“Particularly damning is what today’s repeal will mean for marginalized groups, like communities of color, that rely on platforms like the internet to communicate, because traditional outlets do not consider their issues or concerns, worthy of any coverage. It was through social media that the world first heard about Ferguson, Missouri, because legacy news outlets did not consider it important until the hashtag started trending.”
–
Mignon Clyburn, FCC Commissioner for Net Neutrality
Today the FCC voted 3-2 to kill the net neutrality rules you helped pass back in 2015
Let’s not kid ourselves: This is a major setback in our fight for a free and open internet. But It’s not the end. Not for us, and we hope not for you.
Net neutrality is too important to be subject to the whims of any administration. We need legislative action.
Go to Battle For The Net to get connected directly to your Senators or Representatives. If we work together, we can get it done. Again!
Here’s more from Commissioner Clyburn this morning:
I am optimistic, that we will look back on today’s vote as an aberration, a temporary deviation from the bipartisan path, that has served us so well. I don’t know whether this plan will be vacated by a court, reversed by Congress, or overturned by a future Commission. But I do believe that its days are numbered. (Verge)
There’s nothing hypothetical about what ISPs will do when net neutrality is eliminated. I’m going to steal a comment previously posted by /u/Skrattybones and repost here:
2005 – Madison River Communications was blocking VOIP services. The FCC put a stop to it.
2005 – Comcast was denying access to p2p services without notifying customers.
2007 – 2009 – AT&T was having Skype and other VOIPs blocked because they didn’t like there was competition for their cellphones.
2011 – MetroPCS tried to block all streaming except youtube. (edit: they actually sued the FCC over this)
2011 – 2013 AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon were blocking access to Google Wallet because it competed with their bullshit. edit: this one happened literally months after the trio were busted collaborating with Google to block apps from the android marketplace
2012 – Verizon was demanding google block tethering apps on Android because it let owners avoid their $20 tethering fee. This was despite guaranteeing they wouldn’t do that as part of a winning bid on an airwaves auction. (edit: they were fined $1.24 million over this)
2012 – At&T tried to block access to FaceTime unless customers paid more money.
2013 – Verizon literally stated that the only thing stopping them from favoring some content providers over other providers were the net neutrality rules in place.
The foundation of Reason’s argument is that Net Neutrality is unnecessary because we’ve never had issues without it. I think this timeline shows just how crucial it really is to a free and open internet.
“Chairman Pai has a record of promising to undo the agency’s landmark
2015 net neutrality rules as well as targeting consumer privacy while
refusing to stand against consolidation among telecommunications and
media giants,” the advocacy organization Public Knowledge said in a
release.
Hearseeno 