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FCC releases the final draft of its proposal to kill net neutrality
The FCC has released the final draft of its proposal to roll back 2015 net neutrality protections. If enacted, the order would reclassify broadband internet service as an information service and Title II regulations would no longer apply. Additionally, blocking, throttling and fast-laning of content would no longer be banned and paid prioritization practices would be allowed as long as they're explicitly laid out by internet service providers. Further, any state-level regulations that contradict the FCC's order would be preempted.
30 governments are interfering with democracy online
Political mudslinging is a concept as old as politics itself, but in recent years it's found its way off the podium and onto the internet, and a new report now shows the extent of the problem. According to findings from Freedom House, governments in no less than 30 countries are now "mass producing their own content to distort the digital landscape in their favor". Furthermore, these manipulation efforts may have affected elections taking place in 18 countries.
Google shuts Russian office following Putin's internet crackdown
Google will soon close its Russian engineering offices and relocate 50-odd employees, according to The Information. The search giant didn't say why it made the move, but it may have been prompted by a recent crackdown on internet freedoms within the nation. Russia recently passed a law forcing bloggers to register with authorities, and is about to pass another that will require website operators to store data on Russian citizens within its borders. The Putin government also raided a foreign e-business operator, and Google may feel similarly vulnerable considering the reams of user data it stores. Mountain view said that the affected engineers will have the option of transferring to other divisions within the company. [Image credit: Getty images]
Internet Defense League forms with support of EFF and Mozilla, bills self as 'bat signal' of the web
It looks like the Dark Knight Rises hysteria is affecting more than just spoiler-averse fans. Billing itself as the "internet's bat signal," the newly formed Internet Defense League is a collective of companies, websites and non-profit groups-- including the EFF, Mozilla, Reddit and WordPress -- banding together to nip future SOPAs and PIPAs in the bud. The IDL will officially launch today, and according to its website it's enlisting web denizens to sign up and "broadcast an action" when net freedoms appear to be under threat. The League is really milking that Batman metaphor to full effect; it will broadcast its logo, a cat that looks plenty eager to tackle all foes of speech, into the sky in five cities around the world, including, interestingly, Ulan Bator, Mongolia.
Al Franken calls net neutrality the 'free speech issue of our time,' proposes stricter FCC regulations
We hate to see something we hold as dear to our hearts as the internet become so deeply mired in politics, but this whole net neutrality thing is serious business. The FCC released its full rules just before running home to sip some eggnog but still it didn't take long for companies like Verizon to register their discontent. Now senators Maria Cantwell and Al Franken are voicing their own dissent, saying that the FCC "does not do nearly enough to protect consumers" and that the pair's "Internet Freedom, Broadband Promotion, and Consumer Protection Act of 2011" will. Among other things it explicitly prevents the creation of "fast lanes" for premium content, keeping ISPs from charging extra for content they like or slowing down stuff they don't. The full details are in the PDF on the other end of the source link, and if you're wondering what happens next we have a dramatization embedded below.
FCC net neutrality rules enter drafting process, face McCain challenge
Our old friends at the FCC have started to put words into action, as the net neutrality regulations proposed by Chairman Julius Genachowski have now entered the rule-drafting stage. The provision of most import here is that broadband providers would be forbidden from traffic discrimination or "management," and compelled to provide equal access and services to their users, irrespective of the type or bandwidth uptake of their internet activity. Of course, this is hardly a bumpless road, with Senator John McCain proposing the Internet Freedom Act of 2009, whose sole reason for existing will be to prevent the FCC from putting those rules through. Even if things do go smoothly, though, "reasonable network management" will still be an available recourse for telecoms, where it is necessary to block spam and illegal content, such as child pornography. Which sounds kinda like censorship to us. Look, we have no more interest in child porn than we do a pair of Lady Gaga Heartbeats, but any time we hear of internet providers having either the right or responsibility to block content, we get an uneasy feeling in the pit of our libertarian stomachs. Anyhow, the great big gears of regulation have finally started turning, and we can look forward to more political wrangling as the rules take shape over the coming months.
