{"id":12765,"date":"2014-05-15T00:07:29","date_gmt":"2014-05-15T07:07:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=12765"},"modified":"2014-05-15T00:07:29","modified_gmt":"2014-05-15T07:07:29","slug":"dont-neuter-net-neutrality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2014\/05\/15\/dont-neuter-net-neutrality\/","title":{"rendered":"Don’t Neuter Net Neutrality!"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Thursday, the FCC is scheduled to vote on a proposal that would allow  ISPs to charge some corporate providers for a guarantee that their content will be delivered in a so-called fast lane.  While I agree fully with the aims of the protestors, I consider it important that we base protest on the facts.  Sadly, since this issue has been used for fundraising, disinformation abounds.  Let\u2019s begin with what I call above average mainstream coverage.<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\"0515FCC\"<\/p>\n

By 9:30 Tuesday morning, Washington was already well on its way to a hot and sticky afternoon. For the handful of protesters camped out in front of the Federal Communications Commission, the heat was all worth it.<\/p>\n

The demonstrators are calling on the FCC’s chairman, Tom Wheeler, to abandon a proposal that allows Internet providers to charge content companies like Dropbox and Google extra for speedy and reliable service.  They set up shop on a small strip of concrete and grass outside the FCC building on Maine Avenue in Southwest. When I visited, drivers whizzed past on a highway onramp just a few feet from the curb. While the traffic didn’t feel unsafe, it kept the protesters mostly hemmed in. Orange and white tents from REI dotted the perimeter. It was hard to see whether anyone was inside them taking refuge from the heat.<\/p>\n

Drawing inspiration from the Occupy Wall Street protests of a few years ago, the demonstrators are asking the agency to reclassify broadband providers as utility companies, which would allow the government to issue a ban on speeding up or slowing down types of Internet traffic<\/strong>. The FCC is considering rules that would prohibit companies from blocking traffic but could give them the freedom to offer faster service to Internet companies like Netflix and Google that chose to pay a fee.<\/p>\n

Wheeler has defended the proposal, saying that he won’t hesitate to regulate broadband companies more strictly if the situation demands and that he is following the roadmap laid out by a federal court that struck down the FCC’s old net neutrality rules in January<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

"The FCC must reclassify the Internet as a common carrier under Title II of the Communications Act," said Kevin Huang, the campaign manager for the consumer group Fight for the Future. Huang had been camped at the FCC for the past two days. "Anything less is just ‘net neutrality’ in air quotes."\u2026 [emphasis added<\/em>]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Inserted from <Washington Post<\/a>><\/p>\n

In lots of the advertising I\u2019ve seen, blame is being pinned on the Obama administration, The Democratic Party, and the FCC.  All three have consistently favored Net Neutrality.  We would not have this situation had a Republican dominated appeals court not struck down current FCC rules and ordered the FCC to propose rules that allow for a \u201cfast lane\u201d.  The people behind this mess are the Republican Party and the greedy content providers that want to charge extra for preferred treatment, like Comcast.<\/font><\/p>\n

Some of the advertising I\u2019ve seen makes it appear that, if we don\u2019t donate by Thursday, we\u2019re about to lose Net Neutrality, and our Internet access is about to slow down. That is simply not true.  The most that will happen Thursday is that the FCC will vote to PROPOSE the new rule.  That does not end Net Neutrality.  It is likely what will happen, because immediately reclassifying the Internet as a Title II common carrier will not satisfy the Republican court order.  The danger of the win it all NOW tactic is that people will likely think we lost, if the FCC does propose the rule, and the less informed may give up.  <\/font>If the new rule is proposed it will BEGIN a lengthy period of public comment.  That is the time when the real fight over reclassification is most likely to take place, and it is a fight we all need to join.  This matter is far from being settled.<\/font><\/p>\n

Finally, I fully support the protestors who are demonstrating for Net Neutrality.<\/font><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Thursday, the FCC is scheduled to vote on a proposal that would allow  ISPs to charge some corporate providers for a guarantee that their content will be delivered in a so-called fast lane.  While I agree fully with the aims of the protestors, I consider it important that we base protest on the facts.  […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","category-5-id","post-seq-1","post-parity-odd","meta-position-corners","fix"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12765"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12765\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}