FCC votes for net neutrality, a ban on paid fast lanes, and Title II

Internet providers are now common carriers, and they're ready to sue.

Read the whole story

 

[trs8]

The battle has been won, but the war still goes on.

Still a great victory. A year ago, I never thought this day would come

 

[thebackwash]

This is like a dream. I can't believe that it actually happened. Only 5 years ago title II classification was a remote hypothetical, and now it actually came to pass. Wow.

 

[arkiel]

I've chosen to commemorate this historic moment with a song about Ajit Pai, notable human roadblock:

Ballad of the Dingo
(to the tune of “Call Me Maybe”)

Hello my name is Pai,
I'm a real earnest guy,
I don't understand tech policy,
but that ain't stoppin' me.

Title II is the worst thing,
unless you've got a brain,
and give proper credit to claims,
of widespread monopoly.

Comcast say customers be whorin',
Verizon wasted several billion,
Nationwide fiber buildout is totes chillin'.
(But free market can fix all that, really!)

Hey, I'm Ajit Pai,
former Verizon attorney,
the big carriers implore me:
“screw customers, protect our money!”.

Netflix slow?
You're so silly!
Just stream in SD,
its not like we're a third-world country!

Hey I just met you,
and this is crazy,
but I'm Ajit Pai,
consumer misery sustains me!

Logic and rationality,
don’t concern me,
I’m a politician,
I just know better than you, baby.

Redefining broadband,
I tried to make a stand,
a moving target is no way to deploy
ever-evolving technology!

But Big Wheelie-T,
constantly ignores me,
in favor of public commentary,
from people 'smarter' than me.

Comcast won't let you cancel service,
Verizon is getting nervous,
Title II is superfluous!
(Really, it'll destroy America!)

Hey I just met you,
and this is crazy,
but John Oliver was wrong,
the FCC dingo is me!

Its hard to share,
the full text rule, you see,
by longstanding rule,
Big Wheelie-T thwarted me!

Hey I just met you,
and this is crazy,
but I'm the dingo,
I lust for infant mortality!

Hide your babies,
but I shall come and see.
My hunger is as great,
as my sycophantry.

Before Title II the free market was so fine,
it was so fine,
it was so-so fine,

Before Title II the free market was so fine,
it was so fine,
I can't even articulate a single way in which it was so so fine.

Interconnect rot,
its just fantasy,
those squirrely edge providers,
they can’t trick me!

Oh, you can't watch House of Cards,
in QHD?
Don’t blame your ISP,
that’s Netflix’s fault and responsibility!

Title II reclassification,
has enraged me.
I’ll devour all your young,
via lycanthropy.

Outside your house, I’ll be lurking,
waiting and yearning,
eager and squirming,
for the bones of your delicious baby.

Once a Republican is in the White House,
I’ll be a shoe-in,
to be made chairman,
of the FCC.

Hey I just met you,
and its just crazy,
that an unelected dude like me,
was nearly able to slow the progress of humanity!

Commissioner Ajit Pai image from FCC.gov website.

Dingo image by Peripitus (Own work) [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Usereripitus] [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) or CC BY-SA 2.5-2.0-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5-2.0-1.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

“Call Me Maybe”, September 20, 2011, written by Carly Rae Jepsen, Josh Ramsay, & Tavish Crowe.

No right in any original works or this parody shall be asserted by me.

edited to insert href to Peripitus' Wikimedia page.

 

[THavoc]

This is great news!

Now, those that said it was 300 plus pages of regulations will finally shut up when they see it was only 8 pages and that they were lied to this whole time by their talking heads.

 

[youdothescience]

Hey Wheeler - thanks for proving us wrong. You had the chutzpah to stand up to your former bosses and make the right decision.

 

[Master P]

Commissioner Pai is clueless on this issue. He rambled on for 20 minutes about how it was Obama's fault. No! Its Comcast, Verizon (especially Verizon), AT&T, and all the other garbage ISP's out there. It is their fault it came down to this.

 

[THavoc]

I think it's good that both fixed AND mobile was included in this as well.

 

[Ironicending]

Wheeler is not a dingo!

 

[Peevester]

HOT DAMN, he really did it!

I sense a disturbance in the wingnutverse.

 

[Geral]

...The FCC previously passed net neutrality rules in 2010, relying on some of its weaker authority, but the rules were largely overturned after a Verizon lawsuit.

By winning that case, Verizon inadvertently opened itself and all other Internet providers up to even stricter rules. The new rules go beyond the net neutrality rules passed in 2010. And this time around, the FCC is applying the rules equally to fixed and mobile broadband, whereas its 2010 rules went easier on Verizon's wireless subsidiary and other cellular companies...

Never thought I'd thank Verizon. Verizon's greed cost them to lose at their own game.

Thanks Verizon!

 

[Zak]

thebackwash[/url]":1qil4kta]This is like a dream. I can't believe that it actually happened. Only 5 years ago title II classification was a remote hypothetical, and now it actually came to pass. Wow.

Lawsuits will follow, drag for years and Republicans will everything in their power to overturn this.

 

[Got Nate?]

 

[THavoc]

Peevester[/url]":icdp7jtw]HOT DAMN, he really did it!

I sense a disturbance in the wingnutverse.

But, but, but what about the 300 plus pages of regulations??

Oh wait, there isn't!

Stupid facts always seem to get in their way.

 

[Electrostatus]

Curious, how many Republicans wanted this and how many Republicans were paid to not want this?

 

[guifa]

When/where (obviously fcc.gov somewhere) will the final text of the rules be published? So I can toss the link at people who claim the rules will do X and tell them to find the rule that does it or GTFO.

 

[Deleted member 192806]

Heh, this event reminds me of the euphoria when the Berlin wall came down.

 

[GMBigKev]

Wooo! Open Internet for everyone!

 

[dlux]

These two men want the executives of large corporations to grow their power and wealth more than they want you to have fast and affordable Internet service. These two men are your enemy and deserve all the scorn that comes their way.

 

[TimmyD]

Woo-Hoo!!

"The Internet is not broken. There is no problem for the government to solve," (Pai) said.

So ISPs deliberately congesting peering points and refusing to upgrade them is not a problem?
If it wasn't broken, we wouldn't need Title II in the first place.

 

[Peevester]

Hey, does this mean netflix's popularity tax has been repealed? I sure hope so.

 

[foreignreign]

Wait wait what.

Let me start by issuing apologies. First, I am just sick about what Chairman Wheeler was forced to go through during this process. It was disgraceful to have the Administration overtake the commission’s rulemaking process and dictate an outcome for pure political purposes. It is so disturbing to know that those efforts were about illegitimately pushing a larger political cause mostly unrelated to technology. This administration went so far beyond what has ever been attempted, and its inappropriate interference in the commission’s activities will forever change this institution.

Additionally, I am sorry to the staff members that were forced to prepare a half-baked, illogical, internally inconsistent and indefensible document. For an institution that prides itself on quality of work and legal and technical expertise, this document is anything but. I guess that an artificial deadline to meet the radical protestors’ demands means that it is more likely that this item gets overturned by the courts because the work and thoughtful analysis needed to actually defend this completely flawed agenda is not included in the text.

Today, a majority of the commission attempts to usurp the authority of Congress by re-writing the Communications Act to suit its own “values” and political ends.

Am I actually reading this? This isn't a joke?

How can this guy even begin to say this with a straight face? This is just flat out disgusting.

 

[EDNYLaw]

THavoc[/url]":24obiwj3]This is great news!

Now, those that said it was 300 plus pages of regulations will finally shut up when they see it was only 8 pages and that they were lied to this whole time by their talking heads.

If only that were true. I'm sure they're so embedded in a Groupthink paradigm that, even presenting the actual, physical document will not obviate their insane rantings.

Now we just have to hope that the congressional republicans don't get their shit together and successfully pass a law banning Title II classifications for ISPs (of course, it would take the compliance of the President and/or a few Senate Democrats to override the President's veto). Although I have a feeling that this will be like a mini version of the ACA fight with constant attempts to repeal, ultimately stifled by the fact that it's actually working and consumers are benefiting.

This may not be a perfect resolution (local loop unbundling) but it's sure as hell better than where we started.

 

[TMilligan]

Yay, providing internet service shouldn't be considered a telecoms golden egg and instead be treated as it should, a very important communications service used by everyone in every portion of the US and in every tax bracket.

 

[DyDx]

foreignreign[/url]":2os7nd2s]Wait wait what.

Let me start by issuing apologies. First, I am just sick about what Chairman Wheeler was forced to go through during this process. It was disgraceful to have the Administration overtake the commission’s rulemaking process and dictate an outcome for pure political purposes. It is so disturbing to know that those efforts were about illegitimately pushing a larger political cause mostly unrelated to technology. This administration went so far beyond what has ever been attempted, and its inappropriate interference in the commission’s activities will forever change this institution.

Additionally, I am sorry to the staff members that were forced to prepare a half-baked, illogical, internally inconsistent and indefensible document. For an institution that prides itself on quality of work and legal and technical expertise, this document is anything but. I guess that an artificial deadline to meet the radical protestors’ demands means that it is more likely that this item gets overturned by the courts because the work and thoughtful analysis needed to actually defend this completely flawed agenda is not included in the text.

Today, a majority of the commission attempts to usurp the authority of Congress by re-writing the Communications Act to suit its own “values” and political ends.

Am I actually reading this? This isn't a joke?

How can this guy even begin to say this with a straight face? This is just flat out disgusting.

Agreed, I came here to comment on that quote as well. It's such a ridiculous series of fabrications and twisting of the facts that it is literally stunning that someone could be so stupid or corrupt -- or, probably, both -- to say such nonsense. It literally makes no sense whatsoever and has absolutely no basis in reality. This guy should not be in any position of authority -- ever.

 

[kdemello1980]

Let the outpouring of butthurt commence!

 

[greatn]

youdothescience[/url]":1qxiltv2]Hey Wheeler - thanks for proving us wrong. You had the chutzpah to stand up to your former bosses and make the right decision.

Wheeler's honestly a pretty cool dude IMO. His time in the industry beforehand seemed to be at junctures where he pushed them towards things that were better for consumers, and he's a total history nerd who has written cool nerd stuff like a book about Lincoln's T-mails(telegraph) and how telecommunication won the civil war. The guy loves communication technology.

 

[GMBigKev]

Pai and O'Reilly spoke for 20 minutes each.

The three Democratic commissioners spoke for 20 minutes total.

 

[Jackattak]

foreignreign[/url]":wjlt9dtu]Wait wait what.

Let me start by issuing apologies. First, I am just sick about what Chairman Wheeler was forced to go through during this process. It was disgraceful to have the Administration overtake the commission’s rulemaking process and dictate an outcome for pure political purposes. It is so disturbing to know that those efforts were about illegitimately pushing a larger political cause mostly unrelated to technology. This administration went so far beyond what has ever been attempted, and its inappropriate interference in the commission’s activities will forever change this institution.

Additionally, I am sorry to the staff members that were forced to prepare a half-baked, illogical, internally inconsistent and indefensible document. For an institution that prides itself on quality of work and legal and technical expertise, this document is anything but. I guess that an artificial deadline to meet the radical protestors’ demands means that it is more likely that this item gets overturned by the courts because the work and thoughtful analysis needed to actually defend this completely flawed agenda is not included in the text.

Today, a majority of the commission attempts to usurp the authority of Congress by re-writing the Communications Act to suit its own “values” and political ends.

Am I actually reading this? This isn't a joke?

How can this guy even begin to say this with a straight face? This is just flat out disgusting.

"Radical protesters"

HAHAHA what is this, Hunger Games? We're all Precinct 13? Mocking Jay, byotch!!!

 

[masterbinky]

Yay! *evil voice* Now I want to see the fear in the stockholder's eyes!

 

[Solidstate89]

And here I thought there wasn't a bigger tool in the FCC than Mr. Pai.

Thanks for proving me wrong Mr. O'Reilly, you delusional prick.

 

[Dilbert]

This is not the end. This is not the beginning of the end. But it may be the end of a beginning.

What follows will be years and years and years of kicking and screaming and crybaby tears before status quo actually changes, or rather is forced to change, and that's assuming Big Telco's buddies in congress or a clueless judge do not shoot down the regulation.

 

[Solidstate89]

Jackattak[/url]":1b8x3s2w]

foreignreign[/url]":1b8x3s2w]Wait wait what.

Let me start by issuing apologies. First, I am just sick about what Chairman Wheeler was forced to go through during this process. It was disgraceful to have the Administration overtake the commission’s rulemaking process and dictate an outcome for pure political purposes. It is so disturbing to know that those efforts were about illegitimately pushing a larger political cause mostly unrelated to technology. This administration went so far beyond what has ever been attempted, and its inappropriate interference in the commission’s activities will forever change this institution.

Additionally, I am sorry to the staff members that were forced to prepare a half-baked, illogical, internally inconsistent and indefensible document. For an institution that prides itself on quality of work and legal and technical expertise, this document is anything but. I guess that an artificial deadline to meet the radical protestors’ demands means that it is more likely that this item gets overturned by the courts because the work and thoughtful analysis needed to actually defend this completely flawed agenda is not included in the text.

Today, a majority of the commission attempts to usurp the authority of Congress by re-writing the Communications Act to suit its own “values” and political ends.

Am I actually reading this? This isn't a joke?

How can this guy even begin to say this with a straight face? This is just flat out disgusting.

"Radical protesters"

HAHAHA what is this, Hunger Games? We're all Precinct 13? Mocking Jay, byotch!!!

HOW DARE THOSE PEOPLE USE THEIR 1ST AMENDMENT RIGHTS TO EXPRESS THEIR OPINIONS!

What is this, a fucking democracy?

 

[greatn]

Where are a bunch of Ewoks to play the "Yub Yub" song when you need them?

(although I'm afraid this is more an end of episode IV situation and the Empire WILL strike back)

 

[Relto]

DrDenim[/url]":2urh8z2s]Hurray for decency standards on the internet! Can't wait for all the "think if the children" regulation! Provide ID to visit certain sites perhaps?

I'm for net neutrality, but this seems like a terrible idea.

I'm for net neutrality

No, you obviously aren't.

 

[xeoph]

greatn[/url]":jlb8hsy0]Where are a bunch of Ewoks to play the "Yub Yub" song when you need them?

(although I'm afraid this is more an end of episode IV situation and the Empire WILL strike back)

The old Yub Yub, not the new one.

 

[X-AxSys]

Somebody needs to Bitch-slap that Little Git O-Reilly from now until Hell actually Freezes over....
That condescendingly hypocritical prick needs his nuts crushed in a 10 tonne press somewhere. But first he has to get them back out of the Republican party purse they are presently locked away in... The speech has set a new level of Twattery... Much persecution needs to be taken out against this friggin little prick.

I wonder who is speech writer is, that prick needs to go down too!!! there is no way a genius of O'reillys dimminutive cognitive stature could have have come up with such audacious drivel on his own...

 

[scottwsx96]

I wonder what propaganda Fox News will start pushing to get their watchers that actually will benefit from this vote (i.e. all of them, unless they run one of the big ISPs) to break out the torches and pitchforks.

I mean look at Ted Cruz's old statement: "[Title II] is like Obamacare for the Internet". He's just using the Fox News types' manufactured hatred for Obama and the ACA to get them to add some more hate for something else that is bad for huge business and really rich people.

 

[prairiedog]

Here I thought Pai was the biggest knob, when it turns out it's O'Reilly all along. How do these reptiles become commissioners to begin with?