FCC votes to restore net neutrality
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FCC votes to restore net neutrality
https://www.theverge.com/2024/4/25/24140157/fcc-vote-restore-net-neutrality-rosenworcel-biden
Reversing a Trump administration repeal.
Cool. Meaningless until codified in law but cool for now. Until the board flips again and they nullify the order again.
the up side of flip flopping is that it still results in some amount of effective net neutrality… in order to develop products and build customers for them, ISPs need to actually be sure they’re going to be able to continue to offer them… industries aren’t going to rely on fast lanes, etc until they’re pretty sure they aren’t going to go away
I post this in offering to the internet gods, that this may be the first step which leads to an actually meaningful change.
Exactly. It took until September for the democrats to have majority. They started pushing for it in October. Republican Brendan Carr went to great lengths to oppose the restoration, slowing progress for six months.
https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-401639A1.pdf
Oh, and fuck Ajit Pai and his orange overseer for repealing it in the first place.
the industry claims that the lack of change in that period indicates that federal rules are unnecessary and fear they will impede investments in innovation.
Lol what innovation could an ISP make that is good? We want them to be dumb and simple. Their job is to route our traffic at the limits of the speed of light.
there is an argument that prioritising traffic would be a good thing - pay more for high priority video calls etc, or pay less for things you don’t care about like bulk download
… but we can’t trust ISPs to wield these powers responsibly and in ways that’s good for consumers
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The FCC has sought to accomplish this by reclassifying ISPs as common carriers under Title II of the Communications Act, giving the agency more regulatory authority over them.
Democratic FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said in remarks ahead of the vote that internet access went from a “nice to have, to need to have.” She added, “Broadband is now an essential service.
While ISPs generally say they don’t breach the principles of net neutrality, they object to the reclassification, in large part because it could give the FCC the ability to regulate their pricing.
In this case, the FCC has decided to forbear rate regulation as it relates to the ISPs, though a future iteration of the agency could undo that with another regulatory proceeding.
He also argued that the FCC’s rate regulation forbearance is not legitimate, comparing it to the authority used by the Education Department to get rid of student debt that was struck down.
Starks called for a “permanent funding mechanism” for the Affordable Connectivity Program, which has provided internet subsidies for low-income consumers since the covid pandemic.
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all these regulatory body achievements in the last couple weeks are just going to be flip flopped again in a few years. we need legislation.
the industry claims that the lack of change in that period indicates that federal rules are unnecessary and fear they will impede investments in innovation.
Lol what innovation could an ISP make that is good? We want them to be dumb and simple. Their job is to route our traffic.