Net Neutrality
Net Neutrality.
December 11, 2017
We have three days.
AT&T has promised to ‘be good’ if the FCC overturns Net Neutrality rules. The problem is, we can’t trust AT&T. Or Verizon. Or Comcast.
If the five-member FCC commission votes on Thursday, Dec. 14th, to overturn Net Neutrality, consumers will eventually be asking, “What just happened?’ Slate Magazine gives us some clarity to the usually glossy-eyed Net Neutrality complexity.
What will an internet without Net Neutrality be like? We can look to other countries for the answer.
[Slate]
<The scary part is that it might happen piecemeal, with one free service here and one slower website there.>
“…studies suggest that providers can find many ways to extract fees from subscribers, steer their buying habits, and charge websites and online platforms to get priority access to internet users.
In many countries without net neutrality, mobile plans are the worst culprit. Take what happens in Guatemala, for example. “Many people will have two SIM cards there because on one SIM card they can access WhatsApp for free, and on another SIM card you access Facebook for free,” says Renata Avila, a senior adviser at the Web Foundation. If you buy a small amount of data that gets used up quickly, WhatsApp will still be accessible after the cap is reached, but not the rest of the internet. If you do try to access other websites or apps, you’ll be prompted to pay more. Similar mobile internet plans exist in Balkan countries, Avila said, but there you might buy a SIM card that favors Viper, a popular messaging service in that region.
This practice is also common throughout the European Union. The EU has net neutrality laws, but they don’t outright prohibit mobile plans that allow users to only access certain apps without cutting into their data plans. Rep. Ro Khanna, a Democrat from California, described the situation in Portugal in a tweet that went viral in October. The tweet showed a page from Meo, a mobile and home internet provider in Portugal that offers various packages made up of websites and apps that don’t cut into your monthly data plan.
Beyond not charging for access to particular websites or apps, there are also cases of internet providers straight-up blocking access to certain kinds of apps. In Morocco in 2016, multiple internet providers agreed to block voice over internet services, like Skype or WhatsApp, potentially in an effort to push users to subscribe to phone plans. Unhappy Moroccans heavily protested the ban, which was lifted months later.
In a particularly egregious case in Canada in 2005, the telecom company Telus blocked access to a union website that promoted a labor strike against the internet company. In 2012, AT&T announced it would block U.S. users’ access to FaceTime on iPhones unless they paid for a higher data plan, but it reversed course after consumer advocates sent complaints to the FCC.
The internet could become more homogenized in turn, as fewer people continue to contribute to niche communities.”
Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said that the plan to roll back net neutrality is “worse than one could imagine.” She wrote an op-ed piece for the LATimes titled, “I’m on the FCC. Please stop us from killing net neutrality.”
Killing net neutrality, she adds, is “a lousy idea. And it deserves a heated response from the millions of Americans who work and create online every day.”
“Your broadband provider could carve internet access into fast and slow lanes, favoring the traffic of online platforms that have made special payments and consigning all others to a bumpy road. Your provider would have the power to choose which voices online to amplify and which to censor. The move could affect everything online, including the connections we make and the communities we create. This is not the internet experience we know today. Americans should prevent the plan from becoming the law of the land.”
3 Republicans (all men) are expected to vote along party lines against Net Neutrality — 2 Democrats (both women) are in favor of keeping Net Neutrality.
The chair, Ajit Pai, appointed to the commison by President Obama ini 2012 on the recommendation of Mitch McConnell, was appointed to chair this year by DT. He is leading the ‘end Net Nuetrality’ charge. Verizon is being targeted, a call-to-action explains, because Pai “is a former top lawyer for Verizon, and the company has been spending millions on lobbying and lawsuits to kill net neutrality so they can gouge us all for more money.”
https://www.fcc.gov/about/leadership
Here’s what we can do:
CALL Ajit Pai, FCC Chairman
202-418-1000
Your script:
Hi, my name is [NAME] and I’m a concerned customer from [Hailey].
[IF FCC]: I’m calling to express my disapproval that the FCC is trying to kill net neutrality and the strong Title II oversight of Internet Service Providers. Preserving an open internet is crucial for fair and equal access to the resources and information available on it. Thank you for your time and attention.
[IF LEAVING A VOICEMAIL: please leave your full street address to ensure your call is tallied]
We only have 3 days to fight the FCC & the repeal of #NetNeutrality! Thanks to John Oliver there’s a SUPER easy way to do this. Here’s what you can do – takes less than a minute. 1. Go to gofccyourself.com (the shortcut John Oliver made to the hard-to-find FCC comment page) 2. Click on “express” 3. Hit “enter” after you put in your name & info so it registers. 4. In the comment section write, “I strongly support net neutrality backed by Title 2 oversight of ISPs.” 5. Click to submit, done. – Make sure you hit submit at the end! If you want to spread the word write “congratulations” in the comments so that FB’s silly algorithm puts it at the top of feeds.
Only the good?
December 10, 2017
“If we are to remain true to our heritage and who we claim to be, we must stand with DREAMERS. It’s long past time for Congress to pass the #DreamAct Act now!”
-Eric Holder, former US Attorney General
Meditation readings today:
‘I destroy the ignorance-born darkness by the shining lamp of wisdom.’
-The Bhagavad-Gita
‘I am resolved today to see the good in everyone and in every event.’
Wait. Even Mitch McConnell? And Ajit Pai? The universe really knows how to lay out a challenge.
Pai is the FCC chair appointed to the commission by President Obama in May 2012, at the recommendation of Mitch McConnell. He was appointed to chair by DT. He’s the one trying to eliminate Net Nuetrality. The five-member commission votes on Thursday, Dec. 14th.
“If we are to have peace on earth, our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional. Our loyalties must transcend our race, our tribe, our class, and our nation; and this means we must develop a world perspective.”
—Martin Luther King, Jr.
Science of Mind:
Faith in the justice of the universe is my altar. Up this altar I lay my offering of peace [and kindness].
‘If nothing goes forth from me that can hurt, then nothing can return to me that can harm.’
Richard Rohr:
The humility of the manger is the common place in every person’s life. It is here, in the common place, that we must find the good and, finding it here, we shall also discover that the larger issues of our experience are overshadowed by this same good that we have discovered in the common place.
Join the team.
November 25, 2017
Until Congress passes legislation to make Net Neutrality permanent, we must join as a national collective to keep the town square of the 21st century democratic and assessable to all citizens. Remember, this fight effects all other fights, e.g. tax reform, health care, freedom of information.
FROM F R E E P R E S S
Sign Up to Join #TeamInternet
The Trump administration and FCC Chairman Ajit Pai have joined forces with the biggest broadband providers to try to roll back our online rights. They want to destroy Net Neutrality — and we need to stop them.
We’re launching a bold plan to combine people power with technology to build an unstoppable volunteer grassroots network of Net Neutrality activists.
Together we’ll push back against threats to internet freedom.
Team Internet will be made up of people like you. We’ll provide you with insider campaign updates, access to organizers, connections to like-minded volunteers and the training and support to take your activism to the next level. Will you join #TeamInternet?
We see a future where we have the media and technology our communities want and need to answer hard questions, build collective power, and organize and advocate for the issues that matter. Together we can ensure the internet is a tool for our collective liberation.
We can win this fight. We have the facts, the law and the internet on our side — now we just need the right people to help make this plan a success.
The open internet is under attack, and we want you on the team to help protect it. Sign up to join #TeamInternet!
To join “Team Internet”, follow the link: http://act.freepress.net/signup/team_internet/?source=fptwitter
Here’s an easy to follow graph/flow chart to better understand the effects of Net Neutrality.
Virtual democracy now.
November 21, 2017
I, along with many Americans, have been posting about this for months, writing letters, calling, and emailing. And still weakening/eliminating Net Neutrality is moving forward…rapidly…with the announcement from the FCC today. We must keep trying to preserve freedom and access of information on the Internet. An email address is provided at the end of this post for you to contact FCC Chair Ajit Pai.
https://www.battleforthenet.com
What is net neutrality? Why does it matter?
Net neutrality is the principle that Internet providers like Comcast & Verizon should not control what we see and do online. In 2015, startups, Internet freedom groups, and 3.7 million commenters won strong net neutrality rules from the US Federal Communication Commission (FCC). The rules prohibit Internet providers from blocking, throttling, and paid prioritization—”fast lanes” for sites that pay, and slow lanes for everyone else.
We are Team Internet. We support net neutrality, freedom of speech.
Nearly everyone who understands and depends on the Internet supports net neutrality, whether they’re startup founders, activists, gamers, politicians, investors, comedians, YouTube stars, or typical Internet users who just want their Internet to work as advertised—regardless of their political party. But don’t take our word for it. Ask around, or watch some of these videos.
Comments:
I voted against Ajit Pai (DT appointed FCC Chair) for this very reason. If the FCC adopts this proposal, it will imperil the engine of California’s economy and the platform for our entrepreneurship and creativity.
Unlike @AjitPaiFCC, I’ve led teams creating innovative new tech on the Internet. Everyone who’s done so knows that killing net neutrality is bad for society — not just because it harms tech innovation, but because it compromises our civil rights.
It may already be too late to save #NetNeutrality, but we’ve got to try. Call your congressperson, using the script here: https://www.battleforthenet.com And tell them to push the FCC commissioners to vote to save Net Neutrality on December 14.
The brilliant @anildash not only destroys @AjitPaiFCC in this #thread but rightly points out the most grave danger of dismantling #NetNeutrality is how it will limit both civil rights and free speech. #SaveNetNeutrality
I stand with millions of American consumers, innovators, and entrepreneurs against @AjitPaiFCC’s plot to gut #NetNeutrality. RT if you’re ready to resist this appalling attack on our free and open internet.
Kinda surprised at the lack of awareness in the #NetNeutrality situation. This is pretty much the last push before everything changes for the worse or remains the same. There’s no benefit for consumers if it changes so it behooves you to fight for your internet rights.
Netflix supports strong #NetNeutrality. We oppose the FCC’s proposal to roll back these core protections.
It’s this simple. NO ONE wins by killing #NetNeutrality except mega corporations. Democracy dies in the shadow of information control.
If you don’t fight for #NetNeutrality now, here are the questions you will ask later… Why is my internet so slow? Why is my bill so high? Why can’t I view this page? If you lose your mind because the internet is down or slow for 10 minutes, imagine if it was permanent.
If we repeal #NetNeutrality then this is what it’s going to look like. This isn’t a left/right issue. This is a freedom issue. The internet is the one of the last things we have that isn’t controlled by the Gov. Don’t let them censor us
ACLU:
Update: Time is running out. Chairman Pai has released a draft order of his plan, that if adopted, would undo net neutrality. Make a call to Congress now to save net neutrality.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Pai plans to announce a vote on November 22 to allow major corporations – like Verizon and Comcast – the power to block mobile apps, slow websites, and even control which news outlets we can access. Hearing enough strong disapproval from Congress could persuade him to stall this disturbing plan.
Call your members of Congress today and tell them you oppose Chairman Pai’s plans to dismantle net neutrality.
Enter YOUR phone number (including area code). Make sure this phone is near you now. We’ll route your call to your members of Congress.
EMAIL: Ajit.Pai@fcc.gov
Saving Net Neutrality
February 14, 2017
Trump’s new FCC chairman, Ajit Pai, wants to “wipe away [the] Net Neutrality rules.”1
But you have the power to stop him.
This Valentine’s Day tell us why you need — and love — the open internet. We’ll send your message directly to the FCC.
It’s essential to raise your voice now — before Trump and Pai make good on their promise to get rid of Net Neutrality.
Pai is a former Verizon lawyer. He used to work for racist Attorney General Jeff Sessions. He opposes Net Neutrality, puts corporate interests ahead of your own and is happy to lead Trump’s demolition team — hammering away at your rights to connect and communicate.
This Valentine’s Day send a Net Neutrality love letter to the internet.
When millions of people like you stand up to talk about why you need the open internet — when you fight to defend this crucial tool — you demonstrate your power. It’s that kind of power that got us the Net Neutrality rules in the first place.
Together let’s remind Pai that he works for the public. Let’s ensure we can keep using the internet to fight back and win on everything under attack right now.
1. “An Anti-Consumer Agenda at the FCC,” The New York Times, Feb. 10, 2017: https://act.freepress.net/go/16661?t=8&akid=6095.10632545.lwvQtF
NYTimes Editorial Board–Feb. 10, 2017:
As President Trump rushes to dismantle Obama-era rules that protect Americans, he has an energetic helper over at the Federal Communications Commission. Its new Republican chairman has started undoing policies of his predecessor that were intended to make phone, cable and internet service more fair and more affordable.
Ajit Pai, who was a commissioner before he became chairman last month, is trying to wipe away net neutrality rules put in place by Tom Wheeler, the former chairman, to prevent broadband companies from creating fast and slow lanes on the internet. Mr. Pai has scrapped a proposal to let people buy cable-TV boxes instead of renting them at inflated prices from companies like Comcast. Many of Mr. Pai’s moves would hurt the people who have the least power. For instance, he has backed away from rules to lower the exorbitant rates for prison phone calls. And he has suspended nine companies from providing discounted internet service to poor people through a program known as Lifeline.