Verizon throttling could trigger FTC investigation of deceptive practices

Thirteen Democratic members of Congress on Friday asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Verizon’s recent throttling of the Santa Clara County Fire Department while it was fighting California’s largest-ever wildfire.

“Throttling directly violates core net neutrality principles,” the letter, led by US Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), said. “In light of the repeal of net neutrality, we urge you to investigate whether Verizon’s practices were ‘unfair or deceptive’ pursuant to Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act.” The letter was sent to FTC Chairman Joseph Simons.

So the Santa Clara County Fire Department had an “unlimited” data plan but Verizon throttled their service after they used 25GB. Throttled them while they were fighting fires. Fires that’ve left 14 dead so far.

#goteam #netneutrality

Senate votes to overturn Ajit Pai’s net neutrality repeal

The lobby groups complained that net neutrality rules don’t apply to “the practices of edge providers, such as search engines and social media platforms.” That’s no surprise, because the FCC regulates telecommunications networks and net neutrality rules apply specifically to broadband networks—websites and online services are regulated separately by the Federal Trade Commission.

Markey said that net neutrality rules are needed because of events like Comcast throttling BitTorrent traffic and AT&T blocking Skype and other voice applications that compete against its mobile phone service.

“Net neutrality is the free speech issue of our time,” Markey said.

Large majorities of both Democratic and Republican voters support net neutrality, Markey noted. Thousands of small businesses wrote to Congress in support of net neutrality, and “millions of Americans sent letters, posted tweets, and made calls defending net neutrality,” he said.

This ❤️❤️❤️

#netneutrality

Net neutrality gaining steam in state legislatures after FCC repeal

State legislators in Nebraska and California are proposing net neutrality laws to replace the US-wide ones repealed by the Federal Communications Commission.

The FCC repealed its own net neutrality rules and claims the authority to prevent state and local governments from enacting their own similar net neutrality rules.

But a Nebraska bill, introduced by Democratic Sen. Adam Morfeld of Lincoln, would do just that.

I still can’t believe Ajit Pai and the FCC five person crew is trying to assume control of what happens on the Internet for the whole country.

However, I am pleased that good old Durbin from Illinois doesn’t agree.

#netneutrality

Donald Trump Jr suggests people who want to keep net neutrality don’t understand it

“I would pay good money to see all those people complaining about Obama’s FCC chairman voting to repeal #netneutrality actually explain it in detail”

I’ve stayed away from Net Neutrality and its repeal by only five FCC members but now that Donald Trump Jr. has weighed in, I can’t stop myself.

Erm, Donald Jr., your dad’s FCC chairman was behind the repeal, not Obama’s. Talk about being out of touch with reality.

I looked around Twitter for his original tweet but haven’t had much luck finding it. I suspect it was shamefully deleted.

#meanwhile #trump

So here I am asking Jon Gabriel for his source for his quote…

the commission will simply require Internet service providers to be transparent about their service offerings

…that was part of his pinned tweet article, End net neutrality. Federal meddling can’t improve the Internet.

He would only offer a link to the FCC press release. Everyone who’s for ending net neutrality hasn’t given one valid reason on how it’s pro-consumers.

I only stumbled upon the article after Ajit Pai retweeted it.

The “transparency” only means that the ISPs will need to publicly disclose what services they offer. They don’t need to be transparent when throttling Internet traffic or when they’re giving priority to the companies that pay them for access to the fast lanes.

Since Comcast and NBC are one in the same these days, you better believe that Netflix is going to be in the slow lane while NBC’s streaming shows are gonna be in the fast lane. Maybe if Netflix pays up Comcast will give them a speed boost. And is Netflix going to simply absorb this cost? Nah, they’ll pass it on to their customers.

Also, from earlier in Gabriel’s article:

Following decades of exploding Internet growth, the government interjected itself with a barrage of new rules to stop an imaginary threat. As Pai put it, net neutrality “is a solution that won’t work to a problem that simply doesn’t exist.”

This threat isn’t imaginary. Before Net Neutrality was repealed today T-Mobile had carefully been giving partners no-data counts for their services. AT&T was in trouble with the government for giving Dish special treatment on its network. Telecoms are always looking for ways to maximize their profits.

I wonder how much the big telecoms paid Gabriel for his article. 🤔

I also found it disheartening that Apple, Google, etc. were quiet today while the FCC were voting to repeal. They have deep pockets and can afford to pay to get their music streaming. Have you ever heard of Bandcamp? Maybe not, they’re smaller but they pay artists on their site 80-85% of however much people spend. I wonder if they’ll be able to keep going when Verizon smacks them with the throttle bill.

In related new: State attorneys general line up to sue FCC over net neutrality repeal.

#netneutrality

https://www.battleforthenet.com

#netneutrality

Why Net Neutrality Makes the Internet Great

The FCC wants to destroy net neutrality and give big cable companies control over what we see and do online. If they get their way, they’ll allow widespread throttling, blocking, censorship, and extra fees. You can learn more at https://battleforthenet.com.

What if you went to Amazon.com or opened the Amazon app, searched for Stranger Things toys (because Christmas), and the images loaded one at a time?

What if your friend told you that Walmart.com might have them? And when you went there the site loaded the second you searched?

What if later you saw a share on Facebook that said Amazon’s marketshare had plummeted because they hadn’t signed a deal with Verizon now that Net Neutrality had been killed?

What if later you fired up Netflix on your smart TV but couldn’t watch Stranger Things without it buffering every few seconds? But rumor has it that Disney’s Frozen 2 is setting viewer records?

What if you opened iTunes to buy the latest Gwen Stefani Christmas album? But then when you went to play it nothing happened?

What if you can’t visit your favorite sites and use your favorite apps because they haven’t signed deals with AT&T and have been dumped into Internet slow lanes?

Net Neutrality means that the Internet is neutral. T-Mobile can’t play favorites. All the images and videos and audios are treated as equals.

The FCC isn’t interested in keeping Net Neutrality intact anymore. They’ve made that pretty clear.

Ajit Pai, the FCC chairman, he was the Associate General Counsel for Verizon at one point.

Does this surprise you?

#politics #netneutrality

ISP disclosures about data caps and fees eliminated by net neutrality repeal

Hidden fees that show up on broadband bills after customers sign up for service have long been a source of frustration for Internet users.

Because advertised prices often don’t reflect the full cost of service, the Federal Communications Commission in 2015 forced ISPs to be more transparent with customers about hidden fees and the consequences of exceeding data caps. The new requirements were part of the net neutrality rules—and are therefore going to be eliminated when the FCC votes to repeal the rules next week.

Sure, let’s hide these fees.

#politics #netneutrality

Net neutrality hurts health care and helps porn, Republican senator claims

“Chairman Pai, I would encourage you and the commission to revisit that order and to rescind it in its entirety,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said during an FCC oversight hearing held by the Senate Commerce Committee yesterday. “I believe you would have the support of a majority of this committee and substantial support in Congress.”

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) agreed that net neutrality rules harm ISP investment and offered a lengthy analogy to explain why.

Johnson said he wants to cut through the “rhetoric, slogans, and buzzwords,” before saying that enforcing net neutrality rules is like letting too many people use a bridge and ruin people’s lawns. Net neutrality rules, he said, also give pornography the same level of network access as remote medical services.

If you’re not sure what Net Neutrality is or why it’s important, this will help.

Spoiler: it’s not hurting health care or helping porn.

#netneutrality