Free Republic

Can you imagine a world where your home, your vehicles, your appliances and every single electronic device that you own is constantly connected to the Internet? This is not some grand vision that is being planned for some day in the future. This is something that is being systematically implemented right now. In 2015, we already have “smart homes”, vehicles that talk to one another, refrigerators that are connected to the Internet, and televisions that spy on us. Our world is becoming increasingly interconnected, and that opens up some wonderful possibilities. But there is also a downside. What if we...

The powers behind the FCC’s muscling of the Internet Today’s vote by a bitterly divided Federal Communications Commission that the Internet should be regulated as a public utility is the culmination of a decade-long battle by the Left. Using money from George Soros and liberal foundations that totaled at least $196 million, radical activists finally succeeded in ramming through “net neutrality,” or the idea that all data should be transmitted equally over the Internet. The final push involved unprecedented political pressure exerted by the Obama White House on FCC chairman Tom Wheeler, head of an ostensibly independent regulatory body. “Net...

Toy maker Mattel has unveiled a new Barbie that talks and remembers kids’ unique preferences. "Hello Barbie" is being marketed as a cutting-edge toy that builds relationships, but one German magazine says she is more like a Soviet-era informant. The latest incarnation of Mattel’s flagship doll was curtly re-baptised “Barbie IM” by German weekly Stern. The initials stand for “Inoffizieller Mitarbeiter”, informants who worked for East Germany’s infamous secret police, the Stasi, during the Cold War. The toy and game manufacturer highlights Hello Barbie’s voice recognition and wifi capabilities, which allow the company to store information and use it to...

WASHINGTON D.C. (INTELLIHUB) — Thursday the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted on and approved the end of the Internet as we know it. That’s right the ‘information superhighway’ has just been obliterated by the passage of “Net Neutrality” which allows the FCC to regulate the once free and independent Internet. Essentially it’s like putting a person or a checkpoint between point A and point B in which one may eventually have to check in with. Call me a conspiracy theorist but that would be a “gatekeeper” which proponents of the plan promised wouldn’t exist. Although this analogy may seem far-fetched...

... The two Republican FCC Commissioners (out of a total of five) know exactly how important this new plan really is. Commissioner Ajit Pai has called the new FCC plan “a massive shift in favor of government control of the Internet…everything from your wireless service plan, to your wire line connection at home.” These new rules would not only affect your services, it would also give FCC regulators the power to decide what content on the Internet was “just and reasonable.” Commissioner Tom Wheeler makes the absurd comment that the FCC would never use those powers. But in a February...

Federal regulators voted Thursday to impose sweeping net neutrality rules that supporters say are critical to protecting the freedom of the Internet. In a party-line 3-2 vote, the Federal Communications Commission moved to embrace an approach advocated by President Obama to treat the Web like a utility in order to prevent major companies such as Comcast or Verizon from slowing, blocking or creating “toll roads” for people’s access to the Internet. "We cannot have gatekeepers who tell us what we can and cannot do and where we can and cannot go online," said Jessica Rosenworcel, one of the FCC's three...

Dallas Mavericks owner and investor Mark Cuban predicted that proposed FCC Internet regulations will end up impacting TV and “your TV as you know it is over” on Thursday’s “Squawk Alley” on CNBC.

(Reuters) - U.S. regulators are poised to impose the toughest rules yet on Internet service providers, aiming to ensure fair treatment of all web traffic through their networks. The Federal Communications Commission is expected Thursday to approve Chairman Tom Wheeler's proposed "net neutrality" rules, regulating broadband providers more heavily than in the past and restricting their power to control download speeds on the web, for instance by potentially giving preference to companies that can afford to pay more. The vote, expected along party lines with Democrats in favor, comes after a year of jostling between cable and telecom companies and...

Feds look to adopt 322 pages of fresh taxes, regulations; FCC Chair Refuses to Testify before Congress Another wild power-grab. Power without accountability. The net is the very last frontier for free speech. — Despite google algorithms that consistently render — day in day out, year in year out — always render left-wing sites on first page search results; — Despite filters that block my site and sites like mine (Jihad Watch, The Religion of Peace, Creeping Sharia, Sharia Unveiled, et al) at work, school, and even US army bases and government agencies; — Despite search engines refusing to include...

we are deeply concerned that the FCC’s new rules will include a provision that sounds like a recipe for overreach and confusion: the so-called “general conduct rule.” According to the FCC's own "Fact Sheet," the proposed rule will allow the FCC to review (and presumably punish) non-neutral practices that may “harm” consumers or edge providers.

On February 4, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler proposed that the federal government reclassify the Internet from an ‘information service’ to a ‘telecommunications service’ in the name of keeping it 'fair' --a plan that came straight from Barack Obama's desk.Of course, this is nothing more than a pass for Big Government to expand its regulatory power at the expense of digital freedom. Like all innovation, the Internet wasn’t created by government… and government certainly has no power to control it. Nowhere in the Constitution is there a provision providing the federal government with power to regulate the free-flow...

The left lifts its boot toward the free flow of information We knew this was coming. Within the last couple of weeks, both the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Election Commission declared their intention to regulate the Internet. Fascists always explain their actions as efforts to either make something more efficient, “fair,” or to supposedly “protect” their target. Sometimes they simply lie, like saying they’re nationalizing health insurance to make it more affordable and to increase access to health care. Now, with the feds’ latest effort, their new slogan might as well be, “If you like your Internet, you...

Dan from Squirrel Hill's Blog Even before adopting net neutrality, here are 26 actions by which the Obama administration has already proven itself to be incompetent when it comes to the internet The fact that Obama refuses to allow the public to see his 332 page net neutrality plan until after its implementation is voted on is, by itself, reason enough for me to oppose the plan.I would think that even the biggest supporters of net neutrality would be curious as to why Obama won’t let people see his plan until after it is implemented.However, in addition to that, here are...

Dan from Squirrel Hill's Blog The “most transparent administration in history” says it won’t let the public see its 332 page net neutrality plan until after the FCC votes on its implementation The Obama administration has just said that it won’t let the public see its 332 page proposal for net neutrality until after the FCC votes on its implementation.Which reminds me of this Nancy Pelosi gem regarding Obamacare:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoE1R-xH5ToRepublican FCC Commissioner Ajit Paisaid has seen the proposal. Paisaid said Obama’s net neutrality plan was 332 pages long, and that:“It gives the FCC the power to micromanage virtually every aspect of how...

Google, Facebook and other big Internet companies might very well come to wish they'd never agitated for federal net neutrality rules. That's the message Richard Waters, writing in the Financial Times, delivers in a must-read column this week.

The Federal Election Commission is considering expanding their regulatory power to include political speech online… Yeah, let’s regulate the internet. I mean, free speech can’t just be expected to run wild or anything, right? The FEC held an open hearing yesterday to determine if they will move forward on clamping down on political content online (such as blogs, YouTube videos, and other “free” messaging). According to CNS News:Last October, FEC Chairwoman Ann Ravel issued a statement in which she complained that the agency was not doing enough to monitor activity on the Internet.Right… Because I know I’m terrified that the feds...

It sounds so fair and so right. Just like health care for everyone, under a plan in which "if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor." But so-called "Net neutrality," being pushed by the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, is likely another power grab that will give the federal government vast control over the Internet. Years from now, this could make the Obama administration's efforts to control banks, health care and other major components of our economy look like small potatoes. After having been "persuaded" by representatives of the White House, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler finally announced...

(CNSNews.com) -- The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is holding a hearing today to receive public feedback on whether it should create new rules regulating political speech, including political speech on the Internet that one commissioner warned could affect blogs, YouTube videos and even websites like the Drudge Report. The hearing is a response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in McCutcheon v. FEC last year, which struck down the FEC’s previous cap on aggregate campaign contributions from a single donor in an election cycle. Before the decision, individuals were limited to a combined total of $46,200 in contributions to all...

First lady Michelle Obama believes Americans can keep the federal government from meddling with their lives by eating healthy foods and maintaining an active lifestyle. In an interview with Cooking Light magazine published Monday, Mrs. Obama said the best way to avoid dealing with “the system” is to take care of one’s own body. Doing so, she said, will eliminate trips to the doctor and the need to deal with Obamacare. “It’s just making sure people understand that the most powerful thing that they can do for their overall health is feed their bodies good nutritious food,” the first lady...

Ajit Pai, the sole Republican Commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), inferred in a Tweet that President Barack Obama’s secret, 332-page “Net Neutrality” document is a scheme for federal micro-managing of the Internet to extract billions in new taxes from consumers and again enforce progressives’ idea of honest, equitable, and balanced content fairness.