Yay! Net Neutrality Prevails In Historic FCC Vote/Huffpost

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

The oligarchs lose one.



The Federal Communications Commission voted Thursday to approve strong net neutrality rules in a stunning decision that defies vocal, months-long opposition by telecom and cable companies and Republicans on Capitol Hill.

Democratic Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Mignon Clyburn joined Chairman Tom Wheeler to approve a rule that reclassifies consumer broadband as a utility under Title II of the Communications Act.

The FCC intends to use this new authority to ban "paid prioritization," a practice whereby Internet service providers can charge content producers a premium for giving users more reliable access to that content. The FCC also intends to ban blocking and throttling of lawful content and services. These regulations also apply to mobile access. More details about the plan are expected after vote.

"The Internet is simply too important to allow broadband providers to be the ones making the rules," Wheeler said prior to the vote.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

1. K&R. nt

[Agnosticsherbet]

2. Now come the lawsuits that will wend their way to the Supreme Court.

though likely not before 2017 or 2018, which means we had sure as hell better put a Democrat in the White House who will, if necessary, appoint a justice who will be more amenable to what the people need rather than allowing a Republican to take the Oval Office.

[rurallib]

16. If a Repub becomes president couldn't they appoint a new chair of the FCC

who will immediately call for the rule to be rescinded?
I seem to think that is how it works - the FCC majority & head are the same party as the Pres.

[Agnosticsherbet]

20. In order to change it, the next President would have to go through a long process

before they could hold a vote to change the regulation.

There is a review process, and Congress has 60 days to review the new regulation and can stop it by passing a resolution of disapproval and have it signed by the president, or if the President vetoes it, they would have to override the Veto.

The Congress could also pass a law that alters the regulation, but that would also have to be signed by the President.


https://www.federalregister.gov/uploads/2011/01/the_rulemaking_process.pdf

According to NPR, there are going to be at least to lawsuits trying to get the Court to throw the rules out. It would be, at minimum, two years before they work their way up.

Net Neutrality is another of those issues that make it critical Democrats retain control of the White House.

[rurallib]

22. Thanks

even though it may look like a long involved process, I have no doubt if they win the White House, Repubs will start the process as fast as they can. Observation tells me they are willing to move mountains and wait interminably to get what they want. They have time and money and they have a way of setting things up to force their outcome.

Must be wonderful to be so single minded.

[99Forever]

3. Oh Hell yes.

[Silent3]

4. I don't know that it's so much the oligarchs lost, it's which oligarchs won.

Many people with a conspiratorial mindset seem to assume the rich and powerful are all on the same side.

The world is more complicated than that. I'm not so naive as to believe money doesn't buy a lot of power and influence -- it certainly does -- but knowing money buys a lot of power doesn't make it a foregone conclusion what that power is pushing for, or that it always and inevitably triumphs over what the general population wants.

In this case I think we owe this vote to a combination of a few politicians actually doing the right thing, and the fact that some pretty big companies (like Google, Netflix) like net neutrality too.

[hunter]

10. Net Neutrality makes competition among the big players, Google, Netflix, Comcast, etc., possible...

... but it also protects individuals, the smaller business players, and emerging industries.

Net neutrality means you pay a fair price for the size of the pipe leading into and out of your home and business. The provider can't favor their own content and lock you in or out of programming as the current cable television industry does.

The cable television industry is technologically obsolete wherever high speed internet exists. Functionally everything is à la carte now, even the "packages" of cable, satellite, and broadcast television.

High speed internet broke the old business models and the owners of these obsolete business models chose to fight with dirty politics rather than adapt.

[DocMac]

15. + all I have in my pocket...and wallet! nt

[Silent3]

23. I hope you don't take anything I said as an argument against any of what you just said...

...I was just making the point that there are oligarchs who like net neutrality (Google, Netflix, etc.) and those who don't (Comcast, Verizon, etc.), so it's hard to call this victory for net neutrality a victory over oligarchy.

[closeupready]

5. Wow. Color this cynic pleasantly chagrined.

K&R

[PoliticAverse]

6. Before cheering it I'd like to know what was actually in the plan. n/t

[rhett o rick]

7. Bravo to the millions of Americans that spoke out and got Mr. Wheeler

to change his mind.

[dixiegrrrrl]

19. Aaron Swartz would be so pleased.

I just watched The Internet's Own Boy, his bio. He immediately came to mind when I heard this news.

[iandhr]

8. We can get **** done if we make a

**** load of noise. We stopped a war in Syria because we shouted very loudly. If we shout more loudly then we did here we can stop the TPP.

[1StrongBlackMan]

9. Another DU prognastication goes poof ...

In before the DU "Who said that? ... No one here predicted the death of net neutrality!"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002744175

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025804857

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1017189841

[JoePhilly]

12. Another "victory" for the Combustible Hair Club!!!!

[joshcryer]

13. That second link is quite eye opening.

I bet we don't here a peep from them today, but I'm sure this will be made out to be a bad thing eventually.

[JoePhilly]

21. They'll take credit for it.

They made Obama do it, he didn't want to do it.

Count on it.

[Kablooie]

11. "This means an inevitable return to the courts for net neutrality rules" - Fred Upton, R-Mich.

The proposed rules will exclude irrelevant portions of the authority, granted under Title II of the Communications Act. But Republicans, including House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., have criticized the rules as an overreach of regulation that could discourage investment in the telecom business. The vote in the FCC “is just the beginning” and “means an inevitable return to the courts for net neutrality rules, which will lead to more years of uncertainty for consumers and providers,” he said Wednesday during a hearing of the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology.

Republicans like Upton, once broadly opposed to net neutrality, have sought to avoid FCC regulation by proposing a bill on the issue that they claim would uphold some of its principles, including that Internet service providers should not use their power to block or slow down the traffic of rival Web services.

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/02/25/republicans-defy-net-neutrality-ahead-of-fcc-vote

[joshcryer]

14. The Republicans always depend on Bush appointed judges to get their way.

And this will be no different.

But don't blame the FCC or the President. Blame Bush's judges.

[Marr]

17. This is fantastic news.

So nice to see a decision that benefits the public instead of just big business.

I very much expected it to go the other way, and am delighted to have been proved wrong.

[Helen Borg]

18. This only happened because...

Google and other giant corps pushed for it. Nothing to do with public protests, in my opinion. A good outcome, regardless.