FCC: Yup, we're going to stop "paid prioritization" on the 'Net

FCC adopts net neutrality rules
Federal Regulators have issued new rules that ultimately will affect how Americans access videos over the Internet and how carriers charge for content. The 3-2 vote by the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday strikes a balance between Silicon Valley content creators, who use digital networks to deliver their virtual wares, and the cable and telephone companies that want to sell their own content and services to customers in addition to hooking them up to the World Wide Web. The new rul...

FCC Net Neutrality Ruling: What Does It Mean For You?
Are some versions of the Internet more equal than others? The Federal Communications Commission passed its first-ever Regulation of the Internet today, in a Net Neutrality Compromise that saw its 3-2 vote split sharply along party lines. The full text of the new regulations will not be published until later this week, but the broad strokes of the deal are now known. There will be two sets of regulations governing the way an Internet service provider is allowed to control your access, depending o...

Net Neutrality
But what is known is that today’s developments will have far-reaching effects. Good or bad? Hard to say. It’s very difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff on this issue, since all sides seem to have compelling arguments to make. Our readers know that we subscribe to the general principle that “that government is best which governs least” (or, as Doug Casey would contend, “governs not at all”). And this would seem to be especially true with regard to the...

FCC adopts net neutrality rules
Federal Regulators have issued new rules that ultimately will affect how Americans access videos over the Internet and how carriers charge for content. The 3-2 vote by the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday strikes a balance between Silicon Valley content creators, who use digital networks to deliver their virtual wares, and the cable and telephone companies that want to sell their own content and services to customers in addition to hooking them up to the World Wide Web. The new rul...

Obamas FCC: Move aside, peasants, were in charge [Darleen Click]
John Fund points out this is just the beginning The Net Neutrality vision for government Regulation of the Internet began with the work of Robert McChesney, a University of Illinois communications Professor who founded the liberal lobby Free Press in 2002. Mr. McChesney’s agenda? “At the moment, the battle over network neutrality is not to completely eliminate the telephone and cable companies,” he told the website SocialistProject in 2009. “But the ultimate goal is to ...

Obama and FCC approve net neutrality rules that mirror those in China and Iran
WASHINGTON - Yesterday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) gave Internet providers AT&T, Comcast and Verizon an early holiday present.  In a 3-2 vote, President Obama’s FCC signed a “Compromise” that ended the Internet’s Democracy and openness by selling it out to corporations, which will eventually result in a gated U.S. Internet system that rivals those in China or Iran.  However, these new rules are already being spun by the Obama administr...

Net Neutrality Vote: Twitter Users As Divided As FCC
On Tuesday, the FCC voted to adopt a framework that aims to preserve an "open Internet" by prohibiting Internet service providers from discriminating in how they handle information traveling over their networks. "The rules," according to the AP, "require Broadband providers to let subscribers access all legal online content, applications and services over their wired networks -- including online calling services, Internet video and other Web applications that compete with their core businesse...

'Net neutrality': ObamaCare for the Web
Michelle Malkin When Bureaucrats talk about increas ing our "access" to x, y or z, what they're really talking about is in creasing exponentially their control over our lives. As with the government Health Care takeover, so with the newly approved government plan to "increase" Internet "access." Call it Webcare. By a vote of 3-2, the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday adopted a Controversial scheme to ensure "Net Neutrality" by turning unaccountable Democratic appointees into meddli...

FCC Votes Itself Judge Dredd of the Internet
In a Speech delivered on January 19, 2010, Julius Genachowski, the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, declared that transparency “is particularly important for Consumer Protection and Empowerment.” He praised “access to information” as “essential to properly functioning markets” and stated that “policies around information disclosure...can be enormously helpful in ensuring that markets are working.” Does Genachowski believe it’s less imp

Divided FCC adopts Internet rules
By Jasmin Melvin WASHINGTON | Tue Dec 21, 2010 7:09pm EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A divided Federal Communications Commission banned Internet service providers like Comcast Corp from blocking traffic on their networks, provoking warnings the rules would be rejected in the courts and threats from Republican lawmakers to overturn them. The 3-2 decision on Tuesday highlighted a huge divide between those who say the Internet should flourish without Regulation and those who say the power of high-sp...

Al Franken: The Internet as We Know it Is Still at Risk
In today's Net Neutrality action by the Federal Communications Commission there's good news and bad news. The good news is that, thanks to Commissioners Copps and Clyburn -- not to mention a nationwide network of Net Neutrality Activists -- the proposal approved today is better than the original circulated by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. For instance, the FCC has now stated that it does not condone discriminatory behavior by wireless companies like Verizon and AT&T; -- an important piece th...

Why we should be worried about "net neutrality"
The FCC's decision yesterday to grab for itself the power to regulate the Internet through so-called "Net Neutrality" rules is the latest grab for Federal Government power over private industry. There wasn't any big demand for such Regulation. The Internet has grown from the small source it was in the beginning to be the wonderful source that it is today through private companies investing and competing with each other. But that isn't good enough for the Democrats on the FCC. They want more cont...

Divided FCC Adopts Rules to Protect Web Traffic
Tuesday, December 21, 2010 By Joelle Tessler, Associated Press In this file photo made March 12, 2010, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski is interviewed at his office in Washington. New rules aimed at prohibiting Broadband providers from becoming gatekeepers of Internet Traffic now have just enough votes to pass the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2010. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, file) Washington (AP) - A divided Federal Communications Commission has approved new rules ...

Sleepy Agency Causes Stir
The FCC is in many ways a typical federal agency that makes decisions impacting all of our lives but doesn't draw much public attention until it does something Controversial. Tuesday's unanimous decision to improve and expand 911 services to include text messaging and video streaming was buried by a contentious 3-2 ruling placing greater Regulations on Internet providers. Chairman Julius Genachowski tried his best to downplay any disagreement over the commission's Net Neutrality order. "Today,...

Malkin Op-Ed: 'Net Neutrality' - Obamacare for the Web
When Bureaucrats talk about increas ing our "access" to x, y or z, what they're really talking about is in creasing exponentially their control over our lives. As with the government Health Care takeover, so with the newly approved government plan to "increase" Internet "access." Call it Webcare. By a vote of 3-2, the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday adopted a Controversial scheme to ensure "Net Neutrality" by turning unaccountable Democratic appointees into meddling online traffic c...

Internet Access is Not a Civil Right
Michelle Malkin, CNSNews.com When Bureaucrats talk about increasing our “access” to x, y or z, what they’re really talking about is increasing exponentially their control over our lives. As it is with the government Health Care takeover, so it is with the newly approved government plan to “increase” Internet “access.” Call it Webcare. By a vote of 3-2, the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday adopted a Controversial scheme to ensure “net ...

Divided FCC adopts Internet rules
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A divided Federal Communications Commission banned Internet service providers like Comcast Corp from blocking traffic on their networks, provoking warnings the rules would be rejected in the courts and threats from Republican lawmakers to overturn them. The 3-2 decision on Tuesday highlighted a huge divide between those who say the Internet should flourish without Regulation and those who say the power of high-speed Internet Providers to discriminate against competitors ne...

Rep. Marsha Blackburn Promises to Undo FCCs Internet Regulations
Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), a longtime advocate of Internet freedom, said she’s undaunted by the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to adopt Net Neutrality rules. Instead, she thinks the FCC’s action will be a catalyst for renewed commitment on the issue in the 112th Congress. “What we will do is first use this as a way to show how we’re going to keep that Pledge to America,” she said yesterday at The Heritage Foundation. “We said in the Pledge that an

Analysis: FCC plan feared stunting Internet TV services
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Internet TV services planned by Microsoft, Google and Amazon could be held back by imminent rules that would allow phone and cable companies to charge consumers based on usage, media executives told Reuters. The Web traffic rules, due to be voted on by the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday, could tip the economics away from consumers watching TV over Internet lines if they help cable companies charge more versus their own television offerings. Said one executive a...

Internet access is not a civil right
Meet the new Internet Traffic cops Internet access is not a “civil right” by Michelle Malkin Creators Syndicate Copyright 2010 When Bureaucrats talk about increasing your “access” to X, Y, or Z, what they’re really talking about is increasing their control over your lives exponentially. As it is with the government Health Care takeover, so it is with the newly-approved government plan to “increase” Internet “access.” Call it Webcare. By a vote of 3-2,

Breaking: FCC Passes Net Neutrality Rules
Update 2, 11.35 am Pacific: On a 3-2 vote, the FCC passed “Controversial” rules on Net Neutrality today. From Politico: Led by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, the Democrats on the panel voted Tuesday to approve the first enforceable Net neutrality rules, which will prohibit Internet service providers such as AT&T, Verizon and Comcast from blocking access to lawful content and websites. The small print: no public copy of the rules “until later in the week.” The rumo...

Internet Freedom on the Line
Sen. Al Franken (D-Minnesota) On Tuesday, the Federal Communications Commission voted on new rules that critics say could allow media conglomerates to decide whose content gets to be seen on the Internet and whose doesn’t. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski is said to have the votes he needs to pass Net Neutrality Regulation. Internet freedom advocates are blasting Genachowski and the Obama Administration for reneging on a campaign promise that Candidate Obama made, saying he would protect th...

Wednesday News Net (Non)Neutrality Edition
Good Morning Conflucians!! Big news this week is the FCC ruling on Net Neutrality or in this case, the lack of net neutrality. Yet another case of Obama handing over what is the people’s to the few rich and powerful. But before we get to that, another cowardly Obama move deserves notice. Namely how the administration is preparing for their own indefinite dentition order for “Terrorists”: The Obama Administration is preparing an Executive Order that would formalize indefinite ...

The Real Story behind Net Neutrality
I hesitated about writing about Net Neutrality. It seemed to be covered by everyone. However, this is nothing less than shocking. I urge everyone to read the expose in its entirety. Click on the Wall Street Journal link embedded in the story. Behind the innocent-sounding name and expressed aims of the FCC’s Net Neutrality initiative, voted in by the Commission yesterday by a 3-2 partisan vote, is a very sinister leftist agenda. John Fund of the Wall Street Journal has done excellent work r...

They're Calling It Net Neutrality, But It Isn't
It's no exaggeration to say that this decision marks the beginning of the end for the Internet as we know it. Senator Al Franken laid out what's at stake with this ruling, saying: "The FCC's action today is simply inadequate to protect consumers or preserve the free and open Internet. I am particularly disappointed to learn that the order will not specifically ban paid prioritization, allowing big companies to pay for a fast lane on the Internet and abandoning the foundation of net neutralit...