Net Neutrality

FCC Chairman Misleads In Effort To Destroy Net Neutrality

May 3, 2017 Troy Wolverton, www.mercurynews.com Educate! FCC, Internet, Net Neutrality

By Troy Wolverton for The Mercury News - It’s no surprise that Ajit Pai, the new chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, wants to gut net neutrality. What is shocking is that the proposal he released last week could not only weaken the net neutrality rules, but get rid of them entirely. Pai’s proposal envisions even tearing up provisions that nearly everyone agrees on, like the one that bars internet providers from blocking access to particular sites and services. “He’s abdicating the FCC’s role entirely in protecting consumers and competition,” said Gigi Sohn, a fellow at the Open Society Foundations who previously was a counsel to Pai’s predecessor, Tom Wheeler. Pai, a former Verizon lawyer who has long supported big broadband providers, is no fan of net neutrality, the principle that internet providers should treat all traffic on their networks equally. He vociferously opposed the FCC’s move two years ago under Wheeler to enact strong Open Internet rules. And he’s made clear repeatedly since then that he would try to overturn those rules the first chance he got. With a Republican majority now in control of the commission, he has that chance. Still, the proposal he put forward was breathtaking.

Trump’s FCC Chair Wants To Gut Net Neutrality. He’s In For A Bruising Fight.

April 28, 2017 Dana Liebelson and Alexander C. Kaufman, www.huffingtonpost.com Resist! FCC, Net Neutrality, Trump Administration

By Dana Liebelson and Alexander C. Kaufman for The Huffington Post - WASHINGTON ― When Ajit Pai, President Donald Trump’s pick to chair the Federal Communications Commission, announced his plan to roll back his own agency’s net neutrality rules on Wednesday, he sounded nervous. “I am confident we will finish the job,” he said, in a somewhat stilted speech at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. “This is a fight we intend to wage, and this is a fight we are going to win.” If Pai is nervous, he has good reason to be. Net neutrality is extremely popular with both Republicans and Democrats. The activists who support strong rules are loud and well-organized, and the organizations that oppose the rules — cable companies like Comcast and telecom providers like Verizon, HuffPost’s parent company — are not loved. When cable and telecom companies lost the fight against the Obama administration’s strong net neutrality rules in 2015, they lost badly. The fight this time could be even fiercer. In 2014, then-FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, a former cable and wireless industry lobbyist, said he was planning to avoid the strong net neutrality protections that activists were hoping for.

Kill Net Neutrality And You’ll Kill Us, Say 800 US Startups

April 28, 2017 James Vincent, www.theverge.com Educate! Net Neutrality, Small Business

By James Vincent for The Verge - Yesterday, the Federal Communications Commission announced the first step in its plan to kill net neutrality — reversing the Title II classification of internet service providers. Doing so will remove many regulations placed on big cable companies, allowing them to erect barriers and tolls that impede the free movement of data around the internet. You won’t hear Comcast or Verizon complaining, of course — this benefits them. But young tech companies who need a level playing field on the internet to succeed are up in arms. After FCC chairman Ajit Pai made yesterday’s announcement, a group of more than 800 startupssent him a letter objecting to the plans. You can read the letter in full here, but the core argument is this: “The success of America’s startup ecosystem depends on more than improved broadband speeds. We also depend on an open Internet — including enforceable net neutrality rules that ensure big cable companies can’t discriminate against people like us. We’re deeply concerned with your intention to undo the existing legal framework...

Can Cities Create Net Neutrality? The SF Plan

April 28, 2017 Ed Lee and Mark Farrell, www.sfchronicle.com Create! Net Neutrality, San Francisco

By Ed Lee and Mark Farrell for The San Francisco Chronicler - The Internet is no longer a luxury available to a select few. It is an essential tool for communication, education and community-building. It should be available and affordable to all San Franciscans, regardless of where they live or their economic status. To that end, it needs to be treated as a public utility. Until the November election, the Federal Communications Commission, which regulates Internet service, agreed with this basic premise. But elections have consequences. One of those consequences was the appointment of Ajit Pai as FCC chairman. Pai and his Republican allies in Congress are moving at record speeds to roll back existing consumer protections and privacy regulations. First, Congress and the FCC collaborated to repeal broadband privacy rules. Now, Internet service providers can sell your personal data to the highest bidder. This outrageous move puts the interests of big business over those of everyday Americans. Next on the chopping block is the FCC’s 2015 landmark net neutrality ruling. Internet service providers such as Comcast and AT&T are required to provide the same service for all consumers. This equal access policy is known as net neutrality, and enshrines an “open” Internet.

The Fight For Net Neutrality Is Officially Back On

April 27, 2017 T.C. Sottek, www.theverge.com Resist! FCC, Net Neutrality

By T.C. Sottek for The Verge - This is the same tired line that Republicans have been trotting out for years, and it’s based on a dumb, misleading conflation of “the internet” with “the behavior of internet service providers.” The current net neutrality rules already give consumers “internet freedom” by restraining internet providers from dividing the internet into a nightmare of toll zones and walls. Net neutrality rules aren’t “government micromanagement,” they’re the exact opposite: they are a condition of possibility for the competitive anarchy that has defined the internet and allowed companies to rise and fall without permission from their ISP. “Title II regulation” simply gives the FCC the authority to make sure those ISPs are behaving — a power the Republican-controlled FCC wants to relinquish to the very companies they’re supposed to monitor. Chairman Pai said as much earlier this month when he floated the nonsensical idea that broadband providers self-regulate by putting net neutrality provisions in their terms of service agreements.

Tech Sector Getting Ready To Fight FCC Chair On Net Neutrality

April 25, 2017 Kyle Daly and Michaela Ross, www.bna.com Resist! FCC, Net Neutrality

By Kyle Daly and Michaela Ross for BNA - Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai huddled with Facebook Inc. and Oracle Corp. executives in Silicon Valley to discuss the agency’s net neutrality rules, as the tech sector gears up to fight his planned changes. Pai told reporters April 20 he met with executives from the two companies and others, including Cisco Systems Inc. and Intel Corp, on April 17, but declined to discuss specifics. The coming storm over the rules promises to pit the tech giants against communications titans, including AT&T Inc. and Comcast Corp. The fight is likely to be the biggest test yet of whether the tech sector’s clout in Washington has diminished since President Donald Trump took office. The current rules bar internet service providers from blocking or throttling traffic flowing across their networks in most circumstances. Pai said he sought ideas from the tech companies on “how to secure some of those principles of free and open internet that I think most people agree on.” Pai has met with broadband trade groups and other stakeholders to discuss his plan to shift net neutrality enforcement powers to the Federal Trade Commission, according to people familiar with those discussions.

Newsletter – The People’s Plan For Transformation

April 22, 2017 Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese, www.popularresistance.org Newsletter climate crisis, Education, Finance and the Economy, Health Care, Immigrant Rights, National Improved Medicare for All, Net Neutrality, Powell Memo, Science March, Student Debt, Worker Rights and Jobs

By Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese. It is important to understand that we arrived in this situation by, what Moyers described as "careful long-range planning and implementation…consistency of action over an indefinite period of years..." By understanding this plan, we can realize that we can design a way out of it. This includes seeing through the propaganda and exposing the truth; not allowing ourselves to be divided into issue-based silos or taken off track by the agenda of a plutocratic political party; and organizing not just to resist, but more importantly to demand the changes we require in our communities and on the planet. Popular Resistance is one of the conveners of The People's Congress of Resistance, a grassroots effort to build resistance and collaboration in our communities to solve the crises at hand and create a better world. One of the purposes of the conference will be to plan the future of the resistance movement and determine how we can work together more effectively. It's time for the people to create a plan for the transformation we need.

Canada Strengthening Net Neutrality As US Moves To Weaken It

April 22, 2017 Gerrit De Vynck, www.bloomberg.com Create! Canada, Net Neutrality

By Gerrit De Vynck for Bloomberg - Canada is strengthening regulations to protect the principle of net neutrality just as the U.S. is preparing to gut Obama-era internet rules. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission said Thursday that Montreal-based wireless carrier Quebecor Inc.’s practice of not charging users for data they used for music-streaming services like Spotify violated fairness rules. In doing so, the regulator adopted a new framework that would forbid giving unfair access to certain content over others. Quebecor has 90 days to comply with the new rules. The decision also affects bigger Canadian carriers like Telus Corp. and Rogers Communications Inc., which supported Quebecor in the hearings but haven’t pitched similar offerings to their customers. Videotron, Quebecor’s telecommunications unit, is determining its next steps, and customers will be able to keep using the unlimited music service for now, the company said in a statement. “We regarded Unlimited Music as a compelling example of innovation and diversification from a new market entrant seeking to differentiate itself from the dominant mobile carriers, to the benefit of Canadian consumers,” said Videotron Chief Executive Officer Manon Brouillette.

Never Give Up Net Neutrality! Act Now.

April 21, 2017 Staff, www.popularresistance.org Resist! Corporatism, FCC, Internet Freedom, Net Neutrality

By Popular Resistance. Washington, DC - April 20 was the third public meeting at the Federal Communications Commission under the leadership of the new chair, Ajit Pai, a former lawyer for Verizon. Pai has been a long-time opponent of rules to protect net neutrality. He voted against reclassification of the Internet as a common carrier under Title II in 2015 and he met recently with telecom representatives to discuss how to undermine net neutrality by relaxing enforcement of the rules. Net neutrality means that the Internet should be treated as a utility so that all people have equal access to content without discrimination based on ability to pay. The coalition that won net neutrality in 2015, which includes Popular Resistance, reconvened rapidly after Pai was chosen as chair and put together a strategy to protect net neutrality.

FCC Plans To End Net Neutrality. Can Popular Movement Stop That?

April 12, 2017 Jeff John Roberts, www.fortune.com Resist! FCC, Mass Movement, Net Neutrality

By Jeff John Roberts for Fortune - Ajit Pai does not like net neutrality. The new Chair of the Federal Communications Commission is clear he wants to tear up the policy and said he will start doing so as soon as this month. The question is whether anyone can stop him. Recall that net neutrality rules, in place since early 2015, prevent Internet providers from creating "fast lanes" for favored websites or from slowing down other sites that don't pay a toll. The policy is loathed by the telecom industry as a form of undue regulation, but is popular with consumer advocates who claim it prevents internet providers from abusing their power. Pai's plan to reverse the rules will anger his opponents but, on the face of it, there's not much they can do.

Eight Senators Demand Internet Privacy Rules From Internet Providers

April 8, 2017 Dell Cameron, www.dailydot.com Resist! Internet, Net Neutrality, Privacy

By Dell Cameron for The Daily Dot - On Monday, President Donald Trump signed the resolution into law, formally repealing Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules that were designed to prevent internet service providers (ISPs), such AT&T and Comcast, from packaging and selling consumer data, including the web browsing behavior of their customers. “The Republican-controlled Congress wants broadband companies to use and sell sensitive information about Americans’ health, finances, and even children without consent,” wrote Markey, a Democrat, in a statement last week. “The big broadband behemoths and their Republican allies have fired their opening salvo in the war on net neutrality, and broadband privacy protections are the first victim.”

Fight Gives Hope To Net Neutrality Advocates

April 6, 2017 Harper Neidig, www.thehill.com Resist! Internet, Net Neutrality, Trump Administration

By Harper Neidig for The Hill - Net neutrality advocates are feeling emboldened by the outcry over the GOP’s repeal of internet privacy regulations, viewing it as an opportunity to harness grassroots support for their cause. “I think for Republicans and the ISPs who pushed them into this, this is a short-term victory,” said Matt Wood, policy director of the advocacy group Free Press. “But as they won this battle, they might have hurt their chances in the war, because they have reawakened people ... to how it really isn’t a partisan issue.” The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) privacy rules, which were passed in October, would have required internet service providers to get permission from customers before using their data for advertising.

We Will Resist! #NetNeutrality

March 24, 2017 Staff, www.www.popularresistance.org Resist! Internet, Net Neutrality

By Staff of Popular Resistance - On Thursday, March 23rd the campaign to protect net neutrality started. This will be a multi-year campaign to protect a victory the movement achieved two years ago -- treating the Internet as a common carrier so there could be no discrimination on the Internet. Everyone would have equal access to the Internet and be treated equally on the Internet. Net Neutrality. The Trump administration, with its new Federal Communications Commission Chairman, Ajit Pai, wants to reverse net neutrality and let the corporations rule the Internet. This would be a disaster for free speech in the 21st Century, where the Internet is the primary forum.

Net Neutrality And The Unfortunate Politics Of Digital

March 23, 2017 Steve Andriole, www.forbes.com Create! Digital, FCC, Internet, Net Neutrality

By Steve Andriole for Forbes - Net neutrality is important to all things digital because it speaks directly to the governance and control of the world’s most important platform for communication, commerce, entertainment and education. The timing of the debate about net neutrality is especially important because of the explosion in the number of devices connected to the Internet through the so-called “Internet-of-Things” and “Internet-of-Everything.” Once everything is (more or less) connected, the world will change. The management of the platform and the applications will define life in the mid- to late 21st century. The Open Internet Order passed in 2015 with support from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Trump’s FCC Is Already Canceling Internet Services For Low-Income Customers

February 27, 2017 Mike Ludwig, www.truth-out.org Educate! Donald Trump, FCC, Internet, Net Neutrality

By Mike Ludwig for Truthout - Ajit Pai, President Trump's Republican pick to head the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), is already sparring with media reformers just weeks into his term. On Thursday, a coalition of 40 racial justice, labor and digital rights groups demanded that the commission reverse a recent order that they say has canceled subsidized internet service for 17,500 low-income customers. On February 3, the FCC began to roll back several Obama-era reform efforts, including orders allowing nine telecom companies to provide Lifeline services to people who have trouble affording internet service. The decision could make it difficult if not impossible for tens of thousands of low-income families and students to get online, according to the digital advocacy group Free Press. Under Pai, the FCC has also begun to undo agency efforts to keep media consolidation in check, examine net neutrality issues in mobile services and enhance transparency in political advertising.

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