Tag: FCC

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Ajit Pai is not the enemy. Ajit Pai is a distraction. #NetNeutrality

Following the FCC vote repealing Title II regulation, we saw a ton of funny memes and outraged discussion aimed at FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. Problem is, he doesn’t care. He’s a figurehead and a distraction. Now that we’ve made it through the initial outrage, it’s time to focus our energy more productively.

Handy list of ISP abuses before (and after) Net Neutrality
Ajit Pai leaked video, joking about being a puppet FCC Chairman for Verizon
Continue reading “Ajit Pai is not the enemy. Ajit Pai is a distraction. #NetNeutrality”

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Net Neutrality Harms are NOT Hypothetical: An open letter to Left, Right, and Center (and most other news shows)

This is a copy of a comment I sent to the producers of Left, Right, and Center. LRC is a weekly radio show/podcast from KCRW, featuring liberal and conservative pundits calmly and rationally discussing the top news stories of the week. This was originally submitted as a public comment on the LRC website, but was blocked with no reason stated. I am re-publishing this here as a resource for folks who want more information, and a fast cheat sheet, of real harm caused by eliminating Title II regulation of the Internet. The list at the end of this post links to events where carriers and ISPs have abused their power prior to enacting Net Neutrality.

***Update 12-19-2017 – My comment was finally reinstated. This post still stands as a starter collection of links for people tired of the “Where were the harms” arguments from conservatives.

Dear LRC,

I’m a huge fan. I’ve been a listener for years, and greatly appreciate the tone of your show. Tackling divisive political topics, in an even-handed fashion, is not easy. I believe your show succeeds in this mission more than most. However, when your show falls short, I also believe it’s the duty of your listeners to let you know.

Listening to the episode Is Alabama the beginning of a ‘blue wave’ of wins?, I was thrilled that you would be talking about the recent FCC vote repealing Title II regulation of the internet. There’s been a lot of vitriol and hot headedness surrounding this topic. Your program was high on my list for outlets bringing a more level-headed approach to this conversation. Unfortunately, all we received was a rushed chat, repeating fallacy and appealing to emotion.

Continue reading “Net Neutrality Harms are NOT Hypothetical: An open letter to Left, Right, and Center (and most other news shows)”

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FCC Plans Vote to Overturn Net Neutrality, Just in Time for the Holidays

We have a problem when companies that control access to the internet also have a vested interest in distributing content on the internet. We have a problem when service providers have unrestricted control to throttle or make access more expensive. We have a problem as major corporations find easier paths to mergers and acquisitions rather than compete.

There really isn’t a “both sides” to this issue. Far smarter individuals than I have spent months clearing the fog of misinformation surrounding this topic. I would highly recommend following Gigi Sohn as one example, she was legal counsel to Tom Wheeler when he was Chairman of the FCC. Her interviews are fantastic. I would also read the dissenting opinions of Mignon Clyburn, an FCC Commissioner opposed to ending Net Neutrality.

In a nutshell, you either want unrestricted access to the internet at fair and competitive prices, free of any influence over the speed of competing services, OR you want Verizon, Comcast, and AT&T to decide what you can access, how you can access, and to charge subscribers and content providers arbitrarily for what you access. Continue reading “FCC Plans Vote to Overturn Net Neutrality, Just in Time for the Holidays”

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FCC Publishes Plan to Repeal Net Neutrality: We need your public comments!

FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai has published plans to repeal Net Neutrality and end Title II regulation of the Internet. Now begins TWO more rounds of public comments. We need to keep the pressure on not only the FCC, but also local politicians and other elected officials. You can leave your public comment on the FCC’s proposal by following this link:
https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/search/filin…
Read the filing here https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/att…

Continue reading “FCC Publishes Plan to Repeal Net Neutrality: We need your public comments!”

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FCC to kill Net Neutrality: Help Me Fight This


Chairman Pai’s public comments on ending Net Neutrality https://www.c-span.org/video/?427558-…

The fight for internet privacy and freedom is getting ugly. This administration has already taken its first steps in dismantling the open internet. Now we’ve received comments from FCC Chairman Ajit Pai on what the next steps are for killing the remaining communications regulations. It was a long and difficult fight getting protections in place, but we can’t stop putting pressure on elected officials to keep those protections in place.

The EFF’s reply to Chairman Pai’s comments https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2017/04…

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Continue reading “FCC to kill Net Neutrality: Help Me Fight This”

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Tennessee approves $45 Million for Broadband, but no Gigabit Fiber? Why?

Home to one of the most successful experiments in municipal funded broadband, Tennessee is working diligently to prevent that experiment from improving data and energy infrastructure throughout the rest of the state. Now a new bill will fund ISP’s through tax payer funds, instead of expanding on city funded fiber? Why?

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Continue reading “Tennessee approves $45 Million for Broadband, but no Gigabit Fiber? Why?”

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Your Replies! Should Netflix Throttle DC to Protest Anti-Net Neutrality Policy?

Last week we asked if a company could (or should) engage in civil disobedience to protest political policy that would harm their business. I got some great replies to this question, and here are some of my favorite comments.
Original Netflix vs Washington DC video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yA7bCPtQKG0

Continue reading “Your Replies! Should Netflix Throttle DC to Protest Anti-Net Neutrality Policy?”

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Do You Feel More Free? Net Neutrality Rules Go Into Effect Today!

FCCThe FCC’s new rules protecting Net Neutrality go into effect today.

The rules were published in a 400 page document back in March, detailing all of the web protections. To oversimplify, reclassifying the Internet as a utility means carriers and ISPs will no longer be able to prioritize some services over others. Nor can they degrade a service for the benefit of another.

Internet Service Providers are challenging these new rules, claiming they overstep the FCC’s authority and violate federal law. The United States Telecom Association requested a hold on implementing these rules as they try to fight them in court, but a three judge panel Appellate Court in DC denied their stay. We will see an accelerated time table for litigation however, in two weeks the Telecom Association and the FCC will present schedules for additional briefing.

In the meantime however, Net Neutrality will be the law of the land. The real test will come from this first year of implementation, to see if any of the doom and gloom predictions of the Telecom industry come true.

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