Mozilla and others file petition for net neutrality rehearing

[onetheycallEric]

Big quote: "As we said then, the fight is far from over. The decision raises issues of exceptional importance to protecting consumers and the open internet, and we look forward to continuing the fight to preserve net neutrality as a fundamental digital right," said Amy Keating, chief legal officer for Mozilla.

Following a federal court's ruling last October to uphold the Republican-led FCC's decision to rollback net neutrality protections, Mozilla vowed to keep fighting the good fight. That fight continued this past Friday, as Mozilla filed a petition for the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to rehear their net neutrality case.

Mozilla's petition is asking for either the original panel of judges -- or alternatively, the full complement of D.C. Circuit judges -- to rehear the case, as Mozilla states the decision "conflicts with D.C. Circuit or Supreme Court precedent and because it involves questions of exceptional importance." The court will now have to decide whether or not to allow the rehearing to go forward.

Mozilla's petition mainly takes aim at the FCC's reclassification of broadband as an information service, rather than a common carrier service, which would treat broadband more like a public utility, subjecting it to much more stringent regulations. Mozilla's petition also lists the FCC's failure to address competition and market harm, citing the FCC “failed to provide any meaningful analysis of whether antitrust and consumer protection laws would in practice, prevent blocking and throttling.”

While October's decision was largely applauded by the current FCC and its chairman, Ajit Pai, it was delivered with a major caveat: the FCC overstepped its bounds in preempting state net neutrality laws.

This essentially frees states like California, Texas, New Jersey, Montana and New York to enact their own net neutrality laws.

The fight for net neutrality is sure to be lively as we head into 2020, and it has already become a prominent campaigning issue for Presidential hopefuls such as Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/83198-mozilla-others-file-petition-net-neutrality-rehearing.html

 

[QuantumPhysics]

Stop calling it "net neutrality".

Call it "equal access to the internet".

Otherwise you confuse the "poorly educated".

 

[psycros]

Stop calling it "net neutrality".

Call it "equal access to the internet".

Otherwise you confuse the "poorly educated".

Equal access implies some kind of socialist program that insures everyone is guaranteed an internet connection. Net neutrality is a more accurate description although still too vague for the unwashed masses. Its also ironic that Mozilla supports neutrality while exhibiting politically fascist behavior.

 

[cliffordcooley]

Net neutrality is a more accurate description

Unless you are the one being regulated.

 

[Uncle Al]

Call it what you want, the spirit is still there and for something that was supposed to be "free" it certainly looks nothing like it did in the old days .....

 

[Unusual Kmc]

Equal access implies some kind of socialist program that insures everyone is guaranteed an internet connection. Net neutrality is a more accurate description although still too vague for the unwashed masses. Its also ironic that Mozilla supports neutrality while exhibiting politically fascist behavior.

...politically fascist behaviour? Are you one of those lefties who try to make everything either left wing or racist?

 

[wiyosaya]

Equal access implies some kind of socialist program that insures everyone is guaranteed an internet connection. Net neutrality is a more accurate description although still too vague for the unwashed masses. Its also ironic that Mozilla supports neutrality while exhibiting politically fascist behavior.

Perhaps this will help with understanding fascism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism

I think you also know that NN was intended to prevent competitive providers of data from being gouged for access by their competition for access to their distribution networks.

 

[wiyosaya]

Unless you are the one being regulated.

Before you go off on NN not bringing increased speeds to your home, NN was never intended to do that.

 

[cliffordcooley]

Before you go off on NN not bringing increased speeds to your home, NN was never intended to do that.

Then there is absolutely no reason for me to care one way or another.

 

[Danny101]

Net neutrality as I understand it was to prevent internet providers from throttling internet only business sites in favor of their own competing offerings. To that I agree with it. I do, however, understand the providers point of view that providing for the extra bandwidth may put an extra strain and they need to upgrade and build out their infrastructure. So with that. I can see both sides of the equation. I still don't know enough of the technical specifics to take a definitive side. Are the providers just pulling our leg on their ability to handle the load? I don't know. Surely, all parties involved can come to a satisfactory agreement.

 

[BigRedPDX]

Call it what you want, the spirit is still there and for something that was supposed to be "free" it certainly looks nothing like it did in the old days .....

It sure doesn't make the same sounds while connecting like the old days either.