FCC votes to start formal consideration of net neutrality proposal

[ProSense]

FCC votes to start formal consideration of net neutrality proposal

By Jim Puzzanghera

Wheeler made some changes to his proposal this week to secure the votes of Clyburn and Jessica Rosenworcel, the commission’s other two Democrats...both publicly thanked him for the changes, which included asking whether pay-for-priority deals should be banned outright and if the FCC should subject broadband providers to stricter utility-like regulations.

Still, Rosenworcel criticized the process as too rushed.

She had called last week for a one-month delay in Wednesday’s vote in response to the sharp public outcry in recent weeks to Wheeler’s proposal, which critics have said would allow broadband providers to create paid fast lanes on the Internet.

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In response to the backlash, Wheeler revised his proposal this week, specifically asking for public feedback on whether pay-for-priority deals should be banned and if the FCC should reclassify broadband providers for sticter regulation under Title 2 of the nation’s telecommunications law.

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http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-mo-net-neutrality-fcc-protestors-wheeler-20140515-story.html

Call to action:

The FCC has asked for public comment on new rules about net neutrality.
Use this form to submit a comment to the FCC. Learn more about the FCC rulemaking process.

Dear FCC,

<...>

It's our Internet. We made it, and it has re-made us, changing the way we communicate, learn, share and create.

We want the Internet to continue to live up to its promise, fostering innovation, creativity and freedom. We don't want regulations that will turn our ISPs into gatekeepers, making special deals with the few companies that can "pay to play" and inhibiting new competition, innovation and expression.

Start your letter to the FCC:

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https://www.dearfcc.org/

[ProSense]

1. Kick! n/t

[ProSense]

2. ACLU: Proposed FCC Rules Don’t Do Enough to Protect Net Neutrality

Proposed FCC Rules Don’t Do Enough to Protect Net Neutrality

WASHINGTON – The Federal Communications Commission voted today to open a new rule for how Internet Service Providers treat the data they carry for public comment. The proposal follows a January decision by the D.C. Circuit Appeals Court that stuck down key provisions of the FCC’s existing net neutrality rules.

Gabe Rottman, legislative counsel and policy advisor with the American Civil Liberties Union, had this reaction to today’s vote and proposed rule:

“This proposed rule leaves the individual at the mercy of an increasingly concentrated broadband market, in which the big players will be able to act as gatekeepers for online speech, deciding what gets seen and when. Fortunately, the FCC left the door open to fix this problem by reclassifying broadband internet service as what it really is: a public utility, or in legal terms, a ‘common carrier,’ which we will continue to vigorously advocate for. This is a First Amendment issue because if broadband service providers are allowed to slow or block some content at will, they will be able to stifle the speech of internet users. The FCC must ensure that it has the tools necessary to prevent such blocking or discrimination against certain types of content.”

https://www.aclu.org/free-speech/proposed-fcc-rules-dont-do-enough-protect-net-neutrality

[sheshe2]

3. Kicked and Signing! nt

[ProSense]

4. Thanks. n/t