Internet

California Senate Passes Gold Standard Net Neutrality Bill Despite Fierce Lobbying From ISPs

May 31, 2018 Staff, Tumblr.fightforthefuture.org Create! California, Electoral Politics, Internet, Legislation, Net Neutrality

SB 822 passed in large part due to mass mobilization by California residents in support of net neutrality. The bill heads next to the State Assembly, where it will likely get a vote early this Fall. -More than 53,000 California residents sent letters to the Senate Energy committee calling on them to advance SB 822 -Nearly 200 small businesses in California have signed on to open letters here and here. -Dozens of public interest groups like Fight for the Future, Color of Change, Greenpeace, Consumers Union, Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund, CREDO, and Daily Kos signed on to a letter calling on Committee Chair Ben Hueso to advance SB 822.

Net Neutrality Is Coming Back, No Matter What Happens Next With The Senate Resolution

May 19, 2018 Troy Wolverton, Businessinsider.com Resist! Congress, FCC, Internet, Net Neutrality

The resolution the Senate passed Wednesday that would reinstate the Federal Communications Commission's net-neutrality rules may ultimately go nowhere. But this issue isn't going away. And one day, most likely in the not-too-distant future, net-neutrality protections will be the law of the land again — this time for good. Support for the open-internet rules has only grown over time, both among the public and in the Beltway. And the more people know about the rules and what purpose they serve, the more they like and back them, no matter which side of the political aisle they're on. "People from across the political spectrum, from the far left to the far right, can all agree: They don't want their cable company to control where they get their news and information, how they listen to music, or where they can stream videos," said Evan Greer, the deputy director of Fight for the Future, an internet activist group that pushed hard for the Senate resolution.

Docs Show Ajit Pai Met With AT&T Execs Right After Corp Started Paying Michael Cohen. Now Congress Needs To Overturn The FCC’s Net Neutrality Repeal And Investigate.

May 16, 2018 Fight for the Future, Medium.com Resist! Congress, Corruption, FCC, Internet, Net Neutrality

This past week, AT&T apologized for its “serious misjudgment” in hiring U.S. President Donald Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen to provide “insights” into how the new administration would handle issues like net neutrality and AT&T’s proposed merger with Time Warner Cable. Although Pai denied hearing from Cohen, new scheduling documents obtained through FOIA by corruption watchdog American Oversight show the Chairman met with top AT&T executives at a private dinner in Barcelona a month after the company began paying Cohen. One of the top AT&T representatives present at this meeting was noted net neutrality enemy Bob Quinn, who hired Cohen and has since stepped down over the controversy.

The Battle For Net Neutrality Continues

May 14, 2018 Ilana Novick, Truthdig.com Resist! Congress, FCC, Internet, Net Neutrality

“Net neutrality” laws are set to expire June 11, the Federal Communications Commission announced Thursday, and now a number of senators, mainly Democrats, are staging a last-ditch effort to save them. The Obama-era rules, enacted in 2015, aimed to create a free and open internet by preventing telecommunications companies from charging more for faster internet service, or otherwise privileging their own material or that of their advertisers online. If the rules are allowed to expire, companies will have “broad new power over how consumers can access the internet,” Reuters notes. In repealing the rules, the government is favoring the interests of giant telecoms over those of American consumers, effectively limiting the information they can consume based on their ability to pay for it.

Congress Would Save Net Neutrality If They Represented The People

May 11, 2018 Dell Cameron, Gizmodo.com Educate! Congress, Electoral Politics, FCC, Internet, Net Neutrality

Democrats on Wednesday officially filed a petition to force a vote in the Senate to save net neutrality. With a single Republican supporting the effort, only one vote is needed to advance a resolution that may one day soon reinstate the net neutrality rules overturned by the FCC last year. “The American people know that the internet is for everyone and was invented with the guiding principle of nondiscrimination,” Sen. Edward Markey, who led the effort, said at a press conference on Wednesday. Sources with knowledge of the resolution’s progress in the Senate say a vote is likely to take place next week, though negotiations with leadership are ongoing. The resolution was officially discharged from committee after Markey’s petition gathered 49 signatures, only 30 of which were needed.

Co-Op Broadband Brightens Future Of Rural Alabama

May 9, 2018 Cathy Cash, Electric.coop Create! Alabama, Internet, New Economy, Rural

The future of tiny Brilliant, Alabama, just got brighter with a clear path to broadband. Thanks to Tombigbee Electric Cooperative, state leadership and funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, residents of a rural community beset by persistent poverty will soon have the fastest internet service available. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue on Thursday presented a $2.98 million grant to Steve Foshee, president and CEO of the electric co-op and its broadband subsidiary, Tombigbee Communications, in an event crowded with elected officials and residents in Hamilton, Alabama. “To compete in today’s global marketplace, we must remove the infrastructure gaps in rural communities,” said Perdue, who lauded Tombigbee’s participation in the USDA grant program and encouraged others to follow.

Everything You Need To Know About The Net Neutrality Resolution Coming To Congress Next Week

May 4, 2018 By Russell Brandom, Theverge.com Resist! Congress, FCC, Internet, Net Neutrality

It’s been six months since FCC chairman Ajit Pai officially began the rollback of the Title II net neutrality order — and progress has been slow. The new rules finally entered the federal register in February, and they’re already facing a number of legal challenges. While some net neutrality advocates dig in for a prolonged court battle, there’s a separate front opening up in Congress that could prove far more effective. On May 9th, Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) will introduce a Congressional Review Act resolution to roll back Pai’s order completely. It’s a long shot, but if it works, it would be faster and more effective than any court ruling, completely restoring Wheeler’s 2015 order. The plan relies on some unusually arcane congressional procedure, so we’re running down all the biggest questions around Markey’s plan and laying out exactly what it would take for Congress to reinstate net neutrality.

How Net Neutrality Activists Are Going Face-To-Face With Members Of Congress

May 4, 2018 Andrew Wyrich, Dailydot.com Resist! Activists, Congress, FCC, Internet, Net Neutrality

Net neutrality activists hand-delivered an open letter from small business owners to members of Congress across the country on Wednesday, urging them to support an effort to undo the Federal Communications Commission(FCC) decision to rescind the 2015 Open Internet Order. The letter, which was signed by nearly 6,000 small businesses, was designed to be delivered in the middle of Small Business Week and tells lawmakers they will “accept nothing less than the protections embodied” in the Open Internet Order, which ensured all internet traffic be treated equally. Without the rules, advocates say, internet service providers could “speed up” or “slow down” internet traffic. The letter also asks lawmakers to support an ongoing effort to use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to overturn the FCC’s decision. Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) announced earlier this week that the first step in the CRA process—a discharge petition—will be filed next week, forcing a full Senate vote.

Thousands Of Small Businesses Call On Congress To Pass CRA Resolution To Restore Net Neutrality

May 2, 2018 Staff, Fightforthefuture.org Resist! Congress, FCC, Internet, Net Neutrality, Small Business

It’s national Small Business Week, and nearly 6,000 small businesses, ranging from construction companies to tech startups are planning to deliver an open letter to Congress tomorrow Wednesday, May 2nd calling on lawmakers to support the Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to block the FCC’s repeal. Small business owners will host delivery events at congressional offices across the country, where they will deliver the letter and host a short press conference about the impact of losing net neutrality on small businesses.

‘Red Alert’ Protest For Net Neutrality Starts May 9

May 1, 2018 Marguerite Reardon, Cnet.com Resist! FCC, Internet, Net Neutrality, Protests

Net neutrality activists and websites like Etsy, Tumblr, Postmates, Foursquare and Twilio will post "red alerts" starting May 9 to protest the FCC's effort to roll back Obama-era net neutrality protections. This latest protest, announced Monday, is set to coincide with the next step in an ongoing process in the Senate to use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to halt the Federal Communications Commission's repeal of the 2015 net neutrality rules. On May 9, senators will present a petition to force a vote on a resolution to undo the FCC's net neutrality rollback. The CRA gives Congress 60 legislative days in which to roll back the FCC's decision. The countdown for the rollback effort began in February when the FCC published its order in the Federal Register to repeal the rules. The rules, passed in 2015 under then-President Barack Obama, have become highly politicized and are strongly supported by Democrats in Congress and by many internet companies, such as Google and Facebook.

Net Neutrality Is Vital – So Is Rural Broadband

April 28, 2018 Neil Ritchie, Anchorage Daily News. Create! Internet, Net Neutrality, Rural

Most issues look different from rural America, but that's especially true of net neutrality. No one doubts that net neutrality policies to keep the internet open and free for all users is vital. No internet provider or tech company should be allowed to block websites, censor or discriminate against viewpoints, manipulate cyberspace to shut out competition or otherwise interfere with our online experience. But for many activists and tech advocates in high-connectivity urban areas, that's all that net neutrality means. In rural America, however, effective net neutrality means much more.

Pressure On For Net Neutrality Campaign

April 25, 2018 Staff, Blog.github.com Resist! Congress, FCC, Internet, Net Neutrality

Meanwhile, the quest to find one more vote to move the process forward in the Senate continues. Write Congress to aid in the search. On May 2, small businesses will deliver a letter to Congress, urging disapproval of the FCC order. The first week of May is Small Business Week, and Congresspeople take business owners from their districts very seriously. If you represent a small business in the U.S., sign the letter. Meanwhile, at least 33 U.S. states and many cities have enacted or have pending actions to protect net neutrality. California is considering passing S.B. 822, the strongest and most comprehensive set of net neutrality protections in the country. GitHub joined almost 60 startups in a letter of support for this bill, which has its second committee hearing tomorrow.

The Broadband Boost Small-Town America Needs

April 16, 2018 By Alex Marshall, Governing.com Create! Internet, Public Services, Rural

They are mostly towns you’ve probably never heard of, places like Sandy, Ore., Leverett, Mass., Lafayette, La., and Longmont, Colo. Yet these smaller communities, and hundreds more like them, have something even the techiest big cities such as New York, San Francisco and Seattle don’t have: widespread, fast and well-priced broadband service. Big cities usually have the edge in the traditional drivers of economic development. They have the universities, the sports teams, the big airports, the interstate highway access, the ports. But in arguably the most forward-looking part of the economy, some smaller localities have the edge. They made it for themselves by developing their own broadband networks, typically employing the latest fiber-optic technology. “I believe over the next three to five years people are no longer going to be surprised that some small cities have much better internet access than big cities,” ...

Intellectuals Demand Internet Access For Julian Assange

April 1, 2018 TeleSurTV. Resist! Ecuador, Internet, Julian Assange, Wikileaks

A group of prominent intellectuals, social activists and artists have signed an open letter demanding Ecuador's government restore WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's internet and phone access, allow him visits and respect his right to freedom of expression. "If it was ever clear that the case of Julian Assange was never just a legal case, but a struggle for the protection of basic human rights, it is now," the letter reads.

Precarious Communications: Julian Assange, Internet Access And Ecuador

March 31, 2018 Binoy Kampmark, Countercurrents.org Educate! Ecuador, Internet, Julian Assange

Being a netizen, to use that popular term of sociological derivation, can be a difficult business. It presumes digital engagement, often of the sharper sort. To become a fully-fledged member of such citizenry, however, presumes access, a degree of Internet speed and appropriate platforms. Absent those, then different forms of activism must be sought. Governments and authorities the world over have come to appreciate that either the activity itself is controlled (limiting internet access, for one), or the content made available on the Internet (the Great Firewall of China). The resonant cliché there is that the one who controls the narrative controls history, or can, at the very least, blind it. Out of such tensions and tussles comes Julian Assange, a member of that unique breed of cyber insurrectionists, ducking and weaving through the information channels with varying degrees of success.

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