When the FCC adopted the Open Internet Order (most people call it “net neutrality”) in 2015, then-Commissioner Ajit Pai railed against the idea. Now that he’s FCC Chairman, Pai is already quietly working to roll back those rules. [More]
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Civil Rights Groups That Received Donations From ISPs Spoke Out Against Internet Privacy
By 3.29.17
The Federal Communication Commission’s internet privacy regulations would have prevented your internet provider from using and selling some potentially sensitive information about you, but the Senate and the House of Representatives voted to roll back the regulations. As the bill awaits the President’s signature, we’ve learned that some of the community groups that contacted the FCC to oppose privacy regulations are recipients of donations from Comcast. [More]
Senate Votes To Roll Back Privacy Protections For Internet Users
By and 3.23.17
The FCC’s efforts to put restrictions on what internet service providers can do with the information they have about their users is all but dead, following a party-line 50-48 vote in the Senate this afternoon to roll back this regulation. [More]
Comcast Exec Admits That Net Neutrality Is Not As Scary As Industry Made It Out To Be
By 12.9.16
When the FCC finalized its new “net neutrality” rules in 2015, adding more regulatory control over broadband data services, the cable industry freaked out. Its biggest player, Comcast, claimed at the time that the federal oversight would be counterproductive, ineffective, and unlawful. Fast forward to present day, and one Comcast executive is admitting that these changes haven’t really had any effect on business. [More]
FCC Chair Tom Wheeler Promises No “Utility Style Regulation” Of Broadband
By 6.26.15
Two weeks ago, a federal appeals court denied the telecom and cable industry’s request to prevent the FCC’s new Open Internet Order (aka net neutrality) from going into effect, but the legal challenge to neutrality continues, with opponents claiming it will quell investment and result in stifling regulations. Today, FCC Chair Tom Wheeler spoke out publicly on these concerns. [More]
Net Neutrality Hasn’t Stopped Charter From Investing
By 6.8.15
In the heated lead-up to the FCC’s vote on new net neutrality rules, the cable and telecom industry repeatedly made claims that the new regulations would harm investment and curb innovation. But yet another top cable CEO is now saying that no, net neutrality isn’t having a negative effect on its network investments. [More]
Report: FCC May Look Into Comcast’s Don’t-Call-Them-Data-Caps If Implemented Nationwide
By 5.13.15
For more than two years, Comcast has been testing data caps — sorry, “data thresholds” — in various markets around the country. With the possibility of this usage-based pricing model being rolled out on a nationwide basis, a new report claims that the FCC could use its new authority to scrutinize the data limitations. [More]
AT&T Fails At Getting FTC’s Throttling Lawsuit Dismissed
By 4.1.15
Back in October, the Federal Trade Commission sued AT&T’s wireless division for allegedly misleading customers by charging for “unlimited” plans but then reducing data speeds after users passed certain monthly thresholds. AT&T subsequently asked the court to dismiss the case, arguing that the FTC lacks the authority to bring this type of lawsuit. Yesterday, a federal judge disagreed and sided against AT&T. [More]
AT&T Might Hate Title II For Broadband, But Is Happy To Use It For Millions In Refunds
By 3.20.15
AT&T just won an FCC proceeding against two smaller companies that were illegally charging them fees they should not have been. And while the telecom giant is poised to pick up a few million in refunds, that’s not the interesting part. This is: the section of law that worked out in AT&T’s big giant favor? That’d be exact same Title II that they claim will ruin internet business for everyone. [More]
Google Fiber, Other ISP Heads Agree: We’ll Keep Investing No Matter What The FCC Does About Net Neutrality
By 2.25.15
With only hours remaining in the countdown to tomorrow’s net neutrality vote, everyone from Silicon Valley to Capitol Hill is getting their last words in. At a tech policy event in Washington, DC yesterday, a panel of ISP executives spoke about the future of competition, innovation, and network deployment as the regulations and the marketplace change around them. And when the moderator directly asked the speakers if Title II regulation would diminish investment in their networks, the answer was the same all around: nope. [More]
Twitter Decides It Loves Net Neutrality, Endorses Proposed FCC Plan
By 2.23.15
With the FCC set at long last to vote on strong net neutrality protections later this week, everyone is getting their last digs in. While many tech companies have previously spoken out on the issue, both for and against, the big social networks have been slow to plant their flags. That changed today, when Twitter came out swinging, cheering on the FCC’s plan. [More]
Sprint Says Net Neutrality Won’t Stop Verizon, AT&T From Investing
By 2.12.15
Mouthpieces for the wireless industry would have you believe that the FCC’s pending net neutrality rules — which would reclassify both terrestrial and wireless broadband as a utility — will cripple investment and plunge us into an era where we carry around mammoth brick cellphones like Zack Morris. So why is Sprint telling everyone a completely different story? [More]
FCC Not Scared Of AT&T’s Plan To Sue Over New Neutrality Rules
By 2.6.15
Earlier this week, FCC Chair Tom Wheeler confirmed his intention to ask his fellow commissioners to reclassify broadband as a telecommunications service, which would give the FCC more authority to regulate it and prohibit anti-consumer practices like throttling and blocking of data. AT&T is already gearing up for a suit to stop this change, but the FCC is apparently not terribly worried. [More]
Wireless & Cable Industries Fight Net Neutrality With Laughably Misleading Op-Eds & Video
By 2.5.15
Yesterday, FCC Chair Tom Wheeler confirmed that he intends to have the Commission reclassify broadband as the vital piece of telecommunications infrastructure that it is, which has resulted in immediate backlash from the wireless and cable industry and the handful of astroturfed “advocacy” organizations they support. [More]
Verizon Pinky-Swears It Won’t Sue FCC Over Net Neutrality (If It Doesn’t Reclassify Broadband)
By 11.25.14
A few weeks after Verizon made it clear that it would sue to block the FCC’s attempt to enact strong net neutrality rules, and only days after FCC Chair Tom Wheeler shrugged that a lawsuit seems inevitable no matter what he does, the telecom titan is now saying it may not go the legal route if the Commission decides against reclassification. [More]
Al Franken: Ted Cruz Has No Idea What Net Neutrality Is
By 11.17.14
Last week, Sen. Ted Cruz from Texas attempted to slam the notion of net neutrality, dubbing it “Obamacare for the Internet” and claiming that it would result in prices and services being set by the government. But over the weekend, Minnesota Sen. Al Franken called Cruz’s claim “baloney,” pointing out the fact that we’ve had net neutrality for years and cable companies have been doing just fine. [More]
Porn Stars Do A Better Job Of Explaining Net Neutrality Than Lobbyists
By 11.14.14
Yesterday, we told you about the laughable efforts of one prominent lobbying group to mislead consumers about net neutrality, claiming that it will hurt all those “high school bloggers” who will inexplicably have to pay for Netflix’s bandwidth use (which they won’t, because this is nonsense). For a more accurate representation on what a non-neutral Internet means for consumers, you’d honestly be better served by listening to a trio of porn stars. [More]
Here Is The Most Misleading Video You’re Likely To See About Net Neutrality
By 11.13.14
While the President’s decision to come out in favor of net neutrality has helped to bring the topic to the forefront, it’s also had the unfortunate consequence of politicizing an issue that has absolutely nothing to do with party lines. This has resulted in a slew of overwrought, exaggerated, and misinformed reactions from certain political leaders and groups, none more so than this ridiculously misleading video. [More]
