Re: [Trisquel-users] net neutraility is being threatened yet again...
I don't know when the internet will break, but I really, REALLY hope congress pushes back against it.
Re: [Trisquel-users] net neutraility is being threatened yet again...
The FCC Is Using Garbage Lobbyist Data To Defend Its Assault On Net Neutrality from the garbage-in,-garbage-out dept By now it should be clear to most Techdirt readers that new FCC Boss Ajit Pai envisions a future where there's little to no oversight of giant telecom duo/monopolies like Comcast. Pai has wasted no time making that dream a reality since taking office, having killed plans for more cable box competition, undermined FCC attempts to stop prison phone monopolies from ripping off inmate families, and paved the way for killing net neutrality. He's made no mystery of his overarching goal: replacing functional FCC oversight of broadband providers with the policy equivalent of wet tissue paper. If you spend twenty seconds with Pai's voting record (like that time he voted down holding AT accountable for actively helping crammers rip off its own customers by making scams harder to detect on customer bills), you'll discover his positions have one consistent beneficiary (tip: it's not you). You'll also note his arguments are often comically disconnected from the actual facts. Like that time the FCC boss declared that Netflix was the real enemy of net neutrality -- simply because it operates a content delivery network. Or the time he insisted meaningful consumer protections would inspire Iran and North Korea to censor the internet. Or the countless times he's insisted net neutrality killed network investment -- despite that claim not being supported by objective data, SEC filings, quarterly earnings or ISP executive statements. And while it's one thing to actively disagree on policy, Pai has consistently engaged in countless, easily-debunked falsehoods to justify his positions. Which is ironic, since pretty much every speech Pai makes involves him promising to bring more "sound economic analysis" to FCC policy making. Take this recent speech (pdf) given to the American Enterprise Institute (which takes substantive funding from the large ISPs that benefit directly from Pai's policies): "I have long been concerned that economists haven’t been systematically incorporated into the FCC’s policy work. Instead, their expertise is typically applied in an ad hoc fashion, and often late in the process. We are taking a major step to correct that. A month ago, I kick-started a process to establish an Office of Economics and Data. This Office will combine economists and other data professionals from around the Commission. I envision it providing economic analysis for rulemakings, transactions, and auctions; managing the Commission’s data resources; and conducting longer-term research on ways to improve the Commission’s policies. My goal is to have the new office up and running by the end of the year. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the prior work done by Jeff Eisenach and others at AEI in providing the intellectual foundation for this office. Again though, if you track Pai's votes and real-world actions, you'll consistently find a comic disconnect from this breathless, self-professed dedication to sound data and economic policy. In fact the very same day Pai was giving that speech, his Chief of Staff Matthew Berry took to Twitter to proclaim that new data suggests that Title II (the legal underpinnings of net neutrality) has reduced telecom sector investment by $5.6 billion: BREAKING: @FSFthinktank releases new estimate that Title II has decreased broadband investment by $5.6 billion. https://t.co/rsdrwcx2LM — Matthew Berry (@matthewberryfcc) May 5, 2017 The source of that data is the Free State Foundation (FSF), a think tank that takes consistent funding from large broadband providers like AT and Comcast (and tries to obfuscate that fact). This isn't objective science. It's farmed data pushed by a lobbying arm of the telecom industry. And when you head over to the methodology of that report you'll note a fairly selective window chosen to support the group's position: "USTelecom publishes data on broadband capital expenditures (capex) for each year dating back to 1996. Using this historical data, I collected figures on the previous twelve years before the Open Internet Order was adopted in February 2015. I picked 2003 as the first year because the market had just collapsed from the dot-com bubble and total broadband capex was at its lowest point since 1996. I established a trend line from 2003 to 2016, which created a linear pattern over the first 12 years before the Open Internet Order and estimated what we could have expected broadband capex to be in 2015 and 2016 without Title II public utility regulation. One, the office of a former Verizon lawyer citing an ISP-funded think tank using data from an ISP-funded lobbying organization -- should be nobody's definition of "sound economic analysis." Two, Twitter users were quick to point out that the FSF
Re: [Trisquel-users] net neutraility is being threatened yet again...
The Worst Lies From Yesterday's Anti-Net Neutrality Speech Libby Watson 4/27/17 5:48pmFiled to: Beltway Bullshit https://gizmodo.com/the-worst-lies-from-yesterdays-anti-net-neutrality-spee-1794717829 Yesterday, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced his plan to repeal the 2015 Open Internet Order, which prevented internet service providers (ISPs) from blocking or prioritizing certain traffic, and reclassified providers as “common carriers.” Up to that moment, Pai had kept reasonably quiet about how he planned to dismantle net neutrality, saying only that he favored an open internet but opposed the reclassification of ISPs as common carriers. Pai’s announcement took the form of a poorly-reasoned attack on net neutrality, which was later posted to the FCC’s website. He warned that net neutrality’s proponents actually had a “longstanding goal of forcing the Internet under the federal government’s control,” attacked the internet advocacy group Free Press, and even name-checked the Drudge report. It was a full-throated defense of his indefensible position on net neutrality—a position that only the strongest free-market libertarians and people whose paychecks come from Comcast or Verizon could support. Of all the points contained in Pai’s rant, four particularly egregious lies stood out to us. 1. Net neutrality is worse for online privacy Pai argued that reclassifying ISPs as common carriers and therefore returning them to FTC jurisdiction would be the “best path toward protecting Americans’ online privacy,” because “the nation’s most expert and experienced privacy regulator” would be regulating it again. As we’ve pointed out repeatedly, the whole reason that ISPs and Republicans pushed the idea of restoring online privacy oversight to the FTC instead of the FCC is that they know the FTC’s regime is weaker, and that agency can only go after violations after they’ve already happened. The FCC, on the other hand, has the power to issue rules preventing violations before they happen. The FCC privacy rules that Congress just obliterated were undoubtedly stronger than the FTC status quo, because they required opt-in consent before ISPs could sell your browsing history. 2. Net neutrality has harmed broadband investment In yesterday’s speech, Pai repeatedly claimed that net neutrality has reduced investment in broadband infrastructure, citing a study by the Free State Foundation that claimed the 2015 net neutrality order has cost $5 billion in broadband investment. The Free State Foundation is a conservative think tank with ties to ALEC, the shady group that pushes conservative policies and even writes model legislation in the states. More to the point, the Free State Foundation has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from the two biggest telecom lobbying groups: the Internet and Television Association, formerly the National Cable and Television Association (NCTA), and the Wireless Association, formerly the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA). Between 2010 and 2014, the latest year for which funding figures are available, NCTA gave $375,000 and CTIA gave $280,000, according to tax documents accessed through the Center for Public Integrity’s Nonprofit Network tool. Both are among the strongest opponents of net neutrality; NCTA represents ISPs like Comcast and AT, who stand to gain the most from repealing the rules. Organizations that aren’t financially supported by telecoms see the investment numbers a little differently. An analysis by Free Press provided to attendees to Pai’s speech yesterday shows that ISPs’ capital expenditure increased more after net neutrality was passed than in the two years before it. Comcast, too, has invested 26 percent more since 2015 than it did between 2013 and 2014. The same arguments about how net neutrality would hurt investment were made in 2015, and they were wrong then, too. Business continues to be extremely good for ISPs; so good, in fact, that AT had $2 million in cash lying around to drop on Trump’s inauguration. Indeed, ISPs themselves happily boast of investments when they’re not whining to regulators. The CEO of Charter Communications told attendees at the UBS Global Media and Communications conference in December 2016: “Title II, it didn’t really hurt us; it hasn’t hurt us,” according to a Reuters transcript of the event. Comcast, which today announced an increase in internet subscribers, boasted of its “consistent investment and innovation” and how it planned to “double the capacity of our network every 18 to 24 months” in an earnings call in January; Comcast executive Michael J. Cavanagh said the company would“increase our investment in network capacity” during 2017. That doesn’t sound like it’s suffering under the weight of a regulatory burden 3. Net neutrality accentuates digital redlining This is related to Pai’s claim
Re: [Trisquel-users] net neutraility is being threatened yet again...
Calmstorm Bad news about net neutrality. Ajit Pai just granted the wishes of his friends at AT, Comcast and Verizon: The FCC voted along party lines 3–2 to gut the Net Neutrality protections. The cable and phone companies can now slow down their competitors’ content or block political opinions they disagree with. They can charge extra fees to the few content companies that can afford to pay for preferential treatment — relegating everyone else to a slower tier of service. We cannot and will not let Pai have the last word on this: Free Press is suing the FCC and demanding that Congress overturn the vote. There’s a lot more to say and do on this, but here are three things we’re encouraging people to do right now: Urge Congress to overturn the FCC’s vote. Support our lawsuit against the FCC and our organizing efforts by donating. Tune in to our Facebook Live conversation at 4 p.m. EST today. RSVP here. Pai’s decision will hurt everyone. But let’s be clear about who will suffer the most: The loss of Net Neutrality will have a disproportionately severe impact on people of color who rely on an open internet to challenge systemic racism, seek out educational and economic opportunities, combat dehumanizing narratives and fight for justice. We won’t stand for it and we know you won’t either. More soon, Candace, Dutch, Lucia and the rest of the Free Press Action Fund team freepress.net P.S. The FCC just destroyed Net Neutrality. To fight back, urge Congress to reverse the vote, support our work and sign up for our Facebook Live conversation today at 4 p.m. EST. The Free Press Action Fund is a nonpartisan organization fighting for your rights to connect and communicate. The Free Press Action Fund does not support or oppose any candidate for public office. Learn more at freepress.net.
Re: [Trisquel-users] net neutraility is being threatened yet again...
Thanks, Time4Tea. Battle for the Net has a really nice automated system for helping stress-brained US Americans with phone calls today: https://www.battleforthenet.com/#bftn-action-for and here's some reasonably objective info from Al Jazeera for the rest of you: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/12/net-neutrality-matters-171212133031187.html [quote]"I don't think the US stepping away for the time being is going to be a travesty for the rest of the world. I don't think people look to the US anymore as a beacon on the hill" for internet access, Winseck said.[/quote] and this one is more about socioeconomic class stratification in the US, so probably not as interesting to as many people: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/12/net-neutrality-harm-poor-171213161323279.html Butthere's obviously a lot of work to be done and a lot of gratitude going out to the greater Trisquel community for giving those of us who may not be around the internet as much after today the tools to create more effective and free intranets in our local communities.
Re: [Trisquel-users] net neutraility is being threatened yet again...
I did read the article, and you are not helping. signature.asc Description: This is a digitally signed message part
Re: [Trisquel-users] net neutraility is being threatened yet again...
On 11/12/17 02:49, wrote: >>> In the 90s, the FCC was trying to censor the Internet. >>> https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/censoring-emacs.html >> Wrong. That's not what the article says. >> > Who WAS trying to censor the Internet, then? It was government-related. Wrong again. You never read the article, did you? -- Ignacio Agulló · agu...@ati.es 0xC6AB2D51.asc Description: application/pgp-keys signature.asc Description: OpenPGP digital signature
Re: [Trisquel-users] net neutraility is being threatened yet again...
> > In the 90s, the FCC was trying to censor the Internet. > > https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/censoring-emacs.html > > Wrong. That's not what the article says. > Who WAS trying to censor the Internet, then? It was government-related. signature.asc Description: This is a digitally signed message part
Re: [Trisquel-users] net neutraility is being threatened yet again...
On 11/12/17 02:20, wrote: > Yes, it's a shame, although I'm a little confused about the issue now. > > In the 90s, the FCC was trying to censor the Internet. > https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/censoring-emacs.html Wrong. That's not what the article says. -- Ignacio Agulló · agu...@ati.es 0xC6AB2D51.asc Description: application/pgp-keys signature.asc Description: OpenPGP digital signature
Re: [Trisquel-users] net neutraility is being threatened yet again...
Yes, it's a shame, although I'm a little confused about the issue now. In the 90s, the FCC was trying to censor the Internet. https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/censoring-emacs.html Today, the phone and cable companies are inspecting our packets and discriminating them. https://www.t-mobile.com/offer/binge-on-streaming-video-list.html Today, we want the phone and cable companies to stop inspecting our packets. In the 2020s, will the FCC try to censor the Internet again? Right now, the Left is correct when it denounces corporate power over the Internet. Later, the Right may be correct when it denounces state power over the Internet. I fear both corporate and state power, and see no solution to this. http://bluehome.net/csh/files/nnsavior signature.asc Description: This is a digitally signed message part
Re: [Trisquel-users] net neutraility is being threatened yet again...
What I don't understand about this net neutrality thing is, how is it that this can be imposed unilaterally by a simple vote by FCC members? I would have thought that enacting or repealing a US national regulation would have to be voted on in Congress ...
Re: [Trisquel-users] net neutraility is being threatened yet again...
Yes, this is very serious and we need to do everything we can. Two important links are: Save The Internet Battle for the Net Everyone should look at those. 1. Sign the petition 2. Call your congressional representatives and/or FCC Commissioners directly 3. Take part in the ‘Break the Internet’ protest on Tuesday Can Trisquel take part in 'Break the Internet'?
Re: [Trisquel-users] net neutraility is being threatened yet again...
calmstorm It is going to be a close call, before the deadline in December 14, I hope net neutrality moment stays the same with all the support from the public. I did called already my state Congress Representative. Good luck
[Trisquel-users] net neutraility is being threatened yet again...
It seems no matter how much technology advances the same old shit keeps trying to come back... Anyways, here is this: https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/take-action-for-net-neutrality
