net neutrality

US Senate votes to protect Net Neutrality

Submitted by scharrison on

Unfortunately, this victory is mostly symbolic:

Senate Democrats, joined by three Republicans, pushed through a measure Wednesday intended to revive Obama-era internet rules that ensured equal treatment for all web traffic, though opposition in the House and the White House seems insurmountable. Republicans on the short end of the 52-47 vote described the effort to reinstate “net neutrality” rules as “political theater” because the GOP-controlled House is not expected to take up the issue and the Senate’s margin could not overcome a presidential veto.

Democrats, however, were undeterred, saying their push would energize young voters who are tech savvy and value unfettered access to the internet. “This is a defining vote. The most important vote we’re going to have in this generation on the internet,” said Democratic Sen. Edward Markey of Massachusetts, who sponsored the measure.

Just an observation, and your mileage may vary greatly: It's one thing to "think" about something helping you in the November Election, but it could serve to undermine that hope if you put it into words. The implication of Markey's statement is, "It doesn't matter if this vote actually changes anything now, if it helps us take over Congress." The same can be said to a certain degree of some comments made by Democratic lawmakers yesterday in Raleigh. Many of those teachers actually "lobbied" GOP lawmakers to point out deficiencies in funding and make suggestions for improvement. For them, it wasn't "just about November," it was about being heard. What's my point? Republicans in both DC and NC accuse the Democratic Party of using issues and the people affected for political purposes, and casual statements affirming that accusation are not helpful, no matter how excited you get in the moment.

This is how good state government deals with a sold-out FCC

Submitted by scharrison on

Reason #54 why we need to take back the NC General Assembly:

Inslee’s proposal, which makes Washington state the first in the nation to act on net neutrality, includes pursuing the following actions:

Direct the state’s Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) to establish a process for ISPs to certify that they will not engage in practices inconsistent with net neutrality principles. Limit state-conferred benefits to ISPs that have made such certifications. Limit applicability of UTC pole attachment rules to ISPs that are net neutral. Use the state government’s role as a big customer, and our ability to establish state master contracts used by local governments, to incentivize Washington companies to adhere to net neutrality principles. Pursue regulatory and legislative action to award contracts to vendors that meet net neutral business requirements. Lead the exploration of a multi-state purchasing cooperative to procure internet service from providers that adhere to net neutrality principles. Collaborate with legislators to strengthen our consumer protection laws to include the principles of net neutrality. Pursue legislation authorizing public utility districts and rural and urban port districts to provide retail ISP and telecommunications services.

As you can see, several of those actions would be impossible to implement with GOP control of our Legislature, and some (most?) of the other actions could/would be quickly undermined by the same. Which brings up another (broader) issue that Progressive activists need to keep in mind: I'm starting to see more of these, "Why doesn't Roy Cooper do this or that thing I want? He's just as bad as the Republicans!" Understand, we put him in the Governor's mansion, but we also crippled him in the process. Governor Cooper is held hostage by a supermajority that is hell-bent on stripping his powers and defunding his administration, but he's still made more progress for our state than McCrory did his entire tenure. Context is important, so put that energy to work where it's needed.

New York AG files lawsuit against FCC over Net Neutrality vote

Submitted by scharrison on

And rumor has it Josh Stein just added NC to the effort:

Citing his investigation into the FCC’s public comments process preceding the vote, Schneiderman declared his office’s intention to sue to “stop the FCC’s illegal rollback of net neutrality” — a forthcoming legal challenge that’s sure to be in good company. In response to questions from TechCrunch, Schneiderman’s office noted that he will spearhead a multi-state lawsuit and that we can expect it “in the coming days.”

“We will be filing a claim to preserve protections for New Yorkers and all Americans. And we’ll be working aggressively to stop the FCC’s leadership from doing any further damage to the internet and to our economy,” Schneiderman said in a press release.

Hopefully they'll be able to get an injunction put in place with the quickness, before we start seeing shenanigans with our Internet access.

Net Neutrality Doesn't Require Heavy Regulation of the Internet

Submitted by CarteretNC on

A New Yorker cartoon a few years back showed a suburban home going up in flames. Firefighters were racing across the lawn in full gear. But they were being waved off by the homeowner. He was spraying the inferno with a garden hose and saying to the firefighters: "No thank you, we're Libertarians."

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