don't want to just be right. I want to be successful. I do what I can in my personal life to make that happen, but there's only so much you can do when the system is built to crush you. I've got family with illnesses, and thanks to the GOP's corrupt healthcare system (which the Clinton Dems went along with) I've spent the last 10 years struggling.
/. with nonsense like "you so wolk" and realize that, as a member of the working class, the right wing who's taken you in and made you feel welcome while they roast you over a fire and dine on your flesh aren't your friends? I hope so. God I hope so.
In another 2-3 years I _might_ finally get out from under all of it, I might not. It depends on what folks like you do next. Will you stop uselessly insulting me on
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Neither party cares about the people or even knows what NN is.
What annoys me, is that both parties have transformed the NN issue into their own political football, which they both kick around, trying to score points for their party, while making them look better, and the other party look worse.
The NN football and the people are the ones that always lose in this match.
Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
I say that as a point because,once again, i have to point out that the restrictions on local/municipal ISP's being built out HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH NET NEUTRALITY. You're right though, some of these carriers have taken billions in tax money to guarantee rural development of lines and haven't done it. Those companies should be fined 10times what they took and didn't follow through on, but.... THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH NET NEUTRALITY.
Sometimes (well quite often) people confuse correlation with causation. They see the results of bad government, and assume the correct answer is less government. As with most things, the answer can be complex. Sometimes less government is the answer. Sometimes, however, you simply need competent government. Let's presuppose net neutrality is a great idea. It is, but I'm not going to spend time on it here. Let's presuppose that some ISPs avoid offering service in some areas because NN cuts into their profits too much. Now, given those two things, which of these solutions make the most sense?
1. Kill NN and hope for market magic.
2. Do not kill NN and hope for market magic.
3. Keep net neutrality, but monitor the actual situation addressing it as needed. If that means punishing those that have gone back on their promises, then do it. If that means the best deal is to build the last mile through bids, then open up things to competition, then do it. If what you just did didn't work out well, then refine it.
In short, politicians need to do their jobs, which includes recognizing when to stay out of the market and when not to, and, most of all, being willing to adapt based on actual conditions.
Basically you can repeat this solution for pretty much every major problem in government. How we ever got a world where we assume that only one extreme ideology or another can be the only way to go boggles the mind.