NetNeutrality
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Watch the FCC's net neutrality vote at 10:30AM ET
Today is the day that the internet as we know it could change dramatically. Starting at 10:30 AM Eastern, FCC chairman and former Verizon lawyer Ajit Pai is expected to wipe out net neutrality and repeal Title II regulations that classify broadband as a utility. And you can watch it happen at the link below. You might have to wait a bit before Pai almost assuredly enacts the Restoring Internet Freedom ruling, though. There are a few other items he has to get through before potentially enacting detrimental changes to how we access information and use the internet in general.
Two million identities stolen for fake net neutrality comments
As many as 2 million identities were stolen to leave fake comments in support of the FCC's decision to kill net neutrality, according to the New York Attorney General's Office. Based on the 5,000 or so complaints filed with the office, some of the victims are senior citizens, some are minors, while some are already dead. "This is a 13 year old child -- she did not post this comment, nor did anyone else in her household," a report filed by a New Yorker said. A Chicago resident who also filed a complaint called the fake comment made under their mother's name "sickening." Their mother passed away several years ago from cancer.
Attorneys general request last-minute delay for net neutrality vote
The FCC's controversial vote on net neutrality protections is scheduled to take place tomorrow, and as we get down to the wire, opposition to the proposal hasn't slowed. Today, 18 state attorneys general sent a letter to the FCC asking for the commission to delay the vote, The Verge reports. Their plea centers on evidence that fake comments that used real individuals' names were submitted during the FCC's public comment period. "A careful review of the publicly available information revealed a pattern of fake submissions using the names of real people. In fact, there may be over one million fake submissions from across the country," they wrote. "This is akin to identity theft on a massive scale – and theft of someone's voice in a democracy is particularly concerning."
Net neutrality is a double-edged sword for small ISPs
"I have a love-hate relationship with Title II," Tyler Booth told Engadget. Booth is the president of Portland, Oregon-based ISP Stephouse Networks. His company serves more than 1,000 people in a 500 square-mile area, many who wouldn't have broadband access because Comcast often doesn't offer service in rural communities. DSL is available from CenturyLink, but many get unusable speeds because of their distance from the central office. For Booth, classifying broadband as a utility under Title II means he can compete with established providers and his customers get better service as a result. But it also means the government can dictate how he earns a living. "I'm, in principle, for net neutrality and everything it stands for. But when somebody creates regulations that have a direct impact on the costs and finances of my business, I don't really support that."
Senators make last ditch effort to halt the FCC's net neutrality vote
The FCC is set to vote this Thursday on its proposal to remove net neutrality protections put in place in 2015 and while it's all but certain that the commission will vote in favor of the proposal, some still haven't given up trying to convince the commissioners to change their minds. The Hill reports today that 39 senators signed a letter addressed to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai requesting that he reconsider. "We write to urge you to abandon your reckless plan to radically alter the free and open internet as we know it," the Democrats wrote. "Your proposed action will amount to the largest abdication of the Federal Communications Commission's statutory responsibilities in history."
FCC and FTC outline how they’ll cooperate after net neutrality vote
The FCC is scheduled to vote on its proposal to roll back net neutrality protections on December 14th and ahead of that vote, the FCC and FTC have released a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) regarding each agency's role in policing internet service providers after the proposal is passed. Once the proposal is approved, the FTC will regain some of the oversight it had prior to the 2015 reclassification of internet service, which means both the FTC and FCC will share jurisdiction over internet service providers (ISPs) going forward. "The MOU we are developing with the FCC, in addition to the decades of FTC law enforcement experience in this area, will help us carry out this important work," said FTC Chair Maureen Ohlhausen in a statement.
Hypocrisy at the FCC and the illusion of transparency
Less than two weeks after being named chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Ajit Pai said one of his priorities was to "make the agency's operation more transparent," beginning with a pilot program to release internal documents pertaining to upcoming FCC meetings. It was a nice sentiment, and one that — on its face — seemed to be an attempt on Pai's part to do the right thing. If sunlight is the best disinfectant, surely shedding more of it on a government agency that deals in massively important, far-reaching technical policy is a good thing... right?
Tech pioneers tell FCC: 'You don't understand how the internet works'
Today, pioneers of the internet such as Steve Wozniak, Tim Berners-Lee and Vinton Cerf sent a letter to the FCC telling them, "You don't understand how the internet works." The letter calls on the FCC to cancel the December 14th vote, which would repeal net neutrality.
Destroying net neutrality will hurt artists and small businesses the most
The internet as we know it could change come December 14th. FCC chairman and former Verizon attorney Ajit Pai is expected to undo net neutrality, and with it the Title II regulations that prevent the likes of Comcast and Verizon from giving certain websites and services priority over others and moving their data faster. The worry is that repealing net neutrality will create an uneven playing field. For you and me, it could mean paying Verizon extra to access Netflix. But, for artists, small-business owners and musicians, it could lead to their work being disadvantaged, silenced or hidden behind a paywall. That type of barricade may stifle creativity and drive more cultural homogeneity. FM radio isn't a viable way to discover new music anymore because many stations have set playlists dictated by a few corporate overlords like iHeartRadio and Townsquare Media. Which is why the internet it is such a powerful tool for discovery. All someone needs is a cellphone and a YouTube account to get their name out there — not years of touring or approval from a panel of celebrity judges on America's Got Talent. It's that type of freedom many critics fear will vanish with Title II.
The Internet Association asks FCC to delay its net neutrality vote
The Internet Association, whose members include Amazon, Netflix and Uber, sent a letter to the FCC today requesting that the commission either delay its upcoming vote on the proposal to remove net neutrality protections or vote against it, Reuters reports. "This draft order ignores the wishes of tens of millions of Americans who, like us, have voiced their support for the 2015 Open Internet Order," Internet Association CEO Michael Beckerman said in the letter. "IA and its members will continue our fight to preserve the 2015 Order and its strong, enforceable net neutrality protections."
Representatives ask GAO to investigate FCC net neutrality comments
It's not just senators calling for a review of the FCC's millions of fake anti-net neutrality comments. Representatives Elijah Cummings, Greg Meeks and Frank Pallone have sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office asking it to investigate the comments. They want to know the extent of the fakery, which would violate laws barring fraudulent representation in any subject under the executive branch's oversight. And crucially, they also want a look at the FCC's response -- they're "concerned" that it stonewalled New York's investigation by withholding information (at least, until very recently).
FCC will help New York investigate fake net neutrality comments
To say the FCC has been reluctant to look into the millions of fake comments supporting its decision to kill net neutrality would be an understatement. The Commission did nothing to tackle the issue for months, and repeatedly stonewalled New York state's investigation. At last, though, there might be some progress. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has revealed that the FCC Inspector General's office has "reversed course" and intends to cooperate with the state's inquiry. Just what that cooperation entails isn't clear, but it beats the virtual silence until now.
Senators ask the FCC to delay its net neutrality vote (updated)
A group of senators has sent a letter to the FCC asking the commission to delay its December 14th vote on proposed net neutrality protection rollbacks, The Hill reports. Led by Senator Maggie Hassan, 28 senators signed the letter, which pointed to evidence that the proposal's public comments were rife with fraudulent posts. "A free and open internet is vital to ensuring a level playing field online, and we believe that your proposed action may be based on an incomplete understanding of the public record in this proceeding," they wrote. "In fact, there is good reason to believe that the record may be replete with fake or fraudulent comments, suggesting that your proposal is fundamentally flawed."
What you need to know about net neutrality (before it gets taken away)
You've probably heard of "net neutrality" by now. It's been in the news again as the FCC introduced a proposal last week to reverse regulations put in place in 2015. Yes, we just went over this two years ago, but in two weeks, those regulations could be undone. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai wants to roll back the FCC's current regulations that classify broadband internet as a utility-like tool for communication (like the telephone), categorizing it instead as an information service. This change would lift bans on throttling, blocking and paid prioritization, as well as reduce the amount of data companies would have to report.
Congressman receives death threat over net neutrality
The FCC is set to vote on its plan to remove net neutrality protections on December 14th and as that day gets closer, things are getting heated. A 28-year-old Syracuse man is now facing federal charges for a call he allegedly made to Representative John Katko wherein he threatened the congressman and his family's lives. A voicemail was left on Katko's office phone that said, "Listen Mr. Katko, if you support net neutrality, I will support you. But if you don't support net neutrality, I will find you and your family and I will kill... you ... all. Do you understand? I will literally find all... of ... you and your progeny and just wipe you from the face of the earth." The caller also went on to say that net neutrality was more important that US defense, free speech and healthcare and that it is "literally the basis of the new society."
New Yorkers can report identities used in fake net neutrality comments
Last week, New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman posted an open letter that blasted the FCC for refusing to investigate the allegedly fake anti-net neutrality responses to the agency's public comment portal. Now Schneideman is taking matters into his own hands with a new web portal for New Yorkers to check and see if their identities were used without consent, then report to the Attorney General's office if they were.
Over half of FCC net neutrality comments may be fake, study says
The FCC's proposal to roll back net neutrality protections was up for public comment between April 27th and August 30th and while nearly 22 million comments were submitted, there's been a bit of discussion surrounding who or what registered those comments and how accurately they reflect the public opinion of the plan. The Pew Research Center looked into those millions of comments and it published its findings today. Overall, the center found that very few comments were unique, more than half came from temporary or duplicate email addresses and on multiple occasions, tens of thousands of comments were filed at the exact same time, suggesting use of bot campaigns.
The FCC is peddling its net neutrality spin as facts
Last week, the FCC released the final draft of its proposal to roll back net neutrality protections, a plan that the agency will vote on next month. Removing these protections has been a targeted goal of FCC Chairman Ajit Pai since he took the position, and even in the face of immense pushback from both the public and hundreds of companies and organizations, the FCC has moved forward with the plan and is fully expected to approve it in just a couple of weeks. Since its release, the draft proposal has continued to draw intense opposition and now the FCC has released a list of myths vs. facts in regards to the plan. But this list, which poses as an explanatory breakdown of the FCC proposal and is most definitely the agency's attempt at damage control, is nearly as ill-conceived as the plan itself.
Twitter and others warn FCC of 'disastrous' net neutrality reversal
Twitter, Pinterest, Reddit and Airbnb were among 200 firms that signed a letter warning FCC Chairman Ajit Pai not to roll back net neutrality, according to Broadcasting & Cable. Dated on Cyber Monday (November 27th), the letter notes that record Black Friday sales are "a testament to the power of the free and open internet to encourage entrepreneurship, drive innovation, make our lives easier, and to support a healthy economy."
Over 1.3 million anti-net neutrality FCC comments are likely fakes
It's no secret that bots flooded the FCC with comments supporting its plans to kill net neutrality. But just how many comments were fraudulent? All too many, according to data scientist Jeff Kao. He recently conducted a study that used natural language processing to conclude that "at least" 1.3 million of the anti-net neutrality comments were fakes originating from a central source. They appear to have come from a giant mail merge that made the messages appear superficially unique, but was really just swapping in synonyms for what was clearly the same core statement. The language sounds familiar, too, mimicking that of a giant telecom or lobbying group than everyday people.
