Fight for Net Neutrality back in court tomorrow

[DPennington]

Why it matters: Net neutrality is once again on the forefront as the fight for an open internet rages on. After over a year of appeals, a consumer advocacy group led by Mozilla will begin making oral arguments to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals requesting that the FCC's 2017 decision to repeal net neutrality laws be vacated. Millions of Americans will be affected by the decision to either uphold or vacate the FCC's decision, as the power given to internet service providers hangs in the balance.

Supporters of net neutrality will get their chance to square off against the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) beginning tomorrow, February 1st. The FCC decided in December 2017 to roll back Obama-era internet rules, opening the door for potential website and content favoritism by internet service providers.

Net neutrality is the principle that all data should be treated equally by internet service providers. Without net neutrality laws in place, it's theoretically possible for broadband companies to discriminate against individual users and content. A high-profile example of this occurred in July 2017, when Verizon Wireless was accused of throttling users' speed when using Netflix and YouTube.

Shortly after the FCC's decision, a coalition of state agencies, attorneys general, consumer advocacy groups, and internet businesses sued the agency and requested that the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals vacate the repeal of neutrality rules. After over a year of debate, the coalition, led by Mozilla, will make their initial oral arguments at 9:30am on Friday.

At the core of the petitioners' argument is the question of whether or not broadband is defined as a telecommunications service. If so, then broadband is defined under US law as being "the transmission, between or among points specified by the user, of information of the user's choosing, without change in the form or content of the information as sent and received." In layman's terms, this definition of broadband would mean that all transmissions are protected speech, and neither the content or the delivery can be manipulated or modified in any way by a controlling party.

Tone-deaf FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has attempted to make the case that broadband is an "information service" and therefore does not fall under the telecommunications service laws. US law defines an information service as "the offering of a capability for generating, acquiring, storing, transforming, processing, retrieving, utilizing, or making available information via telecommunications," and the classification as such would allow broadband companies to provide access as they see fit.

Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey, a co-author of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, addressed the court battle and believes the broadband is clearly defined as a telecom service.

"Both the plain language [of the law] and congressional intent make clear that broadband is a telecommunications service," Markey said. "As the House author of the bill I know firsthand what we intended in 1996. Yet, Chairman Pai ignored the statute and our intent when the FCC reclassified broadband to an information service and eliminated net neutrality rules."

A recent example of the risks presented by the mitigation of net neutrality came in August 2018, when a fire department in Santa Clara, CA had its data service throttled by Verizon Wireless while fighting the historic Mendocino Complex Fire. The department had paid for unlimited data, but suffered throttling and were forced to pay an additional fee to restore their full bandwidth.

Aside from the Santa Clara Fire Department debacle, there have been no major examples of ISPs taking advantage of relaxed net neutrality rules. But there is speculation that ISPs are simply waiting for the appeals process to play out before they start acting in ways benefiting their economic interests.

If you're interested in following the case live, the D.C. Circuit Court provides live streams of oral arguments. If you'd like to dig even deeper, the petitioners' joint brief and the DoJ's defense are also publicly available.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/78526-fight-net-neutrality-back-court-tomorrow.html

 

[Uncle Al]

Go get 'em gang! Kick that SOB in his high speed IT Ars!

 

[wiyosaya]

He needs a bigger coffee cup!

 

[psycros]

He needs a bigger coffee cup!

He needs a bigger conscience.

Here's hoping the left-wingers don't try add language that sabotages NN again.

 

[ForgottenLegion]

There is no hope.

Dumb trump is president.
Brexit is destroying the UK.
Net Neutrality is dead.

Politicians are unbelievably corrupt. Get rid of them all.

 

[psycros]

There is no hope.

Dumb trump is president.
Brexit is destroying the UK.
Net Neutrality is dead.

Politicians are unbelievably corrupt. Get rid of them all.

"Destroying the UK"..? How so? The GB & Welsh economy has been steadily recovering from the transition, the immigration invasion has slowed, far less GB money is being wasted by EU oligarchs..I don't see the downside. The UK was lured into the EU with all sorts of promises, most of which were never kept. All their doing is giving up on a bad deal that become worse by the year. Ireland wants to stay because its tax haven scheme is being dismantled and they'll soon be a dependent country again. As for political corruption, that's a law of nature. Nobody strives to reach the highest levels of power in order to help anyone but themselves, and that goes for capitalists and communists alike. You want better government? Limit senators and presidents to a single term.

 

[cliffordcooley]

Dumb trump is president.

Were you smart enough to make the fortune he has and still become president? You may not agree with him. But Trump is not dumb. In fact for the last 30 years he is the only one that is wanting to work for you. I don't understand why you can not see this.

 

[pit1209]

Were you smart enough to make the fortune he has and still become president? You may not agree with him. But Trump is not dumb. In fact for the last 30 years he is the only one that is wanting to work for you. I don't understand why you can not see this.

His father was the one who amassed a 200+ million fortune by the 80s, trump was born in riches, connections and powerful friends from his father, he even stated how he "started" with a multi-million loan from his father but "His financial losses in the 1980s caused him to be dropped from the [Forbes of wealthy individuals] list between 1990 and 1995, and reportedly obliged him to borrow from his siblings' trusts in 1993." https://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/23/business/yourmoney/whats-he-really-worth.html

"Trump has often said that he began his career with "a small loan of one million dollars" from his father, and that he had to pay it back with interest. In October 2018, The New York Times reported that Trump "was a millionaire by age 8", borrowed at least $60 million from his father, and largely failed to reimburse him, and had received $413 million (adjusted for inflation) from his father's business empire over his lifetime."
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/02/us/politics/donald-trump-wealth-fred-trump.html

Is blatantly obvious he has never worked for the sake of nobody but himself. I'm the one who don't understand why you cannot see that.

Edit: more info added.

 

[cliffordcooley]

Is blatantly obvious he has never worked for the sake of nobody but himself. I'm the one who don't understand why you cannot see that.

Your opinion and my opinion has nothing to do with the fact he is not dumb. That was my main point.

 

[Evernessince]

Dumb trump is president.

Were you smart enough to make the fortune he has and still become president? You may not agree with him. But Trump is not dumb. In fact for the last 30 years he is the only one that is wanting to work for you. I don't understand why you can not see this.

You are right, he's not dumb. He's a master scam artist. He got a loan from his father and dodged the taxes. He proceeded to have multiple bankruptcies. He eventually took control of his dad's empire by force and kicked his own father out the door. Additional bankruptcies piled on and he resorted to other methods to make money. Scamming college students and a fraudulent charity for example. He also sold everything but naming rights to multiple Trump properties. For example, Trump SoHo was sold long before they took down the Trump branding on it. He also made an alternate persona "Barron trump" that he used to fake his real value to make it onto the Forbes top 100 richist list. In addition, there is ample evidence of Russian oligarchs and members of the Russian Mafia staying at Trump properties before he become president.

Trumps isn't working for anyone but himself. Do you honestly believe a man as egotistical as Trump would miss the chance to brag about his wealth by releasing his tax returns? The reason he fears his tax returns releasing is because he knows his "wealth" is nothing but a facade. Go look at his twitter account, I've seen more empathetic tweets from a majority of online trolls.

Mind you this is only what we know right now and I'm not including any scams he's running while he's been president, which have been many.

 

[VitalyT]

That is a big mug!

 

[wiyosaya]

Dumb trump is president.

Were you smart enough to make the fortune he has and still become president? You may not agree with him. But Trump is not dumb. In fact for the last 30 years he is the only one that is wanting to work for you. I don't understand why you can not see this.

You are right, he's not dumb. He's a master scam artist.

It looks like his father helped him out with that, too! Here's an interesting article about his "bone spurs" diagnosis. - https://bipartisanreport.com/2018/1...purs-doctor-speaks-out-about-deferment-bribe/

I suppose you can be smart and be an absolute fraud, too, but personally, I think his public persona these days is only slightly above the intelligence of rocks.

Back on topic -

He needs a bigger coffee cup!

He needs a bigger conscience.

Here's hoping the left-wingers don't try add language that sabotages NN again.

Bigger conscience? That assumes he even has one. I've seen no evidence he does have one.

One thing is for sure, this will be interesting to watch. I can't say I agree with your wording about botching NN again as it was a left-leaning administration that got NN in place to begin with. We'll see what they do, but I think that those who have joined the case for NN likely understand the nuances for a successful case.

 

[Dimitrios]

Anyone else think he looks like a gopher? For some reason he can pass with a name like Gunther.

 

[wiyosaya]

Anyone else think he looks like a gopher? For some reason he can pass with a name like Gunther.

Now that you mention it

I think there is a striking resemblance!

 

[Paulos7]

There is no hope.

Dumb trump is president.
Brexit is destroying the UK.
Net Neutrality is dead.

Politicians are unbelievably corrupt. Get rid of them all.

"Destroying the UK"..? How so? The GB & Welsh economy has been steadily recovering from the transition, the immigration invasion has slowed, far less GB money is being wasted by EU oligarchs..I don't see the downside. The UK was lured into the EU with all sorts of promises, most of which were never kept. All their doing is giving up on a bad deal that become worse by the year. Ireland wants to stay because its tax haven scheme is being dismantled and they'll soon be a dependent country again. As for political corruption, that's a law of nature. Nobody strives to reach the highest levels of power in order to help anyone but themselves, and that goes for capitalists and communists alike. You want better government? Limit senators and presidents to a single term.

Limiting senators and presidents to a single term wouldn't stop corruption. If politicians were actually held accountable for the consequences of the policies and decisions they make as lawmakers, I believe you would be hard-pressed to find a crooked politician.

 

[Paulos7]

Anyone else think he looks like a gopher? For some reason he can pass with a name like Gunther.

Now that you mention it

I think there is a striking resemblance!

Are you seriously comparing Chairman Pai to a low lying (pun intended) ground dwelling buck-toothed coffee swilling (pun intended) rodent? Can you photoshop that gopher picture to make it look like he's drinking from a big coffee cup?

 

[Bubbajim]

"Destroying the UK"..? How so? The GB & Welsh economy has been steadily recovering from the transition, the immigration invasion has slowed, far less GB money is being wasted by EU oligarchs..I don't see the downside.

Wales is part of Great Britain not separate to it, and the British economy is having a very slow improvement alongside most of the rest of Europe, but it's about to go off a cliff edge, particularly if we can't get a deal agreed. There's also not "far less GB money" being "wasted" as we're continuing to pay into the EU until we leave. We've also committed to paying for everything we originally said we would. Next to none of it was 'wasted' anyway. We're also about to pay (if May's deal goes through) a settlement of £40 billion. That's quite a bit of money.

The UK was lured into the EU with all sorts of promises, most of which were never kept. All their doing is giving up on a bad deal that become worse by the year.

Mind if I ask what promises you're referring to and how was the 'deal' getting worse? The UK wasn't lured into anything. We joined the EEA and then became signatories to the successive treaties that transformed it from an economic to a political Union.

Ireland wants to stay because its tax haven scheme is being dismantled and they'll soon be a dependent country again.

Ireland will stay because Ireland is not part of the UK, there's no question of what they "want", and the only way its taxes are changing in 2019 is with tax cuts for personal income and self-employed income. And if you were actually talking about Northern Ireland, who, yes, voted mostly to stay, their tax structure is nothing like Ireland's.

 

[captaincranky]

Were you smart enough to make the fortune he has and still become president? You may not agree with him. But Trump is not dumb. In fact for the last 30 years he is the only one that is wanting to work for you. I don't understand why you can not see this.

No, Trump is certainly not dumb. What he is is an egomaniac, a sociopath and a pathological liar. At this point in time, it would be better for the country if he was merely stupid and realized it. (*)

And yes, I voted for him, so don't dismiss me as a "bitter far left Democratic Clinton supporter".

His latest stunt with the "give me 5.7 billion or I'll close the government", smacks of a juvenile delinquent kicking his date out of the car if he doesn't get his way with her. It's basically a, "my way, or the highway", tantrum and ploy! Sure Donny boy, that's real mature. He simply doesn't give a crap about how many people he hurts, (IE 800,000 federal workers, along with tourists and businesses who depend on them), as he rams his personal beliefs, opinions and agenda down all of our throats.

Not to mention the fact that the a**hole ran his mouth through his entire campaign about how, "Mexico is going to pay for the wall".

BTW: You can thank Barack Obama for Ajit Pai in the first place, and Donald Trump for being stupid enough to keep him. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajit_Pai

(*) I will grant you that that someone who actually is stupid, is always the last, (if ever), to find out about it.

 

[captaincranky]

Is blatantly obvious he has never worked for the sake of anybody but himself. I'm the one who doesn't understand why you cannot see that.
.

FIXED!

Signed, "your friendly, neighborhood grammar Nazi"..

 

[Pinkie Pie]

Dumb trump is president.

Were you smart enough to make the fortune he has and still become president? You may not agree with him. But Trump is not dumb. In fact for the last 30 years he is the only one that is wanting to work for you. I don't understand why you can not see this.

Aside from the fact that all of his money was inherited, he probably has no fortune now. It's likely he is in debt up to his eyeballs to various Russian "entrepreneurs" not to mention the billions he has lost on his many bankruptcies and failed products. It's why he refuses to release his tax returns, he doesn't want the world to see what his financial situation truly is.

 

[wiyosaya]

His latest stunt with the "give me 5.7 billion or I'll close the government", smacks of a juvenile delinquent kicking his date out of the car if he doesn't get his way with her. It's basically a, "my way, or the highway", tantrum and ploy! Sure Donny boy, that's real mature. He simply doesn't give a crap about how many people he hurts, (IE 800,000 federal workers, along with tourists and businesses who depend on them), as he rams his personal beliefs, opinions and agenda down all of our throats.

Right there with you, Captian!

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the shutdown has cost the economy $11bn
https://www.forbes.com/sites/brockb...ment-shutdown-on-small-business/#3d55e747119a

With business acumen like that (I.e, blowing more money than originally requested because of not being able to get one's way), I find the rumors about his wealth, e.g., "he is bankrupt" to be entirely plausible. Someone with his personality traits would be unable to provide his tax returns if he were bankrupt because it would have absolutely killed his "stable genius" image (see below) (not to mention if he were bankrupt, his political advisers would have told him that there is no way in hell he should release his tax returns since it would have meant the end of his political aspirations).

And now he is talking about doing it all again? Smart? He had two-years with majorities in both the house and the senate and was still unable to get funding to sit on his wall. That is in no way shape or form the fault of the democrats even though he is trying to blame them for HIS actions.

BTW: You can thank Barack Obama for Ajit Pai in the first place, and Donald Trump for being stupid enough to keep him. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajit_Pai

Interesting read there. I note that Obama was naive enough in 2012, after Mitch McConnell publicly stated that his mission in office was to make sure Obama's presidency was a failure, to accept McConnell's recommendation of Pai.

(*) I will grant you that that someone who actually is stupid, is always the last, (if ever), to find out about it.

That's proven science known as "The Dunning-Kruger Effect"

(BTW - I voted for Hillary not because I actually liked her, but because I thought that she was the lesser of two evils (anyone is welcome to flame me for that statement - just be prepared for me to remind anyone who does that numerous and expensive republican investigations of her in congress failed to produce any chargeable offenses - and no, I don't believe she is an all-powerful demon who was able to enchant the members of congress with a spell that made her appear innocent to those same members of congress while also running a child sex slave ring out of a downtown Washington, DC pizza shop)).

 

[Evernessince]

Right there with you, Captian!

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the shutdown has cost the economy $11bn
https://www.forbes.com/sites/brockb...ment-shutdown-on-small-business/#3d55e747119a

With business acumen like that (I.e, blowing more money than originally requested because of not being able to get one's way), I find the rumors about his wealth, e.g., "he is bankrupt" to be entirely plausible. Someone with his personality traits would be unable to provide his tax returns if he were bankrupt because it would have absolutely killed his "stable genius" image (see below) (not to mention if he were bankrupt, his political advisers would have told him that there is no way in hell he should release his tax returns since it would have meant the end of his political aspirations).

And now he is talking about doing it all again? Smart? He had two-years with majorities in both the house and the senate and was still unable to get funding to sit on his wall. That is in no way shape or form the fault of the democrats even though he is trying to blame them for HIS actions.


Interesting read there. I note that Obama was naive enough in 2012, after Mitch McConnell publicly stated that his mission in office was to make sure Obama's presidency was a failure, to accept McConnell's recommendation of Pai.


That's proven science known as "The Dunning-Kruger Effect"

(BTW - I voted for Hillary not because I actually liked her, but because I thought that she was the lesser of two evils (anyone is welcome to flame me for that statement - just be prepared for me to remind anyone who does that numerous and expensive republican investigations of her in congress failed to produce any chargeable offenses - and no, I don't believe she is an all-powerful demon who was able to enchant the members of congress with a spell that made her appear innocent to those same members of congress while also running a child sex slave ring out of a downtown Washington, DC pizza shop)).

Mitch McConnell is also on record as stating his mission was to get as many right leaning policies as possible. Not to work for his voters and get policies that would benefit them.

 

[DPennington]

BTW: You can thank Barack Obama for Ajit Pai in the first place, and Donald Trump for being stupid enough to keep him. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajit_Pai

Pai had historically been unclear on his true feelings on net neutrality. in 2014, he was still in favor of de-regulation but claimed to be in support of a "free and open internet". He got worse over time though - by 2016 he was openly calling for the death of net neutrality. I like to think Obama was attempting to keep the FCC bi-partisan by nominating Pai, and Trump seized on Obama's lapse in judgement.

 

[Evernessince]

Pai had historically been unclear on his true feelings on net neutrality. in 2014, he was still in favor of de-regulation but claimed to be in support of a "free and open internet". He got worse over time though - by 2016 he was openly calling for the death of net neutrality. I like to think Obama was attempting to keep the FCC bi-partisan by nominating Pai, and Trump seized on Obama's lapse in judgement.

Yeah, nominating someone from another party is completely estranged to the current political climate which is really not good for anyone.

 

[wiyosaya]

Mitch McConnell is also on record as stating his mission was to get as many right leaning policies as possible. Not to work for his voters and get policies that would benefit them.

That does not surprise me in the least.

As I see it, its time McConnell's tenure in the senate comes to an end. If only I lived in Kentucky, I would not vote for him next time - though I would never have voted for him.

EDIT: McConnell also said in public in the senate: "I don't believe in global warming because God said he would not smite the Earth again." I really don't think one could get much more right-leaning than that.