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

Ajit Pai’s supporters say he’s gone too far with plan that hurts poor people

Pai, the Federal Communications Commission chairman, wants a major overhaul of Lifeline, a federal program that lets poor people use a $9.25 monthly household subsidy to buy Internet and/or phone service. Today, more than 70 percent of wireless phone users who rely on Lifeline subsidies buy their plans from resellers, i.e. companies that purchase capacity from network operators and then resell it directly to consumers.

Pai’s Lifeline plan would force all of those customers to find new carriers, because he proposes to limit Lifeline subsidies to “facilities-based broadband” providers, those that operate their own networks. As we’ve previously reported, excluding resellers from the program would limit competition in the market for subsidized plans and push consumers toward network operators like AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile USA, and Sprint.

It’s a long article but you should read it just to see how evil Ajit Pai is. Fuck that guy.

#politics

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State legislators in Nebraska and California are proposing net neutrality laws to replace the US-wide ones repealed by the Federal Communications Commission.

The FCC repealed its own net neutrality rules and claims the authority to prevent state and local governments from enacting their own similar net neutrality rules.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

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

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

Around this time last year I wrote a handful of negative things about Trump. I’ve slowed way down since then.

I’m not as outraged as I was. I’m just disappointed.

I’m sad that EPA and FCC are being steered toward favoring corporations and away from favoring the people. Since Trump is a business man first, I guess that shouldn’t surprise me.

Gina McCarthy ran the EPA from 2013-2017. She has a Master of Science in Environmental Health Engineering and Planning and Policy.

Scott Pruitt runs the EPA now. He has a Juris Doctor, a political lawyer.

Tom Wheeler ran the FCC from 2013-2017. He had worked in cable and telecommunications since 1976.

Ajit Pai runs the FCC now. He has a Juris Doctor as well. Another political lawyer.

I’d like someone running the governmental agencies with actual experience in them. Just my two cents but we need someone who’s passionate about the environment to be leading the EPA. We need someone passionate about communications to be leading the FCC.

Maybe I’m wrong but I doubt it.

#politics #trump