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The FCC just killed net neutrality

2017-12-14
we will call the vote Commissioner Clyburn I dissent for sure Riley aye commissioner Carter High Commissioner risen whistle I dissent the chair votes aye the item is adopted with editorial privileges granted as requested thanks to the staff for your terrific work on this item the FCC just killed net neutrality Republicans voted to repeal the regulations on a party-line vote but not without scathing descent from the FCC's two democratic commissioners here's what commissioners Jessica rosenworcel and minion Clyburn had to say net neutrality is Internet freedom I support that freedom I dissent from this fire lease pun legally lightweight consumer harming corporate enabling destroying Internet freedom order I just sent because I am among the millions outraged outraged because the FCC pulls his own teeth abdicating responsibility to protect the nation's broadband consumers I dissent from this rash decision to roll back net neutrality rules I dissent from the corrupt process that has brought us to this point and I descent from the contempt this agency has shown our citizens in pursuing this path today this decision puts the Federal Communications Commission on the wrong side of history the wrong side of the law and the wrong side of the American public because the public can plainly see that assumed to be toothless FCC is handing the keys to the Internet the Internet one of the most remarkable empowering and abling inventions of our lifetime over to a handful of multibillion-dollar corporations and if past is prologue those very same broadband internet service providers that the majority says you should trust to do right by you will put profits and shareholders returns above what is best for you as a result of today's misguided action our broadband providers will get extraordinary new powers they will have the power to block websites the power to throttle services and the power to censor online content they will charge and scoota below the line fees raise prices unexpectedly and put consumers on hold for hours at a time who will have their best interest at heart in a world without clear and enforceable rules they will have the right to discriminate and favor the Internet traffic of those companies with whom they have a pay-for-play arrangement and the right to consign all others to a slow and bumpy road particularly damning is what today's repeal would mean for marginalized groups like communities of color that rely on platforms like the Internet to communicate you see traditional outlets rarely if ever considered their issues or concerns worthy of coverage it was through social media remember that the world first heard about Ferguson Missouri because those legacy outlets did not consider them worthy enough for coverage until that hashtag started trending they say just trust us but know this they have the technical ability and business incentive to discriminate and manipulate your internet traffic and now this agency gives them the legal green light to go ahead and do so one broadband provider who had in the past promised to not engage in pay prioritization is now quietly dropped that promise from its list of commitments on its website we're told don't worry competition will save us but the FCC's own data show that our broadband markets are not competitive half the households in this country have no choice of broadband provider so if your broadband provider is blocking websites you have no recourse you have nowhere to go what's next blocking Oh throttling that will never happen you say after today's vote exactly who is a cop on the beat Dickens can or will stop them and just who will be impacted the most consumers and small businesses that's who everyone from the creator of the world wide web to religious leaders to governors and mayors of big cities and small towns to musicians to actors too actresses to entrepreneurs and academics and activists have registered their upset and anger they are reeling at how this agency could make this kind of mistake they are wondering how it could be so tone-deaf and they are justifiably concerned that just a few unelected officials could make such a vast and far-reaching decision about the future of the internet now there is a darker side to all of this that we have witnessed over the past few weeks threats and intimidation personal attacks Nazi cheering Russian influence fake comments these are unacceptable some of these actions are illegal 2 million comments features stolen identities half a million comments are from Russian email addresses 50,000 consumer complaints are inexplicably missing from the record I think that's a problem I think our record has been corrupted and our process for public participation lacks integrity 19 state attorneys general agree they have written us demanding we halt our vote until we investigate and get to the bottom of this mess this is the new norm at the FCC a norm where the majority ignores the will of the people a norm where the majority stands idly by while the people that they are committed to serve that they've taken a note to serve are about to lose so much I worry that this decision and the products that process that brought us to this point is ugly it's ugly in the Cavalier disregard this agency has demonstrated to the public the contempt it has shown for citizens who speak up and then sheer disdain it has for public opinion when you really wake up and see what has changed I fear it may be too late to do anything about it because there will be no agency in power to address your concerns this item insignia Slee ensures that the FCC will never be able to fully grasp the harm it may have unleashed on the internet ecosystem we're told don't worry the Federal Trade Commission will save us the FTC is an agency with no no none nada technical expertise and telecommunications the FTC is an agency that may or may not even have authority over broadband providers in the first instance the FTC is an agency that if you can't even reach a very high bar approving unfair or deceptive practices and that there is substantial consumer injury it may take years upon years for any remedy to be levied and most companies don't have years and years to wait for an answer to evade FTC review all any broadband provider will need to do is add new provisions to the fine print in its terms of service there is a basic fallacy underlying the majority's actions and rhetoric today the assumptions of what the assumption of what is best for broadband providers is obviously what is best for America unlike its predecessors this FCC has not held a single public hearing on net neutrality but what saddens me the most today is that the agency that is supposed to protect you is actually abandoning you but what I am pleased to be able to say today is that the fight to save net neutrality does not end today the agency does not have the final word thank goodness for that I will call for the yeas and nays all in favor say aye aye opposed no the eyes have it
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