Hooray! Net neutrality is finally, well and truly, the law. The courts did not uphold industry groups’ requests to press pause on the implementation, and so as of right now, ISPs are common carriers under Title II and are not allowed to mess around with your connections. [More]
open internet
AT&T Will Try To Make First Amendment Case Against Net Neutrality
By 5.22.15
When you think of the Internet and First Amendment issues, your mind probably conjures up images of people being able to freely express themselves online through websites, videos, and social media. But if you’re AT&T, the First Amendment was created to give Internet service providers the authority to have some sort of editorial control over the data they carry. [More]
FCC Warns Internet Providers To Comply With Privacy Rules
By 5.21.15
While some Internet service providers are aching to track users’ every online move so they can analyze and sell that data, the FCC is warning these companies that the Commission will be taking a hard look at these practices after the new net neutrality rules kick in next month. [More]
No Surprise Here. Telecom Industry Sues To Block Net Neutrality Rules
By 3.23.15
A little more than a week after the FCC released the full text of its recently passed Open Internet (aka net neutrality) rule, the telecom industry has done exactly what you’d expect, by filing lawsuits to block the Commission from enforcing the order. [More]
FCC Officially Votes To Protect Net Neutrality, Reclassify Broadband
By 2.26.15
In a landmark decision today, the FCC voted 3-2 to create enforceable, bright-line rules protecting the open internet using their Title II authority to reclassify broadband internet as a telecommunications service. [More]
FCC Expects To Be Sued Over Net Neutrality No Matter What It Does
By 11.24.14
In 2010, the FCC enacted net neutrality rules aimed to prevent Internet service providers from blocking, slowing down, or speeding up access to websites based on how much they pay — and the agency was sued by Verizon for overstepping its authority. Now that the FCC is reconsidering those rules to either make them weaker or possibly reclassify ISPs so that the agency can enforce neutrality. But no matter how it moves forward, the agency expects to be sued. [More]
FCC Reminds Internet Providers & Wireless Companies To Follow Transparency Rules… Or Else
By 7.23.14
Earlier this year, a federal appeals court gutted the part of the 2010 Open Internet Rules dealing with so-called net neutrality. What this decision didn’t affect are the rules requiring that providers of broadband Internet access services disclose accurate information about their service offerings to the public. And so today, the FCC is sending out a reminder to ISPs (both fixed and mobile) that they need to follow the transparency guidelines or face the possibility of penalties. [More]
Overwhelmed FCC Extends Deadline For Commenting On Net Neutrality
By 7.15.14
Today was supposed to be the deadline for filing comments with the FCC about its pending net neutrality proposal. But the Commission has just announced that, due to a surge in responses that is once again overwhelming its commenting system, the deadline has been extended to Friday. [More]
AGs For Illinois, New York Ask FCC To Strengthen Net Neutrality
By 7.15.14
Thousands upon thousands of consumers have already voiced their opinion to the FCC about its not-really-neutral net neutrality (aka “cable company f*ckery”) proposal that would allow deep-pocketed content companies to muscle out smaller competitors by paying for so-called “fast lane” access to end users. Two voices in favor of stronger rules that may carry a little more weight with the FCC are the attorneys general of Illinois and New York. [More]
Op-Eds In Favor Of Cable Company F*ckery Are Bought & Paid For By Cable Industry
By 6.6.14
Most of media coverage surrounding the net neutrality — or rather, cable company f*ckery — issue raise concerns about the current FCC plan, which would create an unbalanced, non-neutral Internet where the quality of data delivery depends on how much the sender is paying. A number of op-ed pieces have popped up in recent weeks cheering the plan on, or claiming that broadband competition is just fine (hint: it isn’t), but these are just fictions sponsored by the cable and telecom industries. [More]
The FCC Comments Site Might Be Broken, But You Can Still E-Mail
By 6.2.14
As we mentioned this morning, Last Week Tonight host John Oliver made a hilariously profane, impassioned plea for Americans to just give a damn and do something about the FCC’s pending net neutrality (aka “cable company f*ckery”) rules. It seems his call didn’t fall on deaf ears, as the FCC’s commenting system appears to be completely overwhelmed and inaccessible to most people. But that doesn’t mean you can’t still e-mail the Commission. [More]
How To Tell The FCC Exactly What You Think About The Proposed Net Neutrality Rule
By 5.15.14
Earlier today, the FCC voted to move forward with their new proposed net neutrality rules. While somewhat tempered from the original rumored proposal, the proposed rule is still far-sweeping and controversial. The FCC is expecting a whole heap of opinions to come pouring in on the issue, now that the official comment period is open. [More]
FCC Votes To Approve Net Neutrality Rules With Fast Lanes Intact
By 5.15.14
As predicted, the five FCC commissioners voted 3-2 today to approve Chairman Tom Wheeler’s latest version of the Open Internet rule — better known as net neutrality — with a slightly revised take on so called Internet “fast lanes,” which would have given Internet service providers like Verizon and Time Warner Cable the ability to charge content companies extra for higher priority access to end users. [More]
FCC Chair May Be Softening Stance On Ridiculous Internet Fast Lane Proposal
By 5.12.14
Since it was revealed that FCC Chair Tom Wheeler’s new net neutrality proposal includes allowances for “fast lanes,” in which deep-pocketed content companies can pay extra for faster and better access to customers, he’s taken heat from tech companies, consumer advocates, lawmakers, and even members of his own commission. Now comes news that Wheeler may be up to relaxing his stance on this issue. [More]
FCC Chairman: I’d Rather Give In To Verizon’s Definition Of Net Neutrality Than Fight
By 4.30.14
With every word he writes, recently installed FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler shows he has little interest or belief in net neutrality as most consumers understand it. In another flimsy attempt at defending his position on “fast lanes” — i.e., allowing Internet service providers to charge more to content companies seeking priority access to end-users — Wheeler contends that consumers should do what Verizon and other telecoms want because well, it could take a while to do it correctly. [More]
FCC Chairman Insults Consumers’ Intelligence With Attempt To Defend Flimsy Net Neutrality
By 4.24.14
Today, FCC Chair Tom Wheeler is walking around to the offices of his fellow commissioners and passing out freshly mimeographed copies of his proposal for new net neutrality rules. He’s also typed up, presumably on a trusty Imperial A, a defense of his baffling decision to disregard the whole “neutrality” aspect of net neutrality by allowing deep-pocket content companies to pay for “fast lane” access. [More]
FCC Makes Mockery Of Net Neutrality With Proposal To Allow Internet “Fast Lanes”
By 4.23.14
Recently installed FCC Chair Tom Wheeler apparently has no interest in actual net neutrality, as the new rules he’s proposing this week allow for Internet service providers to create so-called “fast lanes” for content companies willing to pay extra to more reliably deliver their data to the end-user. [More]
FCC Chair Almost Ready To Share His New Take On Net Neutrality
By 4.23.14
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Earlier this year, a federal appeals court eviscerated the FCC’s Open Internet (aka net neutrality) rule following a legal challenge by Verizon, effectively allowing ISPs to give priority access to their own content (or content from sites and services that pay for the privilege) while also blocking or throttling access to competing services and content. Net neutrality has been recuperating from that back-breaking defeat in a virtual underground prison, but is now preparing to scale the wall and return to the real world. [More]
