On January 20, 2021, Aji Pai’s tenure as the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission finally ended. Pai was easily the worst FCC chairperson in history, so his departure is cause for celebration. Now, I don’t know how much President Joe Biden or his choice for FCC chair will do to mitigate all the damage that Pai did while holding that position, but I have a few ideas.
Continue reading “Pai Is Finally out at the FCC. What Does That Mean for Net Neutrality?”
In numerous posts on this blog, I have talked about the issue of net neutrality. I talked about the Republican-led Federal Communications Commission’s drive to overturn the 2015 Open Internet Order, which was passed by a Democratic-led FCC during the Obama Administration. I also talked about the agenda of current FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. This time, I need to talk about the timetable for the rollback of that 2015 order, the response to the FCC’s December 2017 decision, and what can be done to fight back.
On Thursday, May 10, 2018, the FCC announced that the 2015 Open Internet Order would expire on June 11, 2015. Pai said that internet service providers had 30 days to comply with the new rules.
As those following this story know, net neutrality is highly popular and most who understand what it is are in favor of it. In fact, a poll conducted by the University of Maryland’s Program for Public Consultation showed that 83% of respondents (regardless of their pollical leanings) favored net neutrality. Pai’s decision is unpopular and should be fought every step of the way.
Tim Berners-Lee, one of the inventors of the Internet, made a plea to U.S. lawmakers:
Democrats at the FCC, in Congress, and in numerous states have already responded in numerous ways. Since early December, over half of the states have done a combination of the following:
In addition, numerous tech companies have displayed banners or badges that carry a “RED ALERT” message on their websites. Reddit started an “Orange(Red) Alert” in its r/announcements section. These companies have implored users and visitors to contact their members of Congress, so they will support the measure to overturn Pai’s decision.
Continue reading “Net Neutrality Officially Ends on June 11 but We Can Restore It.”
Today, the Federal Communications Commission voted to repeal the 2015 Open Internet Order that classified broadband service as a utility under the FCC’s Title II rules and thus sign the Internet over to greedy telecoms. The 3-2 vote was along partisan lines, of course, with the Republicans on the board in favor of the repeal.
The vote was immediately decried by the Democrats at the commission, at least 18 state attorneys general, other pro-net neutrality lawyers, and most Americans.
But these unelected bureaucrats at the FCC still did as they pleased, at the behest of their corporate puppet masters.
Continue reading “The FCC Just Voted to Sign the Internet Over to Greedy Telecoms”
Hello, readers! This news roundup is jammed packed because it deals with several aspects of the media: The Internet, broadcast TV, the size of multimedia corporations, and deregulation. All of the following stories have been developing for weeks but not all have been discussed on this blog — until now.
Continue reading “News Roundup Special: The U.S. Is Messing with the Media”
So, today, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced his plan to gut net neutrality. He’s a day early and now we wait until December 14 for the full FCC to vote on the matter.
Continue reading “Net Neutrality Update (November 21, 2017)”
This is very late, but I just need to make a quick post about net neutrality and more. Early last month, the U.S. Senate had to vote to reconfirm Ajit Pai’s horrible self for a new five-year term at the Federal Communications Commission, which would retroactively begin in July 2016. This leaves the door open for more horsesh— for Pai to continue with his agenda, as horrible and pro-corporate as it is.
Continue reading “Is There Still a Way for Us to Stop Pai and His Agenda?”
In the past, I have talked about the issue of net neutrality because it is an important issue for me. In fact, it should be an important issue for anyone using the internet because of the wide-reaching implications.
It’s amazing to think that the Internet started as a research project due to Americans fears of Communists from the Soviet Union. But by 1973, it grew from a greater project funded by the United States. From its humble beginnings it grew the Internet as we know it because of scientists and researches across the globe.
Congress first allowed Internet to be used for commercial purposes. But did lawmakers foresee that internet providers would try to monopolize the infrastructure for themselves? In any case, we have far too many lawmakers now who want to facilitate that.
I was first made aware of net neutrality in 2012. And I think that awakening has made me a bigger First Amendment proponent. I hope you’ll understand why.
Anyhow, I have been collecting information about this issue for a few months, especially since the change of power. Many observers know net neutrality would be under fire with Trump in office and we are seeing things play out.
That said there’s a lot to discuss, including what we can do about it.
Continue reading “We Cannot Let This Stand: Net Neutrality and More”
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