March starts on Sunday!
FReepers, Let's GIT_R_DONE!
Posted on 02/26/2015 3:43:07 PM PST by NewHampshireDuo
Today the FCC voted three to two to reclassify broadband Internet access as a common carrier service under Title II of the Communications Act, and forbear from the parts of the Act that aren’t necessary for net neutrality rules. This reclassification gives the FCC the authority to enact (and enforce) narrow, clear rules which will help keep the Internet the open platform it is today.
As expected, the FCC’s new rules forbid ISPs from charging Internet users for special treatment on their networks. It will also reach interconnection between ISPs and transit providers or edge services, allowing the FCC to ensure that ISPs don’t abuse their gatekeeper authority to favor some services over others.
That’s great for making sure websites and services can reach ISP customers, but what about making sure customers can choose for themselves how to use their Internet connections without interference from their ISPs? To accomplish this, the FCC has banned ISPs from blocking or throttling their customers’ traffic based on content, applications or services—which means users, hackers, tinkerers, artists, and knowledge seekers can continue to innovate and experiment on the Internet, using any app or service they please, without having to get their ISP’s permission first.
Even better, the rules will apply to wireless and wired broadband in the same way, so you don’t have to worry that your phone switching from Wi-Fi to a 4G network will suddenly cause apps not to work or websites to become inaccessible. Lots of people use mobile devices as their primary way of accessing the Internet, so applying net neutrality rules to both equally will help make sure there is “one Internet” for all.
So congratulations, Team Internet. We put the FCC on the right path at last. Reclassification under Title II was a necessary step in order to give the FCC the authority it needed to enact net neutrality rules. But now we face the really hard part: making sure the FCC doesn’t abuse its authority.
For example, the new rules include a “general conduct rule” that will let the FCC take action against ISP practices that don’t count as blocking, throttling, or paid prioritization. As we said last week and last year, vague rules are a problem. The FCC wants to be, in Chairman Wheeler’s words, “a referee on the field” who can stop any ISP action that it thinks “hurts consumers, competition, or innovation.” The problem with a rule this vague is that neither ISPs nor Internet users can know in advance what kinds of practices will run afoul of the rule. Only companies with significant legal staff and expertise may be able to use the rule effectively. And a vague rule gives the FCC an awful lot of discretion, potentially giving an unfair advantage to parties with insider influence. That means our work is not yet done. We must stay vigilant, and call out FCC overreach.
The actual order is over 300 pages long, and it’s not widely available yet. Details matter. Watch this space for further analysis when the FCC releases the final order.
I have a residential account. Heck, I have the internet connected to ham radio software, run a small chat server, use Tor, use Retroshare - never an issue.
Noting that the FCC was established under the administration of Constitution-ignoring socialist FDR, even if the FCC made the right decision about the Internet, it remains that only Congress has the constitutional authority to make such decisions. So corrupt, RINO-controlled Congress needs to stop hiding behind federal agencies like the FCC with respect to unpopular federal policies.
Fox reports the following:
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 4 issue of Wired, he already hints at ways bureaucrats could start dictating what they view as “threats” on the Internet:
“…my proposal includes a general conduct rule that can be used to stop new and novel threats to the Internet. This means the action we take will be strong enough and flexible enough not only to deal with the realities of today, but also to establish ground rules for the as yet unimagined.”
Team Internet?
What a bunch of homes.
I one fell swoop, the FCC just took over all forms of communication, including TV. A 21st Century Pravda. Watch the wrong news channel, get audited.
Did they read the regulation they support!
That’s the problem, they just fixed something that wasn’t broken. I telecommute too...never happens.
This has made the Internet dumber - not better. There’s a thing called Quality of Service (QoS), it is technology that makes sure that video conferencing, voice-over-IP calls, etc. all take precedence over other packets coming through the network. If this wasn’t done the experience would suck.
This basically means that something businesses do internally to improve their packet efficiency is something we’re not allowed to have in our private residence. It is smart packet routing, hence my statement that it just made the Internet dumber.
Now, if your neighbor is doing loads of bit-torrent downloads that don’t require a constant stream, they’ll get the same priority of packets as you do even though you’re trying to watch live streaming content. Packets don’t need to be treated the same. My email, general web pages, etc. don’t need to be guaranteed at the same speed.
The lie is that this is for the little people, keeping the internet the way it is. What if technology and innovation shows that something is better? It’s now not allowed. Remember, these are private companies that have built these network infrastructures. They own them and WANT to provide a good service to customers. Now the FCC can tell them what to do with their own property, dictating the direction of network technology.
Now they have their fingers around it, it’ll only be a matter of time before the other penny drops. Want to start a blog? You need a permit. Your internet costs just went up? FCC fees. Lawsuits everywhere over “claimed” discrimination of bandwidth manipulation. Guess who’s going to pay for all that? There are companies that set up servers that cache certain content (very intelligently) to *improve* the user experience. These businesses may be violating the law immediately - purely by what they do. You may not be able to allow certain things to be faster but you can just slow everything down to the same speed - it’s like socialism for the Internet.
This is the tip of the iceberg. The FCC is dictating what a company can do technically with its OWN PROPERTY. Let that settle in. It was about taxes and control, done under the veil of “protecting us from greedy corporations”. I don’t think many realize how big a hammer came down today.
Will they ban Smoke Signals next?
The King of sleaze Georgie Porgie Soros is behind this. ‘Nuff said.
“But now we face the really hard part: making sure the FCC doesn’t abuse its authority.”
Name ONE federal agency that has NEVER ABUSED it’s authority...
(crickets...)
Is this an issue for residential customers?...
The article is full of nonsense. No sane person thinks that the FCC is going to dismantle all of the restrictions on "hackers, tinkerers...and knowledge seekers" that currently exist. Right now the government expects ISPs to do their bidding, and for example, terminate service to people using the internet for illegal activities, or activities that the government believes infringe someone's copyright, or activities that cause headaches for other parties. That's why, for example, the federal government expects internet companies to keep records and respond to subpoenas regarding their customers.
The idea that somehow more government regulation will make it easier for "hackers" to do their thing is ridiculous.
I propose a simple experiment - a new public utility ISP which is 100% anonymous. Customers prepay and the ISP retains no records of any of its users. And the ISP has no restrictions whatsoever on what its users do. It would be truly net-neutral for all of its customers.
I'm not going to hold my breath to see if the FCC thinks that is a good idea.
No. What “Team Internet” did was let the Government in the door. It doesn’t matter that the enacted a narrow set of rules “now”. People never learn.
It wasn’t a problem before.
But what are these new “Internet Conduct Rules”?
Which posts will violate those rules?
Images of “Cross in piss”?
Pornography?
Or perhaps entire websites if they happen to disagree with these new FCC regula
It's the old government act of "hi, were from the government and we're here to help you"
Exactly.
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