Net Neutrality

The Biggest Threat To Free Speech No One Is Talking About

November 18, 2018 Robert Scheer, Truthdig. Educate! FCC, Free Speech, Independent media, Net Neutrality

If you clicked this story, odds are you’re a consumer of independent media. Yet even as you’re reading these words, your ability to do so in a timely manner is in grave jeopardy. Since the repeal in June of Obama-era rules guaranteeing net neutrality, websites like Truthdig, Democracy Now!, Common Dreams and more risk being pushed into an internet slow lane that could severely hamper their readership, if not drive them out of business entirely. For Jeff Cohen, editor and co-founder of the media watchdog Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting(FAIR), it may be the most urgent threat to the First Amendment no one is talking about.

The Fight For Net Neutrality Heats Up As Democrats Take The House

November 12, 2018 By Mike Ludwig, Truthout.org Resist! Electoral Politics, Net Neutrality

The fight to restore net neutrality is heating up in the wake of the midterm elections. Every Democrat in the House of Representatives who supports reversing the Trump administration’s decision to repeal popular net neutrality rules has held on to their seat. House Democrats also secured a majority in the lower chamber, setting the stage for a potential showdown between Congress, the White House and the Republican-controlled Federal Communications Commission (FCC) over how the government should regulate powerful internet service providers (ISPs) like AT&T, Cox and Comcast. Democratic state attorneys general, who have been united in challenging the Trump administration’s effort to end net neutrality in federal court, now hold a majority of state seats nationwide.

Ajit Pai, Telecom Lobbyists Are Now Coordinating Their Lies In Perfect Symmetry

October 24, 2018 By Karl Bode, Techdirt.com Educate! Corruption, FCC, Internet, Lobbying, Net Neutrality, Telecommunications

So we've made it pretty clear by now that the FCC's entire justification for repealing net neutrality was based entirely on fluff and lobbyist nonsense. But because the Administrative Procedure Act requires that regulators actually provide hard data to justify massive reversals in policy, both the Ajit Pai FCC and his BFFs at Verizon, Comcast, and AT&T have clung tightly to one, completely false claim: that net neutrality harmed network investment. But as we've stated countless times, that's simply not true. That's not an opinion, it's based on SEC filings, earnings reports, and the on-the-record statements of nearly a dozen telecom industry CEOs. That undeniable fact hasn't really bothered the folks at US Telecom, the telecom industry's biggest lobbying and policy organization.

Internet Provider Groups Sue Vermont Over Net Neutrality Law

October 19, 2018 David Shepardson, Reuters.com Educate! Internet, Lawsuit, Legislation, Net Neutrality, Vermont

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Five industry groups representing major internet providers and cable companies filed suit on Thursday seeking to block a Vermont law barring companies that do not abide by net neutrality rules from receiving state contracts. An AT&T logo is pictured in Pasadena, California, U.S., January 24, 2018. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Vermont by groups representing major providers like AT&T Inc (T.N), Comcast Corp (CMCSA.O) and Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N). It followed a lawsuit by four of the groups earlier this month challenging a much broader California law mandating providers abide by net neutrality rules.

New York Attorney General Subpoenas Industry Groups, Lobbyists Over Fake Net Neutrality Comments

October 18, 2018 By Tom McKay, Gizmodo.com Resist! FCC, Internet, Net Neutrality, New York (NY)

The New York Attorney General’s office has subpoenaed “more than a dozen telecommunications trade groups, lobbying contractors and Washington advocacy organizations,” the New York Times reported on Tuesday, seeking to determine whether they were behind the flood of fake public comments submitted before the Federal Communication Commission’s decision to revoke net neutrality rules last year. Barbara Underwood, who became the state’s attorney general earlier this year after predecessor Eric Schneiderman resigned in disgrace, wants to see whether industry groups were behind a huge effort to pollute the 22 million letters filed to the FCC’s electronic comment filing system with fraudulent submissions.

#NetNeutrality: Turns Out 99.7 Percent Of Unique FCC Comments Wanted To Keep The Internet Open

October 17, 2018 By Monique Judge, Theroot.com Educate! FCC, Internet, Net Neutrality

As the Federal Communications Commission prepared to repeal the laws of net neutrality last year, 22 million comments were left on its website expressing arguments either for or against keeping the open internet protected and in place. A new report says that 99.7 percent of the unique comments left on the agency’s site were pro-net neutrality. “Filtering Out the Bots: What Americans Actually Told the FCC about Net Neutrality Repeal” is a study completed by Ryan Singel—a Media and Strategy Fellow at Stanford Law School’s Center for Internet and Society—in which he took a “state-by-state, district-by-district look at linguistically unique comments fled to the FCC in the 2017 repeal proceedings.”

California Governor Signs Nations Toughest Net Neutrality Law

October 1, 2018 Staff, Tumblr.fightforthefuture.org Create! California, Legislation, Net Neutrality

“This victory in California is a testament to the power of the free and open Internet to defend itself. And it’s a beacon of hope for Internet users everywhere who are fighting for the basic right to express themselves and access information without cable and phone companies controlling what they can see and do online.” said Evan Greer (pronouns: she/her), deputy director of Fight for the Future, the digital rights group that played a leading role in passing SB 822 and bringing national attention to the bill. “Despite their army of lobbyists and millions spent lining the pockets of legislators, these companies continue to lose ground in the face of overwhelming cross-partisan opposition to their greedy attacks on our Internet freedom.

One Small Step For The Web

September 30, 2018 Tim Berners-Lee, Medium.com. Create! Internet, Net Neutrality, Privacy

I’ve always believed the web is for everyone. That’s why I and others fight fiercely to protect it. The changes we’ve managed to bring have created a better and more connected world. But for all the good we’ve achieved, the web has evolved into an engine of inequity and division; swayed by powerful forces who use it for their own agendas. Today, I believe we’ve reached a critical tipping point, and that powerful change for the better is possible — and necessary. This is why I have, over recent years, been working with a few people at MIT and elsewhere to develop Solid, an open-source project to restore the power and agency of individuals on the web.

Net Neutrality Activists Plan To Educate Millions Of Voters About Candidate Stances Ahead Of Midterms

September 26, 2018 Staff, Fightforthefuture.org Resist! Electoral Politics, Net Neutrality, Reform, Revisionism

Kicking off on National Voter Registration Day, one of the most prominent open Internet advocacy groups, Fight for the Future, has launched Vote For Net Neutrality, an explosive campaign that seeks to educate millions of people about where Senate and House candidates stand on restoring net neutrality ahead of the midterm elections, enlisting the entire Internet in the mission of pressuring incumbent lawmakers who are facing tight races to do the right thing or face the Internet’s wrath on election day. The campaign makes use of cutting edge mobile technology, including a chatbot flow that allows Internet users to register to vote, sign up for voting reminders, and find out where candidates in their area stand on net neutrality, all from their phones using SMS messages.

New York Times Sues FCC For Net Neutrality Records

September 21, 2018 Jon Reid, Bna.com Resist! FCC, Internet, Net Neutrality, New York Times (NYT)

The New York Times Co. is suing the Federal Communications Commission for records the newspaper alleges may reveal possible Russian government interference in a public comment period before the commission rolled back Obama-era net neutrality rules. The plaintiffs, including Times reporter Nicholas Confessore and investigations editor Gabriel Dance, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Sept. 20 under the Freedom of Information Act, seeking to compel the commission to hand over data.

Kavanaugh’s Toxic Net Neutrality Record Went Mostly Unnoticed During Hearings

September 12, 2018 Andrew Wyrich, Dailydot.com Educate! FCC, Internet, Net Neutrality

t’s no secret that Democrats were attempting to press Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on a laundry list of topics during his confirmation hearings last week. Yet one issue that initially seemed like it would be part of their pushback, net neutrality, was scarcely mentioned at all over the hours of testimony. Last month several Senate Democrats criticized Kavanaugh’s views on net neutrality, highlighting a dissent he wrote in a case that upheld the 2015 Open Internet Order, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rule that enshrined the internet protections and was rescinded last year by the Republican-controlled agency. Kavanaugh’s appointment to the Supreme Court was high stakes for many reasons, Democrats argued, including the future of net neutrality.

Victory In California Assembly Brings State One Vote Away From Strong Net Neutrality Law

September 1, 2018 By Jacob Kastrenakes, Theverge.com Create! California, Legislation, Net Neutrality

California’s state Assembly has approved a bill that would not just restore the net neutrality protections enacted under President Obama, but go beyond them, potentially creating the strictest rules in the country. The bill now heads back to the Senate for a final vote. But that needs to happen soon, or advocates will have to keep waiting: tomorrow is the last day for either chamber to pass legislation until next year. The bill, passed in a 58-17 vote today, prohibits internet providers from blocking or throttling any legal apps, websites, or other services and bans the paid prioritization of data. That’s where the Obama-era rules left off.

That Time Telco Lobbyists Sent Me All Their Talking Points About Trying To Shift The Blame To Internet Companies

August 31, 2018 By Mike Masnick, Techdirt.com Educate! FCC, Internet, Net Neutrality

It's not every day that big telco lobbyists email me their internal documents about how they're going to try to shift all the negative press about themselves and try to flip it onto internet companies. But it did happen yesterday. In what was clearly a mistake a top exec at the telco's largest lobbying organization, USTelecom, emailed a 12 page document of talking points yesterday, asking the recipients to "review the document for accuracy and other thoughts" in order to help USTelecom President Jonathan Spalter for when he goes on C-SPAN next week. I found it a bit odd that I would be on the distribution list for such an email -- especially when 13 of the 15 recipients of the email were US Telecom employees. And me. The one other non-US Telecom person works at a firm that provides "subject matter experts" and "in-depth legal analysis."

Groups Backed By Facebook, Alphabet, Amazon Push For Return Of Net Neutrality Rules

August 29, 2018 By Roger Cheng, Cnet.com Resist! Alphabet, Amazon, Facebook, Google, Net Neutrality

On Monday, the Internet Association, Entertainment Software Association, the Computer & Communications Industry Association and the Writers Guild of America filed a brief with a US Appeals Court in support of Mozilla's lawsuit against the Federal Communications Commission to bring back the rules governing an open internet. The groups represent power players such as Google parent Alphabet, Facebook and Amazon. "It's indisputable that net neutrality protections help consumers, promote innovation, and foster competition online," said IA President and CEO Michael Beckerman in a statement. This comes a week after attorneys general of 22 states and the District of Columbia filed a brief urging the same court to reverse the FCC rollback, according to CBS News.

Internet Groups Urge U.S. Court To Reinstate ‘Net Neutrality’ Rules

August 28, 2018 David Shepardson, Reuters.com Resist! Courts, FCC, Internet, Net Neutrality

In a legal filing Monday, the Internet Association, Entertainment Software Association, Computer & Communications Industry Association, and Writers Guild of America West urged the reversal of the Trump administration decision to overturn the rules in December. “Rules regulating the conduct of (internet providers) continue to be needed to protect and promote an open internet,” the groups wrote in a brief filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Last week, 22 states and the District of Columbia, asked the same appeals court to reinstate the prior rules after the Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 in December along party lines to reverse rules that barred internet service providers (ISPs) from blocking or throttling traffic or offering paid fast lanes, also known as paid prioritization.

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