Landmark net neutrality rules win FCC approval in party-line 3-2 vote

[Bosonic]

Source: LA Times

In a landmark decision for the future of the Internet, the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday approved tough net neutrality regulations to oversee online traffic.

The new rules prohibit Internet service providers from discriminating against legal content flowing through their wired or wireless networks, such as by charging websites for faster delivery of video and other data to consumers.

In an expected 3-2 party-line vote, the agency's Democrat majority approved a plan by FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler that puts broadband providers in the same legal category as more highly regulated conventional telephone companies.

Wheeler has promised a modernized, light-touch regulatory approach that would exempt Internet service from many of the tougher provisions of that designation under Title 2 of the telecommunications law, particularly rate regulation.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-net-neutrality-fcc-vote-20150226-story.html

[Drale]

1. I unfollowed Mark Cuban this morning on twitter

because he was bashing Net Neutrality

[valerief]

17. He's a billionaire. Birds of a feather and all. nt

[pkdu]

2. Thanks Obama

/Sarc off

[House of Roberts]

3. We are now communicating!

.

[villager]

4. Great news! This and the Keystone veto were rare political highlights -- the good kind! --

this week.

Have been busy with work so not checking in much, but always glad to see the guy I was voting for back in '08 show up in policies, and affect! So let me say it: Thanks, Obama!

now on to getting back our 4th Amendment, slowing the Atlantic oil drilling, stopping the wolf slaughter, etc..!

[Robbins]

5. So If i read it right

this is good news.

[TBF]

14. Great news - unless you are Ted Cruz

he's already on Twitter making asshole comments about it.

[Liberalynn]

24. It's always a good thing

when our side makes Teddy whine in defeat.

[elzenmahn]

54. Doesn't surprise me a bit...

the Senator from Edmonton is a dependable parrot for his donors.

[TBF]

66. "Senator from Edmonton"

[Orsino]

64. And if we'd had a Republican president, the Internet would have just been auctioned off. n/t

[DocMac]

6. GOOD! nt

[GoneFishin]

7. This is awesome news and a big thumbs up for the President, provided it doesn't come unraveled

because of TPP or some corporate or Republican weasel tactics.

[Plucketeer]

8. A genuine WIN for our side

Most certainly, there's folks somewhere - plotting how they can step around this. Capitalism HATES level playing fields.

[AngryDem001]

37. American crapitalism, esp.

[raven mad]

40. Already started!

WASHINGTON, DC – Republican Members of the Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Communications and Technology today responded to the FCC’s vote in favor of utility-style regulation of the Internet:

“Resorting to Great Depression-era rules will trigger a stampede to the courts, unleashing years of lawsuits and uncertainty at a time when U.S. leadership and the Internet economy are more important than ever. We believe the Internet has worked well under current rules, but we were – and we remain – willing to come to the table with legislation to answer the calls for legally sustainable consumer protections for the free and open Internet that has fostered a generation of innovation, economic growth, and global empowerment.

- See more at: http://energycommerce.house.gov/press-release/subcommtech-members-respond-fccs-unprecedented-regulation-internet#sthash.mOHcMgqo.dpuf

[Robbins]

9. Bernie sanders sent out tweet applauding this

so we know it's good news

[City Lights]

10. Hip hip hooray!

[drm604]

11. Good News!

[truthisfreedom]

12. I love this and hate it equally

My log home can only use satellite reception and it's painfully slow. 37% of all content is video now, and it's slowing down the interwebs everywhere.

[jeff47]

23. One other aspect of this ruling is overturning rules banning municipal networks

So if there's enough people in the area, you might be able to get together and get faster service.

If there's very few people there, then you're going to have to wait for something like we did for rural telephone and electrical service.

[blogslut]

13. This is very good news.

To all the millions of individuals who posted their comments on the FCC's site - this victory is yours. You made this difference.

[Maven]

18. Yes it is - now come the lawsuits.

However this reclassification offers the best chance at withstanding legal challenges to net neutrality rules.

[The Wielding Truth]

15. Very good news! Now FCC needs to enforce mass propaganda laws against Murdock "News".

[tjl148]

53. Net neutrality allows government censorship?

Did I miss something on what the FCC is doing?

[Maven]

16. Democrat-IC majority

Shame on you LA Times.

[GuntherGebelWilliams]

19. Excellent start, and just a "foot in the door"

When these new regulations are implemented the FCC will finally be a centralized place for right thinking people to lodge complaints against web content that is blatantly false misleading and overall harmful to society.

Our next President has said that She agreed with President Barack Obama’s decision to try to regulate the Internet like a utility. But she said Congress should undertake a comprehensive legislative approach that addresses more than net neutrality. “It’s a foot in the door, it’s a value statement,” Clinton said. “I think the president is right to be upfront and out front on that.”

And we know She'll go after disgusting sites like Drudge, Breitbart, Freeperville and all the others that have been lying and going after Her and Bill all these years.

I can hardly wait to start filing complaints with the FCC about certain activities on the internet!

[pampango]

20. Thank goodness for a Democratic majority in the FCC. Without a Democratic president

this would have gone the other way.

[annabanana]

21. WHEW

that's all I can say

[WillyT]

22. K & R !!!

[BumRushDaShow]

25. Another DU prognostication fails. nt

[djean111]

26. Well, here is the money shot -

Wheeler has promised a modernized, light-touch regulatory approach that would exempt Internet service from many of the tougher provisions of that designation under Title 2 of the telecommunications law, particularly rate regulation.

They will get that money they were after. Watch the rates rise.

[BumRushDaShow]

33. Every private, for-profit entity

is going to find a way, a loophole, a nebulous paragraph, to "get theirs". As long as private entities exist, there is little around that outside of nationalizing them (e.g., the private, interstate utilities are run by the government)....Which could be dangerous if the "nation" is run by fascist types.

[rhett o rick]

42. Wait, what? Mr. Wheeler's first proposal favored the cable industry and was opposed

by both other Democrats on the committee (both Republicans approved). Milions of American signed petitions and sent emails to protest Mr. Wheeler's proposal. Apparently he changed his mind. I am glad for the participation of the American people.

[BumRushDaShow]

60. Keep trying.

It's like a fucking broken record here on DU. A 6-year trail of FAIL. Never any benefit of the doubt permitted. Always repetitive nonsense insisting on "actions rather than words" and when the "actions" DO occur, they are summarily dismissed because they don't fit the DU-concocted version of the current President.

It's a miracle to see a few finally giving credit where credit is due but others will never yield, and at this point, I personally don't give a shit whether they do or not.

[rhett o rick]

62. One more try. Mr. Wheeler was against net neutrality before he was for it.

Millions of Americans contacted him and he changed his mind. How does Obama get credit?

[BumRushDaShow]

65. One more try

Elizabeth Warren was for Republicans (and was an active one herself) before she was against them.

How does she get credit for anything? Give up. The disconnect and hypocrisy is breathtaking.

[Cha]

44. Yep.. but, what can we expect.. they got their talking points from firedoggielake.

Net Neutrality: President Obama's Plan for a Free and Open Internet

More than any other invention of our time, the Internet has unlocked possibilities we could just barely imagine a generation ago. And here's a big reason we've seen such incredible growth and innovation: Most Internet providers have treated Internet traffic equally. That's a principle known as "net neutrality" — and it says that an entrepreneur's fledgling company should have the same chance to succeed as established corporations, and that access to a high school student's blog shouldn't be unfairly slowed down to make way for advertisers

http://www.whitehouse.gov/net-neutrality



http://theobamadiary.com/2015/02/26/a-tweet-or-two-and-ggails-birthday/

BRDS!

[BumRushDaShow]

61. Exactly and...

Much of this President's strategy has been to make people ENGAGE and be a part of what happens to their lives. Too many would rather sit back and get ready for March Madness and let others craft the environment that will impact them. And that's because some on both extremes of the political spectrum, make it their goal to distort and taint the information needed to determine what one can or should do.

[Blue_Tires]

51. And it's pissing off all the right DUers today...

[C Moon]

27. So happy about this...but you know the corporate ISP's will find loopholes to get what they want.

[BlueJazz]

28. Yes! Another win against the Ugly-Bags-of-mostly-Water !

[LiberalLovinLug]

29. This is just as an important issue as SCOTUS appointments

Net Neutrality will be one of the key fights of this generation.

This is why I would continue voting Democrat. Even if it is no more than voting in the least of the two evils. As long as they stick to their position when/if Hillary and Goldman Sachs are in charge. We all thought Obama would never agree to the health bill without a public option included either.

[Kurska]

30. Just when I start questioning why I even bothered to vote for Obama

He always manages to do something that reminds me.

Kudos Mr. President.

[joshcryer]

31. The corporate sellout president strikes again!

[rhett o rick]

43. LOL. You guys change your tunes so often. When Mr. Wheeler made his first terrible proposal

that favored the industry and not net neutrality, you guys said it wasn't Obama's fault. That he appointed Mr. Wheeler and it was Wheeler's responsibility. Now that the protests of millions of Americans changed Mr. Wheeler's mind, you want to give the credit to the President.

I am glad that Americans were proactive enough to get Mr. Wheeler to change his mind.

[joshcryer]

46. That's such bullshit.

Obama said he favored it, Wheeler certainly listened to the people, the process worked.

This is in contrast to detractors who claimed Wheeler, a lobbyist for the industry, would never listen to the people.

The process worked.

[rhett o rick]

47. I agree that the process worked, but it was because millions of Americans

contacted Mr Wheeler to get him to change his mind. If it would have been up to him, he would have dumped net neutrality as his first proposal suggested. His first proposal was approved by the two Republicons on the committee and not approved by the two Democrats. That whole process should never have happened.

[joshcryer]

49. No, it is because Obama nominated a reasonable man.

But neither Obama or Wheeler are allowed to have any credit whatsoever.

[rhett o rick]

50. Your "reasonable man" initial proposal was against net neutrality. That never would have happened

had the President appointed someone that favored consumers and not the industry.

His initial proposal favored the industry at the expense of net neutrality and was strongly opposed by the two real Democrats on the committee. He had to be forced by millions of people to change his mind.

[joshcryer]

55. There was no "initial proposal."

He "mulled" ie listened to what the corporations wanted. Any changes have to go through a public comment period by law. When that public comment period was over then he decided. What we got today was his proposal. It will still be tested in courts.

[rhett o rick]

57. You've got to be kidding. He made a proposal that favored the industry.

There is a ton of info on the internets. Note the referal to Mr. Wheeler's "new proposal".

Jessica Rosenworcel, one of the three Democrats on the Federal Communication Commission, has asked for a delay on the proposal by Chairman Tom Wheeler for new neutrality rules. Rosenworcel said the "torrent of public response" hostile to the idea of a pay-for-play fast lane on the internet warranted the delay.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/05/08/1297841/-FCC-commissioner-asks-for-delay-net-neutrality-rules#

The day after around 150 Internet and tech companies asked FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler to remove discriminatory loopholes from his net neutrality proposal, another large coalition — comprised of everything from consumer advocates to educators to Reddit to… the Harry Potter Alliance — has written to both Wheeler and President Obama, calling for the FCC to drop the controversial plan to allow Internet “fast lanes.”
http://consumerist.com/2014/05/08/a-second-large-coalition-calls-on-white-house-fcc-to-not-screw-up-net-neutrality/

[joshcryer]

58. That's the process!

If it were a "proposal" they would've voted on it. They are talking about delaying a proposal to vote on. Show me the text of his "proposal." "News reports" are talking about people in on the meetings and the various ways to achieve an end goal. Yes the halfway measures were discussed, but it's clear that they weren't needed and that Wheeler didn't find them necessary after careful consideration.

The only proposal Wheeler put forth was what was voted upon today. The potential halfway measures were never proposed to a vote.

[Cha]

45. firedoggielake told them he would sell out.. I otoh trusted the President..

Net Neutrality: President Obama's Plan for a Free and Open Internet

More than any other invention of our time, the Internet has unlocked possibilities we could just barely imagine a generation ago. And here's a big reason we've seen such incredible growth and innovation: Most Internet providers have treated Internet traffic equally. That's a principle known as "net neutrality" — and it says that an entrepreneur's fledgling company should have the same chance to succeed as established corporations, and that access to a high school student's blog shouldn't be unfairly slowed down to make way for advertisers

http://www.whitehouse.gov/net-neutrality



http://theobamadiary.com/2015/02/26/a-tweet-or-two-and-ggails-birthday/

[geomon666]

32. Finally a victory!

Man it feels good.

[F4lconF16]

34. A big win for us, and I'm very glad it happened.

Let's remember how it came about, though. Without thousands, if not millions, of people objecting, we could very well have lost this.

[Drunken Irishman]

35. Another big reason having a Democratic president is important.

Had Romney won in 2012, he would've appointed someone other than Wheeler and this would've likely gone the other way 3-2 against net neutrality.

[rhett o rick]

48. Mr. Wheeler's first proposal opposed net neutrality and was opposed by the two

Democrats on the committee and approved by the two Republicons on the committee. It took millions of Americans sending letters and emails to get the industry champion to change his mind.

Jessica Rosenworcel, one of the three Democrats on the Federal Communication Commission, has asked for a delay on the proposal by Chairman Tom Wheeler for new neutrality rules. Rosenworcel said the "torrent of public response" hostile to the idea of a pay-for-play fast lane on the internet warranted the delay.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/05/08/1297841/-FCC-commissioner-asks-for-delay-net-neutrality-rules#

The day after around 150 Internet and tech companies asked FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler to remove discriminatory loopholes from his net neutrality proposal, another large coalition — comprised of everything from consumer advocates to educators to Reddit to… the Harry Potter Alliance — has written to both Wheeler and President Obama, calling for the FCC to drop the controversial plan to allow Internet “fast lanes.”
http://consumerist.com/2014/05/08/a-second-large-coalition-calls-on-white-house-fcc-to-not-screw-up-net-neutrality/

I do agree that under a Republicon it would never have happened and I approve of the results.

[FailureToCommunicate]

36. "We ain't one-at-a-timin' here...we're MASS communicatin'!"

"Oh my yes that's a powerful new force"

(Happy about the decision! )

[Iliyah]

38. GOPers are taking this to court and we all know

who resides in our present court system.

[Mosaic]

39. Comcast owned MSNBC is ignoring this important story

NPR to their credit just mentioned it in a prime time news update.

[SoapBox]

41. Kicked

[wildbilln864]

52. We seek the free flow of information!

"We seek a free flow of

information...a nation that is

afraid to let the people judge

the truth and falsehood in an

open market is a nation afraid

of it's people."--Pres. John F.

Kennedy, Feb., 1962

[Recursion]

56. Title II incorporation is worrisome.

I'm on the fence on this. Title II incorporation means that the government now has the power, if it wishes, to say "no porn on the Internet" like it does with TV. Or say "no political websites". Or whatever.

[joshcryer]

59. Not really, first amendment and all.

Tom Wheeler even came out and said, expressly, "This is no more a plan to regulate the internet than the first amendment is a plan to regulate free speech."

Obscenity is only under the prevue of the FCC with regards to radio communication to broadcast TVs, so they're limited in that vein, anyway, I don't think they've been granted more power to regulate obscenity over the wire.

[Orsino]

63. But both parties are the SAAAAAAAAME! n/t

[Calista241]

67. My feelings on this are mixed.

Yes, access to the Internet should be open and low cost, and priority should not be given to those with deep pockets.

But does this give the FCC the power to regulate content like they do on TV? That is extremely worrisome.